[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.

James just emailed me today :
...Good news your unit is ready to be shipped. Can you confirm your shipping address?...
I confirmed my address of course but asked : ...is anything the matter with the A16 ?... I still don't know the remedy applied by them.

By the way DHL handles my shipping...

 

[MichaelJames99]

James just emailed me today :
...Good news your unit is ready to be shipped. Can you confirm your shipping address?...
I confirmed my address of course but asked : ...is anything the matter with the A16 ?... I still don't know the remedy applied by them.

By the way DHL handles my shipping...

Just curious.. what number are you?

 

[You Gene]

Just curious.. what number are you?

This is not the shipping of a new A16 but the repair (buzz problem) of an existing one. Bought at full price and originally received mid December 2019 following an order from December 2018. The number is not relevant in my case apart from the serial number of my A16.
Edit : not a kickstarter or a pre-order and bought from the French dealer

 

[sander99]

Not sure how you turn SVS on and off.

Actually I forgot there is one more thing to check (if you don't get the stereo mixdown to work), below is a more complete description what I forgot before is the part in bold.

In the listening room (don't forget to unlock it, change the red key to grey) that you will be using go into the "Manage Bass/Reverb/Tactile" menu.
At the bottom of the screen switch "Stereo" on (checked).
Press enter to go into the stereo mixdown sub menu.
Channels should be turned on, levels something like you see in Figure 10-27 of the manual (or: all zero's but -3 dB for center and subwoofer is also good), also make sure the last column is filled like in Figure 10-27 of the manual, don't forget the second page of this menu (and the third page that will be there in 24 channel mode I suppose...).
In the preset: AV should be off (unchecked).
Now if you are in the speaker map screen (of user A or B) you can switch between virtual loudspeakers and normal headphone stereo (stereo mixdown) by pushing the headphone and loudspeaker button on the remote control.

 

[You Gene]

I see some spare parts available on Smyth web site : https://smyth-research.com/product/a16-realiser-2u/
- anti-static grounding strap
- in-ear microphone surrounds

As well as the new A16s : https://smyth-research.com/shop/
- A16 Realiser 2U PRO-AES3
- A16 REALISER 2U PRO-ANALOG
but you have to inquire for further info such as the price. Funny when you think that they are already on sale in Germany. (edit : unless those 2 are different ?)

 

[AppleheadMay]

They're making new models and they still haven't started delivering 2016 pre-orders???
As far as I can see they still have to snerd out about 30 kickstarters and last time they sent a few was 2 months ago.

 

[esimms86]

I see some spare parts available on Smyth web site : https://smyth-research.com/product/a16-realiser-2u/
- anti-static grounding strap
- in-ear microphone surrounds

As well as the new A16s : https://smyth-research.com/shop/
- A16 Realiser 2U PRO-AES3
- A16 REALISER 2U PRO-ANALOG
but you have to inquire for further info such as the price. Funny when you think that they are already on sale in Germany. (edit : unless those 2 are different ?)

I'll be really excited when/if they start selling in ear microphones as accessories.

 

[VandyMan]

I'll be really excited when/if they start selling in ear microphones as accessories.

I'm pretty sure they will sell you replacement microphones, if you email Smyth.

 

[Litlgi74]

I'm pretty sure they will sell you replacement microphones, if you email Smyth.

Nope... James said to me in an email that they won't have any microphones to sell for a few months.

 

[musicreo]

Does anyone know which type of microphone they use?

 

[Litlgi74]

Does anyone know which type of microphone they use?

I was also told by James that they were proprietary... With no equivalent.

 

[esimms86]

I was also told by James that they were proprietary... With no equivalent.

The in ear microphones are the secret sauce.

 

[musicreo]

I was also told by James that they were proprietary... With no equivalent.

I guess they don't told you about the frequency response or SNR?

 

[You Gene]

Re my buzz problem :
I sent my A16 for repair and received it back today from James. Unfortunately or fortunately the problem seems to have suddenly vanished into thin air;his response by mail was : ...no firmware issue, we performed the upgrade again and fully tested the box again, and everything now seems to work. I think it could have been a cable not seeded correctly...
Tested it today and no buzz(es) anymore. The cables were left as they were originally to be sure they were not involved.
Of course, I cannot add anything more since I have very little practical experience as some might say...but I wish it was something more concrete since I did not learn anything from it.
I hope this was a one time happenstance.
(edit : I use firmware 1.98)

 

[Eich1eeF]

Re my buzz problem :
I sent my A16 for repair and received it back today from James. Unfortunately or fortunately the problem seems to have suddenly vanished into thin air;his response by mail was : ...no firmware issue, we performed the upgrade again and fully tested the box again, and everything now seems to work. I think it could have been a cable not seeded correctly...

He's probably referring to an internal cable. An HDMI, TOSLINK or SP/DIF cable that's not seated correctly should cause the sound to drop out (and mute), and not a loud buzz. Intermittent analog interconnects should also cause other audible problems.