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Smyth Research Realiser A8 User Manual

Including stax srs-2050 ii headphone set and optional smyth monitor bridge
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SMYTH RESEARCH
SMYTH
RESEARCH
SMYTH
SMYTH
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
Realiser A8 system
including Stax SRS-2050 II headphone set and optional Smyth monitor bridge
User manual
for firmware dated 3 August 2011
The Realiser is defined by its firmware, which is
updated from time to time with refinements and new
features. Likewise the manual is updated to conform
with new firmware, and to provide additional
information.
Current firmware and the current manual are available
on the Smyth Research website at:
www.smyth-research.com
Please check regularly for firmware and manual
updates and keep both current. There may be
significant differences between the operation
described here and that for other firmware versions.

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Summary of Contents for Smyth Research Realiser A8

  • Page 1 Likewise the manual is updated to conform with new firmware, and to provide additional information. Current firmware and the current manual are available on the Smyth Research website at: www.smyth-research.com Please check regularly for firmware and manual updates and keep both current. There may be significant differences between the operation described here and that for other firmware versions.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    CONTENTS page Safety Firmware update First look and initial steps Unpacking Parts assembly Front panel Rear panel IR Remote control Connections Power on and off Factory default emulation Volume control and mute Setting the clock I/O assignment and angle entry Basic procedures Personalisation basics step by step Preset basics step by step...

  • Page 3: Safety

    IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS READ BEFORE OPERATING EQUIPMENT • Read these instructions. • Keep these instructions. • Heed all warnings. • Follow all instructions. • Do not use this apparatus near water. • Clean only with a dry cloth. • Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. •...
  • Page 4 • Do not hold the mains cable with wet hands. There must be no water or dust on the contact pins. In both cases you could receive an electric shock. • The mains cable must be firmly connected. If it is loose there is a fire hazard. •...

  • Page 5: Firmware Update

    To inspect the currently loaded firmware version, press the FILE key. The screen will say, for example: SMYTH RESEARCH SVS REALISER A8 (c) 2009-2011 REV:03 AUG 2011 XY The letters after the date are not pertinent to the firmware revision. The first letter is a flash memory diagnostic.
  • Page 6 Press OK to save the configuration. Hardware ID The LCD display and audio muting circuit have been changed over several generations of Realisers. The Realiser is meant to identify which types are present, but some early Realisers sometimes mis- identify the type. Therefore an ID code can be entered manually. To see the current hardware ID, press the FILE key.
  • Page 7 4. Automatic backup of all files to SD card. 5. Linear taper can be applied to PRIR with user-definable start and end points. 6. Microphone calibration and test procedure. 7. Optional password protection. 8. Headphone limiter threshold and release controls. 9.
  • Page 8 3. The ONE, LsRs and LbRb speaker measurement procedures now allow subwoofer (or other) measurements to be added, so 5.1 and 7.1 are now possible in addition to 5.0 and 7.0, etc. 4. The ONE, LsRs and LbRb speaker measurement procedures now use the default channel assignments.

  • Page 9: First Look And Initial Steps

    FIRST LOOK AND INITIAL STEPS UNPACKING The Realiser A8 package includes all of the items below. Realiser A8 processor Power supply, 100-240 V AC, 50/60 Hz* Remote control Head-top head tracker Clip for head-top Set-top head tracking reference unit Set-top head tracking reference unit base...

  • Page 10: Parts Assembly

    PARTS ASSEMBLY The head tracking system consists of two units: the head tracker itself, which sits atop the listener’s head, and the head tracking reference, which is placed in front of the listener. For simplicity and clarity, we will refer to these units as “head-top” and “set-top” respectively. The “set-top” may well be placed atop a television “set”...
  • Page 11 Head-top head tracker Check that the tiny switch on the side of the head-top is in the up position; if not, move it there. When not in use, place the head-top into the USB-type socket marked HT-CHARGE on the front panel of the Realiser.
  • Page 12 Set-top head tracking reference unit Check that the tiny switch on the side of the set-top is in the up position; if not, move it there. Snap the ball of the set-top into the socket of its base. Place the set-top in a location which will be directly in front of the listener, at 0°...
  • Page 13 Microphones Assemble the microphone rig which consists of the following parts: Lanyard Y-junction (black plastic part with jacks) Two microphones (cables permanently attached) Cable, 3.5 mm plug to plug, 4-way Extension cable, 3.5 mm jack to plug, 4-way Foam earplugs Attach the lanyard clip to the Y-junction between the L and R jacks.

  • Page 14: Front Panel

    FRONT PANEL The Realiser front panel has the following elements: LCD window -- a four line alphanumeric display showing status messages, and menus to be accessed with the remote control SD card slot and activity light -- for portable external storage of measurements White LEDs -- one per speaker position, indicates status of channel assigned to each position not operating blinking...
  • Page 15 LED will light dimly when the head-top is communicating with the set-top; or will light whether operating or not, signifying a ready state.

  • Page 16: Rear Panel

    REAR PANEL The Realiser rear panel has the following jacks: HDMI IN -- digital input for up to eight PCM audio channels, up to 192 kHz, 24 bit, bypassing the Realiser’s analogue-to-digital converters HDMI OUT -- a pass-through of the signal from HDMI IN, including video if present; not used for test signals, compatible with most HDMI equipment LINE IN -- eight analogue audio inputs for up to eight channels;...

  • Page 17: Ir Remote Control

    IR REMOTE CONTROL SVS-RC3 The Realiser is operated and adjusted by means of the remote control. Most of the buttons have more than one function, according to whether the Realiser is in operating or menu mode and whether other buttons are pressed in sequence. Working with menus follows a consistent design: 1.
  • Page 18 SPK-OK -- initiates PRIR measurement sequence HP-OK -- initiates HPEQ measurement sequence SPOS -- initiates pilot tone procedure for look angle logging MENU-SPOS -- enables/disables pilot tones for use during PRIR measurement sequence METR -- on monitor bridge, clears peak hold display and dropout detector MENU-METR -- access to monitor bridge menus and headphone limiter menu INFO -- for future use LOOK -- displays look angles;...
  • Page 19 OK -- toggles in and out of mute Within a menu -- confirms or executes selected item, except for certain memory writes or overwrites which are executed by (!) for safety FILE -- displays firmware version MENU-FILE -- access to file operation menus EXIT -- Pressed once, quickly -- displays input level meters, then display times out and returns to preset screen Pressed twice -- displays input level meters until ended with CANCEL...
  • Page 20 TD -- tracker disable -- disables head tracker (including tilt detector) and monitor bridge Remote control SVS-RC2 The earlier remote control SVS-RC2 works the same, except that some buttons have different names. The table below shows the corresponding buttons for the two remote controls. Function VPOS METR...
  • Page 21 are not automatically saved and the user must SAVE SYSTEM CONFIG for the settings to persist beyond power down.

  • Page 22: Connections

    CONNECTIONS HDMI inputs and outputs The Realiser can receive up to eight channels of up to 192 kHz, 24 bit PCM audio through the HDMI IN jack. The Realiser contains no decoders for Dolby, DTS or other codecs, so the source equipment should be set to decode such signals and output them as PCM to the Realiser.
  • Page 23 1 Left 2 Right 3 Centre 4 Subwoofer 5 Left surround 6 Right surround 7 Left back 8 Right back These are the assignments typically found in HDMI and in analogue or digital professional use. For mono, stereo, quad, 5.1, or 7.1 you can use the default assignments and proceed to connect your preamplifier outputs to the Realiser inputs.

  • Page 24: Power On And Off

    POWER ON AND OFF The Realiser will power on when the power cord is energised. This allows use with a switched AC outlet and operation without a remote control (once the unit is fully configured). The Realiser can be toggled between standby and on using the POWER button on the remote control. When in standby mode, the IR/USB LED is illuminated dimly;...

  • Page 25: Volume Control And Mute

    VOLUME CONTROL AND MUTE The ^ and v keys on the remote control serve as the volume control, except when the user is within a menu, in which case the ^ and v keys, along with the < and > keys, move the cursor. During headphone listening, these keys affect the headphone volume;...

  • Page 26: Setting The Clock

    SETTING THE CLOCK The personalisation procedure gathers data in files which are time-stamped. Therefore, the Realiser’s clock should be set at the outset, before any measurement. In general, the clock will have been set at the factory, but if not, or if the time zone set does not match yours: Step 1: On the remote control, press MENU-(!).

  • Page 27: I/O Assignment And Angle Entry

    I/O ASSIGNMENT AND ANGLE ENTRY If the default channel assignments do not match your sound system or the sound system to be measured, you can reconfigure channels as needed. Channels in use and angular data must be correct for each new system to be measured. Press MENU, then the number key from 1 through 8 corresponding to the channel to be configured.
  • Page 28 Speakers can be located at any azimuth. The long-standing practice for stereo is: Left -30° Right +30° This places the left speaker, right speaker, and listener at the points of an equilateral triangle. The ITU recommendation for five channels is: Left -30°...
  • Page 29 three-way system, or between the HF and LF drivers in a two-way system. Positive values mean the speaker is higher, negative values lower. The listener will hear loudspeakers localised accurately with respect to both azimuth and elevation. The entered azimuth values are used in the Realiser computations. The elevation values are not used in the computations;...

  • Page 30: Basic Procedures

    BASIC PROCEDURES PERSONALISATION BASICS step by step This section describes the default, simplest method of making measurements. In some cases, such as when the left and right speakers are substantially narrower than ±30°, or when precise speaker locations are unknown (behind a perforated screen), etc., alternate methods are advantageous. These are described in the Additional Controls and Functions section;...
  • Page 31 level for the speaker test to follow. The master volume level of the system should in most cases be at least at the normal listening level. Step 1: Press CAL on the remote control. The screen and white LEDs will show which channels are assigned and active.
  • Page 32 are LO or HI, adjust the master volume level of the amplifier accordingly and run the CAL sequence again, until all channels are reported as OK and no LEDs blink. Use only the master volume control; do not adjust amplifier channel levels separately, because the Realiser will faithfully replicate any interchannel level differences.
  • Page 33 Step 2: The listener sits in the preferred listening position of the room with microphones in ears, looking forward. Step 3: After having pressed SPK, press OK to proceed with the measurement. The signals are a series of sweeps. The screen will say: PERSONALISATION IN PROGRESS CH 1 LOOKING C...
  • Page 34 ENTER PRIR DETAILS ID: john doe EV: studio b Step 5: When the ID and EV have been entered, press the OK key and the screen will say: WRITING FILE The date and time are automatically written along with the ID and EV data. Then the screen reverts to the ID for the data in Preset 1.
  • Page 35 WRITING FILE The date and time are automatically written along with the ID and HP data. Then the screen reverts to the ID for the data in Preset 1. Saving the PRIR file permanently The internal memory of the Realiser has sixty-four locations for speaker/PRIR data and sixty-four locations for headphone EQ data.
  • Page 36 PRIR File 02 by: data erased at: data erased on: data erased press ! to overwrite [blinking] Step 7: Press (!) , the screen will say WRITING FILE, and the file will have been copied into location 02. The screen will revert to: INTERNAL ERASE >...
  • Page 37 In this example, a file will be copied within internal memory. The cursor should already be on INTERNAL->INTERNAL, but if not, use the ^ and v keys to move it there. Then press OK. Step 4: The screen will say: HPEQ File 01 by: data erased at: data erased...

  • Page 38: Preset Basics Step By Step

    PRESET BASICS step by step A preset consists of a PRIR, usually an HPEQ (but an HPEQ is not required), and various user-entered settings, if any. The Realiser has four presets, which are accessed by the buttons P1, P2, P3 and P4 on the remote control.
  • Page 39 PRESET EMPTY Step 4: Press MENU and P2 again, and the screen will say: > PRIR PRESET 2 HPEQ PRESET 2 SAVE PRESET 2 ERASE PRESET 2 To load the speaker/PRIR data, with the cursor on PRIR press OK. The screen will say: >...
  • Page 40 > LOCATION:INTERNAL Step 11: Press OK. The screen will show the contents of HPEQ memory location 01. (That is the location we want in this example, but you can use the ^ and v cursor keys to move through the HPEQ files to any memory location from 01 to 64.) In this example the screen will say: HPEQ File 01 by: john doe...
  • Page 41 PRIR PRESET 2 HPEQ PRESET 2 > SAVE PRESET 2 ERASE PRESET 2 Press OK. The screen will say: SAVING PRESET All parameter settings are now stored in non-volatile preset memory. For saving presets to and loading presets from SD cards, see File Operations.

  • Page 42: Listening Basics Step By Step

    LISTENING BASICS step by step With your data measured, stored, loaded into a preset, and with that preset selected, you are ready to listen to the personalised emulation. Head tracking verification and range While listening with the head tracker, you can feel free to move your head naturally, and the sonic image will remain stationary.
  • Page 43 It is strongly recommended that the listener make this comparison. When the emulation is heard later in another room, and the eye sees one environment while the ear hears another, the brain can sometimes question whether the emulation is really what the measured room sounded like. Having “certified”...
  • Page 44 Step 9: There will probably be a small level mismatch between the speakers and headphones, so take the headphones off and put them back on several times, and use the volume control on the Stax headphone drive unit to make the headphone level the same as the speaker level. You are now set up and operating.

  • Page 45: Additional Controls, Functions And Information

    ADDITIONAL CONTROLS AND FUNCTIONS BYPASS FUNCTIONS Headphone bypass The Realiser outputs need not be connected for headphone listening, but they do need to be connected for measurements so that the Realiser’s test signals can be sent to the speakers. Another reason to keep the Realiser outputs connected is that it provides a convenient way to switch between headphone and speaker listening, allowing instantaneous comparisons between real and virtual speakers.
  • Page 46 Use the ^ and v keys to choose the input channel to adjust, and the < and > keys to adjust the coefficient for each channel from 0.0 to 1.0 in steps of 0.1, representing the gain factor desired. 0.0 means no contribution; 1.0 means full level (no reduction). Since in this example it is the menu for the left headphone channel, the default is the full coefficient of 1.0 for the left input channel and zero for the rest, which can be set as the user wishes.

  • Page 47: Solo, Mute And Test Signals

    SOLO, MUTE AND TEST SIGNALS In the default setting, the Realiser plays the signal present at its inputs, and the virtual speaker buttons L, C, R, LS, OH, RS, LB, CB, RB, SW, AUX, FEL, FER, REL, RER cause the corresponding speaker to play solo (SOLO mode).

  • Page 48: File Operations

    FILE OPERATIONS Note: for the SD card operations described below, the card must be formatted FAT16 (often simply called FAT), not FAT32. Obtain a card 2 GB or less in size, which will typically be formatted FAT16, or you can reformat it FAT16 using a computer if necessary. Cards larger than 2 GB cannot directly be formatted FAT16.
  • Page 49 >TRANSFER PRIR FILE TRANSFER HPEQ FILE TRANSFER PRES FILE MAKE SD BACKUP Choose TRANSFER PRES FILE. The screen will say: > PRESET 1 -> SD SD -> PRESET 1 To transfer the preset to the SD card, choose PRESET 1 -> SD and press OK. The screen will say WRITING FILE and the SD card activity light will illuminate.
  • Page 50 General file considerations The Realiser cannot delete files from SD cards; that must be done with a computer. The files the Realiser writes onto SD cards can easily be archived on a computer. The Realiser assigns file names as follows: PRIR20XX.SVS HPEQ20XX.SVS PRES20XX.SVS...

  • Page 51: Text Entry

    TEXT ENTRY After a PRIR measurement, you will be prompted to enter the listener’s name and environment; after an HPEQ measurement, you will be prompted to enter the listener’s name and headphone model. Text is entered using the number keys 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, (.) Each key can be pressed several times to choose among several characters;...

  • Page 52: Virtual Speaker Controls

    VIRTUAL SPEAKER CONTROLS Press MENU and then a virtual speaker button (L, C, R, LS, OH, RS, LB, CB, RB, SW, AUX, FEL, FER, REL, RER)to gain access to the menu for that virtual speaker. Certain settings -- BASS, TREBLE, WINDOW and PROXIMITY -- can be set for all speakers simultaneously by pressing MENU- ALL.
  • Page 53 john doe studio a 20:01 10-OCT-08 .TON. The BASS and TREBLE settings apply only to the current preset. To save them, save or re-save the preset. The ROLL OFF and HPF (high pass filter) controls work together: ROLL OFF rolls off the low frequencies of the channel in question for bass management.
  • Page 54 Use the ^ and v keys to select the channel to adjust, and the < and > keys to change the value from 0.0 to 1.0 in steps of 0.1, representing the gain factor desired. 0.0 means no contribution from the source channel; 1.0 means the source channel is mixed in at full level (no reduction).
  • Page 55 an 80 Hz low-pass filter to the redirected channels. Following the navigation described in the previous section, place the cursor on LPF MIX and use the < and > keys to toggle the switch between NO and YES. When inspecting the mix block for channels 3 and 4, it will be noticed that the default setting for the assigned channels, in the default example C for 3 and SW for 4, is 0.0 rather than 1.0 as with channels 5 and 6.
  • Page 56 reduce it; then use the taper for real listening since a taper will sound much more natural than a truncation. REL VOL -- This control allows the volume of the channel chosen to be raised or lowered relative to the other channels over a range -12 to +12 dB. One important application for this would be to raise the subwoofer channel by 10 dB in the case where neither the PRIR nor the source equipment provide +10 dB LFE gain and there is no bass management external or internal.
  • Page 57 john doe studio a 20:01 10-OCT-08 .PRX. The PROXIMITY setting applies only to the current preset. To save it, save or re-save the preset.

  • Page 58: Prir Optimisation

    PRIR OPTIMISATION Sweep options For the SPK (PRIR) measurement, The Realiser allows the user to choose the length of the sweeps and whether sweeps are repeated. Using longer and repeated sweeps improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurement in most situations. Press MENU-SPK.
  • Page 59 POST SILENCE -- sets the time between sweeps. The choices are 1 sec, 2 sec, 4 sec, or 8 sec. The default of one second is appropriate for most environments; longer gaps should be used for reverberant environments so that the gap is longer than the decay time and a reverberation tail does not affect the subsequent measurement.
  • Page 60 The signal-to-noise ratio should be approximately the same for each pair. If the signal-to-noise ratio drops for any particular speaker, or a particular look-angle, or a particular ear, then it may indicate a problem with the measured data, and the measurement may need to be re-taken. The subwoofer channel will normally have a significantly lower signal-to-noise ratio than the full- bandwidth channels, as illustrated by channel 4 above.

  • Page 61: Hpeq Optimisation

    HPEQ OPTIMISATION Press MENU-HP. The screen will say: > EQ EXCITATION:TSP RECALCULATE EQ:NO INVERSION SETUP MANUAL EQ ROUTINE The line items work as follows. EQ EXCITATION:TSP -- Switch not enabled; not needed for present functionality. RECALCULATE EQ: -- When an HPEQ is about to be loaded into a preset: if RECALCULATE EQ is set to NO, the HPEQ will be scaled by the XFACT coefficients set when the HPEQ was measured.
  • Page 62 modified HPEQ. Of course, for this procedure, the real and virtual environments must match: same room, same speakers in the same positions, and same listener. The MANUAL EQ procedure works by presenting bands of pink noise one at a time. For each band the listener matches levels between the speaker and the headphone emulation of the speaker.

  • Page 63: Prir Measurement Modes And Multiplying Speakers

    PRIR MEASUREMENT MODES AND MULTIPLYING SPEAKERS Virtual speakers will localise not only at the azimuth of the real speakers, but also at the elevation of the real speakers. If, for example, the real surround speakers are elevated, the virtual surround speakers will also sound elevated.
  • Page 64 In the basic ALL procedure as described earlier, a system is captured exactly as it is, with a full set of real speakers being emulated as virtual speakers. All the channels are switched on at the start, all are switched on for saving at the end, and SAVE AT END is set to YES at the outset.
  • Page 65 measurement overwriting this “subwoofer” with a real subwoofer in any desired location. (See below.) Note that this method does not replicate the room acoustic exactly, because the room walls effectively rotate with the speaker as the listener turns in his chair. This may or may not be advantageous, depending on the room.
  • Page 66 SINGLE SPEAKER MODE POSITION HEAD AND PRESS OK The listener rotates to 1 o’clock (or moves the speaker to 11 o’clock), presses OK, and the next sweep will sound. This process will continue until the listener has turned through to the final sweep position of -30°...
  • Page 67 With this technique, the PRIR is gathered in at least two stages. Stage 1: virtual L, C and R. Press MENU-SPK. Set SAVE AT END to NO. Choose SPEAKER MODE MENU and set SPEAKER MODE to LR. Press OK, then EXIT. Connect the microphones, put the microphones in your ears and sit in the desired listening position facing forward.
  • Page 68 4(SW )OFF 5(LS )ON 6(RS )ON 7(LB )OFF 8(RB )OFF Press OK. Then enter name and environment data. The resulting PRIR will have 5.0 virtual channels. Stage 3 (optional): virtual subwoofer. If you had wished to measure a subwoofer for the PRIR, then you would have set SAVE AT END to NO for Stage 2.
  • Page 69 Press OK to run the calibration sequence. If the calibration has been successful, press SPK; you should see the same screen as above. Press OK. The personalisation sweeps will run. Afterwards the diagnostic screens will appear. Stage 2: virtual LS and RS. Press MENU-SPK.
  • Page 70 Press OK. The personalisation sweeps will run. If you had set SAVE AT END to YES, then the channels on/off screen will reappear with the following settings (verify): 4(SW )ON 5(LS )ON 6(RS )ON 7(LB )ON 8(RB )ON Press OK. Then enter name and environment data. The resulting PRIR will have 8.0 virtual channels.
  • Page 71 5. If you wish to have delay alignment for a measurement of only the left and right speakers for a stereo emulation, you can use LR instead of ALL. As noted above, LR will create a virtual centre speaker, but no harm is done; the centre will simply be silent and unnoticed with no centre channel input connected.

  • Page 72: Azimuth And Look Angles

    AZIMUTH AND LOOK ANGLES “Azimuth” refers to the horizontal angular offset of a real or virtual speaker from centre. “Look angle” refers to the horizontal angles of the listener’s head while looking centre, left and right during the PRIR gathering process. The look angles for a PRIR are the left and right end points of the head tracking range.
  • Page 73 HT (head-track) -- The listener wears the head-top module during the measurement, and the system automatically records the look angles. A headband (not provided) must be used along with the head-top clip to hold the head-top on the head. It is interesting to inspect the logged angles using LOOK;...
  • Page 74 Pressing LOOK brings up the following menu. VOL: -20 dB >C: 0 deg -30 deg +30 deg The deg numbers are the look angles already established by one of several methods. (See LOOK ANGLES under MENU-SPK.) C, L, and R are the look angles to be adjusted; select each in turn. For the C adjustment, look centre;...
  • Page 75 A way to avoid the bias described above and to increase angular sensitivity is to place the microphones not in your ears but at the ends of a ruler or yardstick with the head-top attached in the middle. Rotate the ruler according to the pilot tones and log the results. Logging azimuth during PRIR measurement The pilot tone procedure can be used as part of the PRIR measurement process.

  • Page 76: Tactile Outputs

    TACTILE OUTPUTS Although some headphones have respectable low frequency response, they lack the ability to impact the listener’s body the way a subwoofer does. Therefore the Realiser provides outputs for tactile transducers (shaker motors). These outputs can also be used to drive subwoofers. Pressing MENU-TAC presents this menu: >SETUP MIX BLOCK L-ch...

  • Page 77: Direct Bass

    DIRECT BASS Many loudspeaker systems that one might wish to capture have no subwoofer, or an inferior subwoofer, or room modes which make subwoofer performance problematic. Therefore the Realiser allows for routing LFE and redirected bass directly into the headphones without measuring and emulating a physical subwoofer.
  • Page 78 Direct LFE + managed bass The Realiser’s bass management capabilities allows for both the LFE channel and bass redirected from the main channels to be routed directly into the headphones without a virtual subwoofer. Follow the instructions for Direct LFE above, and in addition: Set the factors in the TAC mix blocks as follows.

  • Page 79: Head Tracker Controls

    HEAD TRACKER CONTROLS Range limit behavior The head tracker operates over a range determined by the look angles, generally about -30° to +30°. The user has three options for what will happen when the head turns past the left or right edge of this range.
  • Page 80 The Realiser can accommodate two head-top modules with a single set-top. The screen above reports the status of both head-tops. In this example, there is only one head-top in use, Tracker 0, so the Realiser reports errors for nonexistent Tracker 1. (See below for tracker designations.) The screen displays, in real time, the angle of the head tracker position, the signal strength, and the battery charge status.
  • Page 81 Position the cursor at TKR NO and use the < and > keys to set the Realiser and the head-top to designation 0 or 1. Then press OK to save. See Dual-User Mode for full instructions. FILTER -- This selects the rate at which the system tracks rapid head movement. The default setting is 360º/second.

  • Page 82: Dual-User Mode

    If head tracking is used, one set-top is sufficient for both listeners, but of course two head-top units are required; additional head-tops are available from Smyth Research. Note: presets which were loaded before dual-user-capable firmware was installed will not work properly unless the PRIRs are re-loaded into those presets.
  • Page 83 After this setup, the LEDs on the set-top will reflect only the primary listener’s head movements. The second listeners movements can be seen only via the TE menu. The order of these steps must be followed. The second head-top must be set first. Engaging dual-user mode Press MENU-SVS.
  • Page 84 When dual user mode is enabled the following restrictions also apply: 1. All file operations into/from the presets are disabled. 2. DEMO mode is disabled (since the second user is listening to outputs 3 and 4). 3. Bypass (PASS) is disabled (since the second user is listening to outputs 3 and 4). 4.

  • Page 85: Spl Calibration And Readout

    SPL CALIBRATION AND READOUT The Realiser can be calibrated to display volume level in dB SPL. The calibration is saved to an HPEQ file, which can in turn be saved to a preset. In this example, the Realiser noise generator will be used, but an external noise generator could also be used..

  • Page 86: Other Controls

    OTHER CONTROLS Limiter The Realiser includes a peak limiter which can be engaged to avoid clipping or to protect headphones and listeners. The limiter looks ahead at the signal, and if the level is about to reach the threshold, the output level is temporarily reduced, and then allowed to rise again slowly.
  • Page 87 room with a measured delay of 0.8 frames at the real speakers (the second number), you would set the Realiser delay (the first number) also to 0.8. Use the ^ and v keys to position the cursor on DELAY. Use the < and > keys to adjust the delay. Press OK to save changes, or CANCEL to cancel changes and restore the previously set value.
  • Page 88 CH1->L CH2->R CH5->LS CH6->RS CH3->C CH4->SW xxx->xxx xxx->xxx it would indicate that the measuring Realiser had assigned LS and RS to channels 3 and 4, and C and SW to channels 5 and 6. Such a condition is irrelevant to listening. Channel mapping is done by label, not by number, and only the explicitly indicated mapping matters.
  • Page 89 Microphone balance calibration The microphones supplied with the Realiser are matched by hand at the factory within a fraction of a decibel. Any slight remaining difference in sensitivity will become part of the HPEQ measurement, so listening to a PRIR and HPEQ made with the same microphone pair will be fully compensated. The Realiser provides a microphone balance procedure in order for microphone imbalance to be compensated independent of HPEQ, so that any PRIR can be used with any HPEQ regardless of the microphones used.
  • Page 90 display. Press OK when finished. The setting will apply only until the next power-down unless you save it permanently by pressing (!), choosing SAVE SYSTEM CONFIG, and pressing OK.

  • Page 91: Password Protection

    PASSWORD PROTECTION Writes to SD card, writes to internal memory, and the headphone limiter threshold can be password protected. This will be of interest mainly to organisational users concerned about property and liability. The feature should not be used casually, since there is no override and special firmware would be required to reactivate a Realiser whose password is forgotten.
  • Page 92 If you wish to remove password protection, repeat the steps above and enter the existing password into the OLD field. The NEW field already contains the default eight spaces; press EXIT to complete. The Realiser will no longer prompt for passwords before protected operations.

  • Page 93: System, Preset And Clock Memory

    SYSTEM, PRESET AND CLOCK MEMORY Many Realiser settings are saved within and specific to a preset. But some settings, such as channel assignments, are global and independent of presets. A setting is in force as soon as it is made, but will revert to the previous setting when the Realiser is powered off, unless saved.

  • Page 94: Bass Considerations

    BASS CONSIDERATIONS Often a Realiser will capture a room/system and the emulation playback will occur in another place, with other source equipment, and possibly with a different Realiser. In these cases, the user may need to consider how LFE level and bass redirection was handled in the measured system and how it is handled in the playback system, and set the playback Realiser accordingly.
  • Page 95 LFE level When a room is set up for multichannel (5.1, 6.1, 7.1) mixing or mastering, the monitoring level of the subwoofer is set to have an additional 10 dB of inband gain relative to the main channels. This is transparent to the mixing or mastering engineer, who mixes to and adjusts the LFE channel until it sounds right.
  • Page 96 Bass redirection The lowest octaves of the main channels are often redirected to the subwoofer. This is done when it is believed that the subwoofer will do a better job reproducing the low frequencies than the main speakers will, which is almost always the case. This bass from the main channels is combined with the LFE channel and the sum is sent to the subwoofer.
  • Page 97 Bass redirection within the Realiser The Realiser has the ability to accomplish bass redirection internally by means of the mix blocks and LFE controls provided on channels 3 and 4, channel 4 being the SMPTE/ITU and Realiser-default subwoofer channel. This is an interesting opportunity to discover and compare how a real system without redirection would sound if it had redirection, and the virtual redirection may well be preferred.
  • Page 98 LFE redirection for 5.0 and 8.0 PRIRs If a 5.0 or 8.0 PRIR has been created, for example by using one or more of the ONE, LsRs, or LbRb methods, there is no virtual subwoofer, yet the user will need to route the LFE channel to some destination.

  • Page 99: Monitor Bridge

    MONITOR BRIDGE The monitor bridge, purchased separately, is an instrument for monitoring the input channels to the Realiser. It provides eight level meters, L1-L8, showing the amplitudes of up to eight input channels, with definable range, ballistics and peak hold display. Each level meter has fifteen segments (green) plus a clip light (red).
  • Page 100 The phase meters decay back to the middle LEDs once the signals are removed. A single green implies the phase was in the green zone prior to mute. A single red implies the phase was in the red zone prior to mute.
  • Page 101 BLITE (backlight) - The LED segments which would normally be dark can optionally be made to glow dimly. In a dark room, this allows the user to see the full range of the indicator and how the displayed levels relate to it. Options are OFF and ON. PHASE METER SETUP brings up this screen: PHASE METER CONFIG >...

  • Page 102: Specifications

    SPECIFICATIONS Digital input jack HDMI PCM audio input specifications Up to 8 channels Up to 192 kHz f Up to 24 bit words Jack for pass-through of digital input HDMI Audio line input jacks, analogue 8 x RCA-type, user assignable 8 x RCA-type, user assignable Audio line output jacks, analogue Headphone audio output connector, digital...
  • Page 103 If you have questions or have experienced any difficulties, please contact us at info@smyth-research.com...
  • Page 104 RESEARCH SMYTH SMYTH RESEARCH RESEARCH Smyth Research LLC 1270 Avenida Acaso Unit A, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA +1 805 482-5630 Smyth Research Ltd. Enterprise House, 4 Balloo Avenue, Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland BT19 7QT, UK +44 2891 455252 1108030100...

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