[Richter Di]

BTW the one thing that makes me think that the Realizer will be realized and will not fail like the Ossic X is not that I met the team ..

Having met the guys from Smyth I am one hundred percent certain of their sincerity in trying to bring an exciting project to market.

... since they obviously told me and others straight to the face delivery dates they could not hold ...

But, they updates are very specific and Ossic’s updates were only marketing bla bla. So I trust that we will have the A16 this year in our homes.

 

[musicday]

BTW the one thing that makes me think that the Realizer will be realized and will not fail like the Ossic X is not that I met the team ..



... since they obviously told me and others straight to the face delivery dates they could not hold ...

But, they updates are very specific and Ossic’s updates were only marketing bla bla. So I trust that we will have the A16 this year in our homes.

I hope so !

 

[krismusic]

BTW the one thing that makes me think that the Realizer will be realized and will not fail like the Ossic X is not that I met the team ..



... since they obviously told me and others straight to the face delivery dates they could not hold ...

But, they updates are very specific and Ossic’s updates were only marketing bla bla. So I trust that we will have the A16 this year in our homes.

When I met the Smith guys it was obvious to me that they were passionate about their project. The fact that they run a company with an already very successful product in the A8 meant that I didn't really question their ability to deliver. I don't doubt their sincerity. I certainly do not think this is any kind of scam. If the A16 does not materialise I will be amazed and disappointed . It will be the result of the vagaries of business. Hopefully the relationship with Heavenly Audio will help in that regard. Either way. No hard feelings.

 

[esimms86]

When I met the Smith guys it was obvious to me that they were passionate about their project. The fact that they run a company with an already very successful product in the A8 meant that I didn't really question their ability to deliver. I don't doubt their sincerity. I certainly do not think this is any kind of scam. If the A16 does not materialise I will be amazed and disappointed . It will be the result of the vagaries of business. Hopefully the relationship with Heavenly Audio will help in that regard. Either way. No hard feelings.

First, I have to state upfront that I fully expect the A16 to ship. Having said that, if it somehow didn’t ship I would be majorly pissed. Two reasons why. One, Ossic tanked, having taken $299 from their individual Kickstarter supporters. With the A16, you’re risking over $1000. Two, Ossic’s failure is a loss, to be sure, but the Audeze Mobius is in now in the pipeline. Is there anything out there on the market(the discontinued A8 aside) that can even remotely do what the A16 is being developed to do?

 

[JohnEW]

Take a look at all these massive audio (or any) manufacturers, they don't tell people their problems during production and development, give advanced/expected delivery dates or show their products before going public. I know the A16 started as a kickstarter product, and maybe James has not been communicating well with backers but they have finally shown us images and demos of a working production model. The A16 may not be completely finished or working to the high standard suitable for public release, but as shown in this last update they have informed us of the outstanding problems and how they are going about resolving them. Many products that are mass produced and thrown on to the market and use the public who have purchased as test subjects, wait for the complaints, then repair the problems when they are found. The Smyth Research Team are taking their time and getting it right before putting the A16 on to the market, making sure that it works to the high standard that their backers and public expect.

 

[Fox1977]

Smyth Research has in theory already received all the hardware to cover the preorders, at least the KS backers. Now, the issues they are facing are only about software, so it may take time to solve but i don't see why they couldn't deliver. Besides, even if software is not fully operational for their standards, it still works and does the job (capturing a room up to 9.1.6 and processing a multichannel signal to mimic that room through headphones), so in worst case scenario, they could still send the A16 with a flunky software that works, but doesn't deliver all the functionalities expected.
They may be bad at communicating and managing a timetable, but they are good engineers. The A8 is there to prove it !

 

[Dixter]

I am sure we will get the product(s).... they are tweeking the software/web share sites and they have done this before with the A8 so it should not be of a huge concern to us...

What I am wishing for is probably the impossible.. but what I'd like to see included as a super goodwill gesture from Smyth Research is a free Abby Road Studio with Atomos 9.1.6 and a free copy of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album remastered in Atmos... pretty please...
now all of that coming with the A16 hardware would make my day..
I can't wait to get it, no matter what... going to be a great addition to my headphone collection...

 

[musicday]

Let's stop the nonsense, shall we? The Realiser A16 will be delivered eventually and it will be one of the greatest audio gear for headphones, No.1 for me definitely, that i enjoyed more then the most expensive headphones and high end amplifiers.
The wait will eventually be worth it.

 

[462429]

I think the original issue here is the limit for future proofing the product. For me it is obvious that the reason for such a big delay and such a quantity of lies come from the attempt to future proof the Realiser A16. Wasn't A16 'fully functional prototype', shown to us two years ago, already futuristic enough? Was it right to change the original, already fascinating specifications and risk all the potential (now we can say - achieved) complications?
Personally I don't need HDR support because I will separate the video already upstream of A16. Many don't need shift from 14 to 16 channels because they only need 2. And so on.
Obviously this matter is strictly individual and there is no 'we' and no 'go away!' here.

Regarding Sgt. Pepper's in Atmos, it is even (almost) impossible to get the 5.1! You must buy 2 DVDs and 4 CDs at the same time in order to get the 5.1 BD too! And the set is more than expensive ...

 

[Sordel]

Regarding Sgt. Pepper's in Atmos, it is even (almost) impossible to get the 5.1! You must buy 2 DVDs and 4 CDs at the same time in order to get the 5.1 BD too! And the set is more than expensive ...

FWIW I thought the Giles Martin stereo remix was poor, and the surround mix (while it certainly has its fans) was not regarded as being of demonstration quality. Kraftwerk's 3D set is stunning ... it’ll be my go-to for showing off Atmos music on the A16. Mad Max: Fury Road maybe for movies.

 

[raband]

I think the original issue here is the limit for future proofing the product.

I'd agree there. Feature creep, changes in spec and redesigns would have set things back each time.

Am personally happy for the unit to be as cutting edge as possible when it's finally released.
There was a fair bit of disappointment on the forum about the unit not being full HDMI 2.0a (4k HDR) passthrough - am glad it now is, as are many others.

More channels, updated hardware chips, balanced headphone out, HDMI passthrough, removing "guitar input" etc would each have required some form of "starting over" to varying degrees.

Would much rather get a final product than an early, locked early sample, with an updated V2 released in the near future via retail and not compatible.

4K, HDR, 16ch Atmos/dxd etc weren't possible/achievable when the 1st design brief was floated - things moved quick on the hardware side for a while and seems to be settled now (suppliers/tech, not Smyth).
Hopefully firmware updates will be able to keep up with future advances for the next while, whereas the original planned version would have been left behind out of the gate.

The communication (lack of) rather than the delays have been my main issue. The latest one has eased my mind a fair bit.

I'm going to continue to ignore any "expected" dates from Smyth until something concrete is announced - those guys would be late to their own funerals.

I would like to see the Exchange Website up and running where we can register, login and at least confirm our orders and delivery addresses (am tipping a fair few would have changed address, email etc since they originally put in the pre-order) Kickstarter may have an option for that, but there's no means for website pre-orders to do the same other than via email.

 

[462429]

FWIW I thought the Giles Martin stereo remix was poor, and the surround mix (while it certainly has its fans) was not regarded as being of demonstration quality. Kraftwerk's 3D set is stunning ... it’ll be my go-to for showing off Atmos music on the A16. Mad Max: Fury Road maybe for movies.

I have 5 of the songs on the Giles Martin's Beatles compilation called 'Love'. It is a 5.1 DVD-Audio edition. And they are not poor at all. I would rather say - great.
Speaking of Kraftwerk, I have it but still don't know what does it mean 9.1. I thought it was 5.1.4 or 7.1.2, but after Smyth introduced 9.1.6, it seems it could be wide fronts as well, without upper level ...

 

[Sordel]

I have 5 of the songs on the Giles Martin's Beatles compilation called 'Love'. It is a 5.1 DVD-Audio edition. And they are not poor at all. I would rather say - great.

I have Love and I agree, it's very good. A lot of surround sound fans have been asking for the entire catalogue mixed like Love, which was of course done for a Cirque de Soleil show and really exploits the wide ambience of an auditorium. But Giles's surround mix of Sgt. Pepper did not deliver more in that style ... purchasers of the boxed set (not me) reported rather conservative & timid spatialisation. Fans of surround tend to divide into those who want “Stereo+” and those who want a sort of “exploded view” of the music, and I'm in the second camp. I read a lot of reviews and the balance of them was negative.

 

[462429]

I have Love and I agree, it's very good. A lot of surround sound fans have been asking for the entire catalogue mixed like Love, which was of course done for a Cirque de Soleil show and really exploits the wide ambience of an auditorium. But Giles's surround mix of Sgt. Pepper did not deliver more in that style ... purchasers of the boxed set (not me) reported rather conservative & timid spatialisation. Fans of surround tend to divide into those who want “Stereo+” and those who want a sort of “exploded view” of the music, and I'm in the second camp. I read a lot of reviews and the balance of them was negative.

Thank you for that very useful information. And what about Kraftwerk? Did you really hear it in Atmos, or you anticipate based on 5.1?

 

[Sordel]

Thank you for that very useful information. And what about Kraftwerk? Did you really hear it in Atmos, or you anticipate based on 5.1?

I'm anticipating based on 5.1. The Kraftwerk blu-rays are the best music surround mixes I've heard, and I've heard a lot (... and I'm not even a Kratfwerk fan). Hey, if I didn't have irrational optimism I wouldn't have pledged for the A16 in the first place!