Fitzcaraldo215
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I have been using a Smyth Realiser16 for several months with the Sennheiser 800s. God, I really love it. My inclusion of it in General Audio Comments, as opposed to Headphones and Headphone Amplifier Reviews, etc. is deliberate.
I have quite a large collection of SACDs and of 2K BDs, mostly classical, mostly 5.1 multichannel, probably about 70TB on my NAS. My wife and I moved a retirement home a little over a year ago, and it’s got no room to house a Mch speaker system, let alone disturbing the neighbors. So, I, prior to the move, sold the 7.1 Martin Logan electrostat-hybrid speakers, ExaSound 38 DAC, JL f113 subwoofer, amps, etc. That was a truly great system. My recollections an audiophile over many years were that discretely recorded Mch reproduction is the best sound, absolutely the best. It’s not even close. Been doing Mch for about 14 years.
I had been interested in the Smyth for ages based on feature articles in Widescreen Review. So, I bought it and the Smyth-recommended Sennheiser 800s’s, absolutely totally unheard. Gary Reber was absolutely gaga in his reviews in Widescreen Review with regard to the previous Smyth R8. I do not know him, but I trust him, as I think Amir does. But, it was my dear friend, Kal Rubinson, who I had series of discussions with, that sold me. There was no other choice, given the apartment living my new quarters necessitated for Mch sound.
There are quite a few major problems with the current Smyth. It only currently does 5.1, 7.1, everything up to Dolby Atmos, but not DTS:X, not Auro3D, as promised. They hope to do those. The users manual leaves a whole, whole lot to be desired, etc. The AKM plant, a primary source for among their critical components, has burned down. Possibly, there are rumored financial issues affecting Smyth, but they do remain committed. I would too, if I had such a mind-boggily, utterly unbelievable technology to call their own.
But, it does amazingly, oh my gosh, what it says. You are in the room with up to 16 (pro versions have up to 24) Mch speakers, except that they are NOT THERE. Only a player (in my case, JRiver on a PC) and a standard set of stereo headphones, in my case the 800s, are what is required. Instead of “in your head”, they are out of your head in a natural speaker layout with headphone tracking.
Yes, you can do a calibration with speakers in the same room - a PRIR - to compare speaker/headphone. But, I missed my chance when I sold my Mch system prior to my move. It got complicated due to the pandemic. But, maybe I will get the chance in the months ahead on a friend’s Mch system. In the meantime, I am quite happy using the defaults of a 32-speaker BBC room or a 24-speaker (?) room at Surrey University, each a custom, acoustically prepared room, all set up with Genelecs.
Every review I have heard says the same, like a cliche: the reviewer could not tell which was which, and frequently there would be momentary confusion over whether the source was headphones or speaker. My friend Kal says that I have to try it to as a speaker/headphone to believe how close it is. I guess I will just have to try it, given pandemic easing. I have got my two shots. So does my friend with the Mch system.
The sound of what I remember about my old system, good as it was, is that now you can hear the colorations that you once could not hear that were there in the room, and maybe other things. That was in spite of my use of my beloved Dirac Live. My room was rather small, at 18x13 with a rather irregular ceiling 8’ to 20’. The Smyth just opens things up with noticeably more exquisite musical detail, among a vast amount of other things. But, I’m doing this from memory.
I cannot say enough about the Sennheiser 800s. It is used with Smyth HPEQ = simultaneous HTRF with EQ, which is calibrated by tiny, in ear mikes, as is also used for the PRIRs. I have no basis for headphone comparisons, but the 800s really do a superb job. With recordings I am familiar with, there is completely satisfying from the treble, which is remarkable, down to the bass, which is once again remarkable. The instruments in orchestra, chamber music, soloists. vocalists, etc. sound supremely natural to me - spatially, tonally, dynamically, etc. Yes, you can feel slight pressure around the circumference of the ears if you concentrate on it, but I didn’t find long term fatigue.
Try to get one. I wish you luck. There is a backlog. I feel fortunate, and the price may be highish ($4,000 plus your choice of headphones), but they are a mind-blowing technology.
But, I will take it on only 5.1 sound, as I have with SACD and BD. It’s more than fulfilling. Dolby Atmos will have to wait. And, my interest is in music, much less so on videos.
I was Philadelphia Orchestra, Met Opera, etc. subscriber for many years. But, I can’t get there any more, regrettably, and the pandemic has had its impact. With my Smyth, I will be really be able to do a really outstanding job of recreating the concert hall environment, in Mch, of course.
I have quite a large collection of SACDs and of 2K BDs, mostly classical, mostly 5.1 multichannel, probably about 70TB on my NAS. My wife and I moved a retirement home a little over a year ago, and it’s got no room to house a Mch speaker system, let alone disturbing the neighbors. So, I, prior to the move, sold the 7.1 Martin Logan electrostat-hybrid speakers, ExaSound 38 DAC, JL f113 subwoofer, amps, etc. That was a truly great system. My recollections an audiophile over many years were that discretely recorded Mch reproduction is the best sound, absolutely the best. It’s not even close. Been doing Mch for about 14 years.
I had been interested in the Smyth for ages based on feature articles in Widescreen Review. So, I bought it and the Smyth-recommended Sennheiser 800s’s, absolutely totally unheard. Gary Reber was absolutely gaga in his reviews in Widescreen Review with regard to the previous Smyth R8. I do not know him, but I trust him, as I think Amir does. But, it was my dear friend, Kal Rubinson, who I had series of discussions with, that sold me. There was no other choice, given the apartment living my new quarters necessitated for Mch sound.
There are quite a few major problems with the current Smyth. It only currently does 5.1, 7.1, everything up to Dolby Atmos, but not DTS:X, not Auro3D, as promised. They hope to do those. The users manual leaves a whole, whole lot to be desired, etc. The AKM plant, a primary source for among their critical components, has burned down. Possibly, there are rumored financial issues affecting Smyth, but they do remain committed. I would too, if I had such a mind-boggily, utterly unbelievable technology to call their own.
But, it does amazingly, oh my gosh, what it says. You are in the room with up to 16 (pro versions have up to 24) Mch speakers, except that they are NOT THERE. Only a player (in my case, JRiver on a PC) and a standard set of stereo headphones, in my case the 800s, are what is required. Instead of “in your head”, they are out of your head in a natural speaker layout with headphone tracking.
Yes, you can do a calibration with speakers in the same room - a PRIR - to compare speaker/headphone. But, I missed my chance when I sold my Mch system prior to my move. It got complicated due to the pandemic. But, maybe I will get the chance in the months ahead on a friend’s Mch system. In the meantime, I am quite happy using the defaults of a 32-speaker BBC room or a 24-speaker (?) room at Surrey University, each a custom, acoustically prepared room, all set up with Genelecs.
Every review I have heard says the same, like a cliche: the reviewer could not tell which was which, and frequently there would be momentary confusion over whether the source was headphones or speaker. My friend Kal says that I have to try it to as a speaker/headphone to believe how close it is. I guess I will just have to try it, given pandemic easing. I have got my two shots. So does my friend with the Mch system.
The sound of what I remember about my old system, good as it was, is that now you can hear the colorations that you once could not hear that were there in the room, and maybe other things. That was in spite of my use of my beloved Dirac Live. My room was rather small, at 18x13 with a rather irregular ceiling 8’ to 20’. The Smyth just opens things up with noticeably more exquisite musical detail, among a vast amount of other things. But, I’m doing this from memory.
I cannot say enough about the Sennheiser 800s. It is used with Smyth HPEQ = simultaneous HTRF with EQ, which is calibrated by tiny, in ear mikes, as is also used for the PRIRs. I have no basis for headphone comparisons, but the 800s really do a superb job. With recordings I am familiar with, there is completely satisfying from the treble, which is remarkable, down to the bass, which is once again remarkable. The instruments in orchestra, chamber music, soloists. vocalists, etc. sound supremely natural to me - spatially, tonally, dynamically, etc. Yes, you can feel slight pressure around the circumference of the ears if you concentrate on it, but I didn’t find long term fatigue.
Try to get one. I wish you luck. There is a backlog. I feel fortunate, and the price may be highish ($4,000 plus your choice of headphones), but they are a mind-blowing technology.
But, I will take it on only 5.1 sound, as I have with SACD and BD. It’s more than fulfilling. Dolby Atmos will have to wait. And, my interest is in music, much less so on videos.
I was Philadelphia Orchestra, Met Opera, etc. subscriber for many years. But, I can’t get there any more, regrettably, and the pandemic has had its impact. With my Smyth, I will be really be able to do a really outstanding job of recreating the concert hall environment, in Mch, of course.
