Smyth Research Realiser A16
Dec 23, 2019 at 9:19 PM Post #7,651 of 15,951
To everyone, is it possible to create a full 9.1.6 PRIR from assigning one by one spkr from an external PRIR?
I explain: i made my own 9.1.6 PRIR which have my HRTF that i am happy with.. now would like to change and swap every spkrs to new ones from an external 2.0 PRIR only. Is it possible?
Allow me to second the thank you. Thanks guys for all your hard work.
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 10:36 AM Post #7,653 of 15,951
Just want to make sure I wasn’t missing anything obvious. I know that 1.80 fully implemented Async measurements, but none of the needed files including 5.1 have been released yet?
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 11:22 AM Post #7,654 of 15,951
hey All.... I read over on the French site a couple posts are saying the new firmware update is causing A8 to A16 conversion errors... So, what I would suggest is wait for confirmation that the software bug is real before updating your firmware...

If someone has updated the firmware to the latest can you try one of the A8 prir files that was uploaded yesterday... and tell us if the bug is real or not... I would do it myself but have not updated my firmware yet and won't if this bug is real... if real we need to report it back to the Smyths for correction... Also... if you have updated the firmware and do experience the A8 to A16 conversion error.. then I will create a full up A8 to A16 conversion PRIR for testing purposes to see if a converted PRIR file still works or if it errors out too with the new firmware...
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 3:29 PM Post #7,655 of 15,951
Just want to make sure I wasn’t missing anything obvious. I know that 1.80 fully implemented Async measurements, but none of the needed files including 5.1 have been released yet?
I think so yes. I assume they will put them in the downoads folder where they put the firmware.
From the update instructions:
We plan to create a number of different speaker setups and look angle combinations covering stereo all the way to 9.1.6ch. These video files will be made available for download from our website in due course.
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 6:46 PM Post #7,656 of 15,951
I think so yes. I assume they will put them in the downoads folder where they put the firmware.
From the update instructions:

Thanks. That’s what I thought, I just wasn’t sure if I was missing something obvious.
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 7:29 PM Post #7,657 of 15,951
With the new firmware, it looks like the four biggest remaining items are: DTS-X Certification, PRIR from single speaker, vertical headtracking, and a web-based GUI.
 
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Dec 24, 2019 at 7:58 PM Post #7,659 of 15,951
To everyone, is it possible to create a full 9.1.6 PRIR from assigning one by one spkr from an external PRIR?
I explain: i made my own 9.1.6 PRIR which have my HRTF that i am happy with.. now would like to change and swap every spkrs to new ones from an external 2.0 PRIR only. Is it possible?
I am not sure what exactly is your question. The part "now would like to change and swap every spkrs to new ones from an external 2.0 PRIR only." is confusing to me but I suspect it is just a language issue(?).
You can create additional presets with rooms that use for example some speakers from your 9.1.6 PRIR and some speakers from one or more other PRIRs.
(Or you can change the room you use now with your 9.1.6 PRIR and assign speakers from other PRIRs to some of the channels. But creating new presets with new rooms to experiment with seems more logical to me.)
When it is an Atmos or DTS-X room the speaker labels must match with the channels you want to use them for.
If it is a PCM room you have more freedom, maybe you can even assign a front speaker to a surround channel or something like that (but I am not sure), but it won't make much sense because the speaker will be in the wrong position.

Does this answer your question?
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 9:41 PM Post #7,660 of 15,951
I am not sure what exactly is your question. The part "now would like to change and swap every spkrs to new ones from an external 2.0 PRIR only." is confusing to me but I suspect it is just a language issue(?).
You can create additional presets with rooms that use for example some speakers from your 9.1.6 PRIR and some speakers from one or more other PRIRs.
(Or you can change the room you use now with your 9.1.6 PRIR and assign speakers from other PRIRs to some of the channels. But creating new presets with new rooms to experiment with seems more logical to me.)
When it is an Atmos or DTS-X room the speaker labels must match with the channels you want to use them for.
If it is a PCM room you have more freedom, maybe you can even assign a front speaker to a surround channel or something like that (but I am not sure), but it won't make much sense because the speaker will be in the wrong position.

Does this answer your question?
Sorry for my confusing txt..the thing is i m trying to experiment something related with the HRTF with the A16, after creating my own PRIR based on real spkrs capture, i made a listening room that i am pretty happy with the localisation of the different spkrs etc.. Thing that i didn t managed to reach with the BBS or Surrey rooms even with the manloudEQ etc.. So now, i m trying to replace the virtual spkrs in my own listening room ( with my HRTF) with the spkrs from the BBC or Surrey to see if they will stay "in the same spot" in my virtual room based on my HRTF..Hope i was clearer this time with my poor english..
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 10:42 PM Post #7,661 of 15,951
So now, i m trying to replace the virtual spkrs in my own listening room ( with my HRTF) with the spkrs from the BBC or Surrey to see if they will stay "in the same spot" in my virtual room based on my HRTF.
Ok, I understand. You know how to do it now?
(I must say I probably am not the right person to help you with the details because I don't have my A16 yet. I think you should first see chapter 10 of the manual to learn how to configure a room, and then chapter 7 to learn how to use that room in a preset. There is not much more I can do for you.)
 
Dec 24, 2019 at 11:04 PM Post #7,662 of 15,951
With the new firmware, it looks like the four biggest remaining items are: DTS-X Certification, PRIR from single speaker, vertical headtracking, and a web-based GUI.
I installed the new A16 firmware today, including updating the HT firmware, thus facilitating a new optical-only "legacy A8" mode of operation with the ST. Then I went through the regular steps following a full factory reset including turning off key pad solo keys, turning on preset-based SOURCE and increasing max volume above 79. I then re-entered my user name, rebuilt my two PCM listening rooms (5.1 and 7.1) from the preserved internal AIX PRIRs, as well as constructing my Atmos room (9.1.6) by first adding "all speakers" from the BBC PRIR, and then overlaying the 7.1 horizontal speakers from my AIX 7.1 PRIR. Finally, I recreated my presets 1-9 (5.1, 7.1 and 9.1.6, for each input HDMI1, HDMI2 and HDMI3) to include my preserved internal Stax SR-009 HPEQ. I think I may now have this procedure pretty much committed to memory. Next time it's necessary I may not even reference the manual.

Also, having never done it before now (although I was informed a while back that it was actually required), I also used this opportunity to perform the obligatory HT [re-]calibration process, first placing the HT in the freezer for 1/2 hour, etc. Sure enough it took about 20 minutes and the HT LED went through all of the predicted color changes and blinks, eventually setlling down to a solid green. While waiting for it to complete I did take the time to read the manual regarding the several ways the new A16 HT can now operate in.

So now I was pretty much ready to try things out with the new firmware. There was one very significant change in my setup environment however, in that I've recently replaced my old Panasonic 65VT50 (1080p) with a new 65" LG OLED C9 (4K). This is quite significant because the Panny plasma panel was relatively "thick", including the chrome bezel edging all around the glass. With the Panny there was a flat top edge around 1/2" thick of chrome that I could nicely affix the A16's ST to (using 2-sided tape). However the LG C9 pretty much has nothing but thin glass with a thin black metal edging all around it. So the LG's top edge and most of its visible area is actually only .1" thick (electronics contained in a thicker part down in the the bottom-back of the set), thus well deserving of its description of "picture on glass". Actually, the E9 model IS "picture on glass", with 100% of the panel being .1" thick (electronics in a separate unit connected by a ribbon cable to the panel). In any case it is now very problematic to attach the A16 ST to the top edge of my C9 which is only .1" thick. In fact at the moment the ST is NOT re-attached to the top edge of the TV and thus is also NOT re-connected to the A16.

This forced me to learn about and experiment with HT modes that do not involve use of the ST, namely "none" and "magnetic". So I also learned about the "+0 azimuth reset" button on top of the HT which is a terrific feature that allows you to watch TV from an "off-center" seat location or non-perpendicular off-angle from the TV (as would be required if you were using optical-only A8-mode) and yet still have the sound appear to be coming straight at you from L/R as if you were truly seated centrally and looking straight ahead at the screen.

Turns out "magnetic" works great for me! I never knew! No more ST green lights to distract, no more having to physically center myself directly opposite the ST and always look straight ahead in order to get balanced L/R sound in my ears. While obviously even using "magnetic" the sound field moves as I turn my head left or right (same as when using the ST and optical stabilization), it actually sounds very very natural to have this happen without involving the ST. Maybe it's the freedom to sit anywhere and look at the TV from any angle, and then "reset +0 azimuth" with the button so that now whatever is the "look angle" at the TV, that's balanced L/R sound seemingly "coming straight at you".

Excellent! I think I've found my HT mode of choice, and it is NOT "A8 legacy". Nor will it likely involve using the ST and optical stabilization. "Magnetic" FTW.


Now regarding other items presumably fixed in this latest firmware update, I can report that ALL OF MY CLICKS AND NOISES ARE GONE! No more minor noises during the power-on of the A16. No more minor noises during the initial loading of presets at the end of the power-on process.

And most impressive, NO MORE BIG POP WHEN CHANGING PRESET!

Interestlingly, I can still hear the big relay in my external DAC go OPEN right after I push a preset button on the A16 remote, at the start of the process when things are now apparently getting muted properly (by the fix in 1.80) on the optical output to the DAC. Then a few seconds later when the new preset has been fully loaded and all things internal properly initialized, things are apparently then getting un-muted properly and I can once again hear the big relay in my external DAC close, making real sound once again available to the headphones.

And throughout the entire process of changing to a new preset it has now been TOTAL SILENCE from the headphones. No more BIG POP. Of course through the open Stax phones I can easily hear the big physical OPEN and CLOSE sound of the relay in the DAC (unique to my Audio-GD NFB9 DAC for sure, but maybe in others as well, although not using the internal DAC in the A16). But thankfully the previously startling BIG POP from the headphones has been successfully disappeared due to the 1.80 firmware fix of this issue.
 
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Dec 25, 2019 at 4:16 AM Post #7,663 of 15,951
Okay, here's a question for you lucky ones who have had your A-16s to tinker with for a while : To what extent does the headphone one uses matter in defining the quality of the sound one hears through the A-16? I am specifically wondering whether the character of the headphone one is using is distinctively experienced, or whether that character or flavor is overwhelmed by the sound of the speakers that the headphone is simulating.

In the initial demos of the A-16 that I saw on the internet, I thought I noticed an overwhelming preference for the Sennheiser HD-800, as the main go-to headphone of choice for the Smyths. Initially, I thought that was because of the HD800's famously wide and legendary soundstage, but then on second thoughts, it dawned on me that, the HD800's soundstage might not be necessary at all. The reason, as I imagined it, was that if the A-16 is really that good at reproducing the sound and positionalities of the speakers that are used for a given PRIR, then the importance of the type of headphone, or the size of its soundstage, all become secondary. Every decent and well-made headphone should be able to produce the sounds from each speaker and their positions equally well. Is this impression correct? That bears asking since these are all hypothetical speculations that I am making without ever having experienced an A-16 or A-8 before in person.

Put in another way, if I were to use three sample headphones, let us say the Sennheiser HD800, the HD650, and a Hifiman He-1000SE to listen to a movie on the A16 using the same PRIR, will I hear a difference between the SQ's of the 3 headphones? If so, what kind? Will it still be obvious that the HD800 has the widest soundstage of the three, or that the He-1000SE has the best bass response, or that the HD650 is the least technically sophisticated headphone of the three, especially, if I am using them to watch movies? Will such things as imaging or the positioning of incoming sounds differ from headphone to headphone, even if they are all simulating the same speakers in the same positions? I can imagine the headphone type making some kind of difference for music, although I am not exactly sure what kind. For movies, on the other hand, I am not seeing how the differences (if any) might sound like, but I am hoping those who have the A-16 (or even the A-8) in hand can enlighten me about this.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Dec 25, 2019 at 4:36 AM Post #7,664 of 15,951
I installed the new A16 firmware today, including updating the HT firmware, thus facilitating a new optical-only "legacy A8" mode of operation with the ST. Then I went through the regular steps following a full factory reset including turning off key pad solo keys, turning on preset-based SOURCE and increasing max volume above 79. I then re-entered my user name, rebuilt my two PCM listening rooms (5.1 and 7.1) from the preserved internal AIX PRIRs, as well as constructing my Atmos room (9.1.6) by first adding "all speakers" from the BBC PRIR, and then overlaying the 7.1 horizontal speakers from my AIX 7.1 PRIR. Finally, I recreated my presets 1-9 (5.1, 7.1 and 9.1.6, for each input HDMI1, HDMI2 and HDMI2) to include my preserved internal Stax SR-009 HPEQ. I think I may now have this procedure pretty much committed to memory. Next time it's necessary I may not even reference the manual.

Also, having never done it before now (although I was informed a while back that it was actually required), I also used this opportunity to perform the obligatory HT [re-]calibration process, first placing the HT in the freezer for 1/2 hour, etc. Sure enough it took about 20 minutes and the HT LED went through all of the predicted color changes and blinks, eventually setlling down to a solid green. While waiting for it to complete I did take the time to read the manual regarding the several ways the new A16 HT can now operate in.

So now I was pretty much ready to try things out with the new firmware. There was one very significant change in my setup environment however, in that I've recently replaced my old Panasonic 65VT50 (1080p) with a new 65" LG OLED C9 (4K). This is quite significant because the Panny plasma panel was relatively "thick", including the chrome bezel edging all around the glass. With the Panny there was a flat top edge around 1/2" thick of chrome that I could nicely affix the A16's ST to (using 2-sided tape). However the LG C9 pretty much has nothing but thin glass with a thin black metal edging all around it. So the LG's top edge and most of its visible area is actually only .1" thick (electronics contained in a thicker part down in the the bottom-back of the set), thus well deserving of its description of "picture on glass". Actually, the E9 model IS "picture on glass", with 100% of the panel being .1" thick (electronics in a separate unit connected by a ribbon cable to the panel). In any case it is now very problematic to attach the A16 ST to the top edge of my C9 which is only .1" thick. In fact at the moment the ST is NOT re-attached to the top edge of the TV and thus is also NOT re-connected to the A16.

This forced me to learn about and experiment with HT modes that do not involve use of the ST, namely "none" and "magnetic". So I also learned about the "+0 azimuth reset" button on top of the HT which is a terrific feature that allows you to watch TV from an "off-center" seat location or non-perpendicular off-angle from the TV (as would be required if you were using optical-only A8-mode) and yet still have the sound appear to be coming straight at you from L/R as if you were truly seated centrally and looking straight ahead at the screen.

Turns out "magnetic" works great for me! I never knew! No more ST green lights to distract, no more having to physically center myself directly opposite the ST and always look straight ahead in order to get balanced L/R sound in my ears. While obviously even using "magnetic" the sound field moves as I turn my head left or right (same as when using the ST and optical stabilization), it actually sounds very very natural to have this happen without involving the ST. Maybe it's the freedom to sit anywhere and look at the TV from any angle, and then "reset +0 azimuth" with the button so that now whatever is the "look angle" at the TV, that's balanced L/R sound seemingly "coming straight at you".

Excellent! I think I've found my HT mode of choice, and it is NOT "A8 legacy". Nor will it likely involve using the ST and optical stabilization. "Magnetic" FTW.


Now regarding other items presumably fixed in this latest firmware update, I can report that ALL OF MY CLICKS AND NOISES ARE GONE! No more minor noises during the power-on of the A16. No more minor noises during the initial loading of presets at the end of the power-on process.

And most impressive, NO MORE BIG POP WHEN CHANGING PRESET!

Interestlingly, I can still hear the big relay in my external DAC go OPEN right after I push a preset button on the A16 remote, at the start of the process when things are now apparently getting muted properly (by the fix in 1.80) on the optical output to the DAC. Then a few seconds later when the new preset has been fully loaded and all things internal properly initialized, things are apparently then getting un-muted properly and I can once again hear the big relay in my external DAC close, making real sound once again available to the headphones.

And throughout the entire process of changing to a new preset it has now been TOTAL SILENCE from the headphones. No more BIG POP. Of course through the open Stax phones I can easily hear the big physical OPEN and CLOSE sound of the relay in the DAC (unique to my Audio-GD NFB9 DAC for sure, but maybe in others as well, although not using the internal DAC in the A16). But thankfully the previously startling BIG POP from the headphones has been successfully disappeared due to the 1.80 firmware fix of this issue.

Really good information, particularly regarding the headtracking. After I finally spring for the A16, my next acquisition figures to be an LG Oled 55 B9 or C9, and now I pretty much know there won't be a good place to perch the "base station" for the optical headtracker. Which is actually good, because in researching headtracking it seemed to me that this method was at least theoretically a dinosaur given that things like inertial and magnetic orientation methods were available for other use cases of headtracking in the big world. Having you confirm that these methods work in the Smyth A16 environment means I'll probably be proceeding full speed ahead with both my planned actions.

Happy holidays, everyone.
 
Dec 25, 2019 at 4:54 AM Post #7,665 of 15,951
@sahmen : Ah yes, I forgot to mention: when I visited Richter Di I brought my modest $150 Sennheiser Massdrop HD58X and with that the-out-of-head experience was totally convincing for me.
(But I have no long time experience in critical listening to different headphones with the A16 or A8 of course.)
 

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