Endgame headphone convolver for easier use?

[TooAudioPhoolForSkool]

Hello. Been looking into what's truly possible with headphone spatalization technology. Turns out the impossible end-of-the-game product is the Smyth Realiser A16. However, it is prohibitively both expensive and difficult to set up. I have wondered as to whether it is possible that somebody with access to both the device in question and a properly treated 16/24 channel room experiment with it to provide its benefits for us regular folks. I've been a user of HeSuVi for some time, and the way it works is that it takes in spatial/binaural tech, measures a frequency test sweep, and enables playback on regular Windows PCs without access to the original convolver. So for example, if you wanted to listen to how the old "Dolby Headphone" algorithm sounded (which I must say was really impressive for its time), you could simply select it in HeSuVi and play any content you wanted through it. So you could gain access to whatever the algorithm does to an audio file, without direct access to the original encoder, and so on for multiple other solutions (for example, some others by Creative Audio)

So it reasons to me that there's nothing preventing the use of the same methodology to measure an A16 in an ideal room with a professional dummy head, and sharing it with the community for Atmos/DTS-X playback.

Has anybody else thought of this possibility?

 

[iGude]

Hello and welcome to ASR,

partially, this exists already, you can even listen for yourself here:
www.3dsoundshop.com
To my knowledge, this is recorded with a real head using the Smyth microphones.

Unfortunately, this concept doesn’t really work like binaural recordings and HeSuVi don’t really work: the vast majority of people will not hear a proper soundstage in front like with speakers, in addition you may have front-back confusion and the phantom sound sources may be perceived too close.

The reason is that the individual HRTF is significantly different from the HRTF of the head and external ear used for the recording.

Hope this helps…

 

[TooAudioPhoolForSkool]

Hello and welcome to ASR,

partially, this exists already, you can even listen for yourself here:
www.3dsoundshop.com
To my knowledge, this is recorded with a real head using the Smyth microphones.

Unfortunately, this concept doesn’t really work like binaural recordings and HeSuVi don’t really work: the vast majority of people will not hear a proper soundstage in front like with speakers, in addition you may have front-back confusion and the phantom sound sources may be perceived too close.

The reason is that the individual HRTF is significantly different from the HRTF of the head and external ear used for the recording.

Hope this helps…

The average head of the HATS device may be suitable for a large number of people. The question is whether it's possible to do this with an A16 specifically to capture its impulse response model.

 

[iGude]

The average head of the HATS device may be suitable for a large number of people. The question is whether it's possible to do this with an A16 specifically to capture its impulse response model.

Hmmm…if this was true, a product like A16 wouldn’t even exist in the first place, right?

Actually, it is the other way round: an average HRTF from HATS is not suitable for the vast majority of people.

I’m sure that most solutions that you can try in HeSuVi are based on HATS measurements actually. And although this can be fun, and for very few people it is even convincing, the vast majority of people hear the limitations that I have listed in my first response.

 

[3DSoundShop]

However, it is prohibitively both expensive and difficult to set up.

I know of two people who are considering selling their A16s... If you are interested... I could put you in touch with them.