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Smyth Research Realiser A16

Jun 3, 2019 at 7:12 PM Post #4,817 of 16,963
I spent an hour trying to buy that, but Ebay decided to decline both Paypal and credit card because it's Ebay. I'd chalk it up to being in the US, but I even contacted my card company to let them know of an upcoming purchase, and it still didn't work.
 
Jun 4, 2019 at 6:13 AM Post #4,818 of 16,963
Jun 4, 2019 at 8:19 AM Post #4,819 of 16,963
Not sure when it was reposted as previously having an issue, but I had to request a cancellation, which would have temporarily put the item in Ebay limbo. It had since been cancelled, and I've been in contact with the seller, and I tried buying it one more time, saying that if it doesn't work that he might need to end up sending me an invoice via email. He since said that Ebay told him it might be an issue with the global shipping he was using, and he has since relisted it a third time. Still not able to buy it, since now it doesn't even appear on Ebay. It also says the seller has nothing currently for sale when I actually check his name.

More specifically:

hello XXX ---- it is my listing -- i got EBAY -- to cancel the order --- that is the only way i could relist the item ---- if you see beside it is my username --- john24061968 ----

so ebay canceled -- both orders from yourself ---

and only then could i relist the item --- this is now the third --- time i have listed the item ----

you will see my username --- john24061968 -- and it is the same pictures --- -- cheers john ---
Click to expand...
 
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Jun 4, 2019 at 9:25 AM Post #4,821 of 16,963
That is also no longer listed, and I actually viewed that particular sale about a week ago. The reseller had a huge amount of negative feedback though, and were mentioned on shipping items that were either not in the same advertised condition, missing parts, and sometimes not even the same item, so I decided to not risk it.

Looks like the one I was trying to buy had its issues sorted, so we are trying yet again. The seller even gave me a small discount for all of the hassle it's been, but I think it's been a problem for both of us so far, not just me.

edit: Well, it finally went through. Guess I'll know more in the next week or so after it arrives. This was actually just going to be a kind of backup system for me anyway. 7.1 is better than...nothing, which is what the A16 is currently offering. Once the A16 actually arrives, the A8 would just go back in the box and kept in storage hopefully forever. In the meantime, I'd at least like to get the ball rolling, and there had not been any A8s at an acceptable price up until this point, especially when considering how "soon" the A16 was supposed to have shipped. This also just saves me a few thousand having to buy a second A16.
 
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Jun 5, 2019 at 9:18 PM Post #4,822 of 16,963
With the delivery of the A16 getting closer and closer I started to read up on the A8 version as the A16 should be equal to the A8 and even better with new processing... one article I just read just makes me want to get the A16 even more... The A16 is going to be fantastic.... here is the article if you have not read it...

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/smyth-research-realiser-a8
 
Jun 6, 2019 at 1:27 PM Post #4,823 of 16,963
I'm pretty sure I've read everything there is to read on the A8, and A16 for that matter. What I don't get is why there isn't so much more material out there. I understand that it's a niche product, but so are the Focal Utopias (to name another niche product in about the same price range), and you can find much more information on the Utopias than on the A8 and A16 combined!
 
Jun 6, 2019 at 1:57 PM Post #4,824 of 16,963
SergioPOE said:
I'm pretty sure I've read everything there is to read on the A8, and A16 for that matter. What I don't get is why there isn't so much more material out there. I understand that it's a niche product, but so are the Focal Utopias (to name another niche product in about the same price range), and you can find much more information on the Utopias than on the A8 and A16 combined!
Click to expand...

Interest in the realizer product is very small, the original Kickstarter campaign back in 2016 had 330 backers pledging £282,048 (I was the #13 backer)
This compares to over $2 Billion in headphones sales just in the US alone expected for 2019.
Not sure what % of that consists of the ultra high-end HP like the Utopia, I guess maybe 1 to 3%. That would still mean many more people owning Utopias than the A8 or have orders on the A16.

Paul
 
Jun 6, 2019 at 2:12 PM Post #4,825 of 16,963
The interest in it is so small for two reasons: the entry fee is cost-prohibitive for most people who aren't strictly hi-fi enthusiasts with tons of disposable income, and the second is marketing and general communication. Many people who would be interested in either unit just for the "home theater through headphones" experience likely wouldn't be able to afford it and would just opt for one of the cheaper, and "better than stereo" virtualization products, or they might not even know it exists in the first place, or even think it's doing the same thing all of the other surround headsets/boxes are doing for much less. Those who can afford to buy one also likely already have the means to have an actual home theater setup, so for them it would be even more of a niche product than it already is.

For me, this is an extravagance, but after living for so many years with a very nice home theater setup, no longer having the option to watch movies that way most of the time anymore meant headphones, and stereo just doesn't do it for me for non drama/dialogue heavy shows. When I found out about the A8 in 2010 it seemed like a dream item, but then I saw the $4,000 tag on top of the original units not having HDMI, and it just looked really convoluted and very limited in use. To make matters worse, I wasn't in a situation at the time to get a proper PRIR done, so it would have been somewhat of a waste of money over simply sticking with generic Dolby Headhone. I didn't even find out that the A8 had been updated later to have HDMI until many years after, but by then I had gotten used to just using an Essence STX for most of my sound needs.

Then when they announced the A16, and with that introductory price, I was like "Holy crap, this is the thing I've always wanted, but it's even better now!" and snatched it up. On top of just recently buying an A8 too due to being so antsy with all of the delays. :)

I've been hyping this thing up for years now to my friends, and even more so after pre-ordering the A16 since it's actually a proven tech. Now at least I'll be able to show them what all the fuss is about with the A8 to get them excited for Atmos later on.

Dixter said:
With the delivery of the A16 getting closer and closer I started to read up on the A8 version as the A16 should be equal to the A8 and even better with new processing... one article I just read just makes me want to get the A16 even more... The A16 is going to be fantastic.... here is the article if you have not read it...

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/smyth-research-realiser-a8
Click to expand...

I've read that article quite a few times over the years.
 
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Jun 6, 2019 at 5:15 PM Post #4,826 of 16,963
Dixter said:
With the delivery of the A16 getting closer and closer I started to read up on the A8 version as the A16 should be equal to the A8 and even better with new processing... one article I just read just makes me want to get the A16 even more... The A16 is going to be fantastic.... here is the article if you have not read it...

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/smyth-research-realiser-a8
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link, i hadn't read that one and it was worth it ! The reviewer seems to know fine what he is talking about, which gives even more credit to his opinion about the A8. And when i know that the A16 is a much better version of the A8, that makes me even more glad to have managed to catch the KickStarter train on the cheapest ticket (and it was high time i found out that the KS campaign was on, because there was only 4 or 5 units left at that price when i ordered, so i did not hesitate long !)
Speaking of KickStarter, the BassMe entered the final week of its campaign and while its goal was a modest 10,000€ it reached nearly 58,000€ and counting... The tv show it was introduced in was a tremendous opportunity to put it under the spotlight in France.
 
Jun 7, 2019 at 2:59 PM Post #4,827 of 16,963
Oh boy.... oh boy...

I down loaded the A8 manual this morning in an attempt at understanding the base line of how the A8 works and its interfaces, trying to put all of that information in mind for the up coming A16 and how it most likely will work and how to tune all of the parameters from what the A8 presently allows and those that will not change and those that will change and those that will get added with the A16...
there is a lot of adjustable parameters available to the user...( if the user has that desire )
The terminology I think wont change much but the implementation obviously will change.. The A8/A16 gives you so much to be able to fine tune all of the parameters its like you get to design your own audio environment and fine tune each and every parameter... and of course you get to record a audio environment and keep it as is or fine tune it even more until its perfect...
I am thinking that the existing A8 files that are out there for the various audio environments will become very desirable as you can keep those files in tact " and/or " modify them to suit your own wants/needs by just editing the files and adding more virtual speakers... so a A8 5.1 file can be edited to be a 9.1 file for the A16 as an example... the options are going to be amazing...

anyone have a hex editor they can recommend.. I think we will be needing one in the near future... :-)
 
Jun 7, 2019 at 10:49 PM Post #4,828 of 16,963
Dixter said:
Oh boy.... oh boy...

I down loaded the A8 manual this morning in an attempt at understanding the base line of how the A8 works and its interfaces, trying to put all of that information in mind for the up coming A16 and how it most likely will work and how to tune all of the parameters from what the A8 presently allows and those that will not change and those that will change and those that will get added with the A16...
there is a lot of adjustable parameters available to the user...( if the user has that desire )
The terminology I think wont change much but the implementation obviously will change.. The A8/A16 gives you so much to be able to fine tune all of the parameters its like you get to design your own audio environment and fine tune each and every parameter... and of course you get to record a audio environment and keep it as is or fine tune it even more until its perfect...
I am thinking that the existing A8 files that are out there for the various audio environments will become very desirable as you can keep those files in tact " and/or " modify them to suit your own wants/needs by just editing the files and adding more virtual speakers... so a A8 5.1 file can be edited to be a 9.1 file for the A16 as an example... the options are going to be amazing...

anyone have a hex editor they can recommend.. I think we will be needing one in the near future... :)
Click to expand...
I think/expect the A16 will be more user friendly but also a more closed system compared to the A8.

from http://web.archive.org/web/20170728153904/https://smyth-research.com/vaxchange.html:
Service 2: Virtual Audio Store

Members can sell or donate, on the Virtual Audio Store, PRIR or BRIR files that have been created on their Realiser. Members can buy PRIR or BRIRs from the virtual audio store but these PRIR/BRIRs will only play on the purchaser’s Realiser. The reason for restricting a purchased BRIR to only play on the buyers Realiser is to encourage owners of high end commercial studios and post production houses to get involved in providing high fidelity BRIRs of their studios, listening rooms, dubbing stages etc.
Click to expand...
Reading this I think the new A16 PRIR/BRIR files will probably be encrypted, and can contain some kind of code with a serial number telling the A16 that it can only use this file if the serial number matches with it's own. You won't be able to do much with a HEX editor in an encrypted file.
 
Jun 8, 2019 at 12:12 PM Post #4,830 of 16,963
sander99 said:
I think/expect the A16 will be more user friendly but also a more closed system compared to the A8.

from http://web.archive.org/web/20170728153904/https://smyth-research.com/vaxchange.html:

Reading this I think the new A16 PRIR/BRIR files will probably be encrypted, and can contain some kind of code with a serial number telling the A16 that it can only use this file if the serial number matches with it's own. You won't be able to do much with a HEX editor in an encrypted file.
Click to expand...

Not really sure how to interpret this. It makes sense for the PRIR/BRIR you might get from the exchange site to be limited to the purchaser's unit only, but I'm not sure if this is also suggesting that users would not be able to trade them outside of the exchange site like what they did with the A8. What makes it even more dubious is that the A8 files that are already out there are supposed to function with the A16. Although there have been seemingly conflicting statements regarding this. First they were said to work, then said not to work, then the last time I've head anything about it, said to work again.

I'm totally fine with the exchange versions being limited to the purchaser, especially if the proposed functionality works as intended and you will be able to tweak BRIRs or your own PRIR to sound like a higher end audio setup than what your own PRIR was recorded on.
 
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