[esimms86]

DTS-X now available for the A16 priced USD 199 + taxesclick here for more information

see : https://smyth-research.com/downloads/

A16​

Instructions and manuals​

• User manual (rev 2.0 OCT 20 2021)
• User manual (rev 0.91 AUG 29 2019)
• IP command server
• dts-X installation instructions

19 pages longer than the first manual

 

[Got the Shakes]

It seems that there aren’t instructions for purchasing the DTS-X decoding upgrade yet. Presumably, Smyth Research are too busy preparing for the Paris Audio Video Show 2021.

Later edit: Smyth Research posted dts-X installation instructions at their download page.
https://smyth-research.com/downloads/

I emailed James and he sent instructions to me a few hours ago. Basically update to 2.05 and then send James a log file from your A16. They will invoice you for DTS and once paid they will send you the file to unlock DTS. James told me they could have that all completed for me by Monday.

Edit: beaten by the posts above

 

[Dixter]

For some reason I was thinking the DTS sale would have been a good time to open the exchange site.... would have been perfect for that purpose...

 

[dsperber]

Just wanted to point out for those planning on going through all the steps/costs for the DTS implementation, you should refer to Chapter 18 (Appendix A) in the v2.00 User Manual to see the complete set of available "Listening Rooms Loudspeaker Configurations" which are available for the three operating modes:

18.1 - Dolby Atmos (16ch, up to 9.1.6)
18.2 - Dolby Atmos (24ch, up to 16.1.4)
18.3 - DTS:X (12ch, up to 9.1.2/9.2.2)
18.4 - PCM (16ch, up to 9.1.6 or any custom configuration using up to 16 speakers)

Also, realizing that no matter what PRIR/HPEQ/room/source you create for your presets (for quick and convenient selection in most normal listening situations), obviously you can always temporarily change anything you want starting from a preset in order to meet the special specific needs of any unique situation.

So in contemplating whether or not to create DTS-related presets that added artificial DTS surround objects (i.e. when listening to 5.1/7.1 non-DTS:X movies mastered with either DTS Digital Surround, DTS-HD or DTS-HD MA), I decided that I did NOT want to add artificial ear-level or overhead speakers if the original soundtrack didn't have them present. So for maximum usage benefit and convenience (and "original" sound) from having a preset exist at all I decided to create my own set-of-3 DTS-based presets as follows:

(10) 5.1 (based on DTS room #8, with 5.1 speakers taken from my AIX 5.1 PRIR) to handle the old 5.1 DTS Digital Surround (e.g. on the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over") as well as newer 5.1 DTS-HD Theatrical (e.g. on "Ex Machina", if you choose not to play DTS:X)

which is handled as follows:

(11) 7.1 (based on DTS room #26, with 7.1 speakers taken from my AIX 7.1 PRIR) to handle the old 7.1 DTS-HD and DTS-HD MA (e.g. on "Les Miserables"):

which is handled as follows:

(12) 7.1.4h (based on DTS room #41, with 7.1 speakers taken from my AIX 7.1 PRIR and Lh/Rh and Lhs/Rhs taken from the BBC room) to handle the new DTS:X (which I believe is fundamentally 7.1 DTS-HD MA at ear-level):

which is handled as follows:

NOTES:

(1) Although I do have the 24-channel APM/HDMI hardware upgrade installed, I'm still configured for 16-channels. If/when I ever have an opportunity to get a new personal PRIR created in a genuine Atmos-enabled studio that has more than 16 speakers I will adjust things accordingly.

(2) DTS:X always presents as "Immersive" for the A16 Decode value, rather than a specific speaker arrangment as with Dolby Atmos. Output "object" sound is heard through whatever speakers are configured in the A16 Listen room setup.

(3) Since my AIX 7.1 PRIR represented actual ear-level speakers, I decided to add four "virtual height" speakers (i.e. 7.1.4h) rather than choose 9.1.2h which would have added two virtual ear-level virtual speakers along with two virtual height speakers. I want what I believe is the underlying 7.1 DTS-HD MA delivered only through my 7.1 AIX PRIR real speakers, virtualizing only the four object speakers.

(4) I decided to use "height" speakers (i.e. 7.1.4h) rather than "top" speakers (i.e. 7.1.4t) as my additional DTS:X-fabricated virtual object speakers simply because I thought it might sound "more immersive" (I don't claim this is "objectively valid" reasoning).

 

[Dixter]

(10) 5.1 (based on DTS room #8, with 5.1 speakers taken from my AIX 5.1 PRIR) to handle the old 5.1 DTS Digital Surround (e.g. on the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over") as well as newer 5.1 DTS-HD Theatrical (e.g. on "Ex Machina", if you choose not to play DTS:X)

FYI - the blue-ray disk version of " Ex Machina " has three different options for DTS .... so you will get to choose how you want it to be played back.... the digital version via Apple TV4K does not have those options ...

English DTS:X
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
English DTS Headphone:X

 

[GeorgeA]

Just wanted to point out for those planning on going through all the steps/costs for the DTS implementation, you should refer to Chapter 18 (Appendix A) in the v2.00 User Manual to see the complete set of available "Listening Rooms Loudspeaker Configurations" ...............................

So in contemplating whether or not to create DTS-related presets that added artificial DTS surround objects (i.e. when listening to 5.1/7.1 non-DTS:X movies mastered with either DTS Digital Surround, DTS-HD or DTS-HD MA), I decided that I did NOT want to add artificial ear-level or overhead speakers if the original soundtrack didn't have them present. So for maximum usage benefit and convenience (and "original" sound) from having a preset exist at all I decided to create my own set-of-3 DTS-based presets as follows:
...................................................................

As I previously wrote, I second your opinion that, for example, only 6 virtual speakers are needed for rendering original 5.1 DTS audio. However, I’m somewhat confused with what I can see in your attached photos. For me, it follows that you’ve enabled DTS: Neural X up-mixer for HDMI(1), as shown in the manual, at page no. 56, 9.2.8 PCM Audio management.

Usually, I think that there’s no need for separate DTS listening rooms based on the number of virtual speakers. If the original soundtrack doesn’t include metadata for certain audio objects, then over- or height-speakers are not active.

Also, in the manual, at page no. 56, 9.2.13 DTS direct: “When enabled, decoded legacy DTS bitstreams are output in their native format and are not subject to Neural:X up mixing. This mode is used when the user wishes to hear the audio exactly as the producer intended.”

 

[GeorgeA]

"Among the very first discoveries: Audio-XD (Smyth Realiser). A small French company and a very impressive development on a Smyth Realiser A16 base… don't forget to go for a walk on this small stand, the listening you can do there is VERY impressive, a real discovery of this Paris Audio Video Show 2021."
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/repor...video-show-2021-les-toutes-1eres-decouvertes/

It seems that this is the “completely new configuration, a world premiere!” as announced by Gilles Gerin previously. I look forward to hearing more information.

 

[You Gene]

What I can read on the poster on the left :
...Smyth Realiser A16 SE Speaker Edition...

see : https://av-in.com/products/smyth-realiser-a16-se-speaker-edition
...SMYTH Realiser A16 SE (Speaker Edition) is a special version of the SMYTH Realiser A16 for listening to Dolby Atmos and DTS: X movies, music, games or series on two Hi-Fi speakers, using patented Audio XD technology...EUR 7290/USD 8486...

Edit : https://www.facebook.com/pg/smyth.realiser.fr/posts/?ref=page_internal

 

[dsperber]

As I previously wrote, I second your opinion that, for example, only 6 virtual speakers are needed for rendering original 5.1 DTS audio. However, I’m somewhat confused with what I can see in your attached photos. For me, it follows that you’ve enabled DTS: Neural X up-mixer for HDMI(1), as shown in the manual, at page no. 56, 9.2.8 PCM Audio management.

Usually, I think that there’s no need for separate DTS listening rooms based on the number of virtual speakers. If the original soundtrack doesn’t include metadata for certain audio objects, then over- or height-speakers are not active.

Also, in the manual, at page no. 56, 9.2.13 DTS direct: “When enabled, decoded legacy DTS bitstreams are output in their native format and are not subject to Neural:X up mixing. This mode is used when the user wishes to hear the audio exactly as the producer intended.”

First, now that I look at the newly available Section 9.2 information present in the just newly-available version 2.00 User Manual, I can see that your observations are completely valid. This documentation did not exist previously for me to refer to.

My hardware/firmware upgraded A16 was returned to me last week with firmware 2.04 (not 2.05) installed but otherwise with no preliminary 2.04/2.05 Release Notes or 2.00 User Manual also provided. I had asked James to point me to any preliminary documentation that might be available so that I could refer to it for new settings but never heard back. And now within the same week we now have published releases of all that was non-existent to me last week. So in my own defense, what you now see clearly documented where optional "tweaks" for the three rooms of a preset are now described simply did not exist before the new User Manual was made available.

So last week with nothing formal and written in-prnt to guide me I decided to change nothing from whatever was put there by Smyth for every "new" setting, presumably coming from "default" values that must have been present in the 2.04 firmware itself. The only thing I did after getting the A16 back was to re-construct my listening rooms and replacement presets 1-4 (to go with my own presets 5-9 that were still present) as I'd always done previously when no operational DTS-related functionality was present. And I also created brand new presets 10-12 to support listening to DTS:X bitstream audio coming from my Oppo BDP-203 when playing actual shiny disks with DTS:X audio. And all that meant just putting together PRIR with HPEQ and listening room and input source. If there were also these new "DTS: Neural X" and "DTS Direct" items to contemplate their setting, well I had no documentation available to guide me on how to set or change them from what they arrived as. So I left them as-is, at least for the moment.

Now that you've pointed out the new documentation which relates to these new options, I will adjust things as clearly appropriate. But reflecting back on it, I'm not sure that even if Neural X up-mixer is active for PCM Audio Management (as it appears to be by default), that if the target listening room doesn't actually have any additional speakers other than the underlying ear-level 5.1/7.1 real speakers present in the AIX PRIRs I've used, there will not be anything for Neural X up-mixer to do. I think I will still be getting only the true real untouched original 5.1/7/1 channels of audio, same as if I'd specified "Direct".


Second, even in the absence of any understanding about "DTS Direct" the reasoning behind why I specifically created two different discrete DTS rooms (for 5.1 based on DTS:X room #8 and 7.1 based on DTS:X room #26) is because of the two different 5.1 and 7.1 speaker placements implied by the underlying AIX PRIRs that I'm using for the two DTS rooms. Yes, the goal is to absolutely to do what "DTS Direct" would do for me automatically. But I also want to utilize the two different real 5.1 or 7.1 speakers/placement implicit in the two AIX PRIRs as well, and thus had to manually accomplish this since "DTS Direct" could not.

Anticipating that very probably no new movies with DTS:X will not have underlying DTS-HD MA 7.1 sound, that's why my third discrete DTS:X room utilizes AIX 7.1 in a 7.1.4h mode, i.e. DTS:X listening room loudspeaker configuration #41. There likely will never be a DTS:X with underlying DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound, but if so I can deal with that specifically for a given movie if/when that occasion ever arises.

 

[Sanctuary]

So is DTS now standard on all A16s, or do you have to pay for the DTS-X addition to even have that (standard DTS) functionality now, or does DTS-X simply come standard on new A16s?

 

[GeorgeA]

So is DTS now standard on all A16s, or do you have to pay for the DTS-X addition to even have that (standard DTS) functionality now, or does DTS-X simply come standard on new A16s?

The following announcement can be read at Smyth Research site:

“dts-X now available for the A16 priced USD 199 + taxes click here for more information”

There are also downloadable dts-X installation instructions, which specify:

“DTS-X certification has recently been granted for the operation of 12-channel DTS-X decoding in the Realiser A16 (APM89L and APM110 variants). DTS-X decoding is a cost option, details of which can be found on our website, and requires the purchase of the relevant firmware files that support this new mode of operation. This will be a one-time purchase and any future 12-channel DTS-X updates/fixes will be issued free of charge.”

Moreover, the manual specifies at page no. 9:

“Virtualisation sources:
HDMI inputs (1-4): Dolby Atmos, DD+, DD, DTS*, DTS-X*, 8ch LPCM (24bit@48/96/192kHz)
…………………….
*Where the user has purchased the DTS-X decoding upgrade.”

 

[Thomasphoenix98]

What I can read on the poster on the left :
...Smyth Realiser A16 SE Speaker Edition...

see : https://av-in.com/products/smyth-realiser-a16-se-speaker-edition
...SMYTH Realiser A16 SE (Speaker Edition) is a special version of the SMYTH Realiser A16 for listening to Dolby Atmos and DTS: X movies, music, games or series on two Hi-Fi speakers, using patented Audio XD technology...EUR 7290/USD 8486...

Edit : https://www.facebook.com/pg/smyth.realiser.fr/posts/?ref=page_internal

Any Realiser owners in Paris had a chance to hear this live?

 

[esimms86]

"EUR 7290/USD 8486"

That's some special edition at more than twice the price of an already retail priced A16!

 

[Got the Shakes]

"EUR 7290/USD 8486"

That's some special edition at more than twice the price of an already retail priced A16!

Look like if I’m reading things right that you can upgrade an existing A16 for €3500. Almost the price of a full retail A16 just for the upgrade.

 

[GeorgeA]

In addition to the amount of 3,490.00 EUR to be paid for upgrading to Smyth Realiser A16 Speaker Edition, the customer needs to send his A16 to av-in for hardware changes. I wonder why Audio XD didn’t design a separate device to work in conjunction with Realiser A16 for rendering Dolby Atmos and DTS: X signals on two speakers.