Does anyone have the release notes for Firmware 2.0? I'm curious what the Head tracker update was about.
Smyth Research Realiser A16
Attached...
With the insisting encouragement of @Sanctuary... I splurged and spent $30 on ebay for quite possibly the best (not including them A8 or A16) device for virtual 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, AND DTS surround sound via headphones I ever heard.
It's so simple to use... it's ridiculous!
Stay Tuned.
It's so simple to use... it's ridiculous!
Stay Tuned.
Lucky you!With the insisting encouragement of @Sanctuary... I splurged and spent $30 on ebay for quite possibly the best (not including them A8 or A16) device for virtual 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, AND DTS surround sound via headphones I ever heard.
It's so simple to use... it's ridiculous!
Stay Tuned.
At the French forum, the thread about the Realiser A16, a user/owner praises Airopods Max, which in conjunction with Apple TV gives him an experience so close to that of the “king” A16.
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/post181224919.html#p181224919
It would be interesting to compare and contrast the various newer or older immersive solutions.
dsperber
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Many decades ago I had one of these DIR-800C systems (base station plus wireless headphones) as well, when Dolby Headphone was a virtual-surround "solution". Quite the novelty. I ended up giving it to a friend, when I upgraded to the subsequent DIR-1000 and then DIR-2000 successors. The later versions included supposedly superior wireless headphones.
In fact, I just looked and I was the "thread starter" in AVS Forum, for a 2005 thread entitled "Listening pleasure: Pioneer SE-DIR1000C Dolby Headphone"
Reading the later posts from a few months later it looks like I was unhappy with the supposedly superior DIR-2000 after giving it a try, and returned it.
In the end I changed course, and decided to leave Pioneer and go with the Philips version of the same product: the SBC HD1502U (base station) plus matching headphones.
From the user manual:
The device will recognize the following digital input signals:
– Stereo LPCM with sample frequencies 44.1 kHz and 48kHz
– Dolby® Digital (AC-3), up to 5.1 channels
– DTS®, up to 5.1 channels
Remember this was a product from back in 2005, so this was early original lossy digital multi-channel DTS and Dolby Digital source that was supported, as well as analog stereo input. It also produced either Dolby Headphone (with its three "degrees" of virtual surround sensation) or Dolby PLII output. Very similar to the competitive Pioneer product family.
And, I still have this SBC HD1502U base station at one of my TV locations. I may somewhere have the wireless headphones and remote as well, but I never did use them as it turns out. Instead I plugged in superior wired headphones (to the 3.5mm stereo jack), which produced the identical virtual surround illusion via Dolby Headphone. So it was just improved sounding wired, vs. lesser sounding wireless. But it was still Dolby Headphone, circa 2005.
And, as history tells the story, it was right around this 2005 period when I first discovered that Widescreen Review interview with Stephen Smyth talking about his still-in-development notion of something he referred to as "Smyth Virtual Surround (SVS)". And it was then, back in 2005, when I first got in contact with Smyth who at that time had their development location right here about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles in Camarillo. And of course, I then maintained contact with them from 2005 until 2009 when I was finally able to purchase that famous physically first serial #0001 unit ever sold of the A8.
And I never again ever really used that Philips HD1502U, or any other Dolby Headphone device. As we all know, there simply is no comparison to SVS.
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@dsperber Thanks for this brief memory of multichannel sounds with headphones.
The Question Asker
New Head-Fier
Hello! I'm extremely new, is this a thread where we can ask stuff about the A16 realizer? If I'm correct and allowed to ask here, I wonder what are the cheapest headphones that can have identical speaker emulation in terms of position and soundstage when compared to the Stax and HD800 headphones? For example, I'm curious how the Hifiman Ananda or Koss ESP950 compare to those in terms of speaker emulation, but my curiosity is not limited to the Koss/Hifiman models mentioned, these are just what peak my interest currently.
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@Captain
@CaptainFunk ... there may be a better solution for correcting your LCR balance / imaging.
From the manual... 10.4.8 HT Offset It is possible for the virtual loudspeaker layout to appear slightly rotated because of errors in the look angles taken up during a PRIR measurement, or because the head tracker mounted on the headphones is slightly twisted. HT offset is a head tracker azimuth offset entry with a range of +/- 10 degrees. If, for example, the soundstage exhibits a +5-degree rotation, then the HT offset would be set to -5 degrees to cancel out the apparent rotation. Note that the offset angle is independent of the HT function and is effective even if the HT has been disabled or disconnected.
The offset works very well for me... and we don't have to worry about impairing the spatialisation effect when excessive Pan values are used.
*This should not be considered as a fix for the 2.15 fw bug.
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CaptainFunk
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Thanks for pointing this out! I will definitely try this out in the next couple of days.
Welcome to this forum/thread.
I think that beyond reading recommendations of various headphone models, it’s more important to consider what Smyth Research wrote at their website in the FAQ - What are your recommended headphones? “How comfortable are they to wear for an extended period of time, can they faithfully reproduce virtualised loudspeakers and how cost effective they are.”
Also, don’t forget that you can also post opinions about the headphones you use.
You want a low distortion headphone because they tend to take EQ better. You don't want a headphone that has big dips in the frequency response because dips are difficult to EQ out. Open headphones work better than closed, in my experience (w/ the exception of the DCA Stealth). I'm not certain, but I have not found that the sound stage of the headphone w/out the A16 makes much of a difference to how well it works with the A16. Comfort is really important since you will wear the headphones at least for the duration of a movie.
I would bet that the Anada works well. However, if you are buying a new A16, you might want to budget in a used HD-800, so you have a reference to compare other headphones to.
I would bet that the Anada works well. However, if you are buying a new A16, you might want to budget in a used HD-800, so you have a reference to compare other headphones to.
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R GS
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May I ask what the model name is? ThanksWith the insisting encouragement of @Sanctuary... I splurged and spent $30 on ebay for quite possibly the best (not including them A8 or A16) device for virtual 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, AND DTS surround sound via headphones I ever heard.
It's so simple to use... it's ridiculous!
Stay Tuned.
Pioneer SE-DIR800C... There is actually one on ebay. The seller is willing to accept an offer $55.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325705646806
PS... While the headphones are wireless... they are less than ideal sounding. They also tend to creak with the slightest head movements. I prefer to use the HD800s or my IEMs with the machine.
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