Smyth Research Realiser A16

[esimms86]

I personally know 157 people/owners that are very happy with their 24 Channel PRIR.

Of course, you’re talking about people who, like myself, have purchased one or more of your 3D SoundShop universal PRIRs, plus a smaller number of folks who, again like me, were fortunate enough to get to travel to your studio for a PRIR measurement session. Back in the heyday of the venerable A8 there were those folks who, like @dsperber for example, were fortunate enough to have 5.1 and 7.1 PRIRs captured for them personally by people like the Smyths themselves, Lorr Kramer and Darin Fong. But then, that was before 24 channel was even a possibility in the virtual listening world.

Now, if you were to extrapolate based on looking at around 331 Kickstarter backers, plus the people who purchased an A16 at full price from the Smyths, Gilles Guerin, the A16 dealer in India, etc., I expect that you’re probably looking at a total worldwide base of maybe 500(600 tops?) A16 owners.

With 157 documented customers, you’ve already tapped into 1/4 to 1/3 of that group.

Next question is, how many folks thus far have received the DTS:X and Auro 3D upgrades; I have no idea, but James and Gilles do(not to be confused with “Jules and Jim” - google it LOL!).

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I personally know 157 people/owners that are very happy with their 24 Channel PRIR.

It's a safe bet I'll continue to use my 24 channel room for Atmos content. If I'm using Auromatic, I'll just create preset based around the 16 channel room. I guess I'll have to go into the general settings to toggle back and forth between 16 and 24 channels. Othewise it's just a matter of creating a preset based on 16 channels for when I'm listening to Auro content and switching to it. Not a real big deal, as I'm not really a channel surfer. Also I have the Hue camera, so the 2 inch screen is blown up to fit on my 55in monitor, so no getting up walking across the room, bending down and squinting for me regardless.

 

[GeorgeA]

I personally know 157 people/owners that are very happy with their 24 Channel PRIR.

I think that you’re also very happy as those 157 people/owners are among your customers.

 

[Litlgi74]

Off topic...

I'm curious if anyone uses or knows of an alternative to this XLR switch. Would love if it had a remote control.


Nobsound 3-IN-1-OUT XLR Audio Switch ; Balanced Audio Converter ; 3-Way Stereo Passive Audio Selector Switcher (MC103 Pro 3-in) https://a.co/d/aZm5BvI

My headphone amplifier only has one set of XLR inputs... But I have two other sources including the Realiser that I would like to run in balanced mode.

Appreciate the help.

 

[shmau]

Off topic...

I'm curious if anyone uses or knows of an alternative to this XLR switch. Would love if it had a remote control.


Nobsound 3-IN-1-OUT XLR Audio Switch ; Balanced Audio Converter ; 3-Way Stereo Passive Audio Selector Switcher (MC103 Pro 3-in) https://a.co/d/aZm5BvI

My headphone amplifier only has one set of XLR inputs... But I have two other sources including the Realiser that I would like to run in balanced mode.

Appreciate the help.

Not sure if you'll be able to find one wherever you are, but Orb makes seemingly high quality line selectors, no personal experience though. Here's one: https://www.orb-audio.jp/english/lsxwspr.html

In the US, Coleman Audio makes some studio focused passive line selectors which people claim are transparent: http://www.colemanaudio.com/ (choose Products -> Switchers). I have a couple of their 7.1 surround switchers.

 

[GeorgeA]

For those that have upgraded to the glorious Auro-3D decoder... I am curious how many users will stay in 16 mode for Dolby Atmos vs switching back to 24 Channel mode for a room with eight more speakers.

As for me, I don’t use my Realiser A16 in 24-channel mode. There are two main reasons for this option.

In a real home cinema system, 16 speakers are more than enough. In fact, I kept wondering what a regular living room would look like with those 16 speakers (for example, 9.1.6) all over around. I think a compromise on WAF would be very difficult to achieve.

Why do studios that are involved in music and movie production use playback systems consisting of not so many speakers like in movie theatres? For example, the msm studios in Munich use an immersive suite with a 9.1.4 playback system. Moreover, the public has access to blu-ray discs that are produced for home use. Other dedicated versions of the movies are used for large movie theatres and cannot be bought normally.

Unlike Dolby Atmos and DTS: X, which are object-based audio, Auro-3D for home is channel-based. For larger movie theatres, the object-based technology is available as AuroMax. However, this approach is not available for Realiser A16.

I’m lucky enough as where I live there’s a Dolby Atmos capable movie theatre. So, if I want to be fully immersed in an audio video production, that’s my destination. Switching to 24-channel mode and back is not my cup of tea.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Off topic...

I'm curious if anyone uses or knows of an alternative to this XLR switch. Would love if it had a remote control.


Nobsound 3-IN-1-OUT XLR Audio Switch ; Balanced Audio Converter ; 3-Way Stereo Passive Audio Selector Switcher (MC103 Pro 3-in) https://a.co/d/aZm5BvI

My headphone amplifier only has one set of XLR inputs... But I have two other sources including the Realiser that I would like to run in balanced mode.

Appreciate the help.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-1-xlr-ab-switcher-review.15328/#post-485348

 

[Litlgi74]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-1-xlr-ab-switcher-review.15328/#post-485348

Ordered.

 

[Richter Di]

Could we please discuss the options which come with manloud?


Here are some questions I have:

• What is the difference between equal-loudness-20 and 80? What are the pros and cons?
• What are the pros and cons of starting with autoEQ and flatEQ?
• What are the pros and cons of using Man EQ PRIR? I had a very strange using the Man EQ PRIR on, where for certain subbands I had not in head localization but distinctly two different tones in my left and right ear which did not blend together to one tone?
• I understand that when I use Man EQ Spkr „left + right“ I can - and I need to - adjust for the balance. Is there advantage in using „left + centre + right“?
• How is Smyth able to remove the room response for the Man EQ Spkr and only use the HRTF? Is this the same procedure they would have used in the „Exchange“ to marry my own HRTF with a better sounding room?

I’d also like to read the answers to your questions. Frankly writing, I was somewhat reluctant to carry out the manLOUD eq procedure. I was afraid I could’ve done something worse than better.

Is everybody on holiday? Or do we not know?

The Realiser Exchange is not a priority, otherwise it would have been completed a year or two ago. It has to do more with a small, cash strapped company assigning a programmer than it does with any type of technological challenge. TBH, I'm happier to have Atmos and Auro 3D. I'm also happy then they've been significantly better with firmware upgrades and bug fixes.

I also don't expect the RE to be monetized given that the free google drive archive already has a sizeable number of PRIRs that people on this forum seem to find of limited use for their individual listening experiences. Yes, they can monetize it, but I can't predict how many A16 owners would be willing to pay (acknowledging that my track record on A16 predictions isn't too far from dismal).

My understanding of the Realiser Exchange was that it would also allow to take the HRTF part of the PRIR and melt it with another PRIR.

I personally know 157 people/owners that are very happy with their 24 Channel PRIR.

First of all, congratulations!!!
Secondly, is there maybe a chance that you license the technology to melt the HRTF part of the PRIR with another PRIR for your business?

 

[GeorgeA]

Western as well as Eastern Europe are ravaged by the heat wave. If we also add vacation for some users, then the apparent lack of interest in Realiser A16 might be explained.

 

[Litlgi74]

Secondly, is there maybe a chance that you license the technology to melt the HRTF part of the PRIR with another PRIR for your business?

I doubt the Smyths will ever share their way of doing this with me.

 

[sander99]

Is everybody on holiday? Or do we not know?

Originally when I looked at your questions I thought I don't really know and probably other people will answer, but looking at it again I could try to say a few things.

What is the difference between equal-loudness-20 and 80? What are the pros and cons?

AFAIK the one is supposed to be performed at a loudness level of 20 dB, and the other at 80 dB.
("An equal-loudness contour is a measure of sound pressure level, over the frequency spectrum, for which a listener perceives a constant loudness when presented with pure steady tones.[1]", the shape is different at different levels.)
I am not sure about the pros and cons. Here is some more info from Stephen via audiohobbit:

With EQL20 Stephen says you should lower each band so that you can't hear it and then increase the volume so that you just barely can hear it. You need a quiet room for this.
So no comparison between bands but the hearing threshold is used.
I tried this once and found it far more difficult than bring all the bands to an equal volume level with EQL80.
With EQL80 only comparing the volume of neighboring bands can lead to errors, I always switch fast over all bands back and forth (and the A16 allows this forutunately), so I can hear (especially) volume peaks better.

What are the pros and cons of starting with autoEQ and flatEQ?

One practical advantage of starting with flatEQ is that you can easily generate a new flatEQ. If you want to make several manlouds for one headphone and different PRIRs from an autoEQ HPEQ you first have to make copies of that HPEQ (of perform severeral autoEQ measurements with that same headphone).
I think I remember audiohobbit saying that if you want to do a manloud for a non-personal PRIR than starting with a flatEQ makes just as much sense as starting with a autoEQ.
However for a personal measured PRIR I think with autoEQ you have a better starting point.

How is Smyth able to remove the room response for the Man EQ Spkr and only use the HRTF? Is this the same procedure they would have used in the „Exchange“ to marry my own HRTF with a better sounding room?

I suspect by looking at the first sound that arrives at the microphones. Direct sound arrives there before any reflexions. And I suspect that yes, they will do something similar when merging PRIRs.

 

[GeorgeA]

@sander99: Thanks for summarising your points on manLOUD eq procedure and those given by Stephen Smyth via @audiohobbit. Pieces of information that are good to know as sometimes the devil is in the details.

 

[Richter Di]

I doubt the Smyths will ever share their way of doing this with me.

I truely would hope they would since they probably will never be able to open the exchange themselves.

 

[Richter Di]

Originally when I looked at your questions I thought I don't really know and probably other people will answer, but looking at it again I could try to say a few things.


AFAIK the one is supposed to be performed at a loudness level of 20 dB, and the other at 80 dB.
("An equal-loudness contour is a measure of sound pressure level, over the frequency spectrum, for which a listener perceives a constant loudness when presented with pure steady tones.[1]", the shape is different at different levels.)
I am not sure about the pros and cons. Here is some more info from Stephen via audiohobbit:



One practical advantage of starting with flatEQ is that you can easily generate a new flatEQ. If you want to make several manlouds for one headphone and different PRIRs from an autoEQ HPEQ you first have to make copies of that HPEQ (of perform severeral autoEQ measurements with that same headphone).
I think I remember audiohobbit saying that if you want to do a manloud for a non-personal PRIR than starting with a flatEQ makes just as much sense as starting with a autoEQ.
However for a personal measured PRIR I think with autoEQ you have a better starting point.


I suspect by looking at the first sound that arrives at the microphones. Direct sound arrives there before any reflexions. And I suspect that yes, they will do something similar when merging PRIRs.

@sander99 Thank you so much for your answer.
I never tried to do multiple copes on an HPEQ. I guess there is always a time for a first try.