DigiPete

I think that this video is the most important sound related video this year! I'd advice DCs to publicly address all points and / or correct their behaveour. It's pure bullying IF it happened as described by GS, and bullying is simply NOT acceptable. Peace.

Innovative app developers will no doubt find many ways to utilise cameras if they are accessible. May even address some of the points raised here enhancing better sound virtualisation.

TLDR: Don't buy the exorbitantly expensive A16 - wait a few years and virtualisation will be cheap and everywhere. I think we should think of the A16 as SOTA solution, that is likely only relevant right at this moment. It's a forerunner and only relevant for the early adopters. The bigger picture is slowly emerging with solutions like the AirPods in the Apple system. Virtualisation in headphones relies on a lot of components to have any chance of being convincing: Quality multi channel stream (even if it works works a stereo signal) HRTF that is generated from your personal physicality Head tracking of high resolution and no drift Virtualisation SW of high standard Virtualisation of a room that is sonically similar to where you are Quality headphone, likely EQed on your own head Quality multi channel stream (even if it works works a stereo signal) All this is necessary to have a chance of tricking our brain, because our brain is constantly working on detecting discrepancies between our different sensory inputs. Why do you hear deeper and more 3 dimensional into a 'mix' in a darkened room? Because our brain isn't as confused by hearing something, say a church hall, that isn't consistent with what we see. The A16 shortcuts HRTF and room virtualisation by simply measuring it all with a pair of tiny microphones inside your ears. It misses the inner ear, as there is a limit for how deep you can put the microphones. And you need a good rig and acoustically treated room! I see a bright future for all this being done without dedicated SW, opening the door for a much wider audience. Along the solutions of immersive in AirPods, with HRTF from (lidar) scanning of head, torso, pinna and inner ear and choices of rooms to virtualise. Preferably working with any headphone you already have and expanding to headtracing and emulating while you move around in the sound scape. I'm not patient enough, so I got myself a (pre-loved) A16 . . . . and its magnificent.

This is major major news, and first time I've seen it somewhere I trust. The pass-through shouldn't violate any Dolby patents or make them mad in any other way, so there is hope that this will be a universal feature and be embraced by all streaming services. This is also the next logical step if Apple is serious about making Atmos the standard for their own streaming. It seems that I bought a Smyth Realiser at the perfect time 😃. Btw. It's performing way better than any of my other virtual surround/immersive solutions, and I'm far from done learning, calibrating and tinkering with the setup. I'm still both fascinated and scared! Thanks Chris, I can't wait to try out macOS Sequoia when it's released to us plebs.

I was thinking along these lines already when Apple started pushing for immersive on Apple music and therefore also higher Dynamic Range. One would assume that Apple compresses the audio depending on what HW it's played back on. Perhaps even depending on how close to full volume we push the device. Hope and happy days - especially if they don't with external systems or if we get (have) influence on compression.

Sigh . . thanks Chris.

So I got the A16 and everything is working. Well, it makes sound and the image is stable (head tracked). Now I just need to calibrate my own HRTF and figure out all the millions of settings and how to make it play nice with USB and HDMI out on the Mac. And get Netflix to deliver full Atmos. Still scared and excited 🫣

No, the A16 measures the HRTF with you in your room. It goes like this: You sit down in your listening spot, with your immersive rig connected to the A16 Put the supplied binaural microphones into your ears Unit runs sweeps from all speakers while recording what you hear including influence from pinna, head, torsoe. HRTF is then calculated from those measurements. Additionally it's recommended to run a similar headphone EQ procedure with the binaural microphones still in place, maintaining the exact same reference. For better and worse, your listening experience will be a reflection of, and as good (or bad) as the quality of your rig and room. In case you don't have a surround and / or immersive rig, you have a few options: Contend with running the A16 with no more channels than you have in your rig. Do a "stop motion" kind of calibration using one or two of your speakers, moving them around between sweeps up to 24 channels. Go to a studio or friend with a better bigger rig (more channels) and do the calibration there. Use one of the available free calibrations (that will not match your exact HRTF) or even buy one. This unit obviously comes with a lot of pros and cons, but it's performance is SOTA so far. I hope and expect that it will be equalled slowly over the coming years, as the world outside our insane little bubble deserves the quality immersive experiences we have come to love. Fun fact: The A16 substitutes you regular immersive receiver and is fully Atmos / Auro 3D / DTS:X, rendering 24 (HP) and outputting 16 (speaker) channels available through unbalanced, balanced, AES/EBU and Dante. HP in unbalanced & S/PDIF.

It's more than interesting, it's magnificent but also scary complicated. It's like the polar opposite to a pair of Apple AirPod Max. Universally applicable (for immersive) but also insanely complicated to set up and use. The ultra nerdy user manual is 149 pages (single language!!!) and steps and procedures must be followed to the point. I'm as scared as I am excited 🫣 But I suppose I'm also the one seasoned digital surround Audiophile who absolutely should have one . . .

Fellow Music & Audio nerds . . . You of all people may get my excitement, while family and friends just shake their heads of the silly old man buying yet another expensive audio thing. I finally found a used Smyth Realiser A16 at a price i could defend to myself and pulled the trigger! (A headphone magic box that makes cans sound like the real world in up to 16 channels) I'm a long standing surround music lover and audiophile with a nice powerfull Genelec rig. I love it, but my new and younger neighbours don't appreciate my use at odd hours. A little house in the burbs would solve it, but I so love the down town buzz and energy. Thus a used Smyth A16 to blast myself with all sorts of streamed and stored Immersive goodies. Rejoice with me in my childish excitement 🤩

@Magnificat, isn't it the proverbial "toe tapping" that is our goal? We have systems all over the spectrum, but are united in the love of music ☺️ And to be honest, my headphones and Mac speakers sees more use than my main rig. All of it makes me happy!!! 😉

Chris, thanks for providing Steven Wilson's entire presentation! Steve is right - Immersive can be done in many ways, just like stereo. However, the clean non-engineered recording, recorded in the room with a microphone tree represents a very special case that should be revered and appreciated, as it creates the closest and most tactile representation of a live performance. This is the immersive equivalent to stereo tracks recorded with a stereo mic / two microphones. I still love "engineered" immersive", and some tracks are in them selves engineered and/or studio expressions with live performances being the "artificial" other version. Some of Jean-Michel Jarres albums will fall into this category, Point by Yello or Lichtmonds audio/visual creations. Rejoice - surround has finally gone mainstream. Pity that it comes with the Dolby Tax attached.

Yes Chris, I have intimate knowledge and experience with Genelecs DSP called GLM (Genelec Loudspeaker Manager). I have been running my 5.1 Genelec SAM system since 2011, taking full advantage of GLM as well as all the other advantages of a fully integrated active monitor build on science and not WAF or audiophile superstitions. All Genelec SAMs (Smart Active Monitors) have kept every operations in the digital domain if at all possible. Each monitor does this internally, allowing over 80 monitors and subs in the system. X-over, room compensation, time of flight & volume are all done inside each unit, but digitally controlled from a central GLM device via RJ45 cables. Volume is on a physical wired volume knob (if you like the tactile feel) or a wireless remote. You may be turning a nice chunky knob, but the volume is managed digitally inside each unit. Calibration is as easy as it comes: 1) Set up the measuring mic 2) Push a button 3) Move mic repeat 2) for as many points you desire 4) Save calibration in a named file Sub integration comes with the advantage of having the X-over in DSP, so the GLM system will recommend trying a diffrent frequency if needed and re-run the phase integration test for that frequency. The Grade report (Genelec Room Acoustic Data Evaluation) is a late addition with results, interpretations and recommendations for optimising your room and rig. See also Jasco's (Acoustic Insider) take on the Grade. Fun facts "The Ones" series sports the best co-axial drives ever made All home relevant monitors (up to 118 dB SPL @ 1m) are cast in thin stiff audio lense shaped aluminium. Any AES/EBU or coax S/PDIF output will do. SAMs will actually digitise balanced analogue inputs if you insist. My 20m monitor cables cost €20, but ther are 100% lossless. You can save as many calibrations and sound profiles (non-linear freq response) as you like. Last but least: Genelec gives you ALL the measurements and graphs because they have nothing to hide. In short: Genelc SAM systems deliver predictably better sound for less money. PS. I hear the complaint: not enough filters to be SOTA, well perhaps you should start with a healthier topology and better engineered speakers . . . PPS. I hear the other complaint: Its too expensive. Well, its High End on a budget. One that adapts to your room. Example: Entry full range co-axial system: €6000 This includes 7 amplifiers, 7 DACs, room correction, sub integration, Grade Report, calibration, volume knob & all cables. 2 x 8331, 7350 sub, GLM controller, volume knob and ass AES/EBU cables + RJ45 104dB SPL, 25 (± 3 dB) - 20kz (± 1.5 dB) each unit measured anechoic /END RANT/

Oh the joys of a well recorded live session! I accidentally stumbled over my first when I interned in the workshop of the local HiFi store "AudioScan" back in 8th grade. My mentor (also Peter) played music all day, and this recording easily became my favourite, but I never found it in a record store. Many years later, during my masters thesis, I suddenly saw the album in a window. It was the exact same HiFi store, now moved to a different location in town, so I went in to ask if I could buy the album. They looked quite funny at me, as the album was part of the window display and they only sold eqipment. I ended up telling my story from 8th grade, and they were so moved (or stunned) that they agreed to part with their window decoration album. I later learned that "Jazz at the Pawnshop" was a very well know and recognised 'audiophile' live recording. 😄

Genelec goes the extra mile. I should have added another huge benefit: Genelec provides a slew of tools to help you understand and choose the right monitors and also understanding acoustics in general. Be it online recommendation charts, downloadable PDFs or on YouTube. Some are very product specific, others specific to use (Studio, home, home cinema, event spaces) and even some about requirement by Dolby (Atmos) or Auro 3D. Genelec customer support is also legendary, and repair / part are secured for decades. GRADE™ report The latest offering is the GLM GRADE™ report (Genelec Room Acoustic Data Evaluation). Grade offers a full analysis and evaluation of your acoustics based on your calibrations on +40 pages made specifically for you. It goes though your frequency, time and time-frequency domain results for every single monitor & sub. It digs in low frequency room gain and extensions per unit, summing of symmetric monitors, analysis of peaks and notches, early reflections and RT60 . This is how I know my base layer monitors all hit a room mode at 17.9 - 18.1hz . . . ITU-R BS1116 compliance is the final chapter, tying it all together and letting you know how close you are . . Lots of recommendations for how and where to improve. Grade used to be free in the trial period, now i think you get a limited number for free with each GLM adapter. Go visit GLM GRADE, watch the video, download a trial report and marvel at what the PROs provide of service and knowledge to their customers. And NO: I'm not affiliated in any shape or form! But why have measurement/DSP without acoustic recommendations.