[shmau]

Ok, this made me lol, then cry because I realized it’s shockingly accurate. It was a rollercoaster of emotions…

Sadly not quite accurate.. I inquired about possibly upgrading to the Dante model but received no response. However the AES model now works better for me so no need after all.

 

[pervysage]

Hi hi, maybe we should offer to buy information from Smyth then.

Smyth reads this and starts rubbing his hands together.

"A new money making scheme has revealed itself".

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I was unfamilar with the Okto DAC8, as well as its lesser stereo 2-channel output variant. So I did some online researching. Looks like quite the excellent device from its specs and glowing reviews.

Of course nobody (including Okto) is selling them (for almost a year it appears) because Okto is not taking orders, also because THEY CAN'T GET CHIPS!!! Sound familiar?

The Okto site doesn't have any info for ordering, or pricing or anything. You'd think they would have a simple disclaimer explaining that the product is currently not available for order or delivery, but I couldn't find that either.

Anyway, if the 7-month old listing is still active there is ONE of the stereo versions (which is perfectly suited for feeding a headphone amp) for sale on a Romanian 3rd-party marketplace named Audioweb. This particular item comes with a custom 12V high-output option (targeted for special amps I believe) so it might not be appropriate for every XLR-enabled headphone amp. The site is in Romanian but if you have Google translate in your browser you can quickly read it in English. Here is the URL for the translated-to-English version of the listing page. Unused, it is priced at 1130 euros, which apparently is around 100 euros over the original retail price. The listing includes links to two magazine reviews.

I was really just looking at its specs and reviews because I'd never heard of it until now. I don't actually need a replacement for my own superb 2-channel Audio-GD NFB9 DAC (Chinese made, stereo output) that I bought back in early 2012.

I have both problem children: the A16 and the Octo DAC 8 Pro. Paid my money on the barrel for the Octo and had to wait 5 months for delivery. The A16, I got one week after I sent the bank draft.

Of course the A16 locked up a few days later, and needed to be sent back, and stayed from January until, it came back around labor day. The Octo has worked perfectly since the day I received it. It's a really nice piece of gear if you can lay your hands on it.

I got my LG C1 today, and figured I would try eARC. Guess what, it won't work. Thankfully, the NVIDIA shield works perfectly. Picture is awesome.

 

[jk6661]

Sadly not quite accurate.. I inquired about possibly upgrading to the Dante model but received no response. However the AES model now works better for me so no need after all.

I also asked about upgrading to the Dante model and got no response, so I'm assuming you can't.

 

[castleofargh]

I stumbled upon this https://www.nature.com/articles/srep37342
They test how listeners feel when visual cues disagree with audio cues(voices) in a few simple scenarios. For those of us who use a significantly different room compared to the one measured with the A16, the results shouldn't be too surprising. But I thought it was nice to have actual research echo some of the comments posted here on the subject.

 

[GeorgeA]

As it seems that experiments were carried out sometime in 2015-2016, when Realiser A16 wasn’t announced yet, I wonder if a Realiser A8 unit could’ve been used for that study?

 

[audiohobbit]

I wonder if a Realiser A8 unit could’ve been used for that study?

Could have been, but was not:

BRIR recordings​

For the BRIR recordings, the listeners were instructed to keep as quiet as possible while they were in the Reference room. Blindfolds and earplugs reduced the available visual or auditory information about the room and the loudspeakers. The listeners were seated on a listening chair looking straight ahead. A headrest was provided to help them keep their heads still. Omnidirectional DPA 4060 lapel microphones were placed at the ear canal entrance, on top of the earplugs, and attached to the pinna with a wire hook. Seven azimuthal source positions were recorded at a distance of 1.5 m from the listener: 0°, 60°, 90°, 180°, 210°, 270°, and 330°, also referred to as positions XII, II, III, VI, VII, IX, and XI o’clock, respectively (red circles in Fig. 1b). These were selected to provide front-back positions (XII and VI), within cone of confusion positions (II, VII, and XI), and lateral, outside cone of confusion positions (III and IX).

Six repetitions of a 5-s logarithmic sine sweep per position were reproduced through Dynaudio BM6P loudspeakers placed at eye level. The BRIRs were then obtained using a deconvolution method29. At the listener position, the sound pressure level measured with a B&K 2250 sound level meter was 65 dB(A). The recordings and playback were made through a portable M-audio Fast Track Ultra sound card at a sampling frequency of 48 kHz. Sennheiser HD 800 headphones were used in the listening experiment. To compensate for their effect in the transmission path, individual headphone impulse responses (HPIRs) were recorded. To do so, ten 2-s logarithmic sine sweeps were played back through the headphones positioned on the listeners while the microphones were still placed in the same position. As before, the resulting HPIRs were then transformed into the frequency domain using the fast Fourier Transform. A regularization parameter was used to remove the frequency content of the headphone responses below 50 Hz and above 18 kHz. The speech material, the BRIRs, and HPIRs were then convolved, and the resulting signals were stored to be used during the experiment. After this procedure was completed, the test subject was guided outside the room, where earplugs and blindfolds were removed.

 

[esimms86]

I stumbled upon this https://www.nature.com/articles/srep37342
They test how listeners feel when visual cues disagree with audio cues(voices) in a few simple scenarios. For those of us who use a significantly different room compared to the one measured with the A16, the results shouldn't be too surprising. But I thought it was nice to have actual research echo some of the comments posted here on the subject.

Very interesting article, thanks for posting. As you said, however, the results were not too surprising. It would interest indeed to have a multichannel PRIR made inside of an anechoic chamber given that (1)it would be an unusual experience and (2)the A16 would always grant you the opportunity to return there.

 

[frank2908]

I understand the feeling of people who still wait for their A16. My case is completely oposite with similar outcome, I'm an early adaopter no40. Received 2 years ago but only tested it for 1 hr,before I had to travel and the pandemic hit and it got stuck in a friend's house in another country. Anw I just got it back, updated the firmware and download some prirs from the google drive and now it's worth it. I know personal prir is better but O don't have the means to do that.
My favourite atm is the quad esl 57 , position 1. It is way better than the bbc or surrey room, in a way that retain the detail and signature of my headphones,but with soundstage like in a room. Another favourite is jazzfan's d&d room, with oomph and hard bass.
Is there any way I can add a virtual subwoofer to a 2 channels room? I would like to "add" a subwoofer to the quad 57 room?
I havent got time to try all the prirs files, is there any good prirs files for subs only?

 

[sander99]

Is there any way I can add a virtual subwoofer to a 2 channels room?

You could also try the Direct Bass option.
You set that in the listening room that you use. A little different in an Atmos or DTS X room versus a PCM room.
In each case, in the listening room first check it is not locked (the key in the top left is not red) and go to the sub menu "Manage Bass/Reverb/Tactile".
In an Atmos / DTS X room:
Set "hp DB" on, set a volume (try) and crossover frequency behind that setting.

In a PCM room:
Set "hp [Edit: DB] BM" to "direct", set a volume (try) and crossover frequency behind that setting.
In the PCM room you can also set "hp DB" to "virtual", which is a virtual subwoofer. Of course, also now set a volume (try) and crossover frequency behind that setting.
[Edit: you still need a virtual sub from a PRIR in your listening room with this "virtual" it seems, I misunderstood this setting before.]

(With my PRIR I have to choose a fairly high volume, like +10 dB for direct and +12 dB for virtual, but that can be different for other PRIRs depending on the "sensitivity" of the virtual speakers.)

After changing settings in the listening room that is currently used, you first have to leave the listening room and then it sometimes takes a moment - the sound is muted during that time - before the new settings are in effect.

[Edit: In a PCM room there is no setting named DB but BM, my mistake.]

 

[shmau]

The dac8 PRO that was mentioned earlier was in stock just a few minutes ago. It may have been a cancellation from the earlier batch as it's now out of stock again. Either way it seems likely they'll restock with a full batch soon.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I understand the feeling of people who still wait for their A16. My case is completely oposite with similar outcome, I'm an early adaopter no40. Received 2 years ago but only tested it for 1 hr,before I had to travel and the pandemic hit and it got stuck in a friend's house in another country. Anw I just got it back, updated the firmware and download some prirs from the google drive and now it's worth it. I know personal prir is better but O don't have the means to do that.
My favourite atm is the quad esl 57 , position 1. It is way better than the bbc or surrey room, in a way that retain the detail and signature of my headphones,but with soundstage like in a room. Another favourite is jazzfan's d&d room, with oomph and hard bass.
Is there any way I can add a virtual subwoofer to a 2 channels room? I would like to "add" a subwoofer to the quad 57 room?
I havent got time to try all the prirs files, is there any good prirs files for subs only?

Just go to the common drive. One of them has a big Rel sub. After you download that BRIR, take the Quad BRIR and create a new Room with both it and the Rel sub, use the bass mgt for the PCM room and you should be in business. You'll have to take the time to put in the sweat equity, but subs are the speakers least in need of personalization, a BRIR sub should would as well as anything done in person, provided it's been properly dialed in to its listening environment.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I've figured out how to make eARC work on my LG C1! Had to do a couple of things.

(1) On the A16, both the Global setting and the Preset setting have to be set to eARC.

(2) On the Lg, set to external wired speaker and eARC, set to Atmos for sound, and go down to the bottom of advanced setting in the sound menu, set it to passthrough and "enable atmos support". The Lg will then play it's TV apps, including Netflix, pass any Atmos to the A16 where it will play natively.

The only downside is the LG has no Kodi app, nor does it have an app for Qobuz, so still need to use the NVidia shield for those two. When doing that, I have to put both the global and preset input to the HDMI 1 (to pass Shield video to the C1), and turn the shield on. It will cause the TV to go into standby, and I have to turn the Shield on again to bring the C1 out of standby and play NVidia content.

Netflix looks and sound superb when it plays on the tv app and passes ATMOS to the A16.

 

[frank2908]

Just go to the common drive. One of them has a big Rel sub. After you download that BRIR, take the Quad BRIR and create a new Room with both it and the Rel sub, use the bass mgt for the PCM room and you should be in business. You'll have to take the time to put in the sweat equity, but subs are the speakers least in need of personalization, a BRIR sub should would as well as anything done in person, provided it's been properly dialed in to its listening environment.

I know how to add speakers into a room now, but if I add a Rel sub, wouldn't it be a 3 channel room? Pcm music is 2 so the sub wouldn't play?

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I know how to add speakers into a room now, but if I add a Rel sub, wouldn't it be a 3 channel room? Pcm music is 2 so the sub wouldn't play?

I think stereo can be upmixed to 2.1.