BACCH4Mac Pro Edition - For those considering BACCH

[Eurasian]

I have the same mini (late 2012). I wasn't aware that it would no longer work. Thanks for the info

It will work fine if you don’t want/need to upgrade to future versions of the software

 

[Gwreck]

It will work fine if you don’t want/need to upgrade to future versions of the software

The current version works well and is very full featured. And if the unit is only used for BACCH then incompatibility with Mac OS upgrades shouldn’t be an issue either.

 

[Zoomer]

I believe in one of his videos Dr. Choueri mentioned it. I sent an email to the BACCH tech support about running it in a windows with Mac OS virtual machine.

Running MacOS on Windows 10 with WSL2, KVM and QEMU seems to be a common approach, but I wonder what the specific M1 requirement for future versions means in this context.

 

[Gwreck]

Woot does have a 2018 Mac mini with i7 and 32gb ram for $500 now which let would be a pretty solid u it for BACCH if not with the most longevity.

 

[Gwreck]

https://www.razer.com/gaming-speakers/razer-leviathan-v2-pro

Theoretica has what sounds to similar technology in BACCH-X. I’m wondering why Yamaha hasn’t jumped on this given their “digital sound projector “ technology. I purchased a kickstarter product which was similar to what the Razer is advertising without head tracking called the Yarra-3dx. The Yarra 3D effect works well but there are may other issues with it.

 

[Abe_W]

The current version works well and is very full featured. And if the unit is only used for BACCH then incompatibility with Mac OS upgrades shouldn’t be an issue either.

How would the Baach compare to a speaker on its own that's designed for cross talk cancellation like the Polk L800, for instance? I have no way to audit anything where i live, facepalm.

 

[Gwreck]

How would the Baach compare to a speaker on its own that's designed for cross talk cancellation like the Polk L800, for instance? I have no way to audit anything where i live, facepalm.

I have not heard the L800’s but reviews are generally positive but also refer to some tonal distortion. They are also very specific in their placement and don’t work as well with the wrong amplification types. Also no head tracking so a very small sweet spot. BACCH has no tonal coloration and is flexible as far as speaker placement so much so that asymmetrical arrangements are just fine. The crosstalk cancellation with the polks I think is less than 5db and I currently get about 20db+\- with my BACCH.

I would like to someday compare the LS800 SDA with the SDA with BACCH and the SDA disabled. I think a few ls800 customers may be very disappointed. If one liked the sound of the polks the ls600 plus BACCH would likely be much better than the ls800.

 

[Abe_W]

I have not heard the L800’s but reviews are generally positive but also refer to some tonal distortion. They are also very specific in their placement and don’t work as well with the wrong amplification types. Also no head tracking so a very small sweet spot. BACCH has no tonal coloration and is flexible as far as speaker placement so much so that asymmetrical arrangements are just fine. The crosstalk cancellation with the polks I think is less than 5db and I currently get about 20db+\- with my BACCH.

I would like to someday compare the LS800 SDA with the SDA with BACCH and the SDA disabled. I think a few ls800 customers may be very disappointed. If one liked the sound of the polks the ls600 plus BACCH would likely be much better than the ls800.

Hmm, so the L800s+Baach could have a more pronounced effect than any ol' speaker+Baach, possibly?

 

[Gwreck]

Hmm, so the L800s+Baach could have a more pronounced effect than any ol' speaker+Baach, possibly?

I was thinking to disable the outer side of the ls800’s and using BACCH. I would disconnect the cord that runs between the 2 speakers to drive the outside SDA half of the speaker.

 

[Gwreck]

The new Mac Mini with 16gb and an m2 processor can be had for $719 if one can find a way to get the apple 10% discount.

 

[sweetsounds]

Dear all,

After about 2 months of usage of the intro version of u-BACCH I am very happy about the result and use it as my default listening

Customer support by Edgar was stellar.

However, it is not easy to integrate in all setups.
A M1 Mac Mini and the need for a monitor was the first challenge, then getting BlackHole loop-back for my streaming software run correctly and finally getting a VST convolver plug-in for Mac for DRC, which works with multiple bitrates, is low cost, and as easy to use as bruteFIR (Thierry's HAFconvo turned out to work great).

As said by many, live recordings of orchestras and jazz benefit the most, but even electronic music sometimes surprises with a more immersive presentation. I had only one or two songs out of many 100s which I preferred without BACCH.

Question to the owners of audiophile BACCH: have you compared uBACCH filter with your individualized filters?
UBACCH offers very few knobs to optimize, so I wonder what real measurements change.

How would you describe the difference?
How relevant is head-tracking for you?

My room is symmetric and well treated, so I wonder if an upgrade would ever be worth it.

 

[Gwreck]

Dear all,

After about 2 months of usage of the intro version of u-BACCH I am very happy about the result and use it as my default listening

Customer support by Edgar was stellar.

However, it is not easy to integrate in all setups.
A M1 Mac Mini and the need for a monitor was the first challenge, then getting BlackHole loop-back for my streaming software run correctly and finally getting a VST convolver plug-in for Mac for DRC, which works with multiple bitrates, is low cost, and as easy to use as bruteFIR (Thierry's HAFconvo turned out to work great).

As said by many, live recordings of orchestras and jazz benefit the most, but even electronic music sometimes surprises with a more immersive presentation. I had only one or two songs out of many 100s which I preferred without BACCH.

Question to the owners of audiophile BACCH: have you compared uBACCH filter with your individualized filters?
UBACCH offers very few knobs to optimize, so I wonder what real measurements change.

How would you describe the difference?
How relevant is head-tracking for you?

My room is symmetric and well treated, so I wonder if an upgrade would ever be worth it.

The u-BACCH works well but the individualized is much better. The U widens the stereo image. The I seems to have an extra level of clarity and the image can wrap all the way around my head(depending on the recording). The U works better than any other crosstalk cancellation types I have heard whether ambiophonic or Sonic holography but the I is definitely worth the money.

 

[onion]

Dear all,

After about 2 months of usage of the intro version of u-BACCH I am very happy about the result and use it as my default listening

Customer support by Edgar was stellar.

However, it is not easy to integrate in all setups.
A M1 Mac Mini and the need for a monitor was the first challenge, then getting BlackHole loop-back for my streaming software run correctly and finally getting a VST convolver plug-in for Mac for DRC, which works with multiple bitrates, is low cost, and as easy to use as bruteFIR (Thierry's HAFconvo turned out to work great).

As said by many, live recordings of orchestras and jazz benefit the most, but even electronic music sometimes surprises with a more immersive presentation. I had only one or two songs out of many 100s which I preferred without BACCH.

Question to the owners of audiophile BACCH: have you compared uBACCH filter with your individualized filters?
UBACCH offers very few knobs to optimize, so I wonder what real measurements change.

How would you describe the difference?
How relevant is head-tracking for you?

My room is symmetric and well treated, so I wonder if an upgrade would ever be worth it.

I used uBacch for a bit when my binaural mic went in for repairs and the software lost the prior measurements. Edgar walked me through setting it up. Definitely inferior to individualised filters with less XTC, audibly so.

 

[Keith_W]

I have a question for anybody who has the pro version of BACCH with the head tracker. I would like to know how well it tracks your head in the following situations:

- My listening sofa is 2.5m (8 feet) from the speakers
- I usually listen with the lights dimmed (I can measure the dimness if you like, but it will be expressed as stops of light because I will be using my camera)
- The background behind my head is medium toned. I am light skinned. In terms of camera exposure, both my skin and the background are midtones.

I suspect it would work more effectively if I listened with the lights on and changed the background to a lighter colour so that it can see me better. But then, I do not want to listen with the lights on, it kills the mood! Would infrared floodlights work? We can't see IR, but cameras can. Has anybody tried?

 

[Theoretica Appl. Physics]

I have a question for anybody who has the pro version of BACCH with the head tracker. I would like to know how well it tracks your head in the following situations:

- My listening sofa is 2.5m (8 feet) from the speakers
- I usually listen with the lights dimmed (I can measure the dimness if you like, but it will be expressed as stops of light because I will be using my camera)
- The background behind my head is medium toned. I am light skinned. In terms of camera exposure, both my skin and the background are midtones.

I suspect it would work more effectively if I listened with the lights on and changed the background to a lighter colour so that it can see me better. But then, I do not want to listen with the lights on, it kills the mood! Would infrared floodlights work? We can't see IR, but cameras can. Has anybody tried?

Over the past 2 years we have significantly improved the quality and robustness of head tracking in BACCH-dSP (the application at the heart of our BACCH4Mac Products). The head tracking in the latest version of BACCH-dSP (12.1.5) sets new records in tracking distance and robustness of head tracking in dim lighting (and since the pandemic head tracking works robustly on heads with face masks). We will leave it to BACCH-dSP users on this forum to comment on how well it works for them, but we are happy to announce that the next version of BACCH-dSP (to be released shortly) adds infrared head tracking for tracking in pitch darkness.

Incidentally, head tracking comes standard with the Audiophile, and Audiophile+ editions of BACCH4Mac (and not only the Pro edition, which is of more interest to spatial audio researchers, developers and content creators).

 

[Gwreck]

I have a question for anybody who has the pro version of BACCH with the head tracker. I would like to know how well it tracks your head in the following situations:

- My listening sofa is 2.5m (8 feet) from the speakers
- I usually listen with the lights dimmed (I can measure the dimness if you like, but it will be expressed as stops of light because I will be using my camera)
- The background behind my head is medium toned. I am light skinned. In terms of camera exposure, both my skin and the background are midtones.

I suspect it would work more effectively if I listened with the lights on and changed the background to a lighter colour so that it can see me better. But then, I do not want to listen with the lights on, it kills the mood! Would infrared floodlights work? We can't see IR, but cameras can. Has anybody tried?

I was having some difficulty with head tracking with my Logitech camera about 10 ft away but with my camera 6ft away there are no issues. I also have the Intel IR camera and IR spotlight and that works well. The Intel camera has its own IR spotlight and it seems to work but not as much light as the spotlight.

 

[Gwreck]

Hmm, so the L800s+Baach could have a more pronounced effect than any ol' speaker+Baach, possibly

 

[Gwreck]

It probably would work but BACCH likely would work better without SDA considering SDA doesn’t follow with head tracking and BACCH does.

 

[Gwreck]

https://www.razer.com/gaming-speakers/razer-leviathan-v2-pro

I bought this thing for my PC. The beam forming is another very effective way of crosstalk minimizing. The spatial effect is very similar to BACCH and this also does head tracking. The sound quality is average. Theoretic has the technology called BACCH-X. Which is based on beam forming but can be used for multiple listening positions.

 

[Keith_W]

It probably would work but BACCH likely would work better without SDA considering SDA doesn’t follow with head tracking and BACCH does.

What is SDA?