Bybees

[Rare Bird]

It can be lethal stuff that Beryllium,they use it in Microwave oven magnetron's..

[The Black Adder]

Well, Mark Bartlett (from Audiocom International) sells Bybees. He told me about them, and his rather positive findings, from using them inside DACs, at critical points in the circuit. I was rather sceptical, as I generally dislike using 'in-line' filters anywhere in my system, due to the risk of filtering out some of the music, along with any claimed noise.

However, he was rather insistent of their efficacy, and so sent me one to try, about 2 years ago, on a 'return if you think its bollocks' basis. I asked him where he thought it would likely have most effect, and he suggested fitting it at the final point of my DAC's output stage. I kept it for a while until Anthony (TD) was due to visit who, up until then, was a similar sceptic of such devices.

First of all we listened to the DAC 'as is', using a familiar piece of music. It sounded great, as usual. Then Anthony soldered the Bybee filter, in-line with the signal at the point just before where it reaches the coaxial output stage of the DAC. We then connected everything up again, and sat back and listened, not really sure of what to expect...

Well, without going into too much detail, the difference heard was certainly quite marked, and so easily noticed. What happened was that the music appeared to emerge from a quieter backdrop, due to a perceived reduction in 'grain', thus allowing voices and instruments greater prominence in the mix, through improving definition, and in turn increasing their 'intelligibility', which in my experience is generally what happens when one has (subjectively) improved signal integrity. Anthony was also in agreement, and in fact rather shocked at the level of improvement gained!

The upshot was that all music played through the DAC, with the Bybee fitted, was significantly more enjoyable and rewarding to listen to, on all levels, therefore it has remained in its position ever since.

I discussed the possibility of getting more of them, to install in other parts of the circuit. However, Anthony advised against this, as he felt that the significant sonic improvement gained was most likely to have occurred due to the critical nature of where the Bybee had been fitted inside the DAC, and so installing more of them elsewhere, in less critical areas, would unlikely provide such a large improvement and possibly 'over-egg the pudding', as it were. Therefore, I have left things as they are.

There is no doubt therefore, for me, that Bybees do have an audible effect, which in my system was beneficial. As ever, though, results may vary elsewhere. However, for the cost of simply installing one, in the critical area I have outlined inside a DAC, I'd say that it is worth it, given that the level of sonic improvement gained was more significant than I've experienced from considerably more expensive 'off-board' filters - and even from some complete PSUs!

Hope this helps

Thanks Marco.

Same here, I hate forced secondary filters unless they are designed or properly compatible.

I did actually have a chat with Mark about updating my DAC a few months ago and he suggested these to which I knew nothing about. I didn't know you had one in your dac though so this might be an interesting thing. He suggested to try one on the positive line after the PSU.

Reading up on these on the net, lol.. apparently it can be lethal stuff that Beryllium,they use it in Microwave oven magnetron's. And although I always thought that up until today a Magnetron was something out of Buck Rodgers.. Biddy, Biddy.

Food for thought. Although if the dissection of the one on DIYAudio is true I find it hard to believe that reputable places like Audiocom would sell or even suggest them. I don't know enough about the internals of these to pass any judgement so trying one might be worth a go.

My Dac is a lovely one and love it to bits. So other upgrades come in the form of an external PSU, updated caps and opamps. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

[Marco]

I did actually have a chat with Mark about updating my DAC a few months ago and he suggested these to which I knew nothing about. I didn't know you had one in your dac though so this might be an interesting thing. He suggested to try one on the positive line after the PSU.

Food for thought. Although if the dissection of the one on DIYAudio is true I find it hard to believe that reputable places like Audiocom would sell or even suggest them. I don't know enough about the internals of these to pass any judgement so trying one might be worth a go.

No worries, Joe. I can only comment on what both Anthony and I clearly heard, after at first being highly dubious that any improvement would have been gained. Anthony, in particular, is usually dead against using these sorts of things, as they tend to act as a 'bandage', not as a genuine 'fix', which at that point also mirrored my own experience.

Therefore, it seems unlikely that we were victims of any (positive) expectation bias

We also continued listening to various different examples of familiar music that evening, and all had clearly benefited from the Bybee upgrade. If you're curious, my advice would be to try just one, wherever Mark considers it being most effective, and see what you think!

Marco.

[Mr. C]

I have been using them as OE fitment for around 10 years, and yes I have measured them too, I agree with Simon no appreciable difference in measurement of the component at all.

However the have a well pleasing effect on the overall sound quality.

Best results use on earth's, digital grounds, clock grounds, analogue grounds, digital signal stages, speakers. Also great in PC power supplies too.

You can get carried away with these, however strategically placed they do bring a smile to your face.

As with everything in audio YMMV and I'm sure the anti foo squad will descend on this thread with all guns blazing, I actually use them in my own personal system and have done for a good 10 years.

[Marco]

I have been using them as OE fitment for around 10 years, and yes I have measured them too, I agree with Simon no appreciable difference in measurement of the component at all.

Possibly because you were (quite naturally) only measuring for what you are able to measure, and what you thought needed measuring, using the test equipment currently available for that purpose, rather than perhaps what should've been measured, using the test equipment *actually* required for the job, which is possibly currently unavailable....?

It's this notion that ALL aspects of our understanding of audio are already a 'done deal', based solely on what we currently know and accept, that I find both overly-simplistic and likely the result of (rather misplaced) wishful thinking.

That's why it often pays to have the confidence to say: 'bugger the measurements', and trust yer lugholes instead!!

Marco.

[synsei]

The original Mk1 Lughole, the best test instrument of all

[The Black Adder]

When I've everything else sorted I'll give one a go.

It will be included within a few other ideas I've got for the DAC so should be good.

[Marco]

The original Mk1 Lughole, the best test instrument of all

As the final arbiter, yes!

Marco.

[losenotaminute]

As the final arbiter, yes!

Marco.

Hi Marco,

But how do you make allowance for the placebo effect? Surely there has to be a point where you say that if you really don't believe it should make a difference then any perceived improvement could be placebo? My system sometimes sounds great and sometimes just good, I have no real idea why as there are so many variables involved, and that's without changing any components or tweaking anything.....

Lawrence

[Marco]

Hi Lawrence,

But how do you make allowance for the placebo effect? Surely there has to be a point where you say that if you really don't believe it should make a difference then any perceived improvement could be placebo? My system sometimes sounds great and sometimes just good, I have no real idea why as there are so many variables involved, and that's without changing any components or tweaking anything.....

Good question, which is why I highlighted the word "final". This was done deliberately to stress that one's ears are only 'trusted' after all other relevant and available avenues (to you) have been exhausted, in an attempt to 'prove' or 'disprove' the existence of a particular phenomenon.

Of course, in such circumstances, the placebo effect could be very real, but at the end of the day it comes down to how convinced and confident you are, using your own judgement criteria (objective or subjective) as the arbiter, that what you're hearing is real - so whilst placebo effect/expectation bias MUST be always be taken into consideration when assessing these things, and before reaching a final conclusion, it needn't necessarily be the defining factor that explains what you've genuinely experienced

Marco.