[krismusic]

I take it that for two channel no specially encoded music is required and that Tidal will give the Realiser the signal it needs to work it's magic?

 

[Socrates]

I had a demo at London CanJam as well. Even though I already own the A8, I was still very impressed with the additional impact of the Atmos height channels. Stephen was talking to someone after he calibrated me and I was listening to some demo clips. I was turning around and looking up/down etc. to check out the improved head tracker. I thought there was an issue as every now and again there was a momentary "click" noise. Turns out I was activating and deactivating the actual speakers when I dipped my head, but I didn't twig this as the sound was identical. Really looking forward to the final version A16 next year. I'll retire my A8 to stereo music duties in another room. 

 

[bmichels]

I had à demo at Munich but... I did not really understood if It Is mainly for gamers and films or if It can be of "audiofile usage" ? Can we use our own high-end DAC and headphone Amp or do we need to use it's internal DAC/Amp ?

Also, does It works optimal with 2 chanels ONLY music files ( high-res HiFi files or TIDAL streaming) or only with 5.1 or 7.1 files/DVD for movies ?

 

[Sordel]

If you look at the circuit diagram on the Kickstarter, you'll see that there is a TOSlink output on both user outputs that bypasses the DAC/amp circuit so, yes, you can use your own DAC and amp. And yes, of course, you can use it for stereo music: all the processing in the digital domain is audiophile grade.

 

[Evshrug]

I had à demo at Munich but... I did not really understood if It Is mainly for gamers and films or if It can be of "audiofile usage" ? Can we use our own high-end DAC and headphone Amp or do we need to use it's internal DAC/Amp ?

Also, does It works optimal with 2 chanels ONLY music files ( high-res HiFi files or TIDAL streaming) or only with 5.1 or 7.1 files/DVD for movies ?

Agreed with Sordel, there are two kinds of digital outputs (and line-outs) for each "headphone user." So, it will have a decent (ESS Sabre) DAC and built in amp, but you can use your own components too.

Regarding your question of "optimal" use... What do you consider optimal?

Do you prefer to listen to 2-channel Stereo Speakers instead of headphones or a more complex surround setup? If you prefer a 2-channel stereo, but find yourself with a budget or environment where headphones are better suited, then of course using the TIDAL/HI-Res music files will sound more optimal to you with nice headphones + Realiser than headphones connected straight to a typical headphone chain.

If you prefer movies or games with a surround speaker setup, but again need to use headphones, then again nice headphones + Realiser will sound optimal.

The only time the Realiser would not be part of the optimal setup (where you need headphones) is if you simply prefer the sound of regular headphones on a regular audio chain. However, the Realiser is by all accounts the very best in the market for emulating speakers and an "Out of your head" experience with headphones.

 

[jgazal]

By the way, I recently created a PRIR for stereo sources that simulates perfect crosstalk cancelation. To create it, I measured just the center speaker, and fed both the left and right channel to that speaker, but the left ear only hears the left channel because I muted the mic for the right ear when it played the sweep tones for the left channel, and the right ear only hears the right channel because I muted the mic for the left ear when it played the sweep tones for the right channel. The result is a 180-degree sound field, and sounds in the center come from the simulated center speaker directly in front you, not from a phantom center between two speakers, so they do not have comb-filtering artifacts as they would from a phantom center.

Binaural recordings sound amazing with this PRIR and head tracking.

OMG, it took me a lot of time to realize that your procedure allows Dr. Choueiri's method of two channel speaker crosstalk cancellation, but using headphones and the Realiser, that already addresses the "non-idealities, (e.g., mismatches between the HRTF of the listener and that used to encode the recording, movement of the perceived sound image with movement of the listener’s head, lack of bone-conducted sound, transducer-induced resonances in the ear canal, discomfort, etc.)" of "the location of the playback transducers in or very near the ears" that Dr. Choueiri describes in his article:http://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Publications/BACCHPaperV4d.pdf.
Thank you very much for that!

How do you mute the opposite microphone?

 

[edwardsean]

The built in headphone outputs are pretty decent, but you really would be better off using a headphone amp with more power hungry headphones. Especially magneplanar orthos.

The A16 really has a great assortment of inputs and outputs. They really did think of just about everything. I won't be using dual users (with different PRIR) but it's nice to know I can.

I'll likely use both Headphone RCA outputs to two different amplifiers so I can use different heaphone types (full size, IEM, electrostatic, etc) whenever I want without having to unplug and swap things around.

I'm also amazed they included microphone inputs for games like XBox and PS. I'll definitely be using the Game mode as well.

Hi. I know that Smyth is quite pleased with the HD800 going straight out of the A16. However, the HD800 is well known to be picky when it comes to amplification. Will the speaker virtualization render an external amp superfluous in terms of the HD800? Some of the notable benefits of a good amp are better soundstage/imaging and improved dynamic performance. I'm thinking that the A16 simulation could offset the soundstage but the internal amp may struggle with dynamics. 
 
I wonder if I were to purchase an A16 could it function as a complete setup or would it still need my Moon Neo 430HAD which is what I use with my HD800.

 

[Erik Garci]

OMG, it took me a lot of time to realize that your procedure allows Dr. Choueiri's method of two channel speaker crosstalk cancellation, but using headphones and the Realiser, that already addresses the "non-idealities, (e.g., mismatches between the HRTF of the listener and that used to encode the recording, movement of the perceived sound image with movement of the listener’s head, lack of bone-conducted sound, transducer-induced resonances in the ear canal, discomfort, etc.)" of "the location of the playback transducers in or very near the ears" that Dr. Choueiri describes in his article:http://www.princeton.edu/3D3A/Publications/BACCHPaperV4d.pdf.
Thank you very much for that!

How do you mute the opposite microphone?

To mute it I unplug the left or right microphone from the Y-junction between sweeps. I set the "post silence" to 8 seconds beforehand to give me enough time. To make it easier I plan to hook up an A/B switch.
 
I actually got the idea from a comment by Timothy Link in this Stereophile article about Dr. Choueiri's BACCH.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bacch-sp-3d-sound-experience
 
You can also add a rear speaker to the PRIR for the left and right surround channels to achieve a full 360-degree circle like PanAmbiophonics, and additional speakers for hall ambience.

 

[jgazal]

I actually got the idea from a comment by Timothy Link in this Stereophile article about Dr. Choueiri's BACCH.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/bacch-sp-3d-sound-experience

Thank you again!
I still cannot figure out why you opted for a central speaker. Was your torso perpendicular to the central speaker in both measurements?
What angles would you choose for measuring a dipole configuration?
I think I would make prirs with different dipole angles to check if they match better different recordings. I really don't know.

 

[Erik Garci]

Thank you again!
I still cannot figure out why you opted for a central speaker. Was your torso perpendicular to the central speaker in both measurements?
What angles would you choose for measuring a dipole configuration?
I think I would make prirs with different dipole angles to check if they match better different recordings. I really don't know.

I used a center speaker because I thought it was simpler and would sound better than two closely-spaced front speakers. My torso was perpendicular to it, and I just turned my head +/- 30 degrees for head tracking purposes.
 
The pinnae cues will vary depending on the angle. That is, if you measure a center speaker, the pinnae cues will be correct for both ears for sounds located at 0 degrees, but incorrect for other sounds. Or if you measure two front speakers spaced 10 degrees apart, the pinnae cues will be correct for the left ear for sounds located at -5 degrees, and correct for the right ear for sounds located at +5 degrees, but incorrect for other sounds. It might be worth comparing PRIRs.

 

[NigelJ]

...So, it will have a decent (ESS Sabre) DAC...

The Realiser A16 does not use a Sabre DAC, it uses a AK4414EQ DAC.

 

[NigelJ]

If you look at the circuit diagram on the Kickstarter, you'll see that there is a TOSlink output on both user outputs that bypasses the DAC/amp circuit so, yes, you can use your own DAC and amp...

Unlike the prototype A16, the production units will provide SPDIF via both optical (TOSlink) and co-ax (RCA) connectors for both user outputs.

 

[LajostheHun]

Is there a prototype for the rack unit yet ? So far I only seen the "headphone stand" type one.

 

[Sordel]

Is there a prototype for the rack unit yet ? So far I only seen the "headphone stand" type one.

Not that I've seen, although there is a diagram of the proposed front panel that makes it pretty clear what they're aiming for. It's got a very utilitarian, 'Cambridge Audio' sort of look, especially when compared with the wacky ugliness of the headphone stand. I have yet to work out which one I dislike less, but I think that the headphone stand is such a conversation piece that it may win out with me.

If you haven't already done so, download the additional info PDF from the Smyth website: that is an absolute goldmine of useful detail.

 

[pervysage]

I will be going with the 2U version. While the headstand idea is cool, just not my cup of tea and I also would not have the vertical room for it in my setup.