Smyth Research Realiser A16

[illram]

Yeah I am a pre-order and have not heard anything from them. E-mails go unanswered. Pretty lame.

 

[LuckyNat]

Oh!

That's all I can say. I'm sorry to hear that ! Pretty lame indeed ..

 

[GeorgeA]

I’ve received an email message from AIX Records (Dr AIX aka Mark Waldrep) writing about the Pure Audio Streaming Service to be announced for the 2025 (15-18 of May) High-End Munich.

“Our goal is to provide an unmatched audio experience that brings music to life in a way that has never been possible before.” - Stefan Bock, Founder of Pure Audio Blu-ray disc format

More information at the following link:
https://pureaudiostreaming.com/

As part of FAQ, there’re “What immersive audio formats are supported and Does my device support AURO-3D?” questions. For the second question, the answer provides a link to auro-3d.com site that include the Smyth Research Realiser A16 among many other brands/models.

I’ll be a visitor at the 2025 High-End Munich and if I get additional information, I’ll report here.

 

[harryb]

Anybody have experience with Apple TV 4K 3rd generation and the A16? Works great with Apple Music controlled from my iPhone. Correctly sends Dolby Atmos to the A16.....or when I send it a non-Atmos track, it recognizes as such, and then I have it set to up mix to Auro 3D. However when I send a 2 channel PCM track from Roon via Airplay to the Apple TV, it incorrectly recognizes it as Dolby Atmos and it plays from the A16 as 2 channel Dolby Atmos. It does not up mix to multi channel. I know this is clear as mud, but that's what I'm seeing. It gets annoying because I'm trying to get 2 channel content from Roon to up mix to Auro 3D, but the A16 won't do it, because it's reading the file as Atmos, but playing it as Atmos 2 channel. Suggestions?

 

[gimlet]

Anybody have experience with Apple TV 4K 3rd generation and the A16? Works great with Apple Music controlled from my iPhone. Correctly sends Dolby Atmos to the A16.....or when I send it a non-Atmos track, it recognizes as such, and then I have it set to up mix to Auro 3D. However when I send a 2 channel PCM track from Roon via Airplay to the Apple TV, it incorrectly recognizes it as Dolby Atmos and it plays from the A16 as 2 channel Dolby Atmos. It does not up mix to multi channel. I know this is clear as mud, but that's what I'm seeing. It gets annoying because I'm trying to get 2 channel content from Roon to up mix to Auro 3D, but the A16 won't do it, because it's reading the file as Atmos, but playing it as Atmos 2 channel. Suggestions?

I have an earlier model Apple TV with a similar annoying propensity to put PCM stereo into a Dolby Digital container. Apparently this is standard practice for Apple, as they view the ATV as primarily a video streamer. As far as I know, the only “solution” is to route stereo PCM to a dedicated audio streamer - I use a Raspberry Pi.

 

[harryb]

Yes I’m already doing that as a fix. Would love to have a 1 stop shop tho.

I'm currently experimenting with the following inputs to the A16: (1) Apple TV 4k (2) Mele mini-pc quieter 4c with roon rock (3) Zidoo z9x (4) Amazon FireCube.

All have pros, cons, and glitches.

 

[VandyMan]

I have an Apple TV 4K and it does not do this when playing AirPlay from Roon. I can think of two possiblities:
- On the Apple TV, check that Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format has Change Format set to No.
- Otherwise, I would suspect your A-16 Preset

(Maybe you have to set Listen Room "Loading" to Automatic. I forget what that does.)

From the screen on the A-16 that shows your speaker layout, etc, press up arrow to see the format of the incoming audio.

 

[shmau]

Sort of related but Roon is having a 10% off sale for the Nucleus One and Titan right now. Might work better with the A16 without having to wait for a fix.

 

[harryb]

I have an Apple TV 4K and it does not do this when playing AirPlay from Roon. I can think of two possiblities:
- On the Apple TV, check that Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format has Change Format set to No.
- Otherwise, I would suspect your A-16 Preset

(Maybe you have to set Listen Room "Loading" to Automatic. I forget what that does.)

From the screen on the A-16 that shows your speaker layout, etc, press up arrow to see the format of the incoming audio.

Thanks. I have "Change Format" set to OFF and "Immersive Audio" set to Dolby Atmos ON. So it's not that. I also have listening room set to automatic since I want it to sense Dolby Atmos for true Dolby Atmos and PCM for PCM. I do appreciate your help.

 

[VandyMan]

First, check this screen and make sure you are receiving PCM 2.0 like I am. That will rule out the Apple TV as the cause.

 

[harryb]

Sort of related but Roon is having a 10% off sale for the Nucleus One and Titan right now. Might work better with the A16 without having to wait for a fix.

I have a SonicTransporter i9 with some mods and prefer it to a Nucleus One or Titan. Not convinced that would fix this. I'm pretty sure Roon is sending the correct signal.

Vandy: By the time the signal hits the A16, It shows Atmos...unlike yours. Not sure what it proves since the signal has been processed and passed by the AppleTV. I'm sure Roon is sending PCM to Apple TV but Apple TV is sending it to the A16 as Atmos. Here's the Roon path showing PCM, and the A16 showing it's receiving Atmos(MAT) from the Apple TV. Notably, if I play the same song from Apple Music, it plays as PCM 2.0 and gets up mixed to Auro 3D 13.1.

 

[VandyMan]

I have a SonicTransporter i9 with some mods and prefer it to a Nucleus One or Titan. Not convinced that would fix this. I'm pretty sure Roon is sending the correct signal.

Vandy: By the time the signal hits the A16, It shows Atmos...unlike yours. Not sure what it proves since the signal has been processed and passed by the AppleTV. I'm sure Roon is sending PCM to Apple TV but Apple TV is sending it to the A16 as Atmos. Here's the Roon path showing PCM, and the A16 showing it's receiving Atmos(MAT) from the Apple TV. Notably, if I play the same song from Apple Music, it plays as PCM 2.0 and gets up mixed to Auro 3D 13.1.

Huh, I'm out of ideas then. I'm using almost the same setup as you, so I'm not sure what is going on. Sorry.

BTW, I'm certain Roon is not sending Atmos over Airplay. It is actually an open feature request for Roon to be able to send Atmos over AirPlay or ROCK. It has been an open request in their community for close to five years now. Right now, Roon will only send Atmos with a direct HDMI connection between the A-16 and the Roon server.

Edit: You are not using eARC, correct? I am and have it set on my TV to pass-thru for audio.

 

[harryb]

I'm sure Roon is sending PCM and I didn't know Roon could ever send a bitstream, even via HDMI. I wish it could. I'm also sure the AppleTV is incorrectly passing the signal to the A16 tagged as Atmos Atmos (MAT) which is really PCM with Atmos metadata. Because it's presenting it to the A16 as "Atmos" the A16 won't up mix to Aura 3D. Aargh. What's weird is that Apple TV plays the same song from Apple Music instead of Roon as PCM 2.0 and up mixes.

 

[R GS]

Oh!

Pretty lame indeed ..

It is not lame...it is morally bankrupt and arguably fraudulent.

 

[harryb]

2 channel PCM from Roon to AppleTV shows up to the A16 incorrectly as Dolby Atmos only triggering the L and R front speakers, and can't up mix..

Dolby Atmos from Apple Music phone app shows up to the A16 correctly as Dolby Atmos.

Dolby Atmos from Apple Music Macbook app shows up to the A16 incorrectly as 2 channel PCM. At least it up mixes to Aura 3D.

Very confusing. Lol.