The way I read this, shipping would commence this summer at the earliest if everything works out.That is a full year behind schedule. I'm planning to go to LA to get my first audition and PRIR. I backed the project at early summer of 2016 so I've been waiting a long time but I'm ok with it as long as it arrives this year. YMMV
The way I read this, shipping would commence this summer at the earliest if everything works out.That is a full year behind schedule. I'm planning to go to LA to get my first audition and PRIR. I backed the project at early summer of 2016 so I've been waiting a long time but I'm ok with it as long as it arrives this year. YMMV
The delays are severe. Personally, rather than posting updates the way the Smyth company is doing, I think at this point itwould be far more helpful for them to post their GANT chart listing where they are exactly on this project, what key milestones still have to be realized, the anticipated completion date of these milestones, and the new revised anticipated shipping date. Further, the chart should be updated every two weeks to list any added delays or early completions in order to allow the subscribers to see where things stand on the critical path.
We hope to have completed the core measurement and playback components by the end of December, allowing us to begin the Dolby and DTS compliance testing in January.
This update:
The user interface for the A16 is still under construction. We’re estimating a working version will be ready in about 3 weeks. Some of the firmware routines may also need to be re-written after the UI is complete.
Seems even the "short term" goals are having troubles.
As said ^^, GANTT chart woud be an easy way to let the backers know the state of their investment.
April LA Canjam now has me officially interested for no other reason than to get a PRIR done by them quickly and efficiently. I believe I read somewhere here that the PRIR's done at the previous shows might be suboptimal as these were at a show, i.e. not ideal acoustically... do folks think its worth it? It would involve a plane ride....
at the show chances are it will be a real noisy environment. if they get something like a hotel room for less noise, the room could be a mini acoustic nightmare. if you really have no idea how to get some calibration for multi channel(a friend's house, an audio store?) then it's better than nothing.
I edited my above post as I contacted MDS and it turns out that eARC will not be possible via firmware update - it will require a new HDMI Repeater board.
Thanks for the detailed explanation of your setup. I'm hopeful about reduced input lag and new VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) features gained by connecting directly to a HDMI 2.1 TV for PC gaming (XBOX Scorpio will also support VRR). Then it will be possible to upgrade to an 8K display in 5 years time and not have an AVR to upgrade as well.
I suppose in this scenario you could use the analog outs of the A16 to feed an AVR for speaker output? This way both the A16 and AVR wouldn't care about HDMI video standards and the system will remain viable as long as future displays have eARC support. Not sure if any AVRs have enough analog inputs for Atmos/DTS:X though?
at the show chances are it will be a real noisy environment. if they get something like a hotel room for less noise, the room could be a mini acoustic nightmare. if you really have no idea how to get some calibration for multi channel(a friend's house, an audio store?) then it's better than nothing.
I had a PRIR done last February at CanJam NYC. The Smyth brothers had booked a hotel room apart from the main action, as it were, so conditions were pretty decent from an ambient noise standpoint.
Regarding the recent announcement, I'm looking at the glass as being half full. There are always behind the scenes manufacturing issues(see Jason Stoddard's online account of the history of Schiit Audio). Bottom line, as I see it, is that Smyth plans to have a final product at CanJam LA in early april. To me, this means that the A16 at this point is expected to be shipping in late march, or april at the outside.
Bottom line, as I see it, is that Smyth plans to have a final product at CanJam LA in early april. To me, this means that the A16 at this point is expected to be shipping in late march, or april at the outside.
To me this means they plan on having a final product ready in time for CanJam in early April - nothing more, nothing less.
At least it means they do have a self imposed deadline of their own now to be at the "completed" stage.
If the units aren't sent out by late Feb, early March it's more than likely to me they'd put off the sending of units out until after the event to save them from having to deal with any issues that crop up while putting on the show.
They wouldn't want to be dealing with any bugs, software/hardware/component/delivery issues, customer discontent, that could potentially pop up while presenting the hardware and eyes/ears are on them.
"First batch are going out next week/currently on their way to customers" would be the best I'd expect to hear from them at the show.
The update sounds like H2 2018. And even then will be only half complete when it ships.
I would buy into the idea that this is a unique device so they had no idea how long blah, blah, blah if this was the A-8 But it isn't. They have been through the full life cycle before, they have designed, ordered assembled etc before. They went through an entire life cycle with the A-8 so that story doesn't really cut it any more. Of more interest to me is ...
"330 backers pledged £282,048 to help bring this project to life."
They have at least 4 guys on the payroll for at least 2 years. How much money is left? Do they have enough to complete it? You know A-8 units aren't selling that good these days.
They also pre-sold units after Kickstarter for between $1500-$1900 depending on when you bought in. I bought in around $1700 I believe, last summer.
I think trying to judge their finances with just their kickstarter amount is too speculative. You can see what you want to see there. They could have a credit line, they could be not taking much in salary, they could be doing just fine with the business as is or using other private investment or using their own money....who knows.
I'm going with the glass half full approach here as well. We have a deadline for a fully functional production model: LA CanJam. People should be getting them in their hands somewhere around then, as that means all this other stuff will have been sorted out. (Certification, PCB's, metalworking, firmware and UI, whatever.)
Let's wait for the CanJam Los Angeles and see the final commercial A16. If after the event or before the shipping doesn't start we can start complaining. I believe they, they have to do anything they can not to miss the release day.
Not sure what you mean by that, legally they don't even have to deliver anything. They can just simply keep the money due to spending it all on R&D and kickstarter wont do anything.
Not sure what you mean by that, legally they don't even have to deliver anything. They can just simply keep the money due to spending it all on R&D and kickstarter wont do anything.
I am sure that is not the case with Smyth Research.
Just relax, once the A16 is out everyone will be really impressed.
So in my opinion is really worth the wait, not longer than may i hope.
Yeah agree ^^^. Personally I'd prefer to be in early on the kickstarter to help get this project off the ground and get in while affordable, and wait until they get it right and let the chips fall where they may. Kickstarter isn't for everyone. If you're scared of being ripped off or a project not coming to fruition, don't fund it, wait for retail version to come out and pay more. I have been involved with 5+ KS campaigns (including Yarra as well, thanks to this thread costing me more $$) and almost all of them have run into significant delays. Goes with the territory IMO. Otherwise wait and pay retail or get one 2nd hand down the line.....
I don't think there are people who really think that the Smyth will just go with our money (or maybe a very few people think like this, who knows).
I backed the project on Kickstarter for two reasons : 1) because the Smyth were not appearing from nowhere and the A8 was already existing for over 10 years 2) because the prototype of the A16 was fully functional and people who had tried it were highly impressed.
I can see that on the Facebook page of Smyth Research people comment of the latest update a bit harshly and show their discontentement.
Mostly, what is missing in these updates (beside an estimated date for the beginning of shipping) is a few words of apology. Wouldn't cost much to say "sorry guys, we are much later than planned". This latest update sounds a bit cold, like they felt forced to tell us something.
I don't know if someone from Smyth Research reads this topic but they cannot not be aware of people's frustration. They mention that a finalized unit will be demoed in Los Angeles in 10 weeks. It's good to know but they could have added something like "and units will start being shipped soon after, or a bit before if we have enough time". Because now, the main thing that most of us want to know is "WHEN ARE WE GETTING OUR A16 ??!"... Dude, nearly 9 months of delay already... it's high time to throw us a real bone to chew !!
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