[Fox1977]

I suppose that the 1500$ increase will mostly go to Heavenly Sound as the distributor fee. If they take in charge the distribution and promotion costs (including the cost to attend exhibitions) and if they invest in R&D, they will want a substantial part of the cake.
Smyth Research may have really miscalculated how long development would take. The longer it takes, the more they have to use the KS and preorders money to pay for salaries and they may be running a bit out of it.
If Heavenly Sound is now in charge of logistics and distribution, it may also free time for the Smyths to work full time on finishing the software and reach a 1.0 version that will allow to get certification and to ship to buyers.

 

[462429]

...
If Heavenly Sound is now in charge of logistics and distribution, it may also free time for the Smyths to work full time on finishing the software and reach a 1.0 version that will allow to get certification and to ship to buyers.

Or they may get additional duties unrelated to the Realiser A16 ...

 

[pervysage]

Not shipping anytime soon according to the Kickstarter email I just got:

"In early April we publicly demonstrated the production version of the A16 for the first time at CanJam LA. This gave us an opportunity to operate the A16 in a more real-world environment, and also gave attendees an opportunity to check on our progress. The operating A16 firmware for this show was modified so as to streamline the measurement procedure to ensure that more people could get a proper demonstration. This entailed by-passing routines and hard-coding parameters that might normally be used to more deeply personalise the virtualisation. Therefore this demonstration didn’t fully exercise the firmware.

On the positive side the 9.1.6ch Dolby Atmos virtualisation worked well, with the extra wide and height channels making a very noticeable improvement in the acoustic immersion, whilst the overlapping measurement technique kept the measurement time to a reasonable length. The file management routines for the internal memory and external SD card also worked well.

On the negative side we encountered intermittent problems with the head-tracking and more prolonged problems with the binaural microphones. The head-tracking issue caused the virtualisation image to appear offset from its true position, and the microphone problem effectively shut down the demo for a period of a few hours.

Since returning we have redesigned the head-tracking firmware, improving its stability and allowing us to field-update the code from the A16. This ensures that the performance of the head-tracker can be improved over time. We believe that static caused the problems with the binaural microphones in LA, and in future it may be necessary that the user wear a grounding strap during the measurement procedure.

We’re now back working on the A16 operating firmware, in particular on the control of the MDS DSP module that decodes and renders the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X algorithms. The recent upgrade of this code to 9.1.6ch for Atmos has increased the complexity and scope of the necessary control and management routines. As well as resolving the software issues at this moment, we our currently working on getting software ready for the Dolby compliance test. We estimate 3-4 weeks for the software to be complete, then a further 4-6 weeks for Dolby to complete Atmos certification. This implies that shipping will not commence before August.

The Exchange website is developing more smoothly. We our currently working on the account administration, and this is close to completion. Roles and security will be next which includes administration functions such as adding files from studios, log files for registering user’s hardware and minor modifications to the shopping cart. Once this is complete the Exchange site will be ready to launch.

Smyth Research Team"

 

[VandyMan]

Not shipping anytime soon according to the Kickstarter email I just got:

Bad news, but a much more honest update, which I appreciate.

 

[VandyMan]

In the world of ToTL headphones and stereo, 4K is really nothing (sadly). My headphone amp, STAX headphones, and my speakers all cost more than 4K. If you like multichannel, the 4K A16 will do a lot more for you then the very popular 10K DAVE DAC, for example. I'll speculate that at some point in the future a lower cost scaled down A16 will be available from Smyth or from a licensee.

 

[illram]

Well there you have it.

Personally I'm going to interpret "August" to mean "receipt in December," this will be a much healthier way for me to move forward in my expectations...

 

[esimms86]

I suppose that the 1500$ increase will mostly go to Heavenly Sound as the distributor fee. If they take in charge the distribution and promotion costs (including the cost to attend exhibitions) and if they invest in R&D, they will want a substantial part of the cake.
Smyth Research may have really miscalculated how long development would take. The longer it takes, the more they have to use the KS and preorders money to pay for salaries and they may be running a bit out of it.
If Heavenly Sound is now in charge of logistics and distribution, it may also free time for the Smyths to work full time on finishing the software and reach a 1.0 version that will allow to get certification and to ship to buyers.

I expect that, given an original launch date of late spring 2017, Smyth has almost certainly run low on R&D funds, thus necessitating the deal with Heavenly Sounds. Or maybe they anticipated this type of business arrangement all along. If their true market really is the studio professional then there will be less of a need to arrange for locations for PRIR production(i.e., the pros will produce their own PRIRs and then audio engineers could do sound mixing in their home/remote studios, as opposed to having to rely on expensive studio time). The real market, therefore, would prove to be the professional doing sound mixing for film and gaming projects. Keep in mind that the Smyth brothers started out doing the sound applications behind DTS.

I agree with the statement that Headfiers are the incidental recipients of A16 technology.

 

[esimms86]

In the world of ToTL headphones and stereo, 4K is really nothing (sadly). My headphone amp, STAX headphones, and my speakers all cost more than 4K. If you like multichannel, the 4K A16 will do a lot more for you then the very popular 10K DAVE DAC, for example. I'll speculate that at some point in the future a lower cost scaled down A16 will be available from Smyth or from a licensee.

Unless you’re looking to spend $30k and up on DAVE, you’re not going to end up anywhere close to getting a Chord-based multichannel setup. You’d be better off spending your money on Exasound or Merging Technologies gear, and that’s for a speaker based system limited to 5.1.

As an aside, I also wonder just how many Headfiers spend $6K and up on their systems. I’m not saying that it’s rare, mind you. BTW, I start at $6K assuming(rightly or wrongly) that the typical Headfi purchaser of the A16 will be looking at pairing it with headphones above the $1K price point. Remember that Smyth themselves recommended using Stax headphones (or at least they did with the A8).

 

[VandyMan]

Unless you’re looking to spend $30k and up on DAVE, you’re not going to end up anywhere close to getting a Chord-based multichannel setup. You’d be better off spending your money on Exasound or Merging Technologies gear, and that’s for a speaker based system limited to 5.1.

Going from a 2K DAC to a 10K+ DAC might sound a little better. Adding an A16 will totally transform your multi-channel listening. (I'm not sure why you mention multi-channel DAC as a solution vs the A16.) A little perspective is needed on the A16 price. It is too high, but it is are also well within the range of what people are spending on ToTL DACs, amps, headphones, etc.

BTW, the DAVE is $10,500 USD, not 30K.

 

[Fox1977]

THAT was the kind of update i was expecting. Very detailled about the good points and the bad points. Of course, i'd have preferred better news on the shipping date, but well, c'est la vie... i really hope 3-4 weeks will be enough to overcome the final issues and complete the firmware.

 

[Richter Di]

Ok. Seems Smyth reacted to our comments.

 

[musicday]

Not the best news one will expect, but this is much appreciated. At least we know where we are standing, and when we may expect shipping of the A16. It will be nice to get the updates more often so we get the picture how the firmware and the Exchange website are coming along.
I don't want to write this but I will anyway: If we all get a perfect working ( stable firmware ) Realiser A16 before Christmas will be great. Many more features can be added via firmware updates in the future if Smyth Research decide to do so..

 

[musicday]

Ok. Seems Smyth reacted to our comments.

Is all about communication my friend, and I hope we are on the right track from now.

 

[valleynomad]

I am quite confident that they will deliver it. They are not OSSIC.
Any time before the end of this year will be good for me.

 

[JohnEW]

Nice to see an update that brings us up to date with how the Realiser a16 is progressing. This update could have easily been put up earlier to stop people getting anxious why there has been delays or the progression of the unit. Now that we know what the problems are and why the delays I gladly accept the explanations given, and wish them all the best in solving the problems. I envy the dedication and skill these boys have to solve the problems that arise and to build us this incredible product. Things don't always work as expected even for them.