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AXPONA 2017: Smyth Research Realiser A16

FrantzM

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No not really, I visit loads of customers who mistake reverberation in the room for genuine bass, if your floor is shaking the speakers should be set on visco elastic mounts, of if the cause is air-b0rne then you need to look at your room's acoustics.
Keith
Keith

The point I want to drive home is the following since you have so much insisted:

On headphones only your ears are excited. Your body, the rest of it, by which we perceive sound to a a significant extent doesn't participate: The suspension of disbelief that a good stereo system with speakers can produce albeit for brief instants, is not there, cannot be there. The Smyth cannot replace the sound waves hitting parts of your body as in real live music. Not a bass thing although the bass is the most obvious contributor. You can tack on my "Floor shaking" metaphor if you will and take it to whatever conclusion you want. The main weakness of headphones listening is that absence of tactile stimuli. The Smyth is not replacing it it would have to access what is responsible for the tactile impression on your skin and bones for examples.. Does it do that? No! Sooooo..
As I told for the past 6 years I have listened to music exclusively through progressively better headphones ( Started with a Denon then to HifiMan then to the HiFiman SE6 then acquired an Audeze and a Stax ESL have kept those 3 and added a Bose Sound Attenutating headphones a surprisingly good sounding can BTW)) . I still enjoy music through these. I however, do know they can't replace a decent pair of speakers in term of verisimilitude. The Smyth may take the music out of my head ( the second greatest weakness of headphones) but won't put it on and through my body.
 

Purité Audio

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Perhaps your body is different Frantz sound is processed by my ears.
I am not saying they can replace a hifi system , I personally do not like headphones have never owned any, never sold any but the Smyth system is spectacular, you should try it, the other expensive headphones you mention are just that, expensive headphones.
Keith
 

Blumlein 88

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Way back when I owned some Stax Lambda Pro headphones. I preferred listening to them with my speakers also playing. Sitting about 10 feet from the speakers. This provides the thump in the chest or tactile sensations, as well as some delayed ambience enhancement from the time it took for sound to reach me via the speaker route. While all the fine detail was in the Stax. Surely this would please manufacturers. Then we need full high quality headphone and speaker rigs.

I also have at times listened to phones with a subwoofer playing along at the appropriate level. That works pretty well.

So, some good phones, the Smyth gear, and a sub might be more doable in many instances than say a full Atmos system.
 

Frank Dernie

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I would quite like to buy one of these but the Smyth web site shows out of stock. Are they still available or is this sadly a dead innovation?
 

Kal Rubinson

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I would quite like to buy one of these but the Smyth web site shows out of stock. Are they still available or is this sadly a dead innovation?
A pal of mine prepaid for his about 2+ years ago and has not yet seen fulfillment.
 

MerlinGS

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I thought I might update this thread. It seems units are available for sale (for substantially more than the kickstarter price), and they are now able to virtually recreate up to 24 speakers in Dolby Atmos. There is a huge thread at Head-Fi on this product. I think the current price is $4K.

Regarding the lack of tactile experience, there are two approaches one can take: a) run a sub with it; b) us it with some type of tactile device connected to your listening chair/sofa (quality ones are often used in home theaters because of the added experience).
 

Kal Rubinson

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I thought I might update this thread. It seems units are available for sale (for substantially more than the kickstarter price), and they are now able to virtually recreate up to 24 speakers in Dolby Atmos. There is a huge thread at Head-Fi on this product. I think the current price is $4K.
Goody but, until they ship one to my friend and the others who prepaid, they are on my ?hit list.
 

MerlinGS

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Are they still waiting? How does a business model like that even survive? Did they purchase during the kickstarter sale (2-3 yrs ago I think)? If yes, then I don't understand how anyone would place an order with them knowing they are yrs behind in their delivery commitments.
 

Frank Dernie

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Are they still waiting? How does a business model like that even survive? Did they purchase during the kickstarter sale (2-3 yrs ago I think)? If yes, then I don't understand how anyone would place an order with them knowing they are yrs behind in their delivery commitments.
Well I nearly did! The web site doesn't make it clear that they haven't fulfilled their commitments and it was asking here that I found out from @Kal Rubinson .
 

Jose Hidalgo

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Regarding the lack of tactile experience, there are two approaches one can take: a) run a sub with it; b) us it with some type of tactile device connected to your listening chair/sofa (quality ones are often used in home theaters because of the added experience).
Well, thankfully now there's the SubPac (x1 / x1+c1) for a somewhat affordable price : https://subpac.com/
 
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