[Clive101]

You could buy a silver headstand model and simply not hang your headphones on it.

Yes, I thought of a separate headphone stand but I am a little tight on space and the of all those wires on view. At least with the 2u I could put the stand on top.

Looks like I have to pay the full retail and wait even longer for the 2u in silver if it ever gets made..?

 

[462429]

Speaking of very promising possiblity of the Realiser/Yarra cooperation, it seems that the crosstalk isn't the only, and maybe even not the biggest predictable problem. Some say that the Yarra's drivers are too small to be able to produce serious enough sound at a distance of 3 m or more and also to small to enable subwoofer's crossover to be set low enough to stay non-directional.

Roughly, PRIR = RIR (a given room impulse response) + your own HRTF (head related transfer function) in such given room.
....

I give my "Like" to this equation and express my assumption that the members RIR and HRTF probably preserve their individuality inside the sum (PRIR) making it possible for one PRIR's RIR to be improved (replaced) by another PRIR's RIR on the file level.

 

[Sanctuary]

So, exactly two weeks ago today I emailed James with some pretty important questions. No reply. I don't know if he might be out of town on their trip to China or what, but I would think he would have still checked his emails at some point. So I ended up sending the same email to Lorr Kramer, since he seemed to respond to me a day or two later with my previous three emails to him in September. If I still don't get a response within two more weeks, something is up.

 

[illram]

I've received prompt replies to all my questions from James Smyth.

 

[Sanctuary]

I've received prompt replies to all my questions from James Smyth.

So did I when it was regarding payment and the initial questionnaire, but that's it. Nothing else so far.

edit: Whelp, Mr. Kramer just sent me an email already, letting me know that he can't answer any of my questions, because that's all handled through the UK office (wasn't aware he wasn't there), but he said that James isn't currently in the office (due to it being after hours), but that he's not out of town and my email would be forwarded to him.

Second time's a charm I guess?

 

[illram]

James just answered one of my questions on Monday. I think I emailed him Friday. A missed/overlooked email or question happens, I wouldn't worry about that too much. Hell I forget to respond to emails all the time.

 

[castleofargh]

Speaking of very promising possiblity of the Realiser/Yarra cooperation, it seems that the crosstalk isn't the only, and maybe even not the biggest predictable problem. Some say that the Yarra's drivers are too small to be able to produce serious enough sound at a distance of 3 m or more and also to small to enable subwoofer's crossover to be set low enough to stay non-directional.


I give my "Like" to this equation and express my assumption that the members RIR and HRTF probably preserve their individuality inside the sum (PRIR) making it possible for one PRIR's RIR to be improved (replaced) by another PRIR's RIR on the file level.

thoughts and PRIRs to all the victims of headphones around the world.

 

[Roderick]

How much realiser alters The sound? Thinking about a end game setup build around realiser.

Is it still worth to get sr009 instead of settling for say hd800?

 

[Takeanidea]

How much realiser alters The sound? Thinking about a end game setup build around realiser.

Is it still worth to get sr009 instead of settling for say hd800?

I've heard it. With the cheapest Stax earspeakers on the market the sound was indistinguishable from the speakers other than the headphones had perhaps a better bass. Therefore the answer from me is that sr009s specifically for the a16 are overkill unless you want them

 

[illram]

James actually mentioned the HD700 or 800 in an email to me regarding headphones also. First time I had heard that rec (HD700) specifically for this. It will be interesting to see how dependent this is on quality cans, actually.

 

[VandyMan]

How much realiser alters The sound? Thinking about a end game setup build around realiser.

Is it still worth to get sr009 instead of settling for say hd800?

James Smyth told me that the Realizer makes the differences between models much smaller, but it does not make all headphones sound the same. In fact, he expressed his own headphone preferences to me (which I don't recall, so I can't share). I'm looking forward to comparing a few different headphones using the Realizer, including the STAX 009. If I were you, I'd wait on my purchase until the Realizer ships.

I don't think we can judge the magnitude of the differences between headphone models on the Realizer without extended listening. Maybe an A8 owner can share their experiences trying different headphones?

 

[jgazal]

I give my "Like" to this equation and express my assumption that the members RIR and HRTF probably preserve their individuality inside the sum (PRIR) making it possible for one PRIR's RIR to be improved (replaced) by another PRIR's RIR on the file level.

I am sorry, I don’t understand what you mean. Are you referring to personalization of BRIRs? If that is what you mean, Stephen Smyth says the first tier in performance is a PRIR in room with good acoustics and a second tier would be BRIR in a room with good acoustics, personalized in the exchange site, using a PRIR made in any room you have available.

thoughts and PRIRs to all the victims of headphones around the world.

If you were locked with headphones, would you live then without the Realiser? That is a question I ask myself most of the time.

 

[esimms86]

Thus far, the Smyths are not listed as exhibitors at the upcoming CanJam NYC. They certainly may sign on between now and then, however, I’m selfishly hoping that this means that they are full on focusing their attention and efforts on getting the A16 out the door.

 

[hekeli]

I don't think we can judge the magnitude of the differences between headphone models on the Realizer without extended listening. Maybe an A8 owner can share their experiences trying different headphones?

It's well known that the HPEQ on A8 did not even touch bass frequencies and didn't handle HD800 6khz peak well etc. So the difference between headphones can vary a lot. But I believe A16 should have improved HPEQ.

 

[Sanctuary]

It's well known that the HPEQ on A8 did not even touch bass frequencies and didn't handle HD800 6khz peak well etc. So the difference between headphones can vary a lot. But I believe A16 should have improved HPEQ.

Hmm. It's going to be hard to be very convincing that you're actually listening to a home theater setup if the LFE doesn't really sound similar; and most headphones do not sound like a subwoofer at all, even basshead versions. Not even talking about the tactileness of it either, since you can still have a sub producing the sound it should be without your chest feeling vibrations, or the floor shaking. IMO, it's up way too loud anyway if that's happening.

In other news, I finally got an email back from James, and he only kind of answered one out of a handful of pretty important questions. So I asked them again in a more comprehensive way.

edit: Well, he replied again, answered two more questions, but still refuses to explain how our orders are being tracked and what our actual order numbers are supposed to be. I've asked three times now.

Hi,
All KS & pre-order phases 1,2, and 3 will be part of the first batch that our shipped. If you need your Realiser reserved, we will box it up and keep it for when you need it shipped.
I hope this settles your fear with shipment. Once your Realiser is ready for shipment, we will contact you to confirm a shipping date, then we will box your Realiser up, put it a side and ship
it on the date you wish.

Regards
James

We already knew that the Kickstarter and Phase 1 preorders were joined together, but apparently the next two have been as well, and so far only phase 4 is separate. Right now, phase 4 is "scheduled" to ship sometime between March and April 2018 (so that could be 3/01 - 4/30). So I wouldn't expect the first batch to actually ship before the start of February at best.