[Litlgi74]

One final quick question for the group. I put this measurement off for one more day, b/c there was a fair amount of noise around the house today, and I know tomorrow will be much more quiet.
,
I still have one question though. I seems to me I can do AudioHobbits PRIR capture method one of two ways.

1. I can just asign a speaker label for each of the outputs--like "12" for Rb and "3" for sub and just select those two and plug up the output A16 output so assigned for each of the six PRIRs which would of course necessitate replugging after each PRIR.

2. I can just re-assign outputs 1 and 2 with the speakers I wish to capture for each PRIR. which would necessitate changing the labels for outputs 1 and 2 for each of the six PRIRs.

Does it make a difference which I do? Will each method work? I have the A16 on a table in front of me, so it's no problem to replug, and likewise, it's not problem to reassign speakers to the output I want. Will it make any difference? I think, for example, as long as my Listening room has a"Ltb" speaker, it's not really going to matter which A16 output was used to make it as long as the souce speaker has the correct geometric relationship (Ltb in this example) to my head's listening position, and I properly did my "headtracking Asist" Kabuki dance.

Amirite?

I would advise going with option two... It's what I did only after choosing option one.... There were several times when unplugging the 3.5mm jack from the outputs on the back of the A16 that the device froze, locked up, and or shut down. It was very frustrating

Relabeling the PRIR is really no big deal... As far as the speaker setup... All you need to do is use the adjust buttons to change output one and two to the desired speaker.. only takes a few seconds.

Using the @audiohobbit method It's very easy... But I urge you to press the test button at the end of every measurement (prior to saving) to make sure that you don't see any anomalies in your frequency response.. this feature helped me pinpoint a dead tweeter in my center channel.

Also... If you should move the speakers or you're listening position... Please be sure to recalibrate for those speakers in that position.

Some tips that I've learned during the measuring process.

It is helpfulto limit the output volume of the device as to not blow your speakers if connected directly to a power amplifier... The sweep was very, very loud the first time I measured.

Leave enough slack/play in the lines of the microphone while connected to the lanyard... Otherwise, tilting and turning your head during the look angles will pull the microphones from your ears.

The head tracker assist is very useful... but so is making sure that the A16 is within your line of sight... doing this allows you to see the actual angle of your head displayed on the screen.

Like you, I was very concerned about the noise in my house... The air conditioning turning on, the refrigerator, breathing, creeks and groans in my throat, even the sound of my heart beating in my ears... But I was most concerned with the vibration of the walls and doodads in my listening room caused by these sweeps of the LFE... Thankfully... None of these things had any real bearing on the sound reproduced by the A16.

Hope this helps

 

[You Gene]

I thought buzzes were a thing of the past – I had them with firmware 1.91/1.90 – but they are back with my A16 ! My A16 is 24ch. with firmware 1.98 since the upgrade of last August.
Twice in half an hour. They are back with a vengeance…
I sent an email to James just in case with copies of different screens…but the new firmware was supposed to fix that. Stephen told me last June when I had those buzzes the 1st time :
…quote “I apologise for this inconvenience. It is likely that the new upgrade will resolve this problem”…unquote

I suppose I should reinstall firmware 1.98 and eventually backpedal to firmware 1.81 ; and wait for a cure for this virus

 

[You Gene]

Well, you can't say that the Smyths are slow on the uptake. My email was sent at 16:37 and I received an answer at 17:31
The answer is :
...unfortunately the buzzing noise can only be repaired here in our office. The board needs re-soldered. So please return the unit only, no cables...

This is the second time I am sending my A16 away ; the 1st time to Paris for the upgrade and now to Bangor.
Just a question : did any of you - having a buzz with firmware 1.98 - receive the same answer from James?

I will keep you apprised.

 

[Litlgi74]

Well, you can't say that the Smyths are slow on the uptake. My email was sent at 16:37 and I received an answer at 17:31
The answer is :
...unfortunately the buzzing noise can only be repaired here in our office. The board needs re-soldered. So please return the unit only, no cables...

This is the second time I am sending my A16 away ; the 1st time to Paris for the upgrade and now to Bangor.
Just a question : did any of you - having a buzz with firmware 1.98 - receive the same answer from James?

I will keep you apprised.

I'm very sorry to hear this... Does the buzzing occur continually.?

I don't think I hear it... But I do get a pause and mute occasionally while watching a film.

Maybe you could just send the board back that needs to be resoldered?

 

[sander99]

...unfortunately the buzzing noise can only be repaired here in our office. The board needs re-soldered. So please return the unit only, no cables...

I wonder if this same hardware problem also causes the "track skip clicks" and if this re-soldering is the fix they mention here in the Firmware 1.90 release notes:

1) When changing tracks (BluRay, DVD, CD) a sharp click can sometimes be heard in the
headphones/line output just as a track is interrupted and just before a track begins to play. This
problem was traced to a fault in our PCM mute hardware logic that handles the audio output by
the MDS decode board. Unfortunately, the faulty mute logic can only be fixed here in the
factory. However, it can be disabled in software and to this end a ‘Block Mute’ switch has been
added to the Misc Settings menu page. Note that all A16s leaving, or passing through, the
factory from May 2020 onwards will have this mute logic fault corrected. Please be warned that
although Block Mute is effective at avoiding track-skip clicks, it could theoretically allow other
audible artefacts to pass through to the headphones and/or loudspeakers. Please exercise
caution by maintaining a low volume setting until you gain experience as to what artefacts, if
any, occur during your normal operations.

 

[Viking31]

I thought buzzes were a thing of the past – I had them with firmware 1.91/1.90 – but they are back with my A16 ! My A16 is 24ch. with firmware 1.98 since the upgrade of last August.
Twice in half an hour. They are back with a vengeance…
I sent an email to James just in case with copies of different screens…but the new firmware was supposed to fix that. Stephen told me last June when I had those buzzes the 1st time :
…quote “I apologise for this inconvenience. It is likely that the new upgrade will resolve this problem”…unquote

I suppose I should reinstall firmware 1.98 and eventually backpedal to firmware 1.81 ; and wait for a cure for this virus

I had buzz too with the firmware 1.90, 1.91 et 1.98 but not with 1.81.
it is therefore a material problem. I will send a message to James.

 

[You Gene]

I had buzz too with the firmware 1.90, 1.91 et 1.98 but not with 1.81.
it is therefore a material problem. I will send a message to James.

If you havn't already sent the email please bear in mind that people who receive lots of emails like James only peruse the subject matter, not the text itself. I entitled mine :
...buzzes with firmware 1.98 (A16/24ch.)...
I know that it might be obvious to some, but I thought I would mention it.

@Litlgi74 the buzzing is very short but louder than the volume of the DVD I listen to. It occurs regularly and about twice every half hour
Edit : @sander99 Thank you for the info. "Funny" that not more of us are experiencing this hiccup. I will send it back though.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I will be reviewing the A16 soon

This looks like a pretty long and hardcore review really , lots of functions

Has anyone been using it as a DAC for a desktop setup?

 

[Litlgi74]

I will be reviewing the A16 soon

This looks like a pretty long and hardcore review really , lots of functions

Has anyone been using it as a DAC for a desktop setup?

Do you have loudspeakers to measure?

 

[Dobrescu George]

Do you have loudspeakers to measure?

I have a few pairs

I'm mostly curious about it becuase I want to understand all of the scenarios where one could use it

With headphones it is a top dog

 

[hadron70]

I will be reviewing the A16 soon

This looks like a pretty long and hardcore review really , lots of functions

Has anyone been using it as a DAC for a desktop setup?

Do you have loudspeakers to measure?

@Litlgi74 indeed points to the most critical aspect of such a review: You NEED a personal PRIR measurement to really experience the A16's groundbraking, breathtaking abilities. Unfortunately, doing such a measurement on your own (even if you have speakers) is, at the moment, a grueling task that only a chosen few have mastered so far. For starters, you should wade through the >10,000 messages in this thread to know how to do it. I for my part gave up on this. The ASYNC method might be easier, but the files are not readily available at the moment, and full Dolby Atmos is currently not possible this way (with a professional audio workstation it is, but this requires again deep expertise).

The Smyths would be well advised to assist any reviewer with the PRIR measurement. The A16 really deserves more publicity, but if someone who is not deeply invested in this technology, even is he tech-savvy and well-versed in general, is left alone with it, the review might not come out as positive as it could.

 

[Litlgi74]

I have a few pairs

I'm mostly curious about it becuase I want to understand all of the scenarios where one could use it

With headphones it is a top dog

I will echo @hadron70 comments... Unless you are willing and going to measure your own speakers to create a PRIR. There is really no point reviewing the A16. Yes you could manLOUD an existing (included/user) PRIR... but it won't be the magical experience the rest of us have experienced.

At first... Doing the measurements is a daunting task. Including a spaghetti mess of wires. But if you follow the YouTube videos, Audiohobbits method, and map out your measurements and look angles... You should achieve success. You'll know it when you do! In conjunction with the head tracker, listening to your PRIR over EQd headphones will be indistinguishable from the loudspeakers you've measured.

I use the A16 for multi-channel music and watching movies... I am not a fan of using the Realiser for two channel music. The best part of the A16 for me is the luxury of listening to 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos in bed.

To my ears... My results are INCREDIBLE! If you need help... Ask. We need more positive reviews of the A16.

 

[Litlgi74]

I've been comparing several PRIRs today... I discovered the HPB->A feature (5.3.4.2 page 43) Wow, much better than switching from A and B headphone jacks. Very easy to hear differences this way.

 

[mrmac]

I will echo @hadron70 comments... Unless you are willing and going to measure your own speakers to create a PRIR. There is really no point reviewing the A16. Yes you could manLOUD an existing (included/user) PRIR... but it won't be the magical experience the rest of us have experienced.

At first... Doing the measurements is a daunting task. Including a spaghetti mess of wires. But if you follow the YouTube videos, Audiohobbits method, and map out your measurements and look angles... You should achieve success. You'll know it when you do! In conjunction with the head tracker, listening to your PRIR over EQd headphones will be indistinguishable from the loudspeakers you've measured.

I use the A16 for multi-channel music and watching movies... I am not a fan of using the Realiser for two channel music. The best part of the A16 for me is the luxury of listening to 9.1.6 Dolby Atmos in bed.

To my ears... My results are INCREDIBLE! If you need help... Ask. We need more positive reviews of the A16.

Yes, this magic device NEEDS more reviews and attention. But I’m afraid I agree that it’s a very difficult device to learn and it’s perfection is very elusive.

Just watch Zeos unboxing. He’s a very experienced YouTube reviewer and although brash and shouty, he’s very knowledgeable. I’m not sure he’s review will be positive. We’ll see.

Is the person who lent it to Zeos on this forum?

 

[Litlgi74]

Yes, this magic device NEEDS more reviews and attention. But I’m afraid I agree that it’s a very difficult device to learn and it’s perfection is very elusive.

Just watch Zeos unboxing. He’s a very experienced YouTube reviewer and although brash and shouty, he’s very knowledgeable. I’m not sure he’s review will be positive. We’ll see.

Is the person who lent it to Zeos on this forum?

I just left him a comment on YouTube... I don't live far from him... Maybe I can help him set up the A16... This device needs positive reviews.