TACT RCS 2.0 Users Group

I am a big believer in DSP correction. I had the Tact unit in my system for a week comparing it to the Sigtech. I believe that one of the greatest short comings of the Tact unit is insufficient instrumentation power built into the unit to effectively set it up without hours of trial and error. To start with, several of the Tact correction curves have ridiculous bass boosts below 30HZ. But more importantly when I measured the in room response with independent professional real time analysis equipment, what the Tact displayed as the correction curve did not track the measured frequency response. The Sigtech did. By fiddling around and iteratively using the real time equipment to take frequent measurements, I did get a decent correction curve from the Tact although I strongly prefer the Sigtech. However, set up for the Sigtech was accomplished in 2 hours using the supplied Sigtech instrumentation. I’m afraid that most Tact users will not be able to get the optimum performance out of their units due to the challenges of set-up. I believe that Tact should offer additional set-up processing power or a service as does Sigtech. The speakers I use are Dunlavy SC-V’s

I agree completely with PLS1. If Tact would add the ability to run an impulse signal (like the SigTech does) through the filter to see if you get the actual corrected measurements you think you should have, it would allow the user to actually get closer to a desired target through an interative process. Since I have a SigTech as well, I can use it for that purpose but most folks are not going to have that luxury (there is some third party software that can be run from a PC that could serve the purpose)

I also agree that it is nowhere near the SigTech in sound quality. The SigTech does a MUCH BETTER job of presenting an even spectral balance and does a much better job of correcting high frequency anamolies. It just sounds much more like live music through the SigTech. To be fair, however, the Tact cost a lot less. For $3000 for the basic unit, you do get a digital preamp and room correction. If the SigTech did not exist, I could be happy with the Tact because it sure beats not having any room correction at all.

I used to think the SigTech user interface for setup was ugly. However, after playng with the Tact (which won't work on my laptop as I can't see the whole screen and there are no scroll bars !!!)I have decided that the SigTech is not so bad after all. It appears to me that the Tact user interface was designed by engineers for engineers and there is a lot of "gobbledygook" that does not need to be there. Maybe the next release of the software will address some of these issues.

I agree that the set-up documentation and proceedure listed in the Tact users guide needs alot of work. I also have the TacT 2.0 DA. I use a Sony 9000ES for a transport through a Harmonic Tech digital coax cable to the Tact. The Tact analog output then goes through my VAC Standard Ltd. Ed. preamp. The VAC PA100/100 tube amp drives Von Sch. VR5's.

I've tried various eq. curves with different room correction tests. The sound changes with each time I perform a correction session. I'm not even sure I've done the proceedure correctly. I'm sure that if I spend another 20-50hrs. I would be able to improve further on the sound, which right now is the best I've ever heard from my speakers. Before I bought the Tact I was considering buying a different kind of speaker to get the sound I wanted, but now I feel with enough tweeking I may be able to dial them in!

I have had a Tact 2.0 for about 6 months. All told, it has been a wonderful addition to my system. I can't bear to listen the system without the Tact running (and I thought my system sounded great BEFORE the Tact). The associated computer software for the Tact leaves much to be desired -- it's not even friendly to engineers such as myself with training in digital signal processing. I also wish that it were possible to do a post-compensation check of the equalized response. I also wish that the output format allowed for 24/96 given a 16/44.1 input... the scaling applied to the compensation filters appears to be overly conservative and can cause several bits of resolution loss (the scaling is why one has to back off the gain of the "bypassed" signal in order to level match a compensation channel with a bypassed channel). All in all, I think it's a breakthrough product for $3K, and it is real and here today, as opposed to other perpetually promised technologies. The other piece of hope is that Tact continues to refine the product through additional software releases. The application software running in the Tact box is downloadable from the PC that runs the compensation filter, so there may be potential for continued product improvement. Sure wish they'd fix their web site though...

I've had an RCS 2.0 for about 8 months, and have found it
to be the biggest improvement in my system of ANY component.
Maybe the A/D and D/A converters are not of Levinson 360S
quality, however I think they're decent, and the overall
improvement in sound is astounding. One problem with the
SigTech as I understand it is that you need a sound engineer
to come to your room with a signal generator and associated
equipment to obtain optimal results. That can get expensive.
At least with the TacT, I can do a measurement/adjustment in
a few minutes on my own.