BACCH4Mac is a bundle of four components:

  1. Theoretica’s BACCH-dSP software   
  2. BACCH-BM binaural microphone
  3. RME’s Babyface Pro FS
  4. Webcam (optional)

designed to take the imaging of your 2-channel audiophile system to the ultimate level of spatial realism.

1. BACCH-dSP

BACCH-dSP is a 3D audio powerhouse application for mixing and rendering 3D binaural audio over loudspeakers and headphones.

At the heart of BACCH-dSP is BACCH® 3D Sound, a proprietary technology developed at Princeton University that allows the listener to experience stunning virtual reality 3D imaging using only two loudspeakers.

It is the same technology that lies at the heart of Theoretica's critically acclaimed audio processor, the BACCH-SP.

The optional webcam lets you take advantage of BACCH-dSP’s advanced head-tracking for real-time dynamic sweet spot adjustment for seamless 3D audio over a wide range of listener locations.

To learn more about BACCH® 3D Sound see our FAQ page and the press reviews.

Learn more about BACCH-dSP...

2. BACCH-BM

The BACCH-BM are high-fidelity in-ear binaural microphones designed and built by Theoretica in Princeton, NJ, USA. With performance characterstics similar to Theoretica's flagship binaural microphone product, the BACCH-BM Pro, the BACCH-BM are used to generate personalized digital filters for BACCH® 3D Sound.

Simply plug the microphones into the Babyface Pro audio interface, perform a quick and easy calibration with BACCH-dSP that takes just a few seconds, and you're ready to experience BACCH® 3D Sound.

While the BACCH-BM are used for calibrating the BACCH4Mac system, they are also ideal for creating your own personalized binaural recordings. They require 48V phantom power, come with washable earbuds, and are individually equalized to generate a perfectly flat frequency response across the entire audio spectrum.

(The BACCH-BM is not inclcuded in the Intro Edition of BACCH4Mac. The product shown in the photo on the right is the BACCH-BM Pro. The regular BACCH-BM looks identical to the Pro version with the exception that it has slightly larger microphone capsules, and has a flat frequency response that extends to 20 kHz.)

3. Babyface Pro FS

The Babyface Pro FS is a high-quality audio interface designed and built by RME in Germany. In BACCH4Mac, it is used to interface the BACCH-BM microphones with your Mac.

It can also be used as a digital or analog receiver. It has an optical SPDIF input (up to 192 kHz) to connect your preferred digital source (such as a digital audio streamer/server), and even has line level TRS inputs for your phono stage. Now you can experience your vinyl in breathtaking 3D.

You can choose to use the Babyface Pro FS's built in D-to-A converters and connect directly to your amplifier or powered speakers, or you can connect to your own DAC via USB or TOSLINK. The Babyface Pro supports sampling rates up to 192 kHz.

For more analog I/O, AES/EBU and S/PDIF coax I/O see the upgrade to the RME Fireface UCX II in the Otions table below.

The Babyface Pro FS is not inclcuded in the Intro Edition of BACCH4Mac.

BACCH4Mac Configuration Options

Input:  
Output:  
BACCH4Mac Editions
BACCH4Mac Pro BACCH4Mac Audiophile+ BACCH4Mac Audiophile BACCH4Mac Intro*
Full functionality for audio professionals and technically-savvy audiophiles. Customized 3D imaging over 2 loudspeakers and headphones for discerning audiophiles. Customized 3D imaging over loudspeakers for discerning audiophiles. 3D imaging over loudspeakers. (Softwar- only Product.)
Includes customized 3D audio rendering over a pair loudspeakers or headphones, head tracking, advanced diagnostics, 3D audio mixing, and binaural audio content creation. Includes customized 3D audio rendering over a pair of loudspeakers or headphones, and head tracking. Includes customized 3D audio rendering over a pair of loudspeakers, based on acoustic measurements, and head tracking. Includes 3D audio rendering over a pair of loudspeakers, based on tape measurements of listening geometry.
Features
BACCH® 3D Sound over speakers based on tape measurements (u-BACCH)
Customized BACCH® 3D Sound over speakers based on acoustic measurements (BACCH)
Head tracking for speakers listening
BACCH® 3D Sound over headphones (BACCH-hp)
Head tracking for BACCH-hp
Advanced headphones equalization (BACCH-hp-eq)
3D Mixer (BACCH-3dm)
Up-to-4th-order HOA (Higher-Order-Ambisonic) to binaural rendering and 3D sound field navigation (BACCH-hoa)
Advanced diagnostics and filter design tools
One year of technical support and BACCH-dSP app upgrades
Babyface Pro FS
BACCH-BM Binaural Microphone
$6,980 $5,980 $4,980 $980

* The Intro edition does not come with any hardware and produces only u-BACCH filters, which give 3D sound over loudpseakers (with no head tracking) based on the user's input of two tape measuremets of the listening geometry. u-BACCH filters come close to the performance of regular BACCH filters, which rely on acoustic measuremts using the BACCH-BM in-ear mic, if the loudspeakers are well-matched in frequency and phase.

— The Audiophile, Audiophile+ and Pro edtions ship within 4 weeks —
OPTIONS
BACCH-ORC: Room Correction Module (optional)**
BACCH-BM Pro Upgrade (optional)***
Webcam (optional)
RME Fireface UCX II Upgrade (optional)†
Pre-Configured Mac Mini M2 (optional)††
**BACCH-ORC is the most advanced room correction technology today. Unlike any other commercially available room correction system, BACCH-ORC relies on quick in-ear (binaural) acoustic measurements, millimeter-resolution head tracking, and cutting-edge algorithms derived from years of psychoacoustic research, to produce and apply individualized optimal room correction (ORC) filters that elevate any stereo loudspeaker playback system to its ultimate level of transparency. (Available only for the Audiophile Edition and above.)
Click here to learn more about BACCH-ORC.
*** The BACCH-BM Pro offers unmatched characteristics for its size and is ideal for high-fidelity master binaural recordings
† Upgrade from the bundled RME Babyface Pro audio interface to the RME Fireface UCX II, which offers (in addition to the S/PDIF Toslink, and stereo analog I/O that come with the Babyface Pro FS) a stereo S/PDIF I/O Coax, a stereo AES/EBU I/O, and 2 additional stereo analog I/O. This upgarde is needed only for systems having more than one analog stereo source, or requiring more than one stereo analog output (e.g. for using the multi-channel output of BACCH-dSP's X-over crossover module), or a stereo AES/EBU or S/PDIF coax I/O. Most BACCH4Mac users use an outboard USB DAC and need only the bundled BabyFace Pro (to get the BACCH-BM microphone signal to the BACCH-dSP application).
† † Apple Mac Mini M2 chip with 8‑core CPU, 10‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine, 16GB unified memory, 256 GB SSD storage, 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The price does NOT include that of the installed BACCH4Mac software, which is a separate item in the table above. (No keyboard, mouse, monitor, or any other peripherals, are included.)
Upgrade Policy: Upgrades from one edition level (Intro, Audiophile, or Audiophile+) to any of the higher edition levels can be purchased at any time for the price difference between the levels. (Any BACCH4Mac system can be upgraded to the BACCH-SP processor for the price difference between the two.)
Computer Requirements: The BACCH-dSP application, which is at the heart of all BACCH4Mac editions, requires a recent Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, or MacBook Pro with a minimum of 8 GB of RAM (we recommend 16 GB). The latest version of BACCH-dSP (9.6) is fully compatible with Mac OS (14.x Sonoma), as well as all previous Mac OS versions down to, and including, 10.14 (Mojave). It is also fully compatible with all Mac computers that can run these operating systems, inlcuding the latest M1 and M2 Macs.
Technical Support & Version Update Service Policy: All BACCH4Mac editions now include free and time-unlimited tech support, and version updates, for the first year (starting on the date the license is activated). Extending tech support and version updates for subsequent years can be purchased at $248 per year for the Audiophile Edition and above, and $148 per year for the Intro Edition.
Initial Setup and Personalized Walkthrough Sessions : Unlike our BACCH-SP hardware processor, which has a detailed written manual, our software-based product, BACCH4Mac, does not have one as it would be impractical to write a manual that covers all possible configurations (OS settings, players, streaming protocols, drivers, input and output parameters, etc.) encountered in computer-based audio systems. Instead, we offer each BACCH4Mac user a time-unlimited personal walkthrough session remotely through the internet, with unlimited technical support. During such walkthrough sessions our technical staff personally assist users in configuring BACCH4Mac for their particular audio systems and show them how to make and apply BACCH filters. Although BACCH4Mac, once set up, is easy and intuitive to use, it is a very powerful and sophisticated application with many customizable features and settings, and all our customers find the remote walkthrough session(s) very helpful to quickly master the use of the application.

Return Policy: The BACCH4Mac Audiophile, Audiophile+ and Pro packages can be returned,  subject to a $200 handling and restocking fee, within 14 days from the shipping date if there is no functional or cosmetic damage to the hardware during the trial period. Shipping is covered by the customer. Theoretica offers full tech support during the trial period.

 

The BACCH4Mac Intro Edition (a software-only product), once purchased,  can be run in trial mode, with full functionality, for 14 days from software installation, and the purchase is fully refundable within 14 days from date of purchase, but once activated, or when the trial period ends, the purchase becomes unrefundable. Theoretica offers full tech support during the trial period.

For inquiries, please contact info@theoretica.us.


"This is likely one of the few major technological shifts in audio in the last 25 years."

Tom Martin, The Absolute Sound, January 2024