Smyth Research Realiser A16

[Rene Lou]

Tip: Take the time and create a XLS configuration file for the CSV processor of your A16.

I just updated the A16 with the new firmware 2.15 and loaded all settings / listening rooms / presets by simply copy my CSV files to the SD card again. The A16 will reconfigure all listening rooms and presets after a firmware update and factory restore with an additional reboot fully automatically.
You will have to save all XLS worksheets to individual CSV files. Saving all worksheets individually is time consuming as well, so I added a small Excel macro to the Smyth XLS file for saving all worksheets fully automatic to a new directory - here is the macro in case you are interested:

Sub Export_all_worksheets_as_csv_files()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim savePath As String
    Dim fileName As String
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    
    ' save filename
    fileName = ThisWorkbook.Name
    
    ' define save path incl. sub directory
    savePath = ThisWorkbook.Path & "\" & Left(fileName, InStrRev(fileName, ".") - 1) & "_saved_as_CSV\"
    
    ' check if directory already exists, otherwise create it
    If Dir(savePath, vbDirectory) = "" Then
        MkDir savePath
    End If
    
    ' loop for all worksheets
    For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
        ' create CSV-filename
        Dim csvFileName As String
        csvFileName = savePath & ws.Name & ".csv"
        
        ' save worksheet
        ws.SaveAs csvFileName, xlCSV
    Next ws
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    
    MsgBox "All worksheets have been saved in directory '" & Left(fileName, InStrRev(fileName, ".") - 1) & "_saved_as_CSV'.", vbInformation
End Sub

 

[Dixter]

Tip: Take the time and create a XLS configuration file for the CSV processor of your A16.

I just updated the A16 with the new firmware 2.15 and loaded all settings / listening rooms / presets by simply copy my CSV files to the SD card again. The A16 will reconfigure all listening rooms and presets after a firmware update and factory restore with an additional reboot fully automatically.
You will have to save all XLS worksheets to individual CSV files. Saving all worksheets individually is time consuming as well, so I added a small Excel macro to the Smyth XLS file for saving all worksheets fully automatic to a new directory - here is the macro in case you are interested:

Sub Export_all_worksheets_as_csv_files()
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim savePath As String
    Dim fileName As String
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
   
    ' save filename
    fileName = ThisWorkbook.Name
   
    ' define save path incl. sub directory
    savePath = ThisWorkbook.Path & "\" & Left(fileName, InStrRev(fileName, ".") - 1) & "_saved_as_CSV\"
   
    ' check if directory already exists, otherwise create it
    If Dir(savePath, vbDirectory) = "" Then
        MkDir savePath
    End If
   
    ' loop for all worksheets
    For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
        ' create CSV-filename
        Dim csvFileName As String
        csvFileName = savePath & ws.Name & ".csv"
       
        ' save worksheet
        ws.SaveAs csvFileName, xlCSV
    Next ws
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
   
    MsgBox "All worksheets have been saved in directory '" & Left(fileName, InStrRev(fileName, ".") - 1) & "_saved_as_CSV'.", vbInformation
End Sub

Nice...I haven't played with macros in years... I just looked at the example CSV files yesterday... what would be really great if the A16 would export the CSV files after you get the presets completed... would make life much much easier...

 

[SRX9]

With A16, which Headphone has the best wide Sound Stage? for less than $6000.

 

[Litlgi74]

With A16, which Headphone has the best wide Sound Stage? for less than $6000.

IMO...

HD800(s) is KING and is the best all-arounder...
Raal SR1a for music without LFE

 

[VandyMan]

With A16, which Headphone has the best wide Sound Stage? for less than $6000.

IMO, what you should look for is accurate placement of each virtual speaker. I've had great results with a lot of of different headphones, but the best I've tried are the STAX 009 and the Audeze CRBN. I've also had excellent results with the DCA Ether 2 and the Audeze LCD-5. I've been using the LCD-5 a lot with movies even though the speaker placement is not quite as good (a tiny bit too close), because the bass is really good. A lot of folks are getting very good results with the HD-800. Any open back low distortion headphone should work well. If you want a closed back headphone, the DCA Stealth is by far the best I've heard with the A-16. You don't lose much over the best open backs choices.

 

[weijiangnan]

I went ahead and built preset 1 with all listening room configurations using the Omega 65 speakers and then built preset 2 with all listening room configurations using the Omega 96 speakers... corrected and verified angles of 5,6 and 11,12 for both presets... then set HDMI1 to Auto for the Automatic Auro upmixing for both presets... and all is great again... absolutely love how this sounds...

The problem has been solved!

 

[Dixter]

The problem has been solved!

Task completed

 

[dsperber]

Tip: Take the time and create a XLS configuration file for the CSV processor of your A16.

I just updated the A16 with the new firmware 2.15 and loaded all settings / listening rooms / presets by simply copy my CSV files to the SD card again. The A16 will reconfigure all listening rooms and presets after a firmware update and factory restore with an additional reboot fully automatically.

I want to pursue this project. However the sample A16_excel_configuration.xlsx that was provided originally is dated from early October 2022 and designed to reflect settings and configuration options available using firmware version 2.12. I realize this is just a factory setup sample and I will need to look closely inside it, along with studying the instructional document A16 CSV Processing Overview.pdf, in order to fully appreciate it. But I do recognize its usefulness and purpose and very much want to invest the time to build my own objects.

But, again, it was published and made available for firmware version 2.12. Can this same sample set of resources be used today with version 2.15? Or have substantive changes in firmware (specifically related to Auro) now present in firmware 2.15 required a corresponding substantive tweak to any of the Excel resources, be they CSV or XLSX?

If so, are the relevant differences and changes minor and simple? Would they be obvious once I dig deeper and look at 2.15 settings screens and compare to the sample XLSX worksheets and CSVs? Should I be assumed to be intuitively able to make those required changes myself, and is this really my responsibility? Or shouldn't Smyth have re-issued a new prototype set of CSV-processing related objects with 2.15 if, in fact, they truly had changed between 2.12 and 2.15?

If this really were true shouldn't Smyth have re-published an up-to-date version of the CSV documentation and samples? And since they haven't maybe I'm not correct in my assumption.

Regardless, would it be possible for you to make available your own current set of Excel-related objects that "work with firmware 2.15", so that I might at least reference yours when creating my own. I'm not looking for anything proprietary. I'm only looking for the structural prototype that is appropriately modified for firmware 2.15 if that is needed.

Or, if no changes from the October 2022 samples for 2.12 are required to implement it for 2.15, great. Doesn't seem possible, however, given the new changes for Auro in presets.

Thank you.

 

[GeorgeA]

A beta version of the CSV file processor was added to the A16 firmware in October 2022. If I’m not wrong, @Rene Lou was the first owner of a Realiser A16 unit that tried to use that automatic programming and he found and reported two issues to Stephen Smyth, who created a new firmware version 2.14. As @Rene Lou reported, that firmware worked seamlessly with the CSV processor and he was allowed to share it with other Realiser A16 owners. However, the firmware version 2.14 was no longer posted at the Smyth Research website.

I wrote this short history because I don’t think that the CSV file processor was designed to reflect only the settings and configuration options available using firmware version 2.12. If @Rene Lou has time and kindness, maybe he will post other aspects of using the automatic programming.

 

[dsperber]

While I haven't actually spent serious time on this project, as I understand the concept the CSV-based "description" of your own personalized A16 is intended to make life much simpler after a required factory reset due to a new firmware release. It is essentially a hand-build "export" (yes, an automated "export" function -> CSV from current setup would be a terrific new feature, making it unnecessary for you to manually build it yourself) which then can be "imported" after the factory reset. Bingo, zippo, instantly you're back to your old setup with the new firmware.

And "my A16" reflects all of my basic Settings values, as well as all of my listening rooms, as well as all of my Presets, my user name, etc., etc. So presumably that's what is totally represented in CSV/XLSX form, everything that I've done to my A16 that makes it different from factory default. This is really no different than any "export/import" function in other software products that try to support painless updates from one verson to another an which might require a from-scratch software reset, and then somehow magically and automatically re-applying all of your customizations and tweaks. And it is just as wonderfully useful and helpful.

So all I really want to know is whether the original 2.12-designed CSV/XLSX objects that were distributed last October 2022 and have not been superseded (at least not yet) now that 2.15 has been published, are still usable as-is? As I understand it Rene's report to Stephen about two issues, and the subsequent "fix" in the beta 2.14, was still talking about that original 2.12 design. Well now that 2.15 is out, with known changes to Auro implementation that were not part of 2.12 (and presumably also not part of 2.14 beta), does that mean (a) the October 2022 objects are still usable and are not at all impacted by the Auro-related changes to firmware 2.15, or (b) there really is some probably minor but nevertheless present change to the CSV-related objects?

That's the reason I wanted to at least be able to look at Rene's current CSV-related objects for reference, just in case I had to. Again, Smyth has not re-published the documentation and sample files for this CSV processor, leading to this ambiguity in my mind.

I really would like to build this "export/import" tool, using 2.15 as my starting point since a factory reset is required. Good time to build it. That is my current project.

 

[Dixter]

If anyone has a set of CSV files that are working with the version 2.15 would you mind sharing...

 

[Rene Lou]

For the time being it is save to use the XLS file dated October 2022. You can use my files if you like; I have put those on Google Drive in the 7) A16 firmware directory; my files are XLSM files and contain the macro I described above. I added the original file version (incl. macro) and my personal file as a more complex example with multiple worksheets - I modified the A16 serial numbers to '....X' and '...Y' in my personal file.

With the new firmware 2.15 installed, I used my old (v2.14) CSV files. Firmware v2.15 loaded all my listening rooms, user presets and A16 system settings without any error. The only thing you will be missing are the new AURO settings, since these were not part of the v2.12/v2.14 firmware and as such are not part of the XLS files. Since there is no AURO settings data in the current XLS file, the AURO menues will stay unaltered (like they were after the factory reset, before applying the CSV files). No harm is done to the AURO settings.
The CSV processor in the A16 will read the CSV files from the SD card and will apply all data that the CSV processor is able to interpret - and will apply it to the A16 settings. If there is any other data in the CSV files, the CSV processor will not load that particular data and will either throw an error (or no error, it depends on the type of wrong/added data; for me, I added some comments in empty fields and the CSV processor just ignores all that data without any error; eg. I added a comment to the HPEQ files table which filter I wanted to use, eg: autoEQ, manSPK, manLD). If you want to be on the save side, just use the file 'A16_excel_configuration.xlsm' as a starting point.

In regards to the CSV processor: There are two parts:
a) the XLS file dated October 2022 - or my file version as XLSM (with your personalized input in regards to listening rooms, A16 settings, user names, presets etc.)
b) the CSV processor, the part of the A16 firmware (which actually reads your CSV files from the SD card and applies the settings inside the CSV files to the A16 menues)

I have asked Stephen to update the XLS file and CSV processor to include the new AURO settings for v2.15 already (and I asked him to add some other configuration info which is currently missing as well, like headphone names and IP settings). We will see if he finds some time to modify the XLS file / CSV processor.

Since we do not have access to the CSV processor of the A16 firmware, it makes no sense to modify the original XLS file and try to add AURO settings or similar; we cannot know what the CSV processor will do with it and where the CSV processor will expect eg. AURO settings data. Smyth Research will have to provide a new XLS sample file and may update the A16 firmware later on as well.

The CSV processor does restore data which is in the XLS (CSV) files on the SD card. It covers just about 95% of all the modifiable data of the A16 menues. Only the parts contained in the CSV files will be updated; the rest of the menues will stay as they were after the factory reset. This means you will have to enter the AURO settings manually for the time being, even after you have applyed the XLS (CSV) files with your listening rooms / A16 settings etc.

Please follow the PDF instructions of the CSV processor; these instructions are very easy to follow and will allow you to create your own XLS (or XLSM) file.

In case you are planning to use my XLSM files from Google Drive: By enabling macros when opening the XLSM file and later pushing 'ALT-F8' and then click on 'run', the macro will save all worksheets in a seperate directory as CSV files, to be copied to the SD card later on. After runnnig the macro, best would be to close the excel file without saving (or save it under a new name and change the file extension back to XLSM again). The macro will change the file name to the last worksheet that had been saved, and the file type will be CSV instead of XLSM.

Loading many listening rooms and user presets will take some time. For example, to load all my listening rooms and user presets from the SD card, the A16 is busy for 48 minutes. This time can be used to do more useful things than re-entering all the data manually into the A16 (eg: drink a cup of coffee or do some other things). After you have used the CSV processor to load your configuration, do not forget to disable the switch to look for new configuration data (or just remove the SD card). Otherwise, the next time you will switch on your A16, it will start loading everything again.

 

[Dixter]

Thanks Rene... I like your examples better... they are easier to understand when we see real data.... let us know if Steve updates the files please... and again thanks for the share...

 

[Jonesing4A16]

For the time being it is save to use the XLS file dated October 2022. You can use my files if you like; I have put those on Google Drive in the 7) A16 firmware directory; my files are XLSM files and contain the macro I described above. I added the original file version (incl. macro) and my personal file as a more complex example with multiple worksheets - I modified the A16 serial numbers to '....X' and '...Y' in my personal file.

With the new firmware 2.15 installed, I used my old (v2.14) CSV files. Firmware v2.15 loaded all my listening rooms, user presets and A16 system settings without any error. The only thing you will be missing are the new AURO settings, since these were not part of the v2.12/v2.14 firmware and as such are not part of the XLS files. Since there is no AURO settings data in the current XLS file, the AURO menues will stay unaltered (like they were after the factory reset, before applying the CSV files). No harm is done to the AURO settings.
The CSV processor in the A16 will read the CSV files from the SD card and will apply all data that the CSV processor is able to interpret - and will apply it to the A16 settings. If there is any other data in the CSV files, the CSV processor will not load that particular data and will either throw an error (or no error, it depends on the type of wrong/added data; for me, I added some comments in empty fields and the CSV processor just ignores all that data without any error; eg. I added a comment to the HPEQ files table which filter I wanted to use, eg: autoEQ, manSPK, manLD). If you want to be on the save side, just use the file 'A16_excel_configuration.xlsm' as a starting point.

In regards to the CSV processor: There are two parts:
a) the XLS file dated October 2022 - or my file version as XLSM (with your personalized input in regards to listening rooms, A16 settings, user names, presets etc.)
b) the CSV processor, the part of the A16 firmware (which actually reads your CSV files from the SD card and applies the settings inside the CSV files to the A16 menues)

I have asked Stephen to update the XLS file and CSV processor to include the new AURO settings for v2.15 already (and I asked him to add some other configuration info which is currently missing as well, like headphone names and IP settings). We will see if he finds some time to modify the XLS file / CSV processor.

Since we do not have access to the CSV processor of the A16 firmware, it makes no sense to modify the original XLS file and try to add AURO settings or similar; we cannot know what the CSV processor will do with it and where the CSV processor will expect eg. AURO settings data. Smyth Research will have to provide a new XLS sample file and may update the A16 firmware later on as well.

The CSV processor does restore data which is in the XLS (CSV) files on the SD card. It covers just about 95% of all the modifiable data of the A16 menues. Only the parts contained in the CSV files will be updated; the rest of the menues will stay as they were after the factory reset. This means you will have to enter the AURO settings manually for the time being, even after you have applyed the XLS (CSV) files with your listening rooms / A16 settings etc.

Please follow the PDF instructions of the CSV processor; these instructions are very easy to follow and will allow you to create your own XLS (or XLSM) file.

In case you are planning to use my XLSM files from Google Drive: By enabling macros when opening the XLSM file and later pushing 'ALT-F8' and then click on 'run', the macro will save all worksheets in a seperate directory as CSV files, to be copied to the SD card later on. After runnnig the macro, best would be to close the excel file without saving (or save it under a new name and change the file extension back to XLSM again). The macro will change the file name to the last worksheet that had been saved, and the file type will be CSV instead of XLSM.

Loading many listening rooms and user presets will take some time. For example, to load all my listening rooms and user presets from the SD card, the A16 is busy for 48 minutes. This time can be used to do more useful things than re-entering all the data manually into the A16 (eg: drink a cup of coffee or do some other things). After you have used the CSV processor to load your configuration, do not forget to disable the switch to look for new configuration data (or just remove the SD card). Otherwise, the next time you will switch on your A16, it will start loading everything again.

Just curious, are there any Smyth Research employe(s) following these posts who can PLEASE give us some insight as to what if anything is happening to fulfill the kickstarter and pre-orders for the A16? Are we customers ever going to get a morsel of truthful information about our investment in the company?

 

[GeorgeA]

@Jonesing4A16: I’m writing this post even though I don’t think I’m the best person to answer your questions. If you’ve read the posts in this thread from the last few years, you can somehow conclude that those from Smyth Research don’t give much importance to what is written here. As for me, I think I can understand the frustration of those who haven’t received their Realiser A16 units yet. Those few from the kickstarter campaign who have yet to receive their Realiser A16 units might wait or pay the difference to the asking price. About the same for those with pre-orders. As I am not a lawyer, I don’t know how binding is a pre-order.