thanks. Makes sense that their hardware is needed.
The reviews mention the increased imaging. Is there improvement of timbre and tone as well?
BACCH-SP: The future of high-end audio? Yes.
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The reviews mention the increased imaging. Is there improvement of timbre and tone as well?
The enhancements with XTC fall out beyond the normal expectations what a new component will bring. If one separates the DSP aspect from the other elements of digital to analog convention or steaming qualities of devices then I think that helps with understanding the impact of the processing and in the end the listening experience.
At a request of a customer I went to audition the BACCH-SP unit. I had the opportunity to spend about two hours speaking with Edgar and enjoyed the demo. At first, he played tracks that really show off the extreme imaging capabilities of the unit. I literally listened to a fly buzz in circles around my head. But then, I had about 45 minutes of listening on my own where I went through my standard test tracks and then jumped into different items.
The unit delivers a level of immersion that I have not heard previously, even in the best treated rooms. Compared to the best DAC I currently have in terms of instrument separation; (Weiss Helios) this is noticeably better. It is not just the instrumental separation but the stability of that image that comes through.
I made it to track three of my demo before I bought one. What was most fascinating was the track Duende. The way this system works is the image relies on the placement of the microphones in the recording space to place the musicians in the room when you are listening. My standard test track of "Duende" from Bozzio Levin Stevens opens with a brief solo recorded by each musician. They clearly recorded those solos from the same spot which was slightly left of center and when the song kicks in with them playing together they move to different spots.
Once I got beyond my test tracks, i was curious what would happen with Q Sound given that it effectively mimics this on any system. The clarity was insane. The image structure is perfect but where reflections around the room create the image normally it is very fuzzy. This made those effects crystal clear. Roger Waters Amused to Death sounded amazing and I heard a lot of things I have not heard previously.
I am very much looking forward to comparing how this works with different DACs vs. the internal DAC on the Adio. I am unsure if all DACs will sound the same or if the underlying character of a Playback will be retained vs Weiss or EMM or Aries Cerat. I should get mine in May and cannot wait to play with this.
The unit delivers a level of immersion that I have not heard previously, even in the best treated rooms. Compared to the best DAC I currently have in terms of instrument separation; (Weiss Helios) this is noticeably better. It is not just the instrumental separation but the stability of that image that comes through.
I made it to track three of my demo before I bought one. What was most fascinating was the track Duende. The way this system works is the image relies on the placement of the microphones in the recording space to place the musicians in the room when you are listening. My standard test track of "Duende" from Bozzio Levin Stevens opens with a brief solo recorded by each musician. They clearly recorded those solos from the same spot which was slightly left of center and when the song kicks in with them playing together they move to different spots.
Once I got beyond my test tracks, i was curious what would happen with Q Sound given that it effectively mimics this on any system. The clarity was insane. The image structure is perfect but where reflections around the room create the image normally it is very fuzzy. This made those effects crystal clear. Roger Waters Amused to Death sounded amazing and I heard a lot of things I have not heard previously.
I am very much looking forward to comparing how this works with different DACs vs. the internal DAC on the Adio. I am unsure if all DACs will sound the same or if the underlying character of a Playback will be retained vs Weiss or EMM or Aries Cerat. I should get mine in May and cannot wait to play with this.
Maybe ORC will be available when you take delivery as well. It's out for the BACCH4MAC now.
To cut the chase - in my experience, yes…the underlying character of an external dac is retained - if you are seasoned enough to pick up on the sonic characteristics of your dac. With XTC in the chain, the impact to the sound stage (clarity, etc), depending on your room’s setup, speaker type, etc, is unprecedented that a ’new’ listener can easily think the dac associated with the XTC is doing those things…its not. Its the processing algorithms and genius of Prof Choueiri and the Theoretica team.
IMO, the dac associated with the b4m and adio do what they need to do and team up well with the DSP, and depending on your personal tastes, could be all you want or need. You would need to entertain this yourself. The same hoopla applies here, this dac beat this mega dollar dac there, but does that actually apply to everyone’s personal taste? That said, BACCH built in the way that is presented by Theoretica is the most convenient and likely most elegant solution so far in terms of anyone else doing XTC. I hope to see other manufacturers enter the space in XTC.
That is great to hear that the DAC character remains. It will be fascinating to see how this interacts with these other units.
My expectation is ORC will be a few weeks behind my initial delivery. Sounds like it will be available in June.
Thank you Craig! I am immensely excited about this. Both as a listener and as a dealer. I think this is going to be a wonderful line to be working on and an excuse to go back and relisten to all those DACs paired with this.
I currently have my older adio in for an upgrade at the factory. When I heard that the room correction software was going to be released on the Bacch4Mac platform first, and knowing my adio would be away for a while I bought an Audiophile Plus version of Bacch4Mac. My introduction to BACCH was the adio. I fell in love immediately and I love the device. When the Bacch4Mac arrived I got an early version of ORC, the room correction feature. As much as I loved the XTC (Crosstalk Cancelation) processing with both units, the ORC processing impressed me quite a bit more. Using both together is exhilarating! Edgar says ORC will come to the adio in May or June. I think you chose well with the adio as it has more advanced Input and output options. Plus a very good DAC. I like that you will experience Crosstalk cancelation for a bit of time before you get to hear ORC. You will be following my journey. Its a nice place to be.
With the Bacch4Mac a DAC is included in the RME Babyface Pro interface. It sounded okay. But the intention is to use it with other DACs. I was using a Mola Mola Tambaqui which I really enjoyed. I also used it with the Gryphon Ethos DAC. Again, very nice. But the new Grimm MU2 DAC has taken the lead. Long story short, I believe you bought well and I believe you are going to be very happy!
do you need to use a server/streamer with the BACCH-SP? i own the Taiko Extreme
Bacch is a Mac based program and Taiko is Windows. So I think it would be complicated. Jason at Audiophile Junkie (dealer for Bach) would be a good person to ask about it.
I’d be curious to hear Bacch and ORC, but not until it can run natively on Windows ( as I have aTaiko server also).
I suppose you could use the Taiko to feed a BACCH DIO or BACCH ADIO given that the BACCH has USB and SPDIF digital audio inputs.
I use a Grimm MU2 to stream to the Bacch, then listen to the Bacch through the DAC in the MU2. I quite like the combo!
BACCH units serve as Roon, HQ Player or UPnP endpoints. I am suggesting the Antipodes K41 as a server to pair with it to leverage the built in endpoint and then you connect via Ethernet with my customers.
That said there are a bunch of digital inputs so Taiko being windows based should not be an inherent problem. This is about a data transfer which is independent of the OS on the device feeding it. It is not a windows OS signal exiting the Taiko, it is a PCM or DSD audio signal.
That said there are a bunch of digital inputs so Taiko being windows based should not be an inherent problem. This is about a data transfer which is independent of the OS on the device feeding it. It is not a windows OS signal exiting the Taiko, it is a PCM or DSD audio signal.
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