Game-changer at AXPONA

[GUTB]

JVC in room 709 demoing the Exofield technology. Only one person at a time and you have to schedule:

 

http://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=15129843&appointmentType=5593407

 

It almost perfectly re-creates the accoustics of speakers and the room through headphones. You go to a studio with the measurement gear, have yourself measured in the acoustic environment and special hardware/software through JVC headphones literally re-creates the experience of listening to the same speakers in the same room. I’m serious it WORKS. They’re doing it Japan at the Victor recording studio and will be rolling it out at studio in California by the end of the year. It can scale to surround sound as well.

 

The whole show is obsolete. I may as well go home and start selling off my system.

 

All at AXPONA must check this out. This is the first time being demoed in North America.

[PeterG]

VERY COOL!  But are we talking $5K or so for starters?  Yipes!

 

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/jvcs-new-headphone-tech-sounds-like-youre-sat-in-front-of-massive-speakers-3295960

[Kal Rubinson]

35 minutes ago, GUTB said:

JVC in room 709 demoing the Exofield technology. Only one person at a time and you have to schedule:

 

http://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=15129843&appointmentType=5593407

 

It almost perfectly re-creates the accoustics of speakers and the room through headphones. You go to a studio with the measurement gear, have yourself measured in the acoustic environment and special hardware/software through JVC headphones literally re-creates the experience of listening to the same speakers in the same room. I’m serious it WORKS. They’re doing it Japan at the Victor recording studio and will be rolling it out at studio in California by the end of the year. It can scale to surround sound as well.

How does it differ from the Smyth Realiser that has been on the market for years?
http://www.smyth-research.com/technology.html

https://www.stereophile.com/content/music-round-45

[ray-dude]

...or Out of Your Head (https://fongaudio.com/out-of-your-head-software/) which is based on the Realiser I believe (free to try)

[Kal Rubinson]

I have tried the Fong system and it is effective but not nearly as much as Smyth.  It is much cheaper, simpler and worth the asking price.

 

With the Smyth, I was able to make two filter sets, one for each of my two systems, and A/B them even though the systems are in different states.  It also completely fooled my wife as she could not tell whether the 'phones or the speakers were playing.  (The Smyth automatically switches between them depending on whether the phones are on your head or not.)

[fas42]

And if you hate headphones - you're stuffed! ...

[sphinxsix]

1 hour ago, Kal Rubinson said:

It also completely fooled my wife as she could not tell whether the 'phones or the speakers were playing. 

Wait a minute.. You mean she couldn't tell whether the phones are on her head or not.?

[GUTB]

2 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

Wait a minute.. You mean she couldn't tell whether the phones are on her head or not.?

 

You know you’re wearing headphones but with the Exofield you literally could not tell the difference between the speakers or the headphones. It’s unreal, like magic.

 

The rep says it’s available only in Japan between 3-9k depending on options. Your ears are measured in a listening room at a recording studio (Victor Studio in Japan) — the demo is done in a hotel room but the rep said they set it up and measured the space as best they could. The US offering they are planning on a California studio for measuring for 1.5 to 2k....I’m not clear if the headphones are included or not, but he did mention they were probably only going to offer cheaper JVC headphones with it. He says they may add compatibility with other headphones.

 

Damn, maybe I should just go to Japan and get it done right now. It’ll be a lot cheaper to wait.

 

 

[mansr]

19 minutes ago, GUTB said:

You know you’re wearing headphones but with the Exofield you literally could not tell the difference between the speakers or the headphones. It’s unreal, like magic.

In that case, I'd rather just use the speakers.

[sphinxsix]

@Kal Rubinson @GUTB

What about soundstaging? Does it mimic speakers soundstaging realistically?

And what about bass? Can it make you feel the presence of low frequencies physically, with practically your whole body when the music and its volume is adequate.?

[Foggie]

43 minutes ago, fas42 said:

And if you hate headphones - you're stuffed! ...

Good, prob solved for me.    Using headphones/in ears out of necessity (punch in's) but never really like 'em.  For listening purposes, cant stand them.  Big rig always rules!  Of course YMMV

[Kal Rubinson]

54 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

What about soundstaging? Does it mimic speakers soundstaging realistically?

Indeed, it does, if you are speaking about Smyth Realiser.  My experience with Fong is too limited to say.

 

55 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

And what about bass? Can it make you feel the presence of low frequencies physically, with practically your whole body when the music and its volume is adequate.?

No, but that is a fault assignable to all headphone listening, imho.  OTOH, I know people who think the bass is more accurate.  However, that is illogical since, unlike trying to say that a reproduction is accurate (or note) without the original event on hand, here we are comparing to the original which it purports to reproduce.  That means, warts and all.

 

I think it is phenomenal and a great tool but not something that I can live with.

[Kal Rubinson]

1 hour ago, sphinxsix said:

Wait a minute.. You mean she couldn't tell whether the phones are on her head or not.?

No,  She thought that she was listening to the main system whether the phones were on her head or not.  Remember, these were open-back electret phones.

[Kal Rubinson]

1 hour ago, mansr said:

In that case, I'd rather just use the speakers.

Of course, unless you can't.  The Smyth rep told me , a while back, that their largest sales markets were:

(1) mastering engineers who used them to mimic their studios playback system and could minimize cost of studio rentals, and

(2) people who wanted to watch movies in bed and still hear their big surround system while a spouse read a book.

Useful.

[asdf1000]

I know these work very differently to Bauer crossfeed DSP - but is the effect/result significantly better?

 

@GUTB have you tried Bauer crossfeed with headphones before?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

1 hour ago, Em2016 said:

I know these work very differently to Bauer crossfeed DSP - but is the effect/result significantly better?

Vastly.

[asdf1000]

33 minutes ago, Kal Rubinson said:

Vastly.

 

Are you talking about the Smyth or Exofield?

 

Have you heard the JVC Exofield product?

 

 

 

[Nordkapp]

Nope, not a game changer. Class D amps are..........hehe.

[Mordikai]

I recommend everyone should try out the Smythe Realizer if givin the opportunity. I'm a person who uses headphones only out of necessity and have no real interest in them as a substitute for proper hi-fi speakers, but the Realizer is amazing and if it was $500 I'd get one. It really works and it's fun to play with even if you don't care about headphones.

[PeterSt]

7 hours ago, GUTB said:

It’ll be a lot cheaper to wait.

 

wait ... then it won't be so good ... it can't.

[GUTB]

39 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

 

wait ... then it won't be so good ... it can't.

 

Being an audiophile doesn't mean I can't wait for something.

[Kal Rubinson]

9 hours ago, Em2016 said:

Are you talking about the Smyth or Exofield?

Smyth.  I have not heard the Exofield but it seems similar in concept from what I have read.

[Ron Scubadiver]

This is interesting.

 

I wonder, how fundamental to the process is the individual measurement?  Is it something like a hearing test to determine the listener's frequency response?  Could this trickle down to the sub $1,000 level?

[PeterG]

13 hours ago, GUTB said:

I’m not clear if the headphones are included or not, but he did mention they were probably only going to offer cheaper JVC headphones with it. He says they may add compatibility with other headphones.

 

This seems to be a problem.  Under certain conditions, such as LOTS of late night listening, I could see dropping $3K+ on headphones that would fool me into think I was listening to $3K+ worth of speakers.  But $3K on "cheaper JVC" headphones?  It would be wonderful to pick up a speaker-like sound stage, but why would one sacrifice detail, dynamics, etc?  Are they really going to be better overall than a pair of Audeze or Grado headphones that might be $1K or so (or $2K or so...)?

[pkane2001]

2 minutes ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

This is interesting.

 

I wonder, how fundamental to the process is the individual measurement?  Is it something like a hearing test to determine the listener's frequency response?  Could this trickle down to the sub $1,000 level?

 

Sounds like a simple measurement of HRTF impulse response with a difference computed between HRTF with headphones on and off.

 

Curious if there’s any head tracking implemented, but doesn’t sound like the parts or the implementation should be all that expensive. Of course, that’s just a guess based on marketing materials.