Just made a major software upgrade to my Smyth A16 Realiser / Sennheiser 800 setup. Smyth already had Dolby Atmos and DTSx, and have just introduced Auro 3D, which allows multi dimensional upscaling of stereo to anything up to 7.1.6 virtual speakers. The audio result is so much better than anything else I have experienced in the last few years, especially through 14 virtualised D&D 8c speakers.
I also upgraded my virtual speaker settings with the full speaker suite from 3D Sound shop - which includes PRIRs (speakers and rooms) measured with Genelecs, B&Ws, KEFs and many others. They measure each speaker response curve at 24 specific angles and distances from the listener, and then load the parameters into the Realiser. The result is very convincing, especially with classical music and good acoustic recordings - the ambience is very natural and avoids the weird surround effects you sometimes hear on Dolby Atmos.
For classical, I also occasionally listen to virtualised Quad electrostatic speakers (which are best heard in a traditional stereo setup). Overall, the Smyth Realiser is, by far, my preferred method of listening via headphones, both for music and movies. Even stereo TV sound for sports is much more real, as the crowd noise is routed to the surround channels.
Although the Smyth has become much more expensive recently, it’s still the only way that someone living in an apartment can listen to a range of simulated speakers playing immersive audio, without destroying relationships with neighbours, not to mention their wallets!
