[sahmen]

Well, from the mail you got from James it seems clear that there was some problem with their mailing list that they were not aware of before. Apparently the mails were not send to all addresses on the list. An unfortunate mistake, but please see this seperately from the other communication related complaints. I am sure they did not intentionally want to deprive a part of their customers from all updates!

Actually today was the second time he was saying he has to include my name. He said the same thing in a reply to me on August 1st (see attached chain of correspondence below), and that is why I was pissed about not receiving any direct update today too. It is already making me skeptical, and wonder wonder whether this will be corrected even today, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

PS : I do not see what I am doing wrong. i have attached a pdf to this post which I can see in preview mode as an attached file, but when I click on "Save changes" I no longer see the attachment. Is there something I'm missing?

 

[sahmen]

did you check you spam folder ??

Yes, I did that several times, before contacting James Smyth.,

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Based on what I'm reading here, the unit is nowhere near completion--or at least that's the excuse given for public consumption for what almost certainly seems to be an "expectation management" update. Alternatively, it could be these guys are scrambling behind the scenes to obtain further financing. Remember, no mention was included in their updates that they were looking for further "angel" financing until Heavenly HiFi (sounds like a Moonie tax dodge, doesn't it?) was actually on board.

Ultimately, these guys could clear all this up just by publishing their Gantt chart, and letting their Kickstarter investors see what's done, what still needs to be done, and what the timetable is for the completion of these tasks. Frankly, I think the Smyths owe the kickstarter participants this consideration.

And, as always, it's important for everyone on their thread to remember that kickstarter entrepreneurs don't avail themselves of more conventional funding methods (bank loans, venture capitalists, stock sales, etc) for a reason. That reason of course being that their projects are so risky that traditional financial gatekeepers don't want anything to do with them.

The A16 project certainly falls into this grouping, so all anyone can do, really, is stay tuned.

 

[sander99]

Your quote from James:

I just checked our email list and you seem to be there.

So I have created a new list for customers who haven't been emailed any updates.

Of course I don't know what he wrote the first time, but my interpretation from the above would be that he added you to the list the first time, and this time he came to the conclusion that not all addresses on that list received the update (a glitch in whatever method they use for sending the e-mails). And because of that he now makes a new list with addresses that don't seem to work with the old list. But I could be wrong, since I don't know exactly what he wrote the first time.

 

[sahmen]

Your quote from James:

Of course I don't know what he wrote the first time, but my interpretation from the above would be that he added you to the list the first time, and this time he came to the conclusion that not all addresses on that list received the update (a glitch in whatever method they use for sending the e-mails). And because of that he now makes a new list with addresses that don't seem to work with the old list. But I could be wrong, since I don't know exactly what he wrote the first time.

Okay I think I have found a way to post the chain of e-mails leading to August 1st : Here's the thumbnail (click to enlarge it - My e-mail address and email web browser URL are redacted for security reasons, but everything else is there)fi. As for the mailing list thing, I hope you're right, and it is now definitely fixed to prevent future glitches. It is all I want at this time, really.




Now here is the one which arrived today:

 

[J.Villain]

First I commend the Smyths for not putting in a date just for the sake of putting in a date. If they can't make a reasonable estimate that's the way they should handle it. Many will disagree, fair enough.

The fact that they haven't given a date makes it feel like the time line is slipping again. But there was nothing in the update that jumped out at me as a big slippage. Having said that the big Xmas shipping rush starts in Oct so if they haven't shoved them out the door by then we likely won't see them till next year.

 

[jgazal]

(...) financial gatekeepers (...)

IMHO, there are more shades of gray.

US subprime mortgage bonds back in fashion

Publishers rejected me, but I went on to earn six-figures selling 1,000 books a day

THE MOST-REJECTED BOOKS OF ALL TIME
(OF THE ONES THAT WERE EVENTUALLY PUBLISHED)

Accountability on the Internet: What’s the Role of the New Information Gatekeepers?

From the last article:

(...) But, we (the users), must also take a certain responsibility and make smart choices when engaging with tools and services offered online. I have written several times before about the significance of Media and Information Literacy. It’s an important pre-condition when discussing democracy and development as it’s closely linked to individual freedoms, such as freedom of information and expression.
(...)

 

[audiohobbit]

Is there anyone here that already has an A8 or am I the only one?

 

[dsperber]

Is there anyone here that already has an A8 or am I the only one?

I have two.

 

[jackhamm]

I’ve had one since 2011, if I remember correctly. Glad I didn’t sell it in anticipation of Kickstarter getting done on time.

 

[audiohobbit]

So you got already an A16... (2 * A8 = A16) ...

How old are they and how often do you use them?
Any problems so far?

Mine is 4 years old and the only problem I had was with the headtop of the headtracker (I use the headtracker always btw.). It didn't send out the IR signal properly so there has been some "jumping around" of position, so that for example a voice coming from the middle suddenly jumped to the left.
The support of Mike Smyth was very good in this case. The reason was the plastic window in front of the IR diode of the headtop. It got some "striation patterns" by aging (that's what Mike supposed) and they changed the IR window and since then no "jumping" ocurred. This has been in the warranty time (1 year I think)

 

[sander99]

How old are they

dsperber has the oldest, serial number #0001!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/smyth-research-realiser-a16.807459/page-124#post-13993441

 

[dsperber]

How old are they and how often do you use them?
Any problems so far?

One is #0001 (analog-only, no HDMI) from April 2009 (after waiting for it from September 2004, truly 5 years... so the current wait for the A16 is no problem for me). Second A8 is from Sept 2012, and is of the new HDMI-enabled type.

I have two main viewing locations with full A/V capability, both of which have a Realiser A8 and Stax amp/headphones. I'd say I use them 50-50 equally, regularly every day. Both of which are comfortable seating and both are superb video setups.

(1) The HDMI A8 is in my master bedroom and is based around a 2012-vintage Panny 65VT50 plasma and 2012-vintage Stax SR-009/SRM-007tII, along with an Oppo BDP-103 (with two external HDMI inputs handling my Spectrum-provided HDTV through my Windows Media Center HTPC and Linksys DMA2100 extender) and a Yamaha RX-V867 AVR. I also have an Audio-GD NFB9 external DAC fed from the optical output of the A8, and feeding my Stax setup via XLR cables.

Audio/video HDMI1 out of the 103 goes to the Yamaha and audio-only HDMI2 out of the 103 goes to the A8's HDMI input. The 103 is configured for "split A/V" (i.e. video-only out HDMI1 when active power-on HDMI2 connection is sensed, and audio-only out HDMI2 sent to the Realiser when it is powered on). It is also set to decode all multi-channel audio source and deliver discrete multi-channel LPCM output via HDMI2 directly to the A8's HDMI input (or via HDMI1 along with video if the A8 is powered off).

HDMI1 out of the Yamaha goes to the Panny HDMI2 (ARC-enabled) input. Note that the Yamaha AVR doesn't have the ability to send out decoded discrete multi-channel LPCM from its two HDMI outputs. They are expected to be connected to a TV only capable of 2-channel stereo audio. So as is true with all Yamaha AVRs, HDMI1/2 digital audio out of the Yamaha is ALWAYS only 2-channel stereo (downmixed to 2-channels if necessary from a multi-channel source), hence why I have the HDMI A8 (which requires upstream decoding of multi-channel audio and multi-channel HDMI delivery via LPCM) connected to audio-only HDMI2 out of the 103.

In addition to the HDMI Realiser at this location, this setup of combined A/V through the Yamaha (from HDMI1 of the 103) also optionally supports the real 2-channel stereo speakers in my bedroom (via Zone2 "party mode" on the Yamaha) if I just don't want to listen through headphones at that moment. In this situation the A8 is powered off so that the presence of an HDMI2 connection for the 103 is not "sensed", and both multi-channel LPCM digital audio and video are combined and delivered out of HDMI1 to the Yamaha's HDMI input.

(2) The analog-only A8 (which is where I plan to replace it with an HDMI-enabled A16, whenever it arrives) is in my loft office and is based around a brand new 2017-vintage 55" LG OLED C7P and 1995-vintage Stax SR-Omega/SRM-T1S, along with an Oppo UDP-203 and no AVRj. I also have an Oppo Sonica external DAC fed from both (a) the optical output of the A8 as well as (b) from the coaxial output of the 203, and feeding my Stax setup via XLR cables out of the DAC to an XLR input of my vintage Threshold T2 audio receiver. The T2 feeds XLR to my T200 amplifier which supports my 2-channel stereo Thiel CS3.6 speakers for when I want to just listen to stereo sound through speakers. The T2 also feeds XLR to the Stax amp for when I want to listen to multi-channel sound through Stax headphones.

The Oppo 203 only has one external HDMI input so I feed it from a an external StarTech 4K HDR 4-in/1-out HDMI switch to support my multiple sources (including HTPC DVR as well as Roku Ultra). The 203's (ARC-enabled) video-only HDMI1 output is connected directly to the LG. The 203's 8-channel decoded analog preamp audio outputs are connected to the 8-channel analog inputs of the A8. When the A16 arrives its HDMI input will be connected to the audio-only HDM2 output of the 203. Since the A16 contains its own built-in decoding capability I will have an option to let the 203 do the decoding and deliver multi-channel LPCM (as I do with the 103), or just deliver bitstream to the A16 and let it get decoded there.

I have the 203 configured to have its S/PDIF coaxial (and optical) output to deliver down-mixed 2-channel stereo, going to the Oppo Sonica DAC's coaxial input. So this supports listening to ordinary 2-channel stereo sound out of the 203 through my Thiel speakers if I want to, same as I use Yamaha Zone2 "party mode" in my bedroom if I want to listen to speakers there. And if I want to listen to multi-channel audio through the A8 and headphones, I use the Oppo Sonica DAC's optical input fed from the optical output of the A8 (which is being fed through its 7.1 analog inputs from the 7.1 analog preamp outputs of the 203).


The Panny has been ISF calibrated by D-Nice twice, once originally back in April 2013. Most recently in June 2018 I had D-Nice return to re-calibrate the Panny again for ISF day/night, as well as also calibrating my newly purchased C7 during this same visit two months ago also for ISF day/night, HDR and Dolby Vision. Both TV's provide truly stunning video images.

Both Realiser's use the same original 5.1 PRIR I had personally measured at AIX here in LA from June 2009 and stored as the P1 default power-on preset. I use this default P1 preset for watching everyday HDTV as well as for any 5.1 audio on disc movies or streaming. I also have a second original 7.1 PRIR also taken personally at AIX on that same June 2009 date stored as the P2 preset, for whenever I'm listening to 7.1 audio from any source. I do not EVER use any of the several other PRIR's I've been personally measured for.

I also have the default volume level on my P1/P2 presets set to -10db, along with "line level" output on the volume controls of my Audio-GD and Oppo DAC's. I've adjusted the final [rotating dial] available volume control on both of my Stax amps to be "2 o'clock', which "matches" the level of what the DAC is feeding it, so that I virtually never have to further adjust the Stax amp volume up or down when listening to anything. The default power-on volume levels of all components in the system almost always produce by default the volume I want to hear through my headphones, though occasionally a particular HDTV channel or other source is a bit non-standard and I have to turn the Stax amp volume up or down as required from 2 o'clock.


I confess that for the longest time I did not use the head tracker, with either A8. I had decided I was simply always looking straight ahead at the TV screen anyway and never turned, so why should I care about complicating things?

But since the April SOCAL CanJam show and my A16 demo (which did use a head tracker) I decided to reverse my long followed no HT setup. So I went hunting for either or both of my head trackers, which both turned out to be in their corresponding original product cartons which I had in storage. Unfortunately the battery on my 2009 HT had apparently died long ago from non-use and not being left to charge in its A8 USB socket. Lorr said if I wanted to I would have to send it to England for battery replacement (and that the new A16 HT is not compatible with the A8, so I couldn't just buy another A16 HT). But fortunately I did also have my 2012 HT, whose battery had very luckily NOT died even though it had not been used or charged in the past six years. And I was thankfully able to charge it back up and begin using it, on both of my A8's.

I actually did actually have the two HT brackets, but only one was attached, i.e. "rubber-banded" to the plastic headband of my Stax SR-Omega. Turns out the IR receiver is much more conveniently plugged into the A8 and physically positioned sitting on top of a piece of equipment in my rack (BELOW the LG C7 which is high up and sits on top of the rack), to face my seating location in my office/loft location. I simply had never in all these years ever actually plugged in the HT itself to the bracket, to listen using that functionality, but I do now.

As it turns out my bedroom Panny wall-mounted setup located about 15 feet from the A8 in the adjacent equipment rack doesn't lend itself quite so easily where I would need to clip the IR receiver onto the top of the TV and then run the wire through the wall behind it and over and out to the A8. So I probably will still never use the HT in my bedroom setup, but will likely only now use it in my loft/office A8 setup where it is so easy to position. And I will continue to use the new A16 HT when that situation exists.

I never did actually send the "dead" HT back to Ireland for battery replacement, although I might just do that one day.

 

[jackhamm]

I was able to replace my HT battery with good results. PM me if you want any feedback.

 

[dsperber]

I was able to replace my HT battery with good results. PM me if you want any feedback.

Lorr told me it couldn't be disassembled easily by the user, but if you've done it then yes, I would like to hear about your experience.

Go ahead and PM me with the details. I'm very interested.