[Sordel]

You can if you configure your Oppo to send LPCM over HDMI.

I don't think the A16 supports DSD, so a conversion to PCM somewhere is inevitable, the Oppo can handle that for you. How do you connect your A16 to your receiver? [Snip]

I would have assumed that the magnetic tracking should work everywhere in any orientation. The optical tracking requires line of sight.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. I've double checked tonight. With the Oppo set to output PCM for SACD and PCM over HDMI and a direct HDMI connection to the A16 (no receiver between the two) I only get two channels of information on SACD playback even though the Oppo displays 5.0. Similarly, with Chicago II on BR, the Oppo displays DTS-MA 4.0 but only two channels of audio are received by the A16. (Note: if I set the Oppo to output Bitstream, there is no audio at all with this DTS stream and it will only play the Stereo layer.) The Oppo does properly decode MLP Lossless, Atmos and Dolby Master surround so, unless something changes in the firmware, I think that's where my collection divides into playable/unplayable.

I do NOT use the HDMI pass-through of the A16 when using my Oppo 203. The A16 is simply fed from HDMI2-out (audio-only), and the A16 is powered on when I want to use my headphones.

HDMI1-out of the 203 goes to my AVR, to provide video-only when the A16 is powered on, and then HDMI-out of the AVR goes to the TV. When the A16 is powered off HDMI1-out carries both audio and video to the AVR, so that the speakers (managed by the AVR) are heard.

The 203 is configured Setup Menu -> Audio output setup -> HDMI audio format. For all non-Atmos multi-channel (e.g. 5.1 or 7.1, lossy or lossless, Dolby or DTS) audio (either from a disc played by the Oppo, or from an HDMI external input source feeding the Oppo such as HDTV DVR or Roku etc.) you might as well set HDMI audio format to LPCM. This lets the Oppo perform all audio decoding upstream to the A16 for any audio format (including DTS) and feed 2.0/5.1/7.1 audio as LPCM to the A16 (via HDMI2-out of the Oppo when you have the A16 powered on). This will be handled by the A16 through a "PCM room" and will work perfectly. When the A16 is powered off the decoded multi-channel LPCM audio will be fed along with video through HDMI1-out of the Oppo to your AVR, so that you can listen to multi-channel sound through the multiple speakers managed by the AVR..

For Atmos output from a disc played by the Oppo, reconfigure Audio Output Setup -> HDMI audio format to BITSTREAM. Now the audio output from HDMI2-out of the Oppo will carry the still-decoded Dolby Atmos audio to the A16, where it will be handled by the A16 through an "Atmos room". If the A16 is powered off the Atmos BITSTREAM audio will be sent along with video out of HDMI1-out of the Oppo, to your AVR for decoding there.

Thanks for the very full response, of which this is only the first half (I don't use Roku or Apple TV). In particular I note that I need to turn the Oppo from LPCM to Bitstream to watch Atmos, which would have had me scratching my head tomorrow (since Atmos worked perfectly today but I turned to PCM while testing Eich's suggestions.

Note that my Oppo is a 105 so it may not do everything that your 203 does.

I currently have my receiver plugged into my Oppo and my Oppo plugged into my TV, so I can watch any source selected in the receiver through the A16 with the receiver off. The one snag is that to watch something from the Oppo with sound on the speakers I have to feed the sound back to the receiver optically, which means simple stereo. Maybe I'll try your setup but after two days of testing every cable every whichway I'm loathe to move everything again right now.

 

[Fox1977]

I am going to have to print it (I have no printer), fill it out and sign it,scan it along with the front and back of my social security card, and upload the scan to them for them to obtain customs release and to not send the thing back to Smyth.

With Adobe Reader and the Fill and Sign feature, you can fill the PDF form straight from your computer and save it with the modifications. You don't need to print it and then scan it to have it back in a digital version.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

This is a thing with UPS too. They ask for a SS number when dealing with customs. They also make you sign power of attorney for outgoing customs, but I don’t you have to for incoming.

Do you have a FexEx Kinkos close? I know for sure that they would have printing and scanning. UPS would print, not sure about scanning though. You could scan to PDF with your smartphone regardless of whether you’re on iOS or Android. There should be a good amount of apps for that.

I am probably going to find a way to do that tonight. Thanks.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

With Adobe Reader and the Fill and Sign feature, you can fill the PDF form straight from your computer and save it with the modifications. You don't need to print it and then scan it to have it back in a digital version.

I'll get at the windows store. Thanks.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Smyth claims to be able to make PRIRs transferable between users on the Realiser Exchange, so I think they have a way to de-personalize a measurement. The BBC Room works pretty well for me and it is of course not personalized.

I have to wonder when they will make this available. Thanks to JazzFan I have 16 channel Brir of D & D8Cs, a well as Prirs or Magicos, and Revel Salon 2s. Would be absolutely great if we could just use what we already have uploaded to the drive. So the question is when, when, when? And how much?

 

[dsperber]

Note that my Oppo is a 105 so it may not do everything that your 203 does.

I currently have my receiver plugged into my Oppo and my Oppo plugged into my TV, so I can watch any source selected in the receiver through the A16 with the receiver off. The one snag is that to watch something from the Oppo with sound on the speakers I have to feed the sound back to the receiver optically, which means simple stereo. Maybe I'll try your setup but after two days of testing every cable every whichway I'm loathe to move everything again right now.

I didn't want to complicate things in my earlier comments any more than needed to make my points. But in truth I actually have BOTH (a) Oppo 203, for 4K and Atmos support, and (b) Oppo 103. Whereas the 203 has HDMI2-out built as "audio only", the 103 is configured in its Settings to "split A/V mode" which causes its HDMI2-out to be audio-only if the connected device is powered on.

And to be completely honest and completely accurate BOTH Oppo players are currently connected to the A16:

(a) BDP-103: HDMI1-out -> HDMI1 input of Yamaha RX-A860 AVR
HDMI2-out -> HDMI1 input of the A16 (previously this used to go to A8)
Back HDMI-input - not used
Front HDMI-input - not used

(b) UDP-203: HDMI1-out -> HDMI2 input of Yamaha RX-A860 AVR
HDMI2-out -> HDMI2 input of the A16
Back HDMI-input fed from 4-to-1 HDMI SWITCH (which is fed from Roku Ultra and two cable TV DVRs)

(c) ATV4K: HDMI-out -> HDMI3 input of the A16, HDMI-out of the A16 -> HDMI3 input of the RX-A860 AVR

The Oppo 203 was part of my 4K/Atmos/A16 upgrade last year which included replacing my 1080p Panny 65VT50 HDTV with 4K LG 65OLEDC9. I kept the 103 (1080p output) but almost never use it any longer since I don't want to feed 1080p to my LG for upconversion of 1080p to 2160p by the LG. Instead, I now want to have all upconversion done by the 203, always feeding its 2160p ouput to my LG directly. This means using the Oppo 203 as my video processor and upconverting anything as required using the 203.

Part of the 203 reconfiguration included relocating the external HDMI inputs (which used to go through the front/back HDMI ports of the 103 when I had a 1080p HDTV, so that the 103 fed 1080p to the HDTV) over to the new HDMI switch and back HDMI input of the 203. This was done to give me 720p/1080i/1080p -> 2160p upconversion done by the Oppo 203. This includes upconversion to 2160p by the 203 for non-4K Roku input, 1080p BluRay disc, 720p DVD, and 720p/1080i HDTV. Native 4K (non-DV) 2160p Roku input is passed through the 203 untouched.

Note that currently for the 203 and previously with the 103, HDMI2-out of the Oppo goes to the A8/A16 for multi-channel audio (either LPCM or bitstream). It's truly as if the A8/A16 is an "external audio system". Yes, because video is always passed through the AVR and on to the TV the AVR must always be powered on in order to watch anything on the TV. But my configuration also allows me to listen through speakers attached to the AVR if I don't want to use headphones (which also allows me to power off the A16 when not needed), since AVR is always on anyway.

In other words, theoretically you have the ability to watch TV and listen through headphones with the A16 on while having your AVR powered off. But if you want to listen through speakers you must not only turn your AVR on but you must also leave your A16 on since "HDMI-passthrough in standby" is not yet a thing with the A16. In my case, I always have my AVR on (since it feeds video to the TV) but only turn my A16 on when I want to listen through headphones. I can leave my A16 off when I want to listen through speakers.

Also, the Oppo players were designed to "feed an external audio system via audio-only HDMI2-out". And the A8/A16 fed from HDMI2-out is really what Oppo had in mind, for delivering multi-channel LPCM or bitstream.

 

[Eich1eeF]

I downloaded the form and found out, it does not accept digtital input, so I am going to have to print it (I have no printer), fill it out and sign it,scan it along with the front and back of my social security card, and upload the scan to them for them to obtain customs release and to not send the thing back to Smyth.

You can still edit PDFs, even if they aren't designed as forms. I use https://inkscape.org/ for that you can to place new text boxes wherever you want. It can also export as PDF, but essentially any program nowadays should be able to "print" to a PDF. For you signature, just sign on a blank piece of paper and take a photo with your cellphone. import into the PDF, and you're done. Signing with a mouse, with only straight lines and 90° corners etc is good enough in most cases.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

You can still edit PDFs, even if they aren't designed as forms. I use https://inkscape.org/ for that you can to place new text boxes wherever you want. It can also export as PDF, but essentially any program nowadays should be able to "print" to a PDF. For you signature, just sign on a blank piece of paper and take a photo with your cellphone. import into the PDF, and you're done. Signing with a mouse, with only straight lines and 90° corners etc is good enough in most cases.

Thanks I already have it taken care of. I found something that had a 30 day free trial that I could "cancel anytime", so I used it to write to the PDF, place a signature on it, and save the filled out form to another pdf. Already sent to Dhl.

BTW, the subscription rate for that piece of unitasking software was $96 annually. I wonder if they sell any, or if people just use it when they need to and then cancel like I did.

 

[audiohobbit]

You don't need a scanner either, just take photos of the documents with your smartphone (if you have one of course).
Cameras are good enough nowadays for that. I always do this, don't know when I had my last scanner, must be 10 years or more.
You'd have to crop and resize and compress the photo a little bit afterwards. I use the free IrfanView for that.

Only if I'd have to scan more than 10 or so pages I'd go to a print shop, I think they could also scan (or do it in the office where I work...)

 

[Indisch]

Hi,

I have two questions about the optical output which I was hoping someone here might be able to answer. Maybe they have already been answered here but I wasn’t able to find the correct page. So forgive me if this is a repeated question. If I have an encoded Dolby bitstream at the input, does the a16 decode it to pcm and give out 2 channel pcm via the optical output? The other question is if I can connect an AVR and get the virtual Surround Sound on a pair of speakers?

also does anyone else have issues with the optical input ? Often there is no signal and I have to select another Input and go back to optical input several times before I get an Signal. Thanks for any help given.

 

[sander99]

If I have an encoded Dolby bitstream at the input, does the a16 decode it to pcm and give out 2 channel pcm via the optical output?

What you normally get out of the user A and B spdif outputs is the processed Smyth Virtual Surround (SVS) signal intended for the headphones, for user A and B respectively. (However it is possible to do a normal downmix to normal stereo.)

The other question is if I can connect an AVR and get the virtual Surround Sound on a pair of speakers?

No, you would not get the virtual surround effect. What the A16 produces is a binaural simulation of loudspeakers. It is crucial that the left channel output goes only to your left ear and the right channel output goes only to your right ear, which of course happens when you use headphones. With loudspeakers both ears hear both speakers plus reflections and reverberations in the room, that will not work at all.
(You can of course play back the normal downmix with loudspeakers.)

 

[Indisch]

hi Sander,
Thx for the reply. That’s good to know that I can output the unprocessed signal auswell. I guess this is to be found somewhere in the settings. Will have to check later.
About the binauralization, that indeed makes sense. Didn’t think of the crosstalk between the channels.

 

[sander99]

I guess this is to be found somewhere in the settings.

see:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/smyth-research-realiser-a16.807459/page-670#post-15838798

 

[sander99]

@Indisch: you can of course also use the A16 as a (very basic) surround decoder pre-amp: you can connect up to 16 channels of amplification plus speakers to the 16 channel analog outputs. Only the A16 does not (yet) provide controls for levels, delays, or parametric EQ.

 

[VandyMan]

I discovered that the A-16v2 handles HDMI CEC differently than the v1. My Apple TV can now turn on/off my TV even with the HDMI routed thru the A-16. More interestingly, this even works with the A-16 in standby, so it is probably a feature of the new board. Unfortunately, the A-16 itself does not turn on/off.