[Got the Shakes]

This is so strange. I had to re-route most of my stuff through a HDMI switch that supports 4K and HDR to get everything working properly again. Basically only HDMI 1 and 2 seem to be supporting HDR and 4K/60 on the A16. When I hook either a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X up to ports 3 or 4 the both read the A16 as only supporting 4K and 30fps. I'll be totally honest, I'm not sure if this is something that started going weird last night or if those two HDMI ports were always that way. It's almost like ports 3 and 4 don't support HDCP 2.2.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Thanks, Audiohobbit!

Yes, I think mostly what I expect to listen to is either stereo recordings or 5.1. I initially bought the A8 because I had moved to a house with a small listening room, too small and poorly proportioned to be a great listening room for my floor standing speakers and subs. If the room couldn't be made much better, maybe I could emulate a better room. Maybe I could also listen to quad or 5.1 recordings without buying all the additional equipment. And I also wanted to see if I could emulate the aural qualities rooms with much higher end equipment than I can afford in them, by making PRIRs. It's not easy to find dealers or others with rooms in which to take the measurements, but I was able to create a PRIR at AIX and also several other spots with really high end speakers and acoustics. I've been pleased to be able to almost recreate the experience of listening to music in several of these rooms via my STAX and the A8.

I do find that I still prefer not having to wear a headset to listen. It does feel a bit cut off, despite the "out of the head" experience. So I now have a house with a reasonably sized listening rooom and have done some treatments to the room making big improvements. I don't use the A8 as much as I used to. I also bought a pair of KEF LS 50 "wireless" for my office. I set them up about 6 feet apart, dialed in a sub, and find listening to Qobuz and Tidal via audirvana and the KEFs is a great source of musical satisfaction for me. I highly recommend these speakers for detailing, imaging, bass, and general tonal qualities. So I have several options now.

Still, I am intrigued by the possibilities of the A16. At this point I'm not too disappointed that I actually wasn't the full kickstarter backer I thought I was! This gear will only evolve and improve over time. I will be very interested to follow what happens with the A16 over the next year or two, how the bugs are worked out and new capabilities are incorporated into the firmware, etc. Then I can decide if I want to make the move and buy one. P.S. I would recommend the services of Jeff Hedback, who does a remote acoustic analysis of listening rooms and then provides recommendations for remediation. He is sensitive to the cost issue, and can provide a range of alternative treatment suggestions depending on your budget. My room was not too bad to start out with, but after spending a bit of time and money it is a much more pleasing place to sit and listen in.

I have LS 50s set up in my listening room. When I do buy a Realiser, one of the things I will definitely do is take PRIRs of them.

 

[Kiritz]

I have LS 50s set up in my listening room. When I do buy a Realiser, one of the things I will definitely do is take PRIRs of them.

I find the LS 50 wireless (actually powered) speakers pretty remarkable. For me the listening experience is equal to that of my much more expensive floor standing Thiel speakers. There is something of a limitation in that large speakers simply move more air, so in a larger room they convey the size of an orchestra, for example, more realistically. But in the small offfice where I use them they are just terrific!

 

[teacher1000]

I find the LS 50 wireless (actually powered) speakers pretty remarkable. For me the listening experience is equal to that of my much more expensive floor standing Thiel speakers. There is something of a limitation in that large speakers simply move more air, so in a larger room they convey the size of an orchestra, for example, more realistically. But in the small offfice where I use them they are just terrific!

Yes! And the beauty is that with the Realiser you'll be able to scale up that experience (as @phoenixdogfan and @jazzfan were saying earlier)

I have 3 Totem Hawks as front speakers but just a cheap pair of MA bronze for surrounds. I can't wait to finally hear a virtual full surround setup of hawks

 

[J.Villain]

Basically only HDMI 1 and 2 seem to be supporting HDR and 4K/60 on the A16.

I thought I had remembered that being a limitation of the repeater board but I went back and checked an that isn't the case. All 4 ports should support HDCP 2.2
http://www.mds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/HSR-5th_rev2b.pdf

 

[Got the Shakes]

I thought I had remembered that being a limitation of the repeater board but I went back and checked an that isn't the case. All 4 ports should support HDCP 2.2
http://www.mds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/HSR-5th_rev2b.pdf

What’s really strange is I think all 4 HDMI inputs were working properly at 4K/60 and HDR when I got the unit.

The same Xbox and PS4 using the same cables plugged into HDMI 1 or 2 and the consoles detect being able to send 4K and HDR but plugged into 3 or 4 and they don’t work correctly.

 

[sahmen]

This is so strange. I had to re-route most of my stuff through a HDMI switch that supports 4K and HDR to get everything working properly again. Basically only HDMI 1 and 2 seem to be supporting HDR and 4K/60 on the A16. When I hook either a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X up to ports 3 or 4 the both read the A16 as only supporting 4K and 30fps. I'll be totally honest, I'm not sure if this is something that started going weird last night or if those two HDMI ports were always that way. It's almost like ports 3 and 4 don't support HDCP 2.2.

I am really sorry to hear you're having such issues this early, but I am also impatiently awaiting the response of the Smyths to your inquiry, because I am keen to find out how quickly they'll fix the issue, and how they'll go about doing that.

 

[Got the Shakes]

I am really sorry to hear you're having such issues this early, but I am also impatiently awaiting the response of the Smyths to your inquiry, because I am keen to find out how quickly they'll fix the issue, and how they'll go about doing that.

James replied and said that he’d reach out to their HDMI board supplier and he’d get back to me once he was able to speak with them. I’m not 100% ruling out the problem being cable related. I’ve had so many random HDMI cable issue over the years that I should have some extras laying around. I’m probably going to order a couple of new ones and see if that fixes things. My testing of things last night and this morning seems to isolate it to the ports themselves, but I’m going to snag a new cable this week and see for sure. I actually now have things touted in a way that makes more sense than before because of the way I calibrate my tv inputs individually, but I still don’t want an A16 where have the HDMI inputs don’t work as intended.

 

[jazzfan]

Not sure if this has been discussed here before, but just a word of caution to all A8 & A16 owners. I think it would be prudent if all Realiser owners invest in some form of UPS (with surge protection) or surge protector to guard against severe electrical conditions.

I mention this because I believe my A8 fell victim to a brownout a few years ago. My A8 has been bricked ever since. After the event, my A8 would only partially reboot then hang. I returned the unit to Smyth for diagnosis and repair. But unfortunately, they were unable to resuscitate my A8 because parts needed for the repair were no longer available.

No gear is immune to electrical damage, so a few hundred dollars for surge protection or a battery backup (with surge protection) may be a worthwhile investment to protect your Realiser.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I find the LS 50 wireless (actually powered) speakers pretty remarkable. For me the listening experience is equal to that of my much more expensive floor standing Thiel speakers. There is something of a limitation in that large speakers simply move more air, so in a larger room they convey the size of an orchestra, for example, more realistically. But in the small offfice where I use them they are just terrific!

When I had my big house, and my 18 x 24 x 15 listening room, I had Aerial Acoustics 10t's in it. Now that my listening room 12 x 12 x 8, the LS 50s and a single SB 2000 is more than adequate. Something in that room as large as my Aerials or your Thiels would be like using a howitzer to kill a bunny rabbit.

 

[Eich1eeF]

I mention this because I believe my A8 fell victim to a brownout a few years ago. My A8 has been bricked ever since. After the event, my A8 would only partially reboot then hang. I returned the unit to Smyth for diagnosis and repair. But unfortunately, they were unable to resuscitate my A8 because parts needed for the repair were no longer available.

No gear is immune to electrical damage, so a few hundred dollars for surge protection or a battery backup may be a worthwhile investment to protect your Realiser.

I don't think a brownout as such could damage the realiser. The external power supply is a switch mode model, and should not produce output voltages that can damage the realiser just due to a too low input voltage. I'd consider a electric surge a more likely cause, and a UPS won't necessarily protect from those. Get surge protectors, you'll need to have high energy protectors installed in your distribution panel and lower energy surge protectors at your outlets. Check them regularly to see if they have tripped and need to be replaced.

 

[krismusic]

Does anyone know why my backing of the Realiser does not show on the app? I emailed James but no response.

 

[Kiritz]

Yes! And the beauty is that with the Realiser you'll be able to scale up that experience (as @phoenixdogfan and @jazzfan were saying earlier)

I have 3 Totem Hawks as front speakers but just a cheap pair of MA bronze for surrounds. I can't wait to finally hear a virtual full surround setup of hawks

My favorite PRIR was done with Zen Crescendo speakers ($16,000) and associated equipment at a similar level. We created a surround 5.1 system in which these speakers were emulated on the sides and center. Needless to say, listening to this through the Realiser A8 and STAX headphones is a terrific experience! But it's not so easy to find dealers or audiophiles willing to allow the measurements. I am hoping that the library on the Realiser A16 site will be useful for approaching the aural signature of some high level systems. That would be a great plus...

 

[bcwang]

Realiser (headstand SN 44, backer #12) just arrived in Austria!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaahhhhh!

(PS: Not so happy that the washing machine broke [amongst other things] and that I won’t have time to play with the Realiser until mid next week. Nevertheless, I’m excited!)

Woah, some coincidence with you Maestroso. My a16 is going to arrive tomorrow, and my washing machine just broke yesterday. I hope I can resolve the washing machine problem quickly so I can focus on the a16.

 

[audiohobbit]

Can someone tell me the dimensions of the 2U unit? I can't finde them at the moment. Where do the Smyths mention these?

Metric units appreciated, but I can also convert. Thanks.

To those who got the 2U unit already: Does it get very warm on the top? Are there cooling slots on the top?