I made a headphone filter the other day by accident. Can’t wait to try it!
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Thanks @aangen !
I’ve been watching this space.
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Too funny…
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I don’t know how long the settings have been wrong, but when I got them right it was VERY NOTICABLE!
The Mono Correction function is to set how narrow or wide the center image is. I had it set to very wide which, as you can imagine, is very wrong. The Bass Correction does just what it says it does.
At one time the sound field went way left and way right. Lately it has been way right but left, not so much. It’s back to infinity in each direction again. And the warmth has returned. The current manual makes little mention of what those settings do. An updated manual is promised soon.
The key thing is, I was having an issue, I texted Edgar at 6am, he texted me back in two minutes. We had a phone chat and I was back in business and listening to glorious sound.
A very good company to deal with!
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I finally started to listen to the headphone amp in my DAC. I have to say I was a bit blown away. I think I might like it more then my WA33. One of the reasons I wanted the headphone option on the DAC was because it has a feature called Expanse, signal processing which simulates speaker listening. I now how to figure out to run a cable to my listening position. Now I want to hear the BACCH Headphone.
Enhancing the headphone experience: How we developed dCS Expanse:
https://dcsaudio.com/edit/enhancing-the-headphone-experience-how-we-developed-dcs-expanse
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I am glad the Bacch4Mac has an automatic optimization choice that resets everything. Even with I managed to screw up things if I navigate around . Now i just run the optimizer for BFP & DAC everytime I boot up or when I think things don’t sound right or not 3D
I got bored today listening to BACCH 3D and decided to try the BaCCH XTC fed into my Processor NEO6 for music renderer. Since I have no center channel or Subs. The front two speakers just get bacch4Mac whereas the DTS Neo6 sends the crosstalked cancelled Bacch two channels to the surround mixer that takes some of the signal to emulate a even bigger surround field.
Some of the bass was also shipped to my XXL XR19 used as side surrounds. All the vocals stay up front as with normal bacch4mac. It is really pretty excellent sounding and maybe a way to further show off my Bacch4 Mac to those not in the sweet spot or single file line. Having the distributed bass was very rewarding. The Bacch4mac got even more 3D. I did not notice the surrounds dide and rear overtaking the fronts. My system lets me change realtime. There were no tonality or timbre changing. Just better wrap around sound.
I am dure Edgar wouldn’t approve though. My surround ICs and speaker cables are not all iconoclasts but I bet most people would love the Neo6 Music DSP with Bacch4mac better than bacch4mac alone. It is a bigger more wraparound sound and front speakers were bringing out 3D instruments. Neo6 music fed a plain stereo signal was notas good as cross talk corrected bacchdsp signal.
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This BACCH stuff is pretty darned sweet. It’s a more subtle difference than my system without it, but it’s a nice difference. I want the headphone version on my phone. Walking might become dangerous though. I mall walk a lot until the weather gets nice. Fortunately the mall I walk is nearly dead. Five percent occupancy. It’s so not crowded.
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I’d be interested in trying the Bacch4Mac Intro software because:
- my room is very good sonically
- a friend is prepared to loan me a suitable Mac.
I’m happy to just use room measurements but don’t want to buy a RME Babyface Pro FS.
I get the impression that the software requires a Babyface but Theoretica don’t explain why as far as I can see. I use a Melco N1A which can either output to a USB dac or can act as a network player (I use Melco’s own iPad app to select music to queue or run a playlist).
So, do any of you think there’s no need for a Babyface if I (actually my friend who understands Macs) can get the Player mode to get music into a Mac.
Also, do any of you understand why Theoretica don’t think I can just use the Melco USB Dac output (thereby not having to convert to optical to get into a Babyface which will then use USB into the Mac).
Thanks, Dan.
How are you planning to input the Melco N1A output into the Mac? All ports on the Mac are outputs unless you use a USB digital audio interface. That is the function the RME Babyface Pro FS serves. The RME Babyface Pro FS also has XLR microphone inputs if you eventually upgrade to the Audiophile edition. I use a RME Digiface USB as my audio interface. I have the BACCH4Mac Intro edition.
Thanks ganache. My friend who understands Macs thinks he could use the Melco player/ethernet port to get audio into the Mac (he mentioned something called VLC to me). I’ll tell him what you’ve just said, thanks.
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Here’s an update. Thanks to ganache I think there’s every chance that an RME UCX will do what I need (instead of me having to buy a RME Babyface Pro FS). I’ll email Theoretica next week to get them to confirm that. The UCX hasn’t been used for several years, I hope it still works. It’ll be good enough for a trial of the Intro version of Bacc4Mac.
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I imagine the UCX will work fine. I asked Edgar about using my RME UFX and it would be fine.
Yes, I suppose it was too much to hope that Theoretica would have just specified any RME TotalMix compatible RME product.
I have a question
Mostly, there are raves about bacchmac
If it is so good, why spend so much money on cables, dacs, etc?
I think the difference is that BACCH4Mac changes the listening experience but does not affect sound quality. Maybe slightly but this is minor. Upgrading cables, DAC’s, and other equipment improves the sound quality. This also changes the listening experience. In my opinion, for the money (at least with the BACCH4Mac Intro), the improvement I experienced in my listening experience with the BACCH4Mac was significantly greater than any purchase I have made in the last 30+ years. The cost was about $1380 (I purchased a used Mac M1 Mini on eBay). I am not suggesting everyone go out and add the BACCH4Mac to their system. I just know that in my system it significantly improved my enjoyment. Everyone’s journey is personal and we all have different goals as to where we are trying to get to. Hope this helps!
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Edgar doesn’t believe in a bunch of the audiophile necessities. I have done cable, fuse, vibration isolation , RF absorption, or acoustic panel changes with and without bacch4mac Yes I feel I can hear differences. But Edgar’s feeling is their is possibility that changing position of tour head a few millimeters will change hearing response as will brain expectation to hear something better. The in-ear binaural mics do show you can never get a completely same frequency response just taking samples.l and not changing anything. The biggest notable changes are heard with acoustic psnel changes and Edgar does support thise but tells you to believe what you wish to believe with audiophile tweaks.
The system differences switching bacch4mac audiophile edition in and out are a greater change than any audiophile tweak with exception of mono music sources. Bacch4mac doesn’t work on mono sources.
Bacch4mac chhanges soundstage most taking audio cues fom the space of microphone was in during recording and not needing a listening roomadition from room reflections to feel live. A live listening room colors the music so spend on reflection absorbing acoustic panel for bacch4 mac for biggest additional effect.
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would like to watch the point/counterpoint on this
In the context of audiophile, I see them as the same, or at least they go in same direction.
It is all based on listener’s perspective
If you go to professional reviewers the only negative was from Jason Sernius he didn’t like how it repositioned classical music instruments and getting perspective from the microphones that were mon binaural recordings.
If you have not been looking for wanting more 3D experience from your systm and better discernment of images in space and like a flat presentation all behind your speakers. Then it’s not for you.
Edgar is happy to refund money if your not enthused.
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After you install BACCH, do you hear less of a difference from tweaking such as tuning rings, absorbent sheet, and others?
I do not believe it would eliminate the cable difference, but could it reduce the need for pricy cables? I am not sure about that.
I will describe the changes the BACCH4Mac Intro did to my system. Without the BACCH4Mac filters, the soundfield is an ellipse about 12 feet wide and 6-7 feet deep (behind the plane of the speakers). I use soundfield to describe the area where sound is. The soundstage is where the performers are. Without BACCH4Mac the soundstage and the soundfield are basically the same. With the BACCH4Mac the soundfield is now from wall to wall 25 feet (left to right) and 20 feet deep (from 6-7 feet behind the speakers to my listening position). The soundstage is about the same, maybe a little wider. This more mimics real live sound. When I listen to a friend of mine that performs at small venues, the soundstage is where he is sitting, but the soundfield radiates to where I am sitting and fills the room (wall to wall). When my mom played her piano in the living room, the sound radiated to fill up the room. So the sound itself seems to sound the same as far as sound quality (clarity, realism, blackness when no music is playing), but it radiates much further than without the BACCH4Mac. I am sure there can be debates about how the BACCH4Mac filters affect sound quality. One way I looked at it to justify me trying out the trial period costs, was looking at the right speaker sound reaching my left ear as noise. It is a wonderful sounding noise, but noise nevertheless. If you had crosstalk in your system (right channel signal bleeding into the left channel - before the speakers) you would do everything you could to get rid of it. Anyway, like I said I do not advocate anyone else getting this BACCH4Mac. I will probably still pursue improving the sound quality of my system, but it is not nearly as important to me after this change. For me, the listening experience has changed dramatically.
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