Smyth Research A16 REALISER Review

[zeerround]

I used a cut longways piece of 3m doublestick foam.

Re the room, you may be happy with the BBC room. I have Genelecs in my office/studio and the BBC room sounds pretty identical to my speakers (BBC room was done with Genelecs). I just calibrated my ears/headphones and use the BBC room(s) 9.1.6 default.

 

[esimms86]

Thanks, will do.

I have to figure out how to attach the tracker to the top edge of my LG OLED (just a thin sheet of glass).

If anyone knows of a sound shop with a great ATMOS listening room in the Denver/Colorado Springs area that might be willing to rent the room out for a couple of hours to me to take PRIR measurements (once I figure out what I’m doing and practice at home) please let me know.

You can mount the tracker to, say, a piece of thick cardboard backing and then tape that to the back of the TV screen(with the tracker standing essentially atop the screen).

I would otherwise start with making an HPEQ using your preferred headphones. Be sure to put the microphones well into your ear canals. Dekoni is the preferred product to use as ear inserts(much better than the yellow foam provided by Smyth Research).

Once you have your HPEQ you should proceed to try out the BBC and Surrey rooms to see if they work for you.

Good luck with finding a listening room to measure(I mean that sincerely). In the meantime, I would highly suggest taking a test drive of the "universal PRIRs" offered by 3D SoundShop. If you choose to do so, I'd suggest starting with their "Omega" PRIR. I have no financial interest in 3DSS; however, I am a customer and I've come to count John as a friend.

 

[chucky3042]

Has the Smyth solved the problem of front center being stuck in the middle of your head? Nothing I have heard does it .....when you close your eyes

 

[JediJoker]

Has the Smyth solved the problem of front center being stuck in the middle of your head? Nothing I have heard does it .....when you close your eyes

Have you heard the SPL Phonitor Matrix on the Phonitor, Phonitor 2, Phonitor X, or Phonitor XE? (The other models have lesser versions of the Matrix.) It's only stereo, but is designed to simulate listening to a pair of nearfield stereo speakers at various levels of crossfeed and different listener triangle angles. I haven't, personally, but it is aimed at professionals mixing on headphones (and enthusiasts who want to experience what the pros do).

 

[3DSoundShop]

Has the Smyth solved the problem of front center being stuck in the middle of your head? Nothing I have heard does it .....when you close your eyes

The honest answer is... sometimes. But a more accurate answer would be that it varies from person to person.

Most of my clients are very pleased with the center channel position... Others require the manual loudness procedure and/or head tracking to help the brain accept the illusion.

 

[3DSoundShop]

I have to figure out how to attach the tracker to the top edge of my LG OLED (just a thin sheet of glass).

Since vertical head tracking is not yet active with the A16... You could essentially place the set top anywhere you'd like. I attached mine below the screen with a small amount of blue tack.

From the manual... Optical stabilisation also supports a fixed offset angle mode of operation. This is typically used when it is not possible (or desirable) to mount the set-top in a 0-degree azimuth location. To set the offset angle, place the set-top in the required offset position, point the head tracker 0 degree azimuth while sitting in the listening position, ensuring there is clear line-of-sight between the set-top and the head tracker, and pressand-hold the switch atop the head tracker for 3 seconds (one short blink followed by a long blink on the led). Offset angle values are stored in flash memory within the head tracker and restored automatically on future power-ups. To disable the offset angle mode of operation pressand-hold the switch atop the head tracker for 0.5 seconds (one short blink on the led). It should be stressed that when setting the offset angle, or operating in an offset location in general, the set-top offset angle should not exceed the stabilisation window range. For example, if a ‘narrow’ window is selected then the set-top should be located well within 30 degrees either side of 0-degree azimuth. For ‘wide’ it should be well within 60 degrees of 0-degree azimuth.

 

[chucky3042]

The honest answer is... sometimes. But a more accurate answer would be that it varies from person to person.

Most of my clients are very pleased with the center channel position... Others require the manual loudness procedure and/or head tracking to help the brain accept the illusion.

Yes we tried to do what Smyth does and succeeded with everything but getting front center out of your head. It turns out there are around 16 types of heads.

 

[zeerround]

Center is obsoletely convincing for me. I do have the physical genelecs to look at, and of course head tracking, but the whole "can't tell it's not the speakers" thing is true for me.

Center out in front is also true for me with the other head tracking example I have which is apple spatial audio (which is even less specifically tunned as to my ears etc.) however what is not working as well there is the rears. Nothing seems to go past 90 degrees from center.

Oh, I forgot about Waves NX, that works OK (compared to "perfect" with the A16). It's just a pain that you have to convert to 1st order ambisonics as an input (and first order ambinsonics is not that accurate). FYI there I found that the webcam head tracking was actually way better than the Bluetooth tracker. Waves NX has two parameters, inter aural distance and head circumference, in addition to a supported list of headphone curves.

 

[user 19847]

If headphone listening "doesn't work for [you]", why are you participating a forum dedicated to headphone listening (specifically binaural emulation over headphones, which is what the Smyth units aim/claim to do)?

Let me add some clarity on what the Realiser was designed to do and who it was designed for. First off I have a Realiser A8. The A8, like the A16 was designed to record with microphones embedded in the listener's ears and record test tones generated at each speaker location in the listener's room. This allows the microphones to pick up not only the location of the speakers but the sound of the speakers, the playback equipment, the acoustics of the listening room, and how the listener hears his room. It was designed for the recording or mastering engineer working at a remote location, can then go back to his hotel room, put on the Realiser with its stored room memory, and with the required Stax electrostatic headphones, close his eyes and hear as if he was back in his recording studio with the acoustics and equipment just the way it sounds in his listening room. The Realiser even comes with a device to mount on the top of the headphones so you can A/B between the listening room and the headphones. And it is identical, quite a remarkable device. The Realiser was designed by the guys who came up with dts.

 

[zeerround]

"required Stax electrostatic headphones"

Not "required" just an example of ones that they recommend that work really well. Another recommended example would be Sennheiser HD 800 S Reference Headphone System, which is what I am using. Be aware that those recommended are both "open back" style, so won't give any isolation from your music to others in the room, or from room noises to you.

If I recall correctly, there are some Beyer models that are top quality lists if you require closed back style. I've been meaning to get some but would want a second head tracker as well.

 

[JediJoker]

"required Stax electrostatic headphones"

Not "required" just an example of ones that they recommend that work really well.

Were they perhaps required for the A8 to function as-designed?

 

[zeerround]

Don't know. This is all they have to say about headphones on their web site (FAQ section):

WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDED HEADPHONES ?
We judge headphones in a number of ways. How comfortable are they to wear for an extended period of time, can they faithfully reproduce virtualised loudspeakers and how cost effective they are. For example the entire range of Stax headphones are comfortable and can reproduce virtual loudspeakers with stunning accuracy. Hence we continue to use the Stax 2170 for our own internal use due to its cost effectiveness. Sennheiser HD800s on the other hand have the same performance, are almost as comfortable, but are physically more robust, don’t require an external amplifier and they go louder. Hence we have moved over to using these headphones for demonstrations. These are two headphones we use every day and can vouch for their performance and comfort.

 

[DuncanS]

"required Stax electrostatic headphones"

Not "required" just an example of ones that they recommend that work really well. Another recommended example would be Sennheiser HD 800 S Reference Headphone System, which is what I am using. Be aware that those recommended are both "open back" style, so won't give any isolation from your music to others in the room, or from room noises to you.

If I recall correctly, there are some Beyer models that are top quality lists if you require closed back style. I've been meaning to get some but would want a second head tracker as well.

I use the HD 800 S as well, really like them.

 

[user 19847]

When I bought my A8 in 2010, they came with Stax headphones. The manual at the time had this statement: "The Stax SRS-2050 II system bundled with the Realiser includes its own instructions. Please read them for information specific to the headphone and its amplifier."

 

[jagxjr15]

Let me add some clarity on what the Realiser was designed to do and who it was designed for. First off I have a Realiser A8. The A8, like the A16 was designed to record with microphones embedded in the listener's ears and record test tones generated at each speaker location in the listener's room. This allows the microphones to pick up not only the location of the speakers but the sound of the speakers, the playback equipment, the acoustics of the listening room, and how the listener hears his room. It was designed for the recording or mastering engineer working at a remote location, can then go back to his hotel room, put on the Realiser with its stored room memory, and with the required Stax electrostatic headphones, close his eyes and hear as if he was back in his recording studio with the acoustics and equipment just the way it sounds in his listening room. The Realiser even comes with a device to mount on the top of the headphones so you can A/B between the listening room and the headphones. And it is identical, quite a remarkable device. The Realiser was designed by the guys who came up with dts.

I have lots of experience with both the Smyth A8 and A16, and I know what they are "designed to do." They are binaural emulators. My comment was addressed to a poster who failed to say anything constructive over many posts, but who rejected all headphone listening, whether mediated by the Smyth processors or not.

 

[JediJoker]

My comment was addressed to a poster who failed to say anything constructive over many posts, but who rejected all headphone listening, whether mediated by the Smyth processors or not.

Sounds like Peter Gabriel. He calls headphones "condoms for the ears." I couldn't disagree more. Headphones can provide a wonderful, intimate listening experience.

 

[pscreed]

OK I have a question for other owners/experts here.

First, my setup is Mac Mini playing Roon into Smyth Realiser A16 via HDMI. Roon is setup for 5.1 audio.

I would like to have stereo upmixed in the Realiser, but multichannel quad, 5.1 etc to only play the original number of channels, not be enhanced.

Is there a combination of settings in the Realiser to make this happen? I would have thought that in the user A preset screen by setting Dolby Legacy and DTS Direct to on (green), and on the PCM Audio Management screen, by setting HDMI to "Dolby Surround" I would get this behavior. However this results in everything getting upmixed - stereo, quad, 5.1, etc.

Am I missing something? TIA for any insights, appreciate it.

 

[user 19847]

I have an A8 and the way the A8 is designed, and I'm assuming the A16 is as well, it emulates the positions of all the speakers you programed into the Realiser. It's not designed to my knowledge to take a stereo mix and create a surround sound field like Dolby, DTS, or Auro. Its designed to emulate your room in headphones. If all you want is the original left and right front channels, then I recommend you setup the Realiser with only those two channels and store it into a new Realiser memory position. Then you bring up the stored version, stereo or 5.1 to fit your headphone monitoring needs.

 

[pscreed]

I have an A8 and the way the A8 is designed, and I'm assuming the A16 is as well, it emulates the positions of all the speakers you programed into the Realiser. It's not designed to my knowledge to take a stereo mix and create a surround sound field like Dolby, DTS, or Auro. Its designed to emulate your room in headphones. If all you want is the original left and right front channels, then I recommend you setup the Realiser with only those two channels and store it into a new Realiser memory position. Then you bring up the stored version, stereo or 5.1 to fit your headphone monitoring needs.

Hi - thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. The Realiser A16 does in fact do a very nice job of upmixing. I'm just looking for a way to apply upmixing only to 2-track stereo, but limit "vintage" surround mixes to their original number of channels. But presets maybe will get me where I want to go, so thanks for that!

 

[3DSoundShop]

Hi - thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. The Realiser A16 does in fact do a very nice job of upmixing. I'm just looking for a way to apply upmixing only to 2-track stereo, but limit "vintage" surround mixes to their original number of channels. But presets maybe will get me where I want to go, so thanks for that!

Hi... since you are using Roon and HDMI... You request is very doable.

I'm happy to help. But I have some questions for you first. What type of 2 channel upmixing do you prefer? Does your machine have Auro-3D activated?

John