[mercury79]

thank you for sharing since i preorder and i agree with your feelings, i dont think the early 2021 will be the date

When did you made the preorder?

 

[MichaelJames99]

I ordered mine on Feb 15, 2017. I am not sure what my pre order number is. Anyone else order around that time that knows your preorder number? Trying to get a guesstimate when I 'Might" get mine.

 

[sahmen]

thank you for sharing since i preorder and i agree with your feelings, i dont think the early 2021 will be the date

When did you made the preorder?

I preordered in Sept/October 2017. Preorder #226 is pretty late in the game, however one looks at it,

 

[mrtim6]

I wrote to James yesterday and received the following email response - I have included my original email requesting my preorder number.

James email response here:

I've checked and you're pre-order number #160
We will continue to ship the remaining KS units in the new year and then we'll begin shipping pre-orders out.

Please provide me with your new shipping address once you have it.

I appreciate your continued support and patience.

I wish you a Merry Christmas I'll be in contact with you in the New Year.

Regards
James

my original email here:


Good evening James,

I was wondering where in the pre-orders am I ? (Which number)

Also many people on the Smyth Realiser headfi thread are sympathetic to your financial difficulties. We as a group may be able to assist, suggestions have been floating around in relation to extended warranties or a small monthly fee for the realiser exchange- assuming you are able to upload content or encourage members to share their rooms with the site. This may be a way to generate some income with hopefully not costing your small team too much time and money.

Since my preorder I have moved house here in Australia and will update you closer to my as of yet unknown shipping date.

I sincerely hope your are all well and have a safe Christmas and hopefully prosperous new year. Despite the frustration with a lack of updates I honestly wish you all success.

Warm regards,

 

[You Gene]

For your info only and for what it's worth (according to a post on HCFR) :
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum...-realiser-a16-voir-post-1-t30075654-1995.html

Following an order for a AES A16, James would have replied :
...Our factory APM who supply the components had their factory burnt down a month ago, so Stephen had to redesign the boards.
We'll hopefully have a clearer picture on when the AES unit can be built and shipped...

 

[Eich1eeF]

Following an order for a AES A16, James would have replied :
...Our factory APM who supply the components had their factory burnt down a month ago, so Stephen had to redesign the boards.
We'll hopefully have a clearer picture on when the AES unit can be built and shipped...

Is that a typo and he's referring to AKM? https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/business/akm-factory-fire-shakes-up-pro-audio-industry

 

[You Gene]

Is that a typo and he's referring to AKM? https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/business/akm-factory-fire-shakes-up-pro-audio-industry

I think you are spot-on.
According to MDS (manufacturing Smyth HSR41T HDMI repeater and APM 110 decoder sub-assemblies) : http://www.mds.com/partners/
...MDS also works with a number of software suppliers to offer unique capability for our customers. Collectively these supply partner companies include:
AKM (DAC and ADC)...

 

[sander99]

pre-order number #160

And when did you pre-order if I may ask?
I pre-ordered June 8 2017, and would like to know if I am above or below #160.
(And prefer not to bother the Smyths with non vital questions.)

 

[mikemav]

And when did you pre-order if I may ask?
I pre-ordered June 8 2017, and would like to know if I am above or below #160.
(And prefer not to bother the Smyths with non vital questions.)

Yes I'm also curious, I pre-ordered on Oct 2016 so hopefully fairly high up on the list once KS is done, but who knows. Also as it's four years later and our only child is now 19 and moved out, I do not even have the need for high end headphone audio as much as before being empty-nesters now. Anyone have an idea the market value these are selling for if/when I ever get mine and decide I want to part with it? I tried to sell my place in line about a year ago but never got a response from the Smyths when I asked them to help facilitate that.

 

[esimms86]

Yes I'm also curious, I pre-ordered on Oct 2016 so hopefully fairly high up on the list once KS is done, but who knows. Also as it's four years later and our only child is now 19 and moved out, I do not even have the need for high end headphone audio as much as before being empty-nesters now. Anyone have an idea the market value these are selling for if/when I ever get mine and decide I want to part with it? I tried to sell my place in line about a year ago but never got a response from the Smyths when I asked them to help facilitate that.

I'm not saying that this will happen to you but sometimes our kids move back in...

 

[mrtim6]

And when did you pre-order if I may ask?
I pre-ordered June 8 2017, and would like to know if I am above or below #160.
(And prefer not to bother the Smyths with non vital questions.)

In June 2017

 

[phoenixdogfan]

It is a long, and mostly uninspiring story... But maybe the best, and quickest way to respond, is to paste here below, this reply I received from James Smyth on December 14th (I mean this month) after writing to inquire about my pre-order number and where I stand in the line:

********************
Hi P....,


Sorry for the late reply.

You're still on the list for delivery of the A16, you are pre-order number #226
We have almost completed KS order and once that's complete we will begin pre-orders.
I understand your frustration, but our aim is for everyone who has pre-ordered to receive a unit.
The real issue is that the KS price we established initially doesn't even cover the costs to make the A16, so we got the pricing wrong.
So at this point we either pack it in and pay everyone's money back, this would result in bankruptcy, or we put a number of units aside and start to sell at retail price to make some money and ship KS at the same time.
It's a juggling act really. On top of that there is essentially 3 people working full time making who don't even make minimum wage, so everything we is to keep the lights on in the hope of getting through this backlog and start moving forward with the business.

I really appreciate your patience and I know it's not nice, but everything we are doing is to make sure everyone who has paid will get their unit, because the day they don't is the day our doors shut and we're finished as a business.

I expect that your unit will be shipped early 2021.

Again I'm sorry for the extremely long wait, but your unit will be delivered.


Best Regards
James

****************************
If you want my reaction to the note, I have been both deeply touched, and also even more p*ssed off... especially at James

"Deeply touched," not only by the story of financial managerial ineptitude that sounds almost too tragic to be true, coming from guys like the Smyths who have the smarts and talents to come up with a product such as the A-16, but also because it is the first time I have ever felt that James was telling me something resembling "the whole truth"..., exthcept for one glaringly odd and dissonant line, which spoiled it all once again for me..., namely :

"I expect that your unit will be shipped early 2021."
/

I know this is disappointing for a lot of people, but common sense needs to prevail here. James said it all when he said that they didn't correctly estimate the costs when doing the initial funding. That has been apparent for almost three years now. Anyone can do a calculation on the back of an envelope, figure the number of kick starter backers and estimate the number of prepays, and figure what the revenue inflows were and readily come to the conclusion it hasn't been nearly sufficient to sustain a four year campaign of bringing this product to market and fulfilling their order commitments. The shortfalls have been apparent, and explain the behaviors we've been seeing all along.

Still, they are in business. Making product and sending out orders, so there is certainly hope they can thread this needle. The time for recriminations is long past. I know it's painful for the preorders (none of whom have their realizer yet), and the kick starter backers (many of whom are also still waiting), but the alternative is even worse. So we can only counsel patience. Just because the Smyths are genius electronic engineers, doesn't mean they are crack business people. I think they acted in good faith, albeit with a great deal of naivete about how arduous an undertaking this truly was.

Is that a typo and he's referring to AKM? https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/business/akm-factory-fire-shakes-up-pro-audio-industry

OMG! Talk about snakebit! First the original boards are taken out of circulation, then covid hits, now another supplier has their factory burn to the ground. Better hope these guys don't get the new and improved Covid circulating around Great Britain!

 

[Eich1eeF]

I think you are spot-on.
According to MDS (manufacturing Smyth HSR41T HDMI repeater and APM 110 decoder sub-assemblies) : http://www.mds.com/partners/
...MDS also works with a number of software suppliers to offer unique capability for our customers. Collectively these supply partner companies include:
AKM (DAC and ADC)...

As far as I know, the headphone, analog 16 channel and stereo in/out interfaces are all on Smyth proprietary boards, only the HDMI and DSP boards are from MDS. There may be some interface chips on the MDS parts used, but not DACs or ADCs.

 

[You Gene]

As far as I know, the headphone, analog 16 channel and stereo in/out interfaces are all on Smyth proprietary boards, only the HDMI and DSP boards are from MDS. There may be some interface chips on the MDS parts used, but not DACs or ADCs.

What about their DAC AK4414EQ from AKM according to their documentation from 2016 ; provided the info is still up to date of course.

 

[sahmen]

I know this is disappointing for a lot of people, but common sense needs to prevail here. James said it all when he said that they didn't correctly estimate the costs when doing the initial funding. That has been apparent for almost three years now. Anyone can do a calculation on the back of an envelope, figure the number of kick starter backers and estimate the number of prepays, and figure what the revenue inflows were and readily come to the conclusion it hasn't been nearly sufficient to sustain a four year campaign of bringing this product to market and fulfilling their order commitments. The shortfalls have been apparent, and explain the behaviors we've been seeing all along.

Still, they are in business. Making product and sending out orders, so there is certainly hope they can thread this needle. The time for recriminations is long past. I know it's painful for the preorders (none of whom have their realizer yet), and the kick starter backers (many of whom are also still waiting), but the alternative is even worse. So we can only counsel patience. Just because the Smyths are genius electronic engineers, doesn't mean they are crack business people. I think they acted in good faith, albeit with a great deal of naivete about how arduous an undertaking this truly was.

OMG! Talk about snakebit! First the original boards are taken out of circulation, then covid hits, now another supplier has their factory burn to the ground. Better hope these guys don't get the new and improved Covid circulating around Great Britain!

@phoenixdogfan I take your point about genius electronic engineers not necessarily being crack business people. That is really not hard to understand, but that is not what pissed me off. Besides I actually appreciated the candor of most of James' letter, as I specifically noted in my response, What pissed me off, which is something your response does not address, was the inexplicable promise made after the explanation James gives for the delays, namely that :'

"I expect that your unit will be shipped early 2021."

I hope you did not miss this part about "early 2021" shipping. James was making this promise, after telling me that my pre-order number is 226. Now, I am not even sure that all the remaining KS orders "will be shipped early 2021," talk less of my pre-order #226. This is just a common sense inference.,

So I could also no longer attribute this gaffe (if that is what one might call it) to "naivete," lack of business savvy, or any of the other excuses you have made on his behalf. I simply do not think that promise was made in good faith, and that such a move was disingenuous on his part in a letter in which he had appeared to be doing his best to "come clean." Still, if you have a more plausible or compelling explanation for that promise, I am all ears (or eyes).

For the record, I am personally not holding my breath for any early 2021 delivery, nor am I feeling "hurt" or "disappointed" any more about this machine, which is all it is. when all is said and done, another toy, an expensive toy, yes, but just another toy among other toys, nonetheless. In my mind, I have already written it off as a bad investment, which is not worth the 3 years of stress I have already wasted on it. Let it get shipped when it will, or not. I am not going to gift it another year of stressful anticipation. My humble opinion is that in these tense and bizarre pandemic ridden times, we all have much bigger fish to fry any way,