u-BACCH plugin software for Windows

I have been interested in the BACCH software for sometime. My problem with it is it is Macintosh based and since I have a dedicated Wolf Audio streamer/server with Windows softwareI had no desire to go back to a noisy laptop for digital music playback. When I heard about the u- BACCH plugin for Windows, I did an internet search to see what others were saying about it and could only find one online review. As a result, I decided to add my two cents for others who might be interested. Previously, I did a post on PS Audio in relation to this but some of you might not go there. I am an audiophile who has absolutely no affiliation with u-BACCH and if I make a mistake about their software I encourage them or others more knowledgeable to correct me.

Some of you may remember Bob Carver’s Sonic Hologram Generators. They worked with the crosstalk between two speakers to create an effect somewhat similar to a binaural recording . Properly set up the effect could be uncanny. Unfortunately,  it had a very narrow sweet spot and sometimes inches made all the difference. As I understand it, u-BACCH works on somewhat similar principles but the sweet spot is not nearly as restrictive.

u-BACCH(uB henceforth )is available with a 14 day trial and should you decide to purchase it the cost is $399 which is very reasonable compared to their other software. I decided to import uB to J. River. You must have J. River 30 or above. They have detailed download instructions as well as a video online so for brevity’s sake I won’t go into all the details. 

Once I had the software installed, I kept the DSP studio on J. River open so I could engage or disengage uB by checking the uB box. I also used this for the calibration. The calibration screen allows you to use pink noise or speaker placement to set it up. You must be playing music to generate pink noise . Pink noise is generated by clicking on the L or R. You may want to turn the volume down before playing the pink noise. The online video shows you how to use the slider for calibration. The video states that if you can’t hear the pink noise beside your ears then try to place it to the left and right of the respective speakers which is what I did. When I could hear the pink noise outside the speakers the pictured cone was almost the exact opposite of my speaker placement cone. At this point I contacted uB and Cole Boillat promptly got back to me. After talking about speaker placement, he suggested trying between 20 and 30 degrees. After awhile I decided that 28 degrees worked the best.

At 28 degrees I would occasionally get sound beside my ears but I think this software is very music dependent and even though my speakers have the perfect triangle my right speaker is 2 feet from the wall and an acoustic panel whereas my right speaker is six which might effect the software performance.

After it was dialed in uB gave me a nice live concert hall ambiance that I found very pleasant. No ,I didn’t get a regular “sonic hologram “ but others might have a different experience depending upon their speakers and listening room. I would love to hear what other user’s experience.