Mobile Driving/Flying Cockpit with Motion and Tactile ( Build )

[Mr Latte]

Looks like a nice piece of hardware, but I didn't find a major (blow me away) benefit with Hires audio, the industry has also got so messed up with marketing of different competing HD audio, each boasting of how great their something is, when in some cases the "original material" may of only been recorded (at best in CD quality). Also I would expect the vast majority of people might struggle in blind listening tests to determine when an HD track is playing to that of CD quality.

The Past
What I have been quite interested in the past was when attempts were made to try to enhance music with multiple speaker setups, going as far back as failed attempts like DTS multichannel music recordings. These aimed to embrace a larger presence or soundstage. Yet they did not attract enough support within the industry and this was mainly because its target market with the necessary hardware was very limited.

I also recall, something regards extending normal stereo music. Yamaha were also amongst the best at creating DSP enhanced sound fields, especially with their top end AV receivers during the late 80s and into the 90s/00s .

I get more excited when new technology develops with new recordings or mixing/mastering methods combined with direct input from the artists all working together...


2023 Dolby Atmos Music (Spatial Audio)
To appeal to a wider market, not so much audiophiles.
Now we have a solution that can scale to different hardware configurations, from a simple phone or tablet with Dolby Atmos compatibility to multichannel hardware or now in this newest form as spatial audio supported speakers.

What I did find very impressive, earlier this year was how amazing a pair of Sonos Era 300 speakers can sound with Dolby Atmos / Spatial Audio encoded music. I would highly recommend getting a demo...

Originally, on launch earlier this year....
Apple Music and Amazon Music were the only two ways to get it.
However, also seems to be available on TIDAL Dolby Atmos


Now to be fair not all mixes will be enjoyed by everyone over the standard stereo mixes but play the original mix if you want that instead. What becomes apparent right away is how a pair of these little speakers fill a room with specific sounds placed to specific drivers (by design). The reviews speak for themselves, and its clear with Apple at the forefront in supporting this, each month lots of new songs/albums are being remastered for it. Additionally, lots of artists are recording and mastering new songs/albums in Dolby Atmos / Spatial Audio too.

I would simply say that it brings a totally new immersive way to enhance music but I was so impressed I decided to purchase the sub to enrichen the ERA 300 and then just a few months ago also upgraded it now to a full Sonos Arc 7.1.4 setup for my rig.

Multi entertainment enjoyment?
With a workaround it means now my PC outputs Dolby Atmos from Windows for everything. It can also offer proper playback of 7.1 content from PS5/PC games and of course movies. Yet its possible to just use the SONOS app to connect via phone or tablet what to stream.

Good headphones are enjoyable of course too, but their is something about a room filled with bass and music or game/movie soundtracks encompassing the person that you don't get with headphones.

Issues
Their are some drawbacks with the ARC and in Sonos configuration limitations. Personally I want to add another set of ERA300 to have these work with the Subs
for listening to Spatial Audio tracks, as I prefer those than the ARC for music playback. Yet the ARC with movies and games is well recognised as one of the better soundbars for the masses.

Lots of videos on the Sonos setups for 7.1 or "Spatial Audio" experiences.
For me its an ideal configuration for all media and incorporate it into my rig build.
Yet it has to be said that based on what we see in peoples setups, many even high-end sim-rigs do very little towards seeking to achieve impressive or immersive audio....

 

[RCHeliguy]

This is a convenience piece. I have an expensive stereo that sounds great but my wife goes for her portable BT Meridian speaker when she plays music because there are too many steps to making the stereo work.

I wanted a piece that was simple to use, triggered the amp to turn on, controlled the volume and allowed her to play her Spotify playlists. I was also tired of my Volumio Raspberry Pi music server. The interface was never as good as JRiver music server, but I didn't want a dedicated PC in my den.

I've also had issues with my current setup. Using a Roku optical out to my Oppo 105D would skip the first second or two when changing between songs. The Volumio interface does support Roku, but my wife wouldn't use the Android interface.

So right now.
1. Turn on my OPPO 105D, set it to USB input, then turn on the Volumio Raspberry Pi system wait for it boot, and broadcast so I can see it on my phone. Turn on the amp.

2. Turn on my TV, select Spotify on the Roku, turn on the 105D, set the input to optical, turn on the amp. Adjust the volume with the Oppo remote and the music with the Roku remote.

It's a complete mess and my wife will have nothing to do with it. I frequently don't bother with it because of this as well.

With the Eversolo

1. Turn it on, use the touch screen to select Spotify and a playlist. There is a volume knob right on the front of it. Then control both Spotify and the volume from the same phone app.

2. Turn on the Eversolo, select the music server and playlists etc..

As for buying the A8 vs the A6. I wanted to see how I felt about that DAC vs the ESS I have now, which I do like. The A8 balanced outputs are also a better match for my amplifier than the A6. If I used unbalanced, they are the same.

 

[RCHeliguy]

High Res Files
I've found that most music compressed to 320kbps or higher is very hard to tell from uncompressed.

I'm NOT saying high res files are some kind of amazing thing. What I will say is that "sometimes" they remaster tracks for high res files and they sound better. So I use them. This is because they did a good job remastering the music.

There are devices that will uprez regular 16bitx44kHz to higher bit rates and they are snake oil. A good DAC will smooth out the digital sound perfectly well.

I've also heard high res files that sound worse than the original redbook disks mostly because of poor mastering. I have found some remastered music especially of older music does sound better because it was originally mastered for vinyl.

I ripped my entire CD collect to FLAC a while back because I had the disk space, so why not.

However, I've found that FLAC is sometimes a downside because music server software will frequently have features that allow volume leveling for a playlist that they can do with MP3's but not FLAC files.

ATMOS, 5.1 Surround systems

I have a simple 5.1 surround system in my media room that I'm perfectly content with. I saw many jump into ATMOS systems early and spend several thousand on ATMOS decoders which are now coming down in price. At the moment I have no interest in pursuing anything more elaborate than I have.

 

[Mr Latte]

Kinda of smirking here as see this a bit like a toy for you thats like "I got you this luv"

As you know, you can spend thousands on high end hifi, I have a friend that buys this kind of stuff and we did blind tests at his home and often we could not determine correctly when HD audio was played back and this on a system in the £25,000 range. Perhaps our aging ears are part of the issue but its an area I'm not convinced about or highlights substantial benefits over what can still be an enjoyable audio system for much less money.

Spatial Audio is amazing when its done right but its possible with affordable options and does have proper mainstream industry support. Sonos ERA300 speakers are much better than Apples own option.

To be fair, this product your buying, still looks more like an "audio enthusiasts" product than mainstream user friendly.

I just dont for the vast majority of people see a need these days for in home storage devices/libraries, with most people having modern phones and wifi. Seems old school but some may prefer that.

Not to harp on but really.....
Lots of options within the "smart home" area for multi-room audio

Sonos eco system, tends to be one of the most popular and you can send music to a portable speaker in the bathroom or to all speakers within a home, dead easy. All from a phone/tablet and search for songs within the Sonos app across all / any installed options like Apple/Amazon/Tidal and with lossless support too.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Well if you've decided that I can't enjoy my new toy because it doesn't make sense to you, so be it.

 

[Mr Latte]

Well if you've decided that I can't enjoy my new toy because it doesn't make sense to you, so be it.

Dont think I said anything like that....

If it works well with no lag or problems, then I'm sure you will be happy with it.

Lots of people are quite happy to pay a monthly fee to have access to millions of songs and have new content added weekly. Including options like the spatial audio which is probably the best thing to happen in the music industry for sometime.

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

I've also heard high res files that sound worse than the original redbook disks mostly because of poor mastering. I have found some remastered music especially of older music does sound better because it was originally mastered for vinyl.

Half right. I agree that very often the HiRes version of tracks sound better than other digital versions due to the mastering rather than the encoding, but to continue your desire to dispel snake oil, it has nothing to do with it being "originally mastered for vinyl".
Vinyl masters and digital masters are very different beasts - and always separate. Research RIAA EQ curves if you don't know why, but simply put, bass is always attenuated and treble always boosted on vinyl masters.
All vinyl masters are unsuited for anything other than vinyl as the bass attenuation and treble boost must be "reversed" at playback. Every phono pre-amp in existence does this without the user given it a thought. If it was played back through any amplification that did not incorporate RIAA EQ curve compensation it would sound - interesting!
Anyway, I'm out. I try to avoid getting involved in audio discussions, I don't consider myself an audiophile.

 

[Mr Latte]

Half right. I agree that very often the HiRes version of tracks sound better than other digital versions due to the mastering rather than the encoding, but to continue your desire to dispel snake oil, it has nothing to do with it being "originally mastered for vinyl".
Vinyl masters and digital masters are very different beasts - and always separate. Research RIAA EQ curves if you don't know why, but simply put, bass is always attenuated and treble always boosted on vinyl masters.
All vinyl masters are unsuited for anything other than vinyl as the bass attenuation and treble boost must be "reversed" at playback. Every phono pre-amp in existence does this without the user given it a thought. If it was played back through any amplification that did not incorporate RIAA EQ curve compensation it would sound - interesting!
Anyway, I'm out. I try to avoid getting involved in audio discussions, I don't consider myself an audiophile.

Relevant video below...

 

[RCHeliguy]

I will NOT get into a digital vs vinyl debate.

Now sorry I mentioned my new toy that I'm just hoping will make it easier to enjoy my stereo.

This sums up my feelings about Vinyl. Nuff said.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

The A8 balanced outputs are also a better match for my amplifier than the A6. If I used unbalanced, they are the same.

D-A6 has balanced output as well.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

On minimalist approach as you don't care that much about lossless or high-res, just get BT receiver supporting LDAC like FiiO, pair to your Oppo, set phone to LDAC 909/990 and enjoy your streaming services wirelessly controlling playback from your phone. High-res LDAC transfers RedBook unaltered and high-res get compressed in inaudible bands.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I'm looking at the HE Magshift as a possible update in the future. I never really liked the HE v1 sequential shift which I don't even have mounted to my rig right now. It worked, but there was no feel to it.

Now I'm considering moving my StreamDeck XL to the left of the steering wheel to make room for a detachable Sequential shifter mount.

One more thing to design....

I still think getting the ASR mount in place will end up in 2024.

 

[RCHeliguy]

2024 is such a long time to wait!

What happened is that I second guessed my measurements that said I wouldn't have enough height and decided to just see if I was wrong and it fit well.

As it turns out I have more leg room than with the P1 Vertical mount.

I can lower the side sliders flush with the top of the profile. It turns out I've got room to spare

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Every time I look at these pictures somehow I think of that "Inventions that killed their inventors" article I've read a while back.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Enhancement #1
Added quick releases levers to the tilt adjustment.

Printing out in initial USB cable mount. I'll probably change this, but it will work initially.

Next up a mouse mount.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Have a USB plug mount in place, right upright is tapped for a finishing top cap / trackball mouse mount attachment point compatible with a generic trackball mouse design I put out a while back.

Printing these next.

Trackball mouse mount is ready. Just waiting for the endcap/mount point to print.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I have trackball mouse.
Now to figure out how to get a button box solution in the near term to make it functional.
I have an idea...

 

[RCHeliguy]

Welp...

 

[RCHeliguy]

3D printing some adjustable rulers for the ASR height. I'll do something similar for the fore/aft.

I was even thinking about adding holes to the left of the gauges and colored pegs to use for visitor heights.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I'm boxing in the fan control right now, and will be reprinting some things.
Still a state of mess.