[Dixter]

staying a little more on topic... I have the A16 on order and plan on using it two different ways... I plan on using it as a balanced source for my HD800's and I plan on converting it over to wireless for 7.1 atmos...

should be a great product...

 

[GU1DO]

Steven Smyth Interview - CanJam SoCal 2018

 

[dsperber]

Steven Smyth Interview - CanJam SoCal 2018

Nice.

Just in passing, he spells his name Stephen.

 

[Fox1977]

In the interview, Stephen Smyth says the A16 will be ready “very soon” but that software development will continue for approximately two more years, via firmware updates.

 

[Citizen Zombie]

The Realiser A8 is capable of faithfully portraying a state of the art stereo system. Well, this is how I got to know about Smyth Research and their product. I stumbled about it at a studio. The head of staff used it to listen to mixes when he had no main mastering room available he knew well enough. I compared the A8 with Stax 007 against a main monitor from ATC. They were in a soffit, so I'm not totally sure whether they had SCM 200 or 300. Later I had the chance to listen to a pair of Magico. Don't know the name of this speaker, too. It was a predecessor of today's Q3 or Q5. Fine systems, both.

The A8 can copy the essence of such speakers, but is not indistinguishable. There are two main areas you can tell the difference quite easily. One is obvious: A headphone can't give you the physical experience of bass especially a huge speaker can. And this is true even way below chest pumping pressure levels. The other is the "feel" of a large room. I learned that when I had the chance to play with a triplet of Wilson POWWHOW and a WAMM. A WAMM is not the typical speaker in need of a subwoofer, really not. And there was no impression of additional bass when the sub were powered on, but the room got larger. I recorded a choir in a German abbey, 60x19x15m (200x60x50ft) wide. Only two mics and a Jecklin disc seated where you sit at a concert, just 2m above the ground. Definitely not something you can sell as a commercial product, but a very similar experience compared to the concert later that day. Without the subs this room just shrinked in size despite the enormous slam the WAMM can (and does) deliver. I did not have that feeling listening to well recorded artificial space in p.e. electronic music from Kraftwerk or Yello that we tried, too.

I'm really looking forward to the release of the A16. Maybe my impression will change after I played with it for a while, but my experience from a few hours of testing the A8 was very positive. I sincerely hope I can take with me a set of different sounding speakers so a rough mix on location is good enough for an immediate roll-out to the musicians.

 

[sander99]

The A8 can copy the essence of such speakers, but is not indistinguishable. There are two main areas you can tell the difference quite easily
(...)
The other is the "feel" of a large room.

Do you know if there is any chance that tactile support, for example a subpack could restore the sense of a large room?
Or using a real sub in combination with the headphones, would that help?

 

[Citizen Zombie]

I don't know. I had perhaps four hours in total with the A8. In this amount of time I only got in between shock and awe and freshly fallen in love. And it was my first time with a Magico at all in a perfectly treated room. This was impressive enough on its own, it is an incredible effort, perhaps the best I ever heard.

I bet with more time I would have heard more differences. But I think I can say one thing for sure: The Realiser can recreate the sound of the best stereo systems to a large amount. There are differences, but not by leaps and bounds. But even small differences may get annoying over time, a real judgement will need weeks and months of constant listening.

 

[Fox1977]

There are differences, but not by leaps and bounds. But even small differences may get annoying over time.

I guess that applies mostly for hardcore audiophile listeners for whom extrem accuracy is highly important. Many, like me, will use the A16 mostly for it's realistic multichannel reproduction abilities to listen to movies in Atmos on headphones. And if it can mimic a 50,000$ home theater or studio (and even more expensive) with an accuracy of "only" 90%, i'll be already very satisfied with my 1100€ device !
If i find out that i really miss deep bass, i'll consider using a subpack or an Immersit Vibes.

 

[Citizen Zombie]

Absolutely reasonable. It will need some time fiddling around with the possibilities of this really new and innovative approach to reveal the real pros and cons. After reading the concerns about the reproduction of stereo on the last pages I wanted to share my first impression of the predecessor. This is not a difference like frozen pizza and freshly prepared pizza. Maybe like that between your self-made pizza versus the pizza from a renowned chef with a brick oven.

Hopefully the A16 will make an impact in the gaming and virtual reality sector. To me this seems to be the natural habitat for it, if latency isn't an issue. And the ability to copy the sound of a certain room can be a sound technicians dream. If you work p.e. for a theatre with their built-in PA, you often have to readjust because of some nasty habits like very narrow banded frequency anomalies. You can simulate the sound of a cheap car stereo or a mobile bluetooth speaker if need be. This can save a lot of money and boost efficiency of the workflow. There are many applications besides multichannel video.

 

[OdysseusG]

Howdy, new account since I can't remember how to get into the old one...at least I'm pretty sure there was an old one.

Anyway, have any of you heard of JVC's Exofield? I didn't see them when I went to Axpona last weekend, but saw them in post show coverage, such as:http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2969746-axpona-2018-recap-2.html#post56030362 . Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Down to the rolling 'product should be available in a few months'. What's interesting is that their pitch seems entirely focused on reproducing stereo, with surround as an after thought.

 

[StillaStillsFan]

Hard to believe DEQX has not gotten into this game.

 

[Richter Di]

Howdy, new account since I can't remember how to get into the old one...at least I'm pretty sure there was an old one.

Anyway, have any of you heard of JVC's Exofield? I didn't see them when I went to Axpona last weekend, but saw them in post show coverage, such as:http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2969746-axpona-2018-recap-2.html#post56030362 . Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Down to the rolling 'product should be available in a few months'. What's interesting is that their pitch seems entirely focused on reproducing stereo, with surround as an after thought.

Wow. Can‘t beleive it,

 

[Thenewguy007]

Howdy, new account since I can't remember how to get into the old one...at least I'm pretty sure there was an old one.

Anyway, have any of you heard of JVC's Exofield? I didn't see them when I went to Axpona last weekend, but saw them in post show coverage, such as:http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2969746-axpona-2018-recap-2.html#post56030362 . Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Down to the rolling 'product should be available in a few months'. What's interesting is that their pitch seems entirely focused on reproducing stereo, with surround as an after thought.

There also was another very similar product awhile ago called the "Power Acoustics HP-1 Headphone Processor". It was designed for Stax headphones & they were planning to release one for general headphones, but they have released no info since, as far as I'm aware.

 

[Richter Di]

Anyway, have any of you heard of JVC's Exofield? I didn't see them when I went to Axpona last weekend, but saw them in post show coverage, such as:http://www.avsforum.com/forum/173-2-channel-audio/2969746-axpona-2018-recap-2.html#post56030362 . Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Down to the rolling 'product should be available in a few months'. What's interesting is that their pitch seems entirely focused on reproducing stereo, with surround as an after thought.

Found some info on the topic and even reviews:
http://pro.jvc.com/pro/pr/2018/ces/JVC_Exofield.html

These German guys weren*t fully convinced with classical music but liked the Pop music:
https://www.lowbeats.de/jvc-exofield-kopfhoerer-konzept-mit-vorne-ortung/

 

[sander99]

About JVC Exofield: I don't see headtracking mentioned anywhere. Can we assume it doesn't have it?