As a side note, while I'm sure that you've kept up to speed with the posts here, I'd like to reiterate the value of the Smyth's YouTube videos. In particular, be sure to check out the Basic video on transferring A8 presets to the A16 as you prepare to load your A16 with your AIX Studios preset.
I have now finished the initial infrastructure logistical changes for the new A16:
(a) The old analog A8 has been removed from the 4K LG OLED UDP203 location and re-boxed.
(b) The HDMI A8 has been removed from the 1080p Panny BDP-103 location and moved to the 4K LG OLED UDP203 location (with Stax SR-Omega/SRM-T1S). Oppo HDMI2-out goes to HDMI-in of the A8. Optical output from A8 goes to Oppo Sonica DAC, -> Stax via XLR. Oppo HDMI audio output set to LPCM (no Dolby Atmos possible with this equipment, but 4K video supported).
(c) The new A16 has been installed at the 1080p Panny BDP-103 location (with Stax SR-009/SRM-007tii). HDMI2-out of the 103 is connected to HDMI1-in of the A16. Two Linksys DMA2100 extenders (for Windows Media Center) feed HDMI-in-front and HDMI-in-back of the Oppo. Oppo HDMI audio output set to LPCM.
(d) The new Oppo UDP-203 has been installed at the 1080p Panny location. HDMI2-out of the 203 is connected to HDMI2-in of the A16. Roku Ultra feeds HDMI-in-back of the Oppo. Oppo HDMI audio output set to BITSTREAM.
(e) The A16 optical output is connected to my Audio-GD NFB9 DAC, -> Stax via XLR. So the A16 provides headphone output for any of my sources: discs played on 103 or 203, HDTV from either DMA2100, streaming via Roku or 103. Dolby 5.1/7.1 and Dolby Atmos can be provided from the 203. DTS-HD MA can be provided from the 103. Video limited to 1080p due to Panny.
I still have not yet begun to work with the A16, other than to get things wired correctly. And I wanted to verify that I could get picture and sound (from my stereo speakers, when not using headphones) from all sources (now that I have a 103 and 203 here, both feeding the A16) at the Panny location with the A16. So far so good.
I have powered on the A16 and looked at things, but don't know how to use the remote yet.
Which brings me to my first somewhat negative comment. Granted, I haven't read the manual, and I haven't done much more than put the batteries in the remote and power the A16 on after all cabling was completed. But I have now printed out the manual so that I could have something on paper in front of me to reference. Sure, I will almost always be viewing the PDF on my computer, but I still like to have the manual in paper.
And... THE FONT USED FOR THE MANUAL TEXT IS JUST FOOLISHLY TINY! Why would you use such a small font??? There is an awful lot of white space (on paper and onscreen when viewing the PDF), that could really better have been used by a significantly larger font that is much easier to use.
As an example, here is a sample of text from the A8 PDF manual. It is using a serif font (looks like New Times Roman, but I'm not sure) and is displayed zoomed to 150% by the Reader:
And here is the identical text segment from the A16 PDF manual, also displayed zoomed to 150% by the Reader. Different non-serif font at smaller size, different "document style" (i.e. more blank space between lines):
Personally, I find it much easier to read the A8 manual... especially when printed on paper.
And that brings me to my second "complaint", regarding the very useful and appreciated YouTube videos. Clearly a picture's worth 1000 words, and with a video demonstrating something it is much easier provide the visual demonstration, even more so that a set of still pictures or many many printed words. So kudos for the idea of a set of instructional videos to make up for oversights or omissions in the manual, and to clarify "by demonstration" precisely how to do something when the manual's text description is lengthy or wordy or complex and where a real example would be very instructive.
However... the video frame includes (a) text in the upper left that you are to read, (b) a picture of fingers pushing buttons on a horizontally oriented remote at the bottm left, and then (c) a picture of the screen of the A16 which is rapidly changing as the fingers rapidly push buttons. If we try to look at the keys of the horizontal to see what the fingers are doing, the key being pressed is actually obscured by the finger tip so you kind of have to guess which key was pressed if you're not yet an expert. And if we look at the fingers tapping keys, how can we read along with the text, or simultaneously look at the screen of the A16 to see what's going on there?
It's all happening MUCH TOO FAST, without verbal narration but rather requiring us to read the text. It's not possible for our eyes to be looking in three places at once.
I think a verbal narration, rather then printed text to be read, would have been a MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE method for providing the "you do this" instructions.
Also, there should be a pause between steps or instructions or finger presses of keys, and the "narrator" should say "and now notice that the screen shows this, or that, etc.."
Not to mention the inexplicable music in the background. Why music at all? Why not absolute silence so we're not distracted or annoyed? Why not a narrator reading the words, instead of obligating us to read the text ourselves?
And, finally, an immediate item of confusion stemming from the video showing how to import A8 PRIR's and HPEQ's into the A16. There isn't any section at all in the manual for this, so this video is it as far as what to do and how to manage files on the SD card.
The beginning of the video describes copying the A8 PRIR and HPEQ files into two folders on the SD card, which are spelled out as PRIRS and HPEQS. To be honest, I don't know if the trailing "S" is actually intended to be there in the folder names, or if they are trying to pluralize PRIR in describing a folder named PRIR to hold multiple PRIR files. I ask this because a bit later in the video it describes a process (which runs by like a freight train at lightning speed with fingers flying and the A16 screen changing and text disappearing before I've finished reading it so that the next text can appear) to navigate to those folders on the SD card. And in that next step they are referred to as "... under the PRIR SD card directory" and "... under the HPEQ SD card directory", rather than PRIRS and HPEQS.
In other words, should it be PRIR or PRIRS, and HPEQ or HPEQS? I'm sure it would be easy enough for me to experimentally try on first and if that works great but if not then try the other.
But I simply point out that right here on day one minute one of my getting started with this YouTube tutorial instruction video set, I'm considerably off-put by what they've provided. I'm sure I will learn from it and make use of it, and the whole concept is terrific. But I'd certainly like to provide them with this user's feedback.