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3D Sound Shop - Custom PRIRs for the Smyth Realiser A16


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  • 4 weeks later...

Regarding 3DSoundShop and John, I recently acquired a A16 from a friend of mine who was finding very little use for A16.

Some background:
I have a 7.2.4 setup at home and my primary intent with A16 was for movies, not for music (while with A8, I have was able to replicate my 2ch setup, when it came to the ultimate fidelity, I still preferred my real 2ch setup. For up to 8 Ch and I already have my own HRTF for a 8 Ch setup measured at my ear drum using fiber optic probes and do my own mixdown using Jriver and VST plugins. So A8 is collecting dust for now.

I had been eying A16 for a while and I was waiting for the FW to mature and also stabilize, and I have been following this thread. Dolby Atmos at 24Ch, to me is the biggest selling point on A16 beyond what I already have, it will provide me with the convenience of watching Netflix/Amazon Prime/Disney+ from the comfort of my home office, sitting 1m away from a 42inch 4k monitor over the headphone, without worrying about disturbing anyone. and I turn on my sub for some tactile feedback.

3DSoundShop:
However, what kept me from acquiring a A16 was the lack of personal PRIRs, it is relatively easy to acquire 8ch PRIR, but 24ch Dolby is a order of magnitude more complex. Based on my past experience generic PRIRs and those measured by others (no disrespect to those who did it), I was quite skeptical that A16 will be of any use to me without my own measurements. Then I came across 3DsoundShop, and got to try many of the demos they had. though they were not perfect, they were better than any of the (non personal) PRIRs I had used before. There was no front-back confusion and the localization of all channels were quite good, and to my ears they sounded like the sound appeared to arrive from about 1.5m (the center channel is an exception, which was about 1m which is quite hard to nail without head tracking).

What I liked about the demos where they were quite consistent across the many speakers they had and the quality was great (clean, not much reverb but not dead either). I also saw that there may be an option to do personal PRIR measurements (and I will be the first in line when that happens). So the existence of 3DSoundShop was the single most important reason that convinced me to acquire a A16.

I have had multiple conversations with John (who runs 3DSoundShop), he has been patient in answering my questions and I only respect hem more after talking to him and understanding the level of attention to detail taht went behind making the measurements and the quality shows in both subjective listening and also in my objective measurements I made. After my first conversation with him, I bought three of the PRIRs (Focal, BW and Genlec). The jury is still out on what I prefer, but leaning toward Genlec for now.

What now:
I have had A16 for a few weeks now and have been learning it (I wish there were a more comprehensive user manual in English, and I would not mind paying to get one). For the time being, John was nice to answer a few questions I had. While A16 has quite the steep learning curve just like A8, I find it a bit more mature in terms of stability and also logically organized menu, so I think I got the hang of it without having to look at the manual.

I compared the built in rooms with 3DSoundShop PRIR, I prefer 3DsoundShop for both the distance perception and quality. The 3DSoundhsoopPRIRs present the virtual speakers in a more natural Spherical soundstage.

Going in I had realistic expectations, I was not expecting the PRIRs to be as good as my personal PRIRs, when I imported my 2Ch A8 PRIR into A16, I still prefer my personal PRIR, it had greater depth and a bit more realism, though Johns PRIR was bit more clean. What I expected from the PRIRs I bought was to offer reasonable depth and good localization for movies, which is what I got.

I read HPEQ and manLoud would improve things, so I tried HPEQ, but for some reason it turned out quite a bit wonky. Instead I just did manLoud EQ setting the HPEQ curve to flat. I plan to do a more detailed writeup on how I did the EQ (I took advantage of being able to measure the EQd PRIR). After I did the EQ, localization improved and the biggest change I heard was in the vertical channels and of course tonality was closer to where I prefer.

What next:
I plan to continue experimenting and I also plan to write a more detailed writeup on the measurements and HPEQ/manLoud. I am trying to figure out a easy way to replace the front two channels John's 13.1.10 PRIR with my own and also drop the center channel. Interestingly, when imported my PRIR they seemed to be magically level matched to John's PRIR.

Right now I am using Nvidia Shield Pro for Netflix/Amazon/Disney but for some reason Dolby Atmos never shows up (5.1 only) for amazon and Disney+, while with Xbox I have no such issues (I hate to steal the Xbox from my kids ). any suggestions to get Dolby Amos going on Nvidia Shield TV Pro for amazon and Disney+ is appreciated.

ps: I was informed this may be because my 42 inch Dell  monitor does not support HDR (which is required for Atmos on Shield with Amazon and Disney), but I am open to any workarounds if there are any.

Disclaimers:
*  was not compensated in any form to do this either.
* PRIR are quite personaly, what works for me may not work for others, so it is best to try the demos.

Desktop: AMD Server(AL Roon Core/ HQP NAA)  >>  Fiber >> DAVE >> (2 x HFC Trinity Helix) >> LCD-5/(KGSSHV Carbon CC + CRBN)/ Omega CAMs [Everything plugged into Sound Applications TT7]

 

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  • 1 month later...
Hello my friends...
 
I am very excited to announce several significant updates to the 3D Sound Shop website. 
 
  • Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale. With coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY... save up to 60% on individual and PRIR Paks.
  • Introduction of a new Premium 24 Channel Universal PRIR. It will include two PRIR formats. These formats were created with both the movie and music lover in mind.
  • I have spent hundreds of hours creating a new and personalized online experience.  
  • New online demos for HD800 owners as well as all other headphone brands and types
  • Introduction of a customized Dolby Atmos channel localization test.
  • Official announcement and pricing information for In-Person PRIR sessions
  • Website updates and sale pricing will begin on Nov 26th at midnight EST.
Thank you all for your support and tremendous feedback.
 
It's going to be exciting!
Happy Listening
John

Lumin T2 / Smyth Realiser A16 > Simaudio Moon 600i > Abyss AB-1266 PHI TC / Raal SR1a > Enhanced LFE by Clark Synthesis Platinum TST429

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello Friends and Realiser enthusiasts.

 

I just wanted to take the time to express my appreciation to all of my new friends who purchased a PRIR(s) and or supported my endeavors at the 3DSoundShop. The last two weeks have been a very humbling for me. Best of all, more and more Realiser owners will now get to experience the true magic of the Smyth Realiser A16. Thank You!

 

As you may know, Because of my new "Member Of The Trade" status on Head-Fi, I am no longer allowed to post any content on that forum relating to my business. This is very, very limiting because my business and the Realiser are linked in just about every way. But thankfully, the owner of this forum was gracious enough to allow me to post here... with no limitations.

 

I hope that in addition to sharing encouragement, basic instruction and technical details... as a community, we can share our best A16 experiences with each other.

 

I look forward to hearing form you.

Sincerely,

John

Lumin T2 / Smyth Realiser A16 > Simaudio Moon 600i > Abyss AB-1266 PHI TC / Raal SR1a > Enhanced LFE by Clark Synthesis Platinum TST429

 

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2 hours ago, phoenixdogfan said:

I have both the multi channel version and the pure two channel version of the D&Ds with in person PRIRs.  The two channel is fast becoming my go to for listening to two channel music, though I don't think I'd want to use it for multi channel video sound tracks.  Different horses for different courses.

I too love the sound of the two channel set up... But the (Flat) PRIR really shines with multichannel music as well. You might remember... In addition to the two channels we created for you... I also created 24 more channels for the Dutch & Dutch Music (Flat) PRIR. It was my intent for users of the (Flat) PRIR to enjoy the pure sound of D&D for with their SACDs, DVD-A, and Atmos Music. So adding an actual SW to the (Flat) PRIR works really well and ads some extra punch to the mix.

 

But you're right... Different horses for different courses.

Lumin T2 / Smyth Realiser A16 > Simaudio Moon 600i > Abyss AB-1266 PHI TC / Raal SR1a > Enhanced LFE by Clark Synthesis Platinum TST429

 

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FYI... I for one am very grateful for the new "Loading" Feature

 

LCD_IMG_ID099_1_FCC23D0FB0A9_211115165635.jpg.fdf247d9d76b7c45edd31a12a8fa12bd.jpg

 

It's nice to be able to have all your sources and and formats (Atmos, DTS, and PCM) use one Listening room. No switching necessary. If you haven't tried... give it a whirl.

Lumin T2 / Smyth Realiser A16 > Simaudio Moon 600i > Abyss AB-1266 PHI TC / Raal SR1a > Enhanced LFE by Clark Synthesis Platinum TST429

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 9 months later...

Hello my friends...

I am very excited to announce several significant updates to the 3DSoundShop website...
 

  • Early Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale. With coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY... save up to 60% on individual and PRIR Paks.
  • Introduction of a new Premium 35 Channel Universal PRIR. It will include two PRIR formats. These formats were created with both movie and music lovers in mind... Now with optional added distance from the main listening position.
  • New PRIRs also include properly recorded Auro-3D channels!
  • I have spent hundreds of hours creating a new and personalized online experience.
  • New Online & Offline demos for HD800 owners as well as all other headphone brands and types
  • Sale pricing will begin on Nov 11th at midnight EST.

1284014019_image(2).png.6cc37a70a390a6cc325b50bfda7ef7a6.png

180283745_image(3).png.be2573b38dc1c9991515002a9aef16dd.png

 

Thank you all for your support and tremendous feedback.

 

Happy Listening!

Lumin T2 / Smyth Realiser A16 > Simaudio Moon 600i > Abyss AB-1266 PHI TC / Raal SR1a > Enhanced LFE by Clark Synthesis Platinum TST429

 

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