Bacch Dsp, True stereo?


The latest gimmick seems to be eliminating cross talk as a way to achieve true stereo.

Seems very expensive and works with any speaker.

Another layer of complexity.

Anyone have an opinion on this new fad? Seems a bit neurotic to me

emergingsoul

@soix 

I spent time on the website and really tried to understand all the various offerings and also how it fits into my existing System.  I had trouble figuring it out. Maybe I'm alone and maybe I'm not as smart as everybody else but it just seems real challenging to figure out.

I think it's done by someone who went to Princeton and clearly I'm not Princeton material. 

Thank you for your reply. The only problem I have with all this is that it's so very difficult and confusing to implement.

No, it’s not!!!  Several people here who’ve used it have stated clearly that it’s not hard to implement and that very helpful customer support is there if you happen to need it.  You just can’t get it through your thick head what’s clearly being said here by actual users and wanna stick to your mantra that it’s “too hard.”  Seriously, what’s wrong with you?

@low325 

Thank you for your reply. The only problem I have with all this is that it's so very difficult and confusing to implement. I've heard horror stories from others when trying to work with their current equipment and this Baach stuff.

The website is terribly terribly confusing in terms of trying to figure out how it can be integrated into your system. Maybe it's a good thing but it's just too darn demanding to figure it all out and they need to do a better job describing how it fits into your system.

Ive been auditioning with the bacch for about 8 weeks now. For me, it’s been a great addition to the overall listening experience. It been great to rediscover my current playlist, look for new music just to experience it with xtc, and have more appreciation to other music genres just to listen for the spatial aspect(s) - i am not talking about forced techniques in the studio but rather what was at the venue, whether it was purposeful or not - in both cases when the recording is played back with xtc, it is presented back to you with spatial details either subtle or often with such clarity but very much an obvious delta than to what it sounded like in stereo without it.

There are ways to replicate this in the analog domain, and achieve similar results… but the elegant and much higher performing solution is demonstrated through computational processing as in the BACCH. But it’s not for everyone still wired listening to two channel stereo with ‘XTNC’ (Cross Talk NOT Cancelled)….and it’s totally okay if thats how you still want to roll.

The short but amazing and fun article of Choueiri on Spatial sound  is here with many others interesting one  about music...

 

https://www.amazon.ca/Ways-Hearing-Reflections-Music-Pieces/dp/0691230684

This very short article of Choueiri and Anderson appear to me as FUNDAMENTAL for the future of not only audio playback but for future composer or musicians... Astonishing master piece article in my book.. Simple to read and fun and more, way more than just informative, The writers open a closed doors and pointed to a revolution in sound perception and creation ...

Amazing...

 

I saw the link to the Bacch site on how you can figure this thing.

Basically it's a desktop computer connected to one of their devices connected to speakers that presumably are powered.

So I guess you don't need to use a streamer/dac and a pre amplifier.

So basically looks like you're replacing most of your existing system to get this thing. And then you have to install a WebCam on top of your computer which I think is weird. 
 

They need to show some practical examples and not just pretty pictures still lots of confusion in my opinion.

From the lion's mouth :

«Spatial music is music in which the spatial aspect of sound—the
perceived location, extent, and movements of sound sources in surrounding
space—is more or less equal in stature to the traditional
aspects, or elements, of music—pitch,timbre, texture, volume/dynamics,
attack/duration/decay, melody, rhythm, and form. We
shall call this traditional aspect of music canonical and contrast it
with the spatial.»

• Laurie Anderson and Edgar Choueiri •

@hifidream thanks for that link. I have a pretty good idea now of the various set up configurations that can be supported. It appears though that the RME interface is a critical piece of the puzzle. Perhaps I am missing something, but it appears I would not be able to use my current preamp in the chain (unless it can be inserted in front of the RME). That is probably a deal breaker for me in my 2-channel system, probably not so much for a headphone set up I am thinking about setting up.

I'm not certain if it's appearing in the November or December issue of TAS, but Dr. Choueiri has graciously allowed us to publish a book chapter on spatial sound he wrote with the musician/filmmaker/performance artist Laurie Anderson. It provides a lot of extremely useful information about different aspects of spatiality, including crosstalk cancellation. Watch for it.

 

Andrew Quint

Senior writer - The Absolute Sound

@emergingsoul 

If you go to this link you can see all the parts and how it interfaces into your system through pull down menus within the system diagram. 

https://www.theoretica.us/bacch4mac/

@asctim Yes I agree getting the room corrected is key. My current results are fantastic and eerily real but I think it can get even better with BACCH. My decision to use panel speakers is due to Dr. Choueiri’s research, lack of side reflections, highly directional, single wave / line source. I’m sure your set up sounds great!

Thanks,

Steve 

Bacch uses microphones in your ears to measure the room and your ears to get the best sound. I didn’t know about this.

You’re the only one here who doesn’t seem to get this extremely simple concept. Seriously, have you done any research on this system at all??? Or do you need a YouTube video to spoon feed you and show you how to do everything? At this point in the thread that you don’t know this system is calibrated once by using in-ear microphones is just inexplicable and utterly embarrassing for you. You keep trying to push this agenda that this is hard to set up when several people here who’ve actually bought and use it say it’s not bad at all. Yet you keep pushing this completely false narrative and seem completely incapable of absorbing any of the very pertinent information being shared with you by experienced users. There’s a problem here.

Bacch uses microphones in your ears to measure the room and your ears to get the best sound.

I didn't know about this. I wish there was a video giving a full scale view of what you need to do to install this thing.  For some reason they just don't wanna do this.

I have a basic dac streamer connected to a pre-amplifier which is connected to the amplifiers which is connected to the speakers.

Do I need to get a desktop computer integrated to use this thing? 

@hifidream

I agree that highly directional speakers do certainly help with stereo imaging, but I couldn’t get them to do much in terms of crosstalk elimination. I’m using horn speakers right now in conjunction with crosstalk reduction and I’m getting very good results. I heard some big horns at this summer’s Pacific Audiofest that had the best stereo separation of anything at the show in my opinion. Others mentioned it too. Besides inter-aural crosstalk, early side wall reflections can seriously degrade the stereo presentation too, and it is truly amazing how good a standard 2 speaker system without crosstalk reduction can be at producing a wide, spacious sound field with clear separation between instruments when early reflections are properly addressed, either through directional speakers, room treatments, or a combination of both. With crosstalk reduction it can be even more amazing, but dealing with early reflections remains super important, otherwise the full benefits won’t come through. Horns or other directional speakers can make that easier. I’ve also found that the quality of the speakers and other components remains as important as ever. If the tonality is off or there is too much distortion, the sense of realistic space is severely compromised, although you can almost always still hear some benefit. Even when listening to my laptop speakers I can get some sense of spaciousness with crosstalk reduction that would otherwise not happen at all.

There won’t be any challenges to implement it in my system because it is entirely active and it will be plug and play. The only challenge is money, like many things. I did feel it was important to get the room corrected and have the highest level of DSP processing possible before implementing BACCH. Thus my recent purchase of the dspNexus, which is now processing 8 channels with 12 biquad filters at 192K in real time, the results are stunning. The largest impact in sound reproduction is the speakers, next is the room, and I would say crosstalk is third in my list so it will be my next purchase when I can afford it. It’s really quite simple to implement from my discussions with their team. It simply is added between your source and the speakers and works its magic by using head tracking technology. The initial set up includes using microphones put in your ears to measure your unique ears and head and then it’s set up and you don’t need to do anything else. I’m not sure why you perceive that to be difficult. Much less difficult than measuring the room and developing biquads for my DSP in my opinion. 
 

Thanks,

Steve 

Very encouraging comments.

So the system is designed for a highly focused Target of one person to achieve results. So group of people probably wouldn't benefit as much.

How come you haven't gotten the system you seem very happy about what it does despite the challenges to implement?

@emergingsoul  Crosstalk is the reason we aren’t fooled into believing that we are not in a live environment. Hearing content coming from the right speaker with your right ear is expected and the time it takes to travel across your face to your left ear locates that sound in space. The same thing is happening with the left ear. This is why super directional speakers like horns can create a magical image due to almost eliminating crosstalk but the place that this magic happens is very small and usually only works for one person and perhaps one more directly behind them. I’ve personally experienced this. BACCH does this digitally in real time with audio queues in the music. As @asctim above notes it isn’t a manufacture equipment issue, the only way to address it on that end is with a hyper directional system as I described or a software based solution like BACCH. You also noted people aren’t interested in this, perhaps you missed my post. I literally built my entire system around Dr. Choueiri’s research and this is the last and most exciting piece I want to add to my system. I don’t believe it is a complicated issue, just a difficult one to address which is why Dr. Choueiri has spent so many years working on a solution. 
 

Thanks,

Steve 

inter-aural crosstalk,

This is interesting have never heard this before. A new term I learned today.

You know a lot about this stuff kudos.

I guess there may be some benefits and the implementation experience as well as spending a lot of money for quality Version of what they offer leads to all kinds of positive reinforcement issues. Once you spend a lot of time with something it’s hard to fall out of love with it.

I think I’ll wait till they do a decent video on software implementation and I’ll take interest in this. Mr. audiofilejunkie should do this since he’s trying to make money off of it.  
 

Crosstalk is a complicated issue and now I understand why people stay away from it.

@pinthrift

Thanks for the excellent review. If crosstalk reduction were more common, more recordings might be made in a more "hands off" way. As I stated earlier, I’ve not heard BACCH myself, but I’ve used a physical divider, and as you experienced I too heard that less processed recordings tend to do the best, except in the case of purely processed electronic recordings, which can also produce glorious spacious presentations. I think it's interesting that you mentioned "Homeless" in your review. That's been an important track for me as I set up different systems because it should sound amazing with it's rich and dramatic vocal dynamics and harmonizing. I think that track does a good job of revealing problems with listening rooms and speaker placement because it requires clear solid energy in most room's transition zone, where rooms have a way of ruining things. 

@emergingsoul

I think you bring up a good point about most high end stereo equipment manufacturers ignoring the crosstalk issue. Why aren’t more people talking about it? I think a big part of it is that for the longest time there wasn’t any really practical way to address it in many listening scenarios. Recordings were made in two channel format, expected to be played back with a stereo pair of speakers, and the shortcomings were self evident and accepted because, as we all know, it can be very pleasant to listen to, and better than mono.

A similar accepted limitation with most video/film presentation is that we don’t expect it to be in 3D. 3D can add a lot to the visual experience, but it’s a lot of extra effort, and unlike with audio, the crosstalk is visually unbearable so some kind of glasses usually have to be worn if a large audience is to enjoy the effect from various viewing angles. With audio the crosstalk also profoundly reduces the quality, but our mind is more forgiving with audio crosstalk than with visual. Early 3D glasses were of the red/blue lens type, and this obviously had a seriously negative effect on the visual experience despite making it 3D. Similar weirdness can happen when attempting to correct audio crosstalk with crude methods. Now with polarized glasses and other methods it’s possible to get a clear, high quality 3D image with accurate color and very minimal visual artifacts. Similarly DSP can be used with audio now to practically remove the crosstalk artifacts we’re already living with while adding hardly any new audible issues. It’s a huge win.

But you are right - it’s more complicated to set up. More players coming on-board with this type of technology could, in time, make it much easier to implement.

About the quality of your components impacting crosstalk - they don’t. It’s a physical setup problem inherent to using two speakers. It takes some specific processing or a special speaker arrangement such as Polk uses to address it successfully. That said, there are different kinds of crosstalk. What BACCH is addressing is inter-aural crosstalk across your head coming directly from the speakers. This is by far the most severe crosstalk that reduces the overall sound quality, degrading the stereophonic effect, and also introducing severe comb filtering for center panned sounds at each ear, and at frequencies we’re very sensitive to. There’s also room reflection crosstalk, where the sound from the right speaker bounces across the room to the far wall and then enters your left ear. I think BACCH may be able to address these early reflections as well to some degree. There is also crosstalk between channels that can occur in electronic devices. This is generally not much of an audible problem in modern electronics.

 

Cross talk cross talk cross talk,  Marsha Marsha Marsha.

Maybe this is a big deal, especially with integrated amplifiers with the cesspool of electronic activity that goes on. That's a very crowded room inside there.

But what about when you keep things separate, like monos, line stage pre and biamping, etc.  Doesnt the quality of your system impact cross talk? Doesn't the quality of the recording impact cross talk. There is a lot of inherent Crosstalking during recording going on that you can't get rid of.  And then there is are acoustical treatments where the pressure amplitudes scatter things to improve spaciousness and clarity, as well as eliminating reverberations. And I'm still trying to figure why so many die hard audio enthusiasts don't extend bass traps all the way up to the ceiling in the corners. 

The easier you make it for people to spend money for good things, everything else takes care of itself. And now it's time to buy more stuff from Amazon, eventually people will get less enthusiastic of this novelty - it's not as much fun as it used to be. I liked the waiting period, it's part of the journey and ending it too quickly spoils some of the anticipatory fun. And I have no idea what this has to do with Crosstalk at this point.


 

 

@emergingsoul you don't have to wear a headset and the interface is actually quite easy... Especially considering Edgar himself walks you through everything the first day and gives unlimited customer support.

 

Most people never have to touch it after the first calibration other than if you use it for volume control.

 

If you don't understand what crosstalk is, then that's another matter.  It's been understood well back into the 1960s and others have tried to address is, but the technology, resources, and research Edgar/Princeton brings to the equation is unprecedented.... Hence the superior results.

 

In short, crosstalk is what your right ear hears from your left speaker and vice versa. It's not complicated in the least.  I understand it may be foreign to you, and thus the tendency is to think it's a gimmick, but you will only be kicking yourself later when you realize how easy it is to understand and implement with products available at different budget ranges.

Very confusing why the plug-in is available on one site but not the main site for all the other products.

 

emergingsoul 

You make a good point.  However, "where there is a WILL there is a WAY" ...a lifelong motto!  I found and nurtured a skilled, trusted Tech 3000 miles from me who remotes into my PC, setting up the necessary ingredients.  Over the years, Mike has become an intimate friend and we collaborate well, including tiny adjustments of DSP to 1/100ths of a decibel.  For Purists, any harm done with expertly applied DSP is miniscule in light of the improvements.  

A Member reached out who had difficulty finding the BACCH Plug-In.  It appears that the 15% discount is still current:

u-BACCH Audio Plug-In – BACCH Labs

More Peace       (bold print for old eyes)      Pin

And quite frankly no one else seems to be terribly excited about it.

And then I read about a headset you’ve got to wear so the System can find you in the room. That’s some crazy stuff

I can’t even. Shades of kenjit.  Peace out.

«What is crosstalk in speakers?
 
This occurs when the signals from different channels (such as left and right channels in stereo audio) bleed into each other. For example, if you’re listening to a stereo audio source and the left channel’s signal is heard in the right channel, or vice versa, you’re experiencing inter-channel crosstalk.» from internet
 
I just proposed in my last post above a very simple experiment with only MECHANICAL tools, wood panels in fact, to experiment the effect of crosstalk by decreasing it in a near listening situation... The best way to understand is simple experiment...
 
 

 

 

Very few people have even used this product. Just the promoters noted above.

Yeah I’m trying to do research but it’s very difficult for this very challenging product.

What the heck is crosstalk? This is the only product I’ve ever heard about that.

And quite frankly no one else seems to be terribly excited about it.

And then I read about a headset you've got to wear so the System can find you in the room. That's some crazy stuff

Yeah maybe crosstalk needs to be better clarified. To lift it out of the gimmick zone. OK so I now research what the heck crosstalk means.

Just to be clear, you’re the only one on this thread who thinks this is a gimmick. But glad to hear you’re finally going to actually do some research into this rather than just throwing out nonsensical and completely uninformed barbs.  Jeez.

Yeah maybe crosstalk needs to be better clarified.  To lift it out of the gimmick zone. OK so I now research what the heck crosstalk means.

It's always about the learning curve and the guys selling it and who are most familiar with it lose sight of what new users are seeing when they first see a product.  I had to change settings on my security system the other day and had to experience a challenginglearning curve to deal with a screwed up interface that could've been designed so much better.  All these lovely products out there butchered with an interface overlay that truly sucks. Look at freaking windows 11 Vs 10. What a nightmare that is. In this world things tend to be so much more complicated than they need to be.

People need to produce products that don't make it so difficult for others to spend their money. 
 

 

Most people dont know what crosstalk is...

Here i will suggest an experiment if you own like me 2 small speakers on a desk in nearfield listening ...

Take a 2 feet and few inches wood panels, place each one on the internal side of the right and left speakers , in my case the are located in some angle beside my computer screen, and now listen...

This is a mechanical way to decrease the crosstalk effect ...

Your imaging and depth will increase so much , myself  i had  kept these panels in place for music...

Now imagine a complete and perfect  suppression of crosstalk...

I will buy BACCH filters one day and i know why ....

For now my listening is so incredible i wait a bit and my wallet is empty ... 😊

Choueiri is a genius but not in marketing  but in acoustic.... Anybody though listening him speaking about his invention understand why immediately so much clear and informed in acoustic he is...

I represent the Bacch and have tons of videos about the product in my YouTube channel... Including 3rd party reviews, walkthroughs, interviews with Edgar and more.

 

I’ve sold dozens of them in just a few months with everyone ecstatic about the results. I would encourage you to visit Edgar’s room at CAF or come to my house in Houston for a demo. I’ve had people come as far as Thailand who have ordered after hearing it.

 

It’s far from a gimmick and actually what we’ve been listening to for years as "stereo" has actually been the gimmick. No matter how great your gear, you are listening to different degrees of crosstalk that corrupts stereo imaging.

 

The Bacch doesn’t add any spatial cues not already in the recording, but it eliminates the crosstalk that corrupts you hearing all of it. There are additional benefits in terms of time alignment and fixing comb filtering, but those are secondary to the crosstalk cancellation.

 

The in-ear measurements and head tracking are two reasons why this exceeds many efforts in the past to correct for crosstalk... Plus it ignores mono material which previous efforts had difficulty addressing.

 

The bottom line is it’s a product you must hear and likely will buy after an audition. Edgar is the only designer I know who WANTS you to do an A/B demo and facilitates you being able to turn it on and off on the fly to hear for yourself.

 

My membership section of YouTube has tons of users and we regularly exchange tips in recordings that have spatial cues that the Bacch reveals like no other.

 

If you can’t audition the Bacch live, I would encourage you to join my YouTube channel membership section where you can talk to existing owners.

 

Plus, if you are in my group, you can send me a music file and some basic measurements about your speaker distances... Then I can create a Bacch filter for the song and send it back to you to give you a taste of what it sounds like. Obviously, it will only be a taste and you should pick a recording with good spatial cues in the recording, but that’s been as convincing as a live demo for many people.

I quote Ozzy Osbourne re: the prior post. — “I’m going off the rails on a crazy train.”

Where is the plug-in referred to above on their website?
Where can I go to figure out how much each of these components cost?
How each of the Products fit together?

Are many of the products autonomous without a need for the other products?
What systems are the products applicable too?

Do you always need a desktop or will an iPad work?

Are there any practical guiding tools on how it integrates into a system?

How do you plug it in and what does it plug into?

Will Princeton be offering fall courses to understand what’s going on here?

If I have a streamer/dac, and Roon and nucleus can I use this? And what pieces of from all their offerings would be best to use?

Is this a theoretical academic exercise that may never go mainstream?

How many users are there at this point?

I am very favorably disposed to the work of Choueiri but I'm trying to wrap my head around some practicalities.  He is almost certainly the real deal; not vendor marketing hype.  Quite the opposite, actually.  He needs some help to make his ideas and products more widely marketable.

The Bacch plugin we were alerted to by pinthrift looks like a great way to start.  Forgive my simplistic question, but it appears that the plugin is only for Windows or Mac environments.  Does that mean that those of us using third-party streamers are out of luck for now?  Or can the plugin be used on a miniDSP Flex, or Roon?  I'm a little confused on these basics.  Thanks.

So why don’t they post an explanatory YouTube video explaining the interface. This is the biggest hurdle for marketing this product and they know it. DSP interfaces are horrifying. Also testing a room is horrifying to do. Because no one has designed an Interface that makes the process easier to deal with

I’m sorry, but this is just absurd. First, very few users here are complaining about the interface, and those who’ve had questions have cited excellent customer support, and setup only has to be done once so after that the software is a total nonissue. Second, why do you lump this in with other DSP devices? You’re not testing a room — you put earplugs in and the system does everything else. What exactly is so horrifying about that? You’re making up your own misconceived narrative that has no basis in fact whatsoever as it pertains to this product. Stop. Just stop pushing this inaccurate and misinformed garbage of yours. Please.

I went to their website, and the product line is horrifyingly complicated. I saw the interface picture for the software, it looks horrifying.

The whole package of product looks like incredible challenge. And definitely would require a substantial investment to tweak your system.

It would be nice if they put some pricing on their website for people like me who aren't very smart

I built my entire system on the principles of Dr. Edward Choueiri. I read about BACCH when I first started building my system and tried some music processed by the BACCH system and it was amazing using the suggested set up and placement of speakers. I could pick out every instrument in the orchestra in perfect space. I am saving up for it. Full package is about $10K. His work and principles are licensed to the sound bars that do so much with so little. Imagine what a true HiFi rig will sound like. It’s my next purchase and it will be the ultimate game changer. I feel like everything I’ve done has gotten me to this place. This is the real deal. 
 

Thanks,

Steve

So why don’t they post an explanatory YouTube video explaining the interface. This is the biggest hurdle for marketing this product and they know it.

DSP interfaces are horrifying. Also testing a room is horrifying to do. Because no one has designed an Interface that makes the process easier to deal with

Great review.... Thanks for the trouble to do it pinthrift..

Most people will not read Choueiri papers then it will help them to look at it...

I was tempted by the BACCH labs windows version but it is not so well suitable for headphone...

My main audiophile set up is for headphone...

So good are my box speakers they are not at the level of my headphone...

I must wait for a windows version for headphone or buy the costlier BACCH Choueiri option...

MUSIC September 2023  Our topic grabs most of us like a friendly, octopus-hug. For some of us, music is a life-affirming need, like food or drink. Hi...my name is Tim, and I’m an aging audiophile. Harbored deeply in my genetic reality, the playback and enjoyment of electrically recorded sound began with my folks. The riches of radio into my adolescence included crooners, be-bop, do-wop, Elvis, Ella and Old Broadway. My older siblings displayed musical talent, me, the designated listener. Friends, this article is not intended as a product review, though it easily could be. My audience is for anyone who has more than a passing interest in quality sound from a stereo source. The source might be a tablet, laptop, or PC, and include headphones, earbuds, passive or active loudspeakers on up to exotic high-fidelity audio. In describing my recent experience, I may occasionally use audio verbiage, but the plan is to share news with anyone with a passing interest in better sound, using layman’s terms. Disclaimer: I’ve no affiliation, professional interest, financial or otherwise with the product. I’m just a music lover who wants to spread good news in plain language. In my simple opinion, I’m introducing a scientific, ground-breaking add-on device that, in some form, will long affect musical arts appreciation. The specific product is the BACCH Labs plug-in filter developed by Professor Edgar Choueiri of Princeton University. As a simplification, it is a downloadable algorithmic digital filter that works to correct the arrival time of sound to one’s ears. The digital technology dates to 2016, however, advancements allowing a downloadable plug-in are very recent. Much technical info can be found on their website. As I understand, successful demonstrations by Prof Choueiri have included even the use of a lowly boombox. This story is mine, alone, in my dedicated studio. Like food and beverages, there are opinions. We may share experience yet interpret it differently to others. Here goes.BACCH algorithms perform the cancellation of “crosstalk,” sounds emanating from one loudspeaker penetrating sounds coming from the other loudspeaker, delivering unwanted information to both ears. This simply does not happen in nature. BACCH identifies these sounds, extracting what does not belong, allowing what does. Addition by extraction, pretty much...resulting in left speaker information to left ear only, right to right. The resulting sounds become much more life-like. Harmonic content seems naturally increased, especially in listening to well recorded piano. Former “missing” information, distorted or hidden by crosstalk deep in the mix, self-corrects and becomes audible, restoring cues to dimensionality. I’m reminded of the floating 3D seeds in the movie Avatar.Timbre, the sound of unamplified instruments in real space, becomes more convincingly and truthfully expressed. Leading edge crispness, acuity, greater articulation and the natural decay of sounds are more perceptible, without effort. All this without loss of dynamics. If anything, the percussive content seems increased without overloading, nor drawing attention to itself. Vocals are delineated with articulation and profound clarity, stirring emotional reach. Better timing of high frequencies, percussive strikes, shimmers and additional vibrancy of taught strings, draws smiles.Ambiance retrieval. Any space where sound is created is uniquely captured by microphones. Standing on a corner in downtown Manhattan, NY, consider how our hearing can detect and locate events inside the cacophony, making some sense of it. This brings us to some concerns. For focused, attentive listeners, some recordings that have been heavily processed and engineered in the studio can sound foreign and somewhat incorrect with the BACCH, especially listening to old favorites. Until now, I’ve refrained from examples of specific music. Rather involuntarily, when specific music, artists, genres are brought up, our opinions, flavors and, yes, prejudices come to fore. Hackles rise and we become defensive. I’m hoping to skirt that with a smattering of examples in a few broader areas, hopefully, music familiar to many of us. First up, an example from the mid-1970’s, “Dire Straits” their introductory, self-titled album. The analog sound (vinyl) was exceptional, and it remains a favorite to this day. Jumping to the mid-1990's, the sound of digital technology had improved, finally striking my emotions. Unable to financially pursue great sound in both digital and analog (records,) I gave up my beloved vinyl system. The real challenge was in replacing my vinyl music with equally great sounding digital sources. As an aside, in the extreme hi end audio community, the “which is best” argument continues around vinyl or digital playback. Most would agree the gap has closed considerably, particularly for the more casual listener. There is much to be enjoyed in the tactile process of handling, examining and playback of vinyl. The jackets are rich with readable information and shopping for used vinyl can be fun and exciting. I continue to shop for friends, truly feeling a part of music history. Nonetheless, here, our topic is the general improvement of sound for the masses. In time, I finally found a good sounding digital version of “Dire Straits,” still, not equaling my memory of the sound of my vinyl. With the active BACCH in my system, the sound surpasses the vinyl playback in all parameters of good sound, despite it being a studio production. Next up, Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” a tour de force creatively and sonically. With the BACCH, from a digital source, the title cut, “Graceland,” sounds odd and a bit off. Remember, as an audiophile, I listen with more than average intent and know this album extremely well. The cut “Homeless,” however, sounds even more amazing than the vinyl, using the BACCH.Mercury Living Presence has historically famous classical stereo recordings. The recording techniques of the day used 2 and 3 microphones to record stereo with minimal studio processing. With the BACHH, OH my! Onto minimalist audiophile quality 2L Music Store recordings. OH my, my!! Onward. Last night I listened to some cuts from “Kind of Blue,” a Miles Davis led iconic jazz recording, famous for its enveloping sound. It was a riveting experience. I shifted to streaming more jazz records by a European label acclaimed for its “hands-off”” studio processing, ECM. Again, consistently lovely. “Trio,” a friendly collaboration of skillful harmonies from Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt reaching worldwide sales of appx. 4 million. Like the Dire Straits, vinyl wonderful, digital just okay. With BACCH, the vocals are more enriched and delineated, sounding superior to my memory with vinyl. Okay, old timer, what about modern music? My young son has created computer generated electronic music for years, having signed with a music label. Ash's music is created using headphones, not studio monitors and adapts quite nicely to BACCH playback, since loudspeakers are not used in the production. BACH playback in my sound system has increased my respect and understanding of they's (yup) creations of genres which are less familiar to me, including rap, hip-hop, etc. Again, a caution folks. Much of today’s modern popular music is highly processed and flavored towards exaggerated bass suitable to mass-produced earbuds and other common listening devices. There IS a low-risk trial solution! The BACCH has a 14 day free trial period featuring basic “set-up” instructions for your stereo. At this writing, cost of the entry level plug-in is $399 minus a current 15% off instant promotional code. For many of us, spoiled by almost free music streaming offline, this cost may seem alarming. Remember, this is a SINGLE cost improving music appreciation over months and years. Amortized, as a benefit for music lovers, it’s inexpensive and great fun! For audiophiles, evolutionary. Over time, there most likely will be competition, however, it is my understanding that BACCH is continually improving its algorithms, having quite a lead. True progress in the audio arts moves slowly. BACCH provides evidence of “surely.” Thanks for reading, Tim Gagnon pinthrifttm@gmail.com

Honest and not critical question:  how does this not undo the intentions of the recording engineers?

Hey Guys...

I've been following the progress of BACCH for many months.  After a couple weeks of use, I decided to write an article NOT directed to audiophiles, simply for music lovers who might want to enhance their sound.  A review for audiophiles would look different, but the article touches on the changes in sound. 

For about a month now, I've been using the BACCH Plug-In download purchased online for $320 (after promo discount) with my Foobar music player.  This concept is not new, but it did need intelligent digital sound processing to refine what is necessary.  I'll try to post my long story here if it takes it. 

I will share with you here that holographic dimensionality, dynamics, localization, increase of truthful timbre (my most important goal) is rewarding, with no perceptible downside.  My article gives some backgrounding and I'm open to outreach.  

More Peace  (bold print for old eyes)                  Pin

I am curious if anyone here has heard the Polk L800 speakers and if so how they sounded or at least how well they addressed the crosstalk issue. They were designed to eliminate some of the issues that this Bacch technology also addresses. 

We are obviously wrong, he watched one video!
 

@curiousjim After it was linked here.  Joke.  Total joke. 

@soix 
We are obviously wrong, he watched one video! 😆😂🤣

 

To say I've done no research is just wrong.

 

emerging soul is an idiot troll... dont pay attn to this moron.

edgar does everything himself... he doesnt have a team working on UI/UX.

 

 

As noted in a common above it's a pain in the ass to work with. That's the biggest marketing problem. It's a confusing product that's glitchy.

A user above said it took him an hour to set up, and once it’s set up you’re done so not sure what you’re on about here. Plus, you thought it cost $20k when in fact there are options down to around $5k and as little as $900 and dismissed it as a “marketing gimmick.” C’mon man. Given the benefit on offer here I think you’re greatly overemphasizing the interface issue, but u do u.

To say I've done no research is just wrong.

I saw the YouTube video from the audio file junkie and it does confirm that the interface is not terribly friendly to work with. The channel really doesn't show how the thing works which is really the point. To speak about how it sounds and all the wonderful immersive two stereo benefits, you have to keep in mind he's a representative of the company and clearly he's biased. He makes money off of this product or hopes to. 
 

As noted in a common above it's a pain in the ass to work with. That's the biggest marketing problem. It's a confusing product that's glitchy. How horrifying to get involved with his product. Don't understand why the manufacturer can't do a better job with the interface makes no sense whatsoever. 

Would it not be better to have heard a  BACCH system and formulated an intelligent option about it?
 

@curiousjim Its clear the OP has already formulated his completely uninformed opinion and is now just cherry-picking responses that reinforce it while disregarding all the positive responses.  Plus, he’s obviously done zero research on the product or made any effort to actually learn anything about it.  But it is interesting hearing the feedback from people who’ve actually used it, so at least there’s that.