[shmau]

Sort of off topic but I got the Virtuoso software for my laptop. It does produce a pretty convincing base layer. I am once again unable to hear a difference between the base layer and the top layer though (an issue I also have with the Realiser). I guess my ears are weirder than I thought.

But holy hell what annoying anti piracy / license management software they use. I did install them in the end but I was quite close to giving up. It installs permanent background items. And not only that you but have to create an account for the license management software! And their registration doesn't work unless you disable content blockers on their site! Are people OK with this crap? I was very seriously considering refunding or even charging back the software. And still am a bit.

 

[zdjh22]

Sort of off topic but I got the Virtuoso software for my laptop. It does produce a pretty convincing base layer. I am once again unable to hear a difference between the base layer and the top layer though (an issue I also have with the Realiser). I guess my ears are weirder than I thought.

But holy hell what annoying anti piracy / license management software they use. I did install them in the end but I was quite close to giving up. It installs permanent background items. And not only that you but have to create an account for the license management software! And their registration doesn't work unless you disable content blockers on their site! Are people OK with this crap? I was very seriously considering refunding or even charging back the software. And still am a bit.

Agreed, the license management for Virtuoso is a pain. We should be grateful I guess that a hardware dongle isn’t required. Under Windows I have different license managers for Virtuoso and Dante Via. Maybe I should give Impulcifer a try.

Just curious, what do you mean by base layer and top layer?

I’m still waiting for new firmware to fix 2.15 issues, but decided yesterday to practice PRIR generation again. My media room has a collection of different speakers acquired over many years, mostly Cambridge Soundworks (Henry Kloss’s company for many years). With the Denon AVR-X3600h I’m limited to 7.1.2, so I decided to sit backwards a bit closer to the center channel for this PRIR and combine it with my previous PRIR to be able to get up to the equivalent of 14.2.4 (really 13.2.4, since rear centers are not part of either Atmos or DTS:X). I also wanted a listening room on the A16 with 4 large speakers (with two in the virtual corners behind me instead of on the sides) for quad recordings that benefit; since I only have one pair of large speakers, doing forwards and backwards measurements did the trick. In the end I settled for 7.1.6t as the first composite PRIR, with my existing side and rear surrounds which are mounted high doing double duty as virtual Atmos ”tm” and “tf” speakers. I’ll play later with higher channel counts.

On the A16, composite PRIRs are so easy to use. I combined my forward and backwards 7.1.2 PRIRs into two different composite PRIRs from which to build 7.1.6t (PCM), 7.1.6 (Atmos), and 7.1.4t (DTS:x) listening rooms. One composite has large Lss/Rss, the other large Lb/Rb (since 5.0/5.1 quad uses Lss/Rss and not Lb/Rb). The large Lss/Rss (in rear corner Lb/Rb positions) works great on things like E.Power Biggs Bach Tocatta set, which was recorded in the center of a German church with a pipe organ in each of four corners with Biggs playing all 4 consoles in the middle.

I really like 7.1.6 Atmos for Baba O’Reilly on the 50th anniversary Who’s Next release; larger channel counts sound too funky at the beginning with the ARP synthesizer bouncing around all of the top channels.

 

[GeorgeA]

There’s a message at https://www.smyth-realiser.fr/?news=65&v=enfin-disponibles:

Finally available!
After long months of shortage, the Realiser A16 and Realiser A16 SE are finally available to order for delivery without delay! Visit https://av-in.com/
(Translated by google)

Does that message mean new hope for those who haven't received their Realiser A16 units yet?

 

[audiohobbit]

Is this a rhetorical question...?

 

[GeorgeA]

Is this a rhetorical question...?

It might’ve been considered rhetoric if there wasn’t quite a lot frustration for some unluckier ones. I was just wondering if the message posted by Gilles Gerin could bring some hope for those who still paid what was asked of them and received nothing in return.

 

[Got the Shakes]

In case you missed it (or if you’re new to this thread) 3DSoundShop is running a sale if you need any PRIRs. Here’s what’s on offer:

• Early Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale. With coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY... save 20% on all individual and PRIR Paks!
• Sale price includes our biggest discounts on all PRIRs, including the best selling Omega Bundle
• Omega PRIRs - 35 properly recorded channels, including Auro-3D!
• Online & Offline demos for HD800 owners as well as all other headphone brands and type
• Dozens of 5 Star Reviews!

 

[makan]

In case you missed it (or if you’re new to this thread) 3DSoundShop is running a sale if you need any PRIRs. Here’s what’s on offer:

• Early Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale. With coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY... save 20% on all individual and PRIR Paks!
• Sale price includes our biggest discounts on all PRIRs, including the best selling Omega Bundle
• Omega PRIRs - 35 properly recorded channels, including Auro-3D!
• Online & Offline demos for HD800 owners as well as all other headphone brands and type
• Dozens of 5 Star Reviews!

This is very tempting for his Omega PRIR. To be honest, I am quite happy with the jazzfan's D&D prir from the free prir google drive link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MWWb8KELPBbAC5WSHf82UXeV73v1O84W Can any of you tell me what incremental benefits I would be getting on the Omega PRIR for movies which is what I am using the A16 mainly for. I know John is a great Headfi member and A16 forum helper...and that should be good enough reason to support him...but money is a little tight right now.

 

[Got the Shakes]

This is very tempting for his Omega PRIR. To be honest, I am quite happy with the jazzfan's D&D prir from the free prir google drive link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MWWb8KELPBbAC5WSHf82UXeV73v1O84W Can any of you tell me what incremental benefits I would be getting on the Omega PRIR for movies which is what I am using the A16 mainly for. I know John is a great Headfi member and A16 forum helper...and that should be good enough reason to support him...but money is a little tight right now.

Have you tried any of the demos on his store? If not, I would start there. For me, the 3DSoundShop PRIRs are as close to sounding like an in person capture as possible, but of course that is going to vary for everyone depending on how similar your head geometry is compared to the subject in the 3DSoundShop ones. I would never tell anyone how to spend their money, but for me the 3-4 PRIRs I bought over the years have been absolutely amazing.

 

[makan]

I have tried the demos on my HD800...they all sound great with different flavouring....can't buy them all!

 

[gimlet]

I did end up buying the full multipak from John last year. Of all the different speakers, my favourites remain the Omega 65 (for music), Omega 96 (movies) as well as the Genelec, D&D and KEFs. If forced to choose, I would recommend the Omega 65, as it has great sound and full compatibility with Auro 3D.

 

[makan]

I did end up buying the full multipak from John last year. Of all the different speakers, my favourites remain the Omega 65 (for music), Omega 96 (movies) as well as the Genelec, D&D and KEFs. If forced to choose, I would recommend the Omega 65, as it has great sound and full compatibility with Auro 3D.

May I ask what made you prefer the 96 over the 65 for movies?

 

[Dixter]

It’s nice to have the option for choosing different speakers. It’s like having several different headphones. And John has done a fantastic job of setting them up. Makes the A16 a better value for what it does

 

[gimlet]

May I ask what made you prefer the 96 over the 65 for movies?

Just personal preference. The 96 has significantly more reverb, as the speakers are measured from 8ft away. Sounds more like a home cinema, whereas the 65 is effectively a studio mixing room - more clarity but less reverb. I ended up using a 65 centre in a 96 room to improve vocal clarity on movies.

 

[Got the Shakes]

I have tried the demos on my HD800...they all sound great with different flavouring....can't buy them all!

Trust me, I get it. I would second some of the other opinions and say that I think the Omegas are the ones that I like most. I have I think four rooms I’ve purchased and that has been the one that has gotten the most use by for for me.

 

[zdjh22]

This is very tempting for his Omega PRIR. To be honest, I am quite happy with the jazzfan's D&D prir from the free prir google drive link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MWWb8KELPBbAC5WSHf82UXeV73v1O84W Can any of you tell me what incremental benefits I would be getting on the Omega PRIR for movies which is what I am using the A16 mainly for. I know John is a great Headfi member and A16 forum helper...and that should be good enough reason to support him...but money is a little tight right now.

I have the Omega 65/96 bundle, and I have also used jazzfan’s D&D, as well as my own PRIRs (limited at the moment to Atmos 7.1.6t).

First, I have to note that the D&D set is quite excellent. For any who haven’t tried them yet, I recommend building a composite PRIR from the 3 separate jazzfan D&D files - this makes subsequent creation of listening rooms of various configurations quite trivial (many more button presses building the “CX” file, but far fewer button presses to make listening rooms than if you build them from the 3 files).

I built Atmos 9.1.6 rooms from both the Omega 96 and the D&D files to better do A:B comparisons. My favorite Atmos tracks to test are the 40th anniversary “Major Tom” track, and various tracks from the Atmos mix on the the 50th anniversary Who’s Next. For my ears/head the Omega 96 is my preference. For both I have the issue that with 2.15-only hardware my HPEQ’s need lots of tweaking to be properly centered on non-2.15 PRIRs, so I’m using HD800s HPEQs supplied by John for both the Omega 96 and D&D.

The advantage to the Omega PRIRs is that you get many more channels - 35 total, including 23 for Atmos (up to 12.1.10) and the 10 needed for Auro-3D 13.1. Whether you need 12.1.10 or 13.1 depends heavily on the source material. As I’ve noted before, Baba O’Reilly is awful (to me) at the beginning with the synth bouncing too much on, e.g., 12.1.10; on 9.1.6 it’s fine. Other tracks on Who’s Next benefit from the extra channels on 12.1.10, and Major Tom does as well.

It’s hard to go wrong with jazzfan’s D&D if the PRIR matches well to your head and ear shape. The Omega PRIRs from 3DSS are more versatile and sound better to me, but definitely try the sample files before purchasing.

Thanks to this discussion and my resulting testing I’m now anxious to add Lw/Rw channels from D&D to my own PRIRs, as the music I tested above definitely benefits from the extra channels.