Trinnov Altitude 16 Review (AV Processor)

[Fidji]

I thought that a no brainier. Why would you otherwise buy a processor with 20 outputs?

I actually never thought, that having 20CH available could be limiting in any shape or form. And yet - here we are with 22 channels, thinking what to do with 2 spares.

If there is anything really differentiating Alt 32 from Alt16 it is this flexibility of adding channels. with 24 [+4] you should be covered in any scenario [unless you use it really as active crossover and burn 8CH on L-R.]

My latest and greatest plan is to add Flex for CH1&2 [SPDIF] for Surround Back speakers, use crossover function of Flex, add 2 subs to create 2 full range speakers [although my SB play down to 26Hz], and utilize intermediate Bass Management for Rear Heights. Then I have 2 channels free for Front Top [above FW] creating 9.x.9.

More rational part of me knows it is an absolute overkill ;-).

 

[sarumbear]

I actually never thought, that having 20CH available could be limiting in any shape or form. And yet - here we are with 22 channels, thinking what to do with 2 spares.

If there is anything really differentiating Alt 32 from Alt16 it is this flexibility of adding channels.

Faster speed and higher sampling rates.

 

[Golfx]

I actually never thought, that having 20CH available could be limiting in any shape or form. And yet - here we are with 22 channels, thinking what to do with 2 spares.

If there is anything really differentiating Alt 32 from Alt16 it is this flexibility of adding channels. with 24 [+4] you should be covered in any scenario [unless you use it really as active crossover and burn 8CH on L-R.]

My latest and greatest plan is to add Flex for CH1&2 [SPDIF] for Surround Back speakers, use crossover function of Flex, add 2 subs to create 2 full range speakers [although my SB play down to 26Hz], and utilize intermediate Bass Management for Rear Heights. Then I have 2 channels free for Front Top [above FW] creating 9.x.9.

More rational part of me knows it is an absolute overkill ;-).

You live in one of the great cultural cities in the world AND you have a Trinnov. Not fair.

 

[Fidji]

Faster speed and higher sampling rates.

yes, that is why I want to stay at 24 channels max and not use +4 as then sampling rate reduces to 96kHz.
Actually also with my settings [50 IIR filters 1/24 octave + 300ms IIR and 8cycles&1/6 octave] and 22CH it takes 5 min to re-calculate any applied setting change ;-).

 

[Fidji]

You live in one of the great cultural cities in the world AND you have a Trinnov. Not fair.

There is only so many hour you can spend in Uffizi in your lifetime. I rather pay for a guide, when somebody is visiting me, then to endure going there for 150th time ;-)
Food is the gamechanger vs the rest of the world. You know - all of the dilemmas one is facing, when you need to choose correct thyme variety ....

Actually I am an expat, that moved here. Best decision of my life. Tuscany is the greatest.

 

[Golfx]

There is only so many hour you can spend in Uffizi in your lifetime. I rather pay for a guide, when somebody is visiting me, then to endure going there for 150th time ;-)
Food is the gamechanger vs the rest of the world. You know - all of the dilemmas one is facing, when you need to choose correct thyme variety ....

Actually I am an expat, that moved here. Best decision of my life. Tuscany is the greatest.

I envy your location and decisions. I lived in Italy for 3 years in the 80s and miss it.

 

[Fidji]

I envy your location and decisions. I lived in Italy for 3 years in the 80s and miss it.

On a flip side - no Kaleidascape .... and no way to get it. Still good ol' OPPO .... MADVR Envy - 10.000 eur.

 

[Billy Budapest]

On a flip side - no Kaleidascape ...

Didn’t even know kaleidescape was still around. With 4k streaming being commonplace, they don’t have much of a reason to exist anymore IMHO. At least, the market is crowded with bigger players

 

[Golfx]

Didn’t even know kaleidescape was still around. With 4k streaming being commonplace, they don’t have much of a reason to exist anymore IMHO. At least, the market is crowded with bigger players

You are consistent in your low opinion of high end products.

 

[sarumbear]

Didn’t even know kaleidescape was still around. With 4k streaming being commonplace, they don’t have much of a reason to exist anymore IMHO. At least, the market is crowded with bigger players

Thankfully your opinion doesn’t count in the market otherwise high quality products wouldn’t exists.

 

[sarumbear]

On a flip side - no Kaleidascape .... and no way to get it. Still good ol' OPPO .... MADVR Envy - 10.000 eur.

Why no Kaleidescape?

 

[Fidji]

Why no Kaleidescape?

Regional restrictions, is officialy available only in US, UK and Canada, as per latest info. And with such HW investment I do not want to play “US credit card & VPN“ game.

 

[Fidji]

Didn’t even know kaleidescape was still around. With 4k streaming being commonplace, they don’t have much of a reason to exist anymore IMHO. At least, the market is crowded with bigger players

there is quite some difference in all aspects of A (as audio) and V (as video) even between UHD BR disc and Netflix&Co. At least in real home theaters, for TV screens, that compete how to burn out your retina as quickly as possible it probably does not matter. I had a chance to see Kaleidascape in 3 different installations (2xprivate (therof one on quite BIG yacht ), 1xdemo at the CI) and it was better than cinema.

just curious - what is actually your HT setup? Always good to know, where people come from with their views of the world. Helps the empathy in discussion.

I would expect, that you also like to spend your hard earned tons of money on things, that an average person considers to be non-sensical and expensive, with no added value. No idea, what this might be, maybe 50k Hastens bed, 5k coffee machine, made-to-measure shoes, eating at fine places?

This are your Trinnovs and Kaleidascapes.

 

[Billy Budapest]

just curious - what is actually your HT setup? Always good to know, where people come from with their views of the world. Helps the empathy in discussion.

Main HT system: TV is Sony A1E OLED, sources include AppleTV 4k, TiVo Bolt, Sony UDP-x1000es, Auralic Aries. I had an Oppo UDP-205 but sold it as I was just using the HDMI output to my receiver. Receiver is Sony STR-ZA5000ES. Speakers are Gallo Strada 2’s for mains and Gallo Micro’s for surrounds. Sub is Gallo TR-3D. Atmos “bounce” speakers are NHT.

Office system (which is a 7.1 surround system but not HT as it does not have a screen for watching video—only an LG monitor for Roon): sources include McCormack UDP-1 Conrad-Johnson Edition, Conrad-Johnson HD3 DAC, Conrad Johnson D/A-2b DAC, SOtM sMS-200 Roon endpoint, Apple AirPort Express, SAE Mark VI FM tuner, Sota Comet Series III w/Shelter 501 II cartridge. Amplification: Conrad Johnson CAV-50, Conrad Johnson MET1, Conrad Johnson MET150, Conrad Johnson TEA1b. Speakers are Triangle Celius, Sextan, Titus, and Aliote, subwoofer is Sub Espace. I use an Asustor NAS to store hi-res music (mostly in ALAC format but some DSD).

I have several other systems but they are all two channel.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Thankfully your opinion doesn’t count in the market otherwise high quality products wouldn’t exists.

I think all consumers’ opinions count.

 

[Fidji]

Main HT system: TV is Sony A1E OLED, sources include AppleTV 4k, TiVo Bolt, Sony UDP-x1000es, Auralic Aries. I had an Oppo UDP-205 but sold it as I was just using the HDMI output to my receiver. Receiver is Sony STR-ZA5000ES. Speakers are Gallo Strada 2’s for mains and Gallo Micro’s for surrounds. Sub is Gallo TR-3D. Atmos “bounce” speakers are NHT.

Nice, design minded setup, must look great in your living room and for sure it brings Netflix to another level. And you are right, Trinnov has no sense for you, it would be just waste of assets. Sony/top of the line Denon\Marantz are more appropriate.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Nice, design minded setup, must look great in your living room and for sure it brings Netflix to another level. And you are right, Trinnov has no sense for you, it would be just waste of assets. Sony/top of the line Denon\Marantz are more appropriate.

Yes, it is a “living room” implementation. I have a sunroom that I might transform to a true home theater but that would be several years away as I just finished remodeling a room in my basement into a gym. My criticism with Trinnov doesn’t have anything to do with my use case, but rather is a price/performance issue generally. As far as kalaidescape, I do not have any issues with it, but was surprised that it still exists as its primary reason for being was co-opted by Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and others years ago.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Just for fun, here are before and after photos of the basement rehab. More equipment is coming, other than the elliptical.

 

[Descartes]

How big of a room do you have to have for 36 speakers!!

I will be happy with 9.4.6!

 

[GXAlan]

As far as kalaidescape, I do not have any issues with it, but was surprised that it still exists as its primary reason for being was co-opted by Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and others years ago.

On my 75” XBR 940E at 15 ft viewing distance, when I watch the cartoon version of “The Grinch” on Vudu 4K streaming, the animated characters look subtly textured. On the UHD Blu-Ray, you can see that all of the characters are made of “fuzz.” Kaleidascape gets you disc level quality streaming. The real tragedy is that they were part of UltraViolet but not Movies Anywhere.

What is very impressive is that the Grinch is a 2K master that is upsampled. It’s primarily bitrate and HDR color that is responsible for the picture quality.

I can clearly see the value of Kaleidascape if you had a dedicated HT with viewing scale that benefits from higher detail.

With the Black Friday discounts, I highly recommend the 4K UHD Blu-Ray just to see the difference yourself!