[phoenixdogfan]

Isn't the audio content already there from the cinema release?



I think that's the beauty of Atmos and other object oriented audio formats - the system knows where the speakers are, how many there are and delivers the best sound utilising those.



Probably closer using the A8 in that analogy - the A16 is cheaper, has significant upgrades and current tech compared to the A8 (which is loved by those who use it)

A8 when it was available sold for $3k, the A16 will sell for $4k.

 

[Fox1977]

Like Zenvota said, most of the latest big budget movies are released on UHD Blu-Ray with an Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack. More and more movie theaters are equipped to play such tracks, and many older movies are released in UHD with Atmos. So, content is not an issue, unlike Sahmen’s analogy with the 1994 HDTV.
And about the shipping “right away” message, I just shared the raw information that I got from James Smyth, and it was 7 weeks ago, doesn’t mean that I believe it ... if I learnt anything about Smyth Research over the past three years, it’s precisely not to take literally what they say as the absolute truth !!
If already we get an address-confirmation email before the end of August, that will already be a big thing (and two months compared to the 3-year wait almost sounds like “right away” ! )

 

[Sordel]

There's a lot of negativity in this thread all of a sudden and, believe me, I get it: a degree of cynicism is understandable. But expecting immediate delivery is not all that realistic and it becomes even less so when we know that Smyth have been taking their time. Now I hope that we’ll all end up respecting the determination with which they have worked on this product (regardless of artificial deadlines) to ensure that when it ships it is as good as it can be. Am I confident? Not really. But using this thread to vent another round of complaints & fears seems wrong for the spirit of the moment which is: they've completed the certification process and we stand a better chance than heretofore of getting something for our original outlay. Let's give them a break for the immediate future.

 

[VandyMan]

sorry for feeding the troll, I'm weak(and slightly evil).

I think calling me a troll is pretty unfair. I have two A-16s that I pre-ordered. I've been super patient and have defended the Smyths in this topic for YEARS. I don't think anyone here is happy about how the Smyths communicate. And I think it is especially frustrating for them to say, essentially, "hey, we are done" and not announcing shipping, set a timeline, or even mention next steps.

 

[sahmen]

Like Zenvota said, most of the latest big budget movies are released on UHD Blu-Ray with an Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack. More and more movie theaters are equipped to play such tracks, and many older movies are released in UHD with Atmos. So, content is not an issue, unlike Sahmen’s analogy with the 1994 HDTV.
And about the shipping “right away” message, I just shared the raw information that I got from James Smyth, and it was 7 weeks ago, doesn’t mean that I believe it ... if I learnt anything about Smyth Research over the past three years, it’s precisely not to take literally what they say as the absolute truth !!
If already we get an address-confirmation email before the end of August, that will already be a big thing (and two months compared to the 3-year wait almost sounds like “right away” ! )

Hey @Fox1977 : For the record, when typing that rant of mine, I had completely forgotten who first reported the "right away" statement of James Smyth, so the rant wasn't directed at you or anyone in particular who is currently posting in this forum. If anyone was meant as a target, then it had to be James Smyth himself, rather than whoever reported the statement. I am definitely not about targeting "messengers," even if my post sounded wary about the message itself. I was just trying to keep myself and, admittedly, anyone else who would listen, from cranking up too much hope too prematurely, at least, until we have actually received concrete proof (such as address confirmation e-mails) indicating that the Smyths are really setting the wheels of shipping in motion.

Like everyone else, I do not like the long wait, but I am also very used to it at this time, and have learnt to live with it.. Let me just add, however, that I hope James Smyth did not make his "right away" promise only to give us another run-around, because I resent such false starts and runarounds even more than I do the endless waiting.

With all that said, and as I mentioned on this forum before, I do appreciate the efforts of Gilles Gérin and yourself in sending us these occasional reports, as without them, all we would have left here is an intolerable, and even more depressingly wide, and yawning communication gap. Et je n'oublie jamais ce service, assurément pas.

 

[Fox1977]

There's a lot of negativity in this thread all of a sudden and, believe me, I get it: a degree of cynicism is understandable. But expecting immediate delivery is not all that realistic and it becomes even less so when we know that Smyth have been taking their time. Now I hope that we’ll all end up respecting the determination with which they have worked on this product (regardless of artificial deadlines) to ensure that when it ships it is as good as it can be. Am I confident? Not really. But using this thread to vent another round of complaints & fears seems wrong for the spirit of the moment which is: they've completed the certification process and we stand a better chance than heretofore of getting something for our original outlay. Let's give them a break for the immediate future.

My purpose was not to add more negativity to this thread. I just meant that experience taught us that words from Smyth Research are to be taken very cautiously. I don't doubt that we'll receive our units in a close future.
But admit that after many months of waiting for this Dolby certification as the final step before shipping, telling us just "We got certification, we will ship the units only with Dolby activated for the moment" is a bit light...
Was it complicated to give us an estimated time of shipping, knowing that now everything is done according to their words ? And even if, yes, it is complicated for some reason, telling it is the least they could do.
It's like they are very reluctant to give us any piece of information. But why ??
When they were attending shows to promote the A16, we were receiving updates sometimes several times per week.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

My purpose was not to add more negativity to this thread. I just meant that experience taught us that words from Smyth Research are to be taken very cautiously. I don't doubt that we'll receive our units in a close future.
But admit that after many months of waiting for this Dolby certification as the final step before shipping, telling us just "We got certification, we will ship the units only with Dolby activated for the moment" is a bit light...
Was it complicated to give us an estimated time of shipping, knowing that now everything is done according to their words ? And even if, yes, it is complicated for some reason, telling it is the least they could do.
It's like they are very reluctant to give us any piece of information. But why ??
When they were attending shows to promote the A16, we were receiving updates sometimes several times per week.

If the next communication is about anything other than shipments are imminent. If it's something along the lines of this will take some months--that will be the dead givaway that they're hurting for cash, and the project is following the Ossic model.

 

[Got the Shakes]

I sent out what I’m sure will be a fruitless email to James Smyth to see if he’s willing to give any update as to what’s next in the process. I never get return emails so I certainly don’t have high hopes.

 

[Fox1977]

Once since i was tired of getting no answer, i wrote via the Heavenly Sound contact page, assuming that i may get a better chance to get some answer back... and indeed it worked, so it may be worth a try... Here is the link to the Contact page

 

[Got the Shakes]

Once since i was tired of getting no answer, i wrote via the Heavenly Sound contact page, assuming that i may get a better chance to get some answer back... and indeed it worked, so it may be worth a try... Here is the link to the Contact page

Thanks. I’ll give that a shot as well. I think I’ve only tried emailing James once or twice before but didn’t get a response either time.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Thanks. I’ll give that a shot as well. I think I’ve only tried emailing James once or twice before but didn’t get a response either time.

I emailed James and asked him of Smyth still services and supports the A8 and got a reply from him within 24 hours. I think it just depends if he has anything to say. If he's having some internal difficulties in the shipping/production of the A16, I think he strongly prefers to just resolve it quietly out of public view. Not the way a lot of people want businesses to be run today, but it can work if the business does deliver the goods to the customer. Of course it can hide a lot of the early warning signs of major problems which could severely impact outside stakeholders (customers, employees, investors, creditors, regulators, public at large, etc) as well.

Oh, btw, I don't see an A16 manual. It's inconceivable that this thing will be ready to ship before a high quality, comprehensive manual in at least six languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese) is written and vetted. Someone who is in communication with Giles should probably inquire after its current status.

 

[Chillzone21]

I emailed James and asked him of Smyth still services and supports the A8 and got a reply from him within 24 hours.

So do they still support the A8 for repairs etc? I got a new remote for it awhile back, but it was not the same as my original in terms of build quality.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

So do they still support the A8 for repairs etc? I got a new remote for it awhile back, but it was not the same as my original in terms of build quality.

He wrote they didn't stock parts for the A8, but if a broken one was sent he would do what he could (though not under warranty). I think the answer is fairly complex. If the circuit board are through mounted as opposed to surface mounted, then a lot of parts like didodes, resistors, caps and inductors could be replaced, even traces might in some cases be repairable, also he could reflash firmware if a repair was of a part that erased it.

But there are probably some, perhaps even a fair amount of non substitutable parts (like transistors/ICs) whose failure would knock out the thing for good. And this assumes the stuff isn't surface mounted which is much harder (though not theoretically impossible) to work on. Then again, you might find an electronic repair genius in your city who can fix anything--a big, big maybe.

It has to do something not good I would think for the used A8 market. And remember today's A16 will be in the same boat a few years from now.

 

[mrtim6]

I’m guessing the shipping will go something like:

1st Giles & other corporate clients / dealers testers (maybe Jude etc)
2nd Kickstarter backers
3rd pre-orders (I pre-ordered 2 years ago July 2017)
4th New Orders

So could be a fair wait still. As the Dolby testing of those units will take time

 

[mrtim6]

Correction - Dolby flashing I meant