BackSID

[eightbit]

Since I don't think Evie's products get nearly enough attention, I wanted to point out BackSID which is a modern and economical SID replacement:

 

https://store.backbit.io/product/backsid/

 

I recently built a clone C64 and was using the ARMSID (which is also great!) but ordered one of these because I was interested AND you know they say "two SID's are better than one"....do they say that? Well, I say that.

 

Anyhow, this SID replacement is GREAT. Luckily I WFH and can mess around all day on the C64 without my boss seeing. I have tested dozens of demos (including my own from the 90's) and dozens (probably more than a hundred really!) of games over the past week with the BackSID installed and I would be hard pressed to tell if this were a real SID or a reproduction had I not known. This chip is quite amazing. It's got a crisp and punchy sound. Well, at least with the settings I have set it to. You can run a neat little .prg that not only acts as a firmware update but also gives you a few options to make it be a 6581 or a 8580, or a "blend" of both. You can adjust filters and smoothing and it supports POTs.

 

I give it a big thumbs up. I'd rather buy this for $32 versus a real SID that may be on its last legs for double or more.

 

 

Edited February 17 by eightbit

[+evg2000]

yep, and they have great products and excellent support

[tuf]

7 hours ago, eightbit said:

I recently built a clone C64 and was using the ARMSID (which is also great!) but ordered one of these because I was interested AND you know they say "two SID's are better than one"....do they say that? Well, I say that.

 

As the now owner of your previous ARMSID, I'm wondering how they compare?  I've got the ARMSID along with a real SID in my U64 but was thinking about moving the real SID back to my real 64.

 

[eightbit]

13 hours ago, tuf said:

 

As the now owner of your previous ARMSID, I'm wondering how they compare?  I've got the ARMSID along with a real SID in my U64 but was thinking about moving the real SID back to my real 64.

 

 

The ARMSID is definitely more compatible at least with digitized sound via REU. For example, the audio on bad reception TV stuff on the BackSID is not listenable. Even using the FPGA SID on the Ultimate II it is not listenable. It is just a scratchy mess. But, the ARMSID does it properly. That said, if you are not watching low resolution bad reception C64 commercials I don't think that matters

 

The BackSID options are a bit simpler via the app, but I actually like that. The sound is punchy...and really crisp. To my ears it sounds a bit better than the ARMSID. The funny thing is the video reviews online I have seen always have it sounding muffled, but that is only because the reviewers are leaving the "soft" option on in the BackSID smoothing settings. When I set it to smoothing to "neat", filter to "6581" and overdrive to "low" it is quite perfect. 

 

Another thing I have noticed is no "SID buzz". On a real SID the audio IN is always open. Not something most people use...I never used the audio in function of the SID. Since it is not implemented in the BackSID this issue is not an issue. There are lots of people out there that have been modding the C64 motherboard to close/ground the audio in, but with the BackSID you don't have to do that.

 

The BackSID in short is fantastic. Sounds clean and crisp and just really really good. Evie did one heck of a job on this.

[RobertB]

21 hours ago, eightbit said:

Since I don't think Evie's products get nearly enough attention, I wanted to point out BackSID which is a modern and economical SID replacement...

And the BackSID has gotten better and better through the years, as evidenced by its firmware revisions' list at

 

http://backbit.io/downloads/Firmware/BackSID/Revisions.txt

 

The newest firmware being from January 24, 2024,

Robert Bernardo

Fresno Commodore User Group - http://www.dickestel.com/fcug.htm

Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network - http://www.portcommodore.com/sccan

April 13-14 Commodore Los Angeles Super Show 2024 - http://www.portcommodore.com/class

[eightbit]

Just now, RobertB said:

And the BackSID has gotten better and better through the years, as evidenced by its firmware revisions' list at

 

http://backbit.io/downloads/Firmware/BackSID/Revisions.txt

 

 

 

Thanks for pointing this out Robert. Evie really supports the products she makes. If you have a problem and reach out she'll fix it if it is possible. I have reached out to her many times regarding little issues with the BackBit cartridge on various consoles and she always responds within a day (usually more like an hour or so) and had resolved any issue I had. Good support goes a long way in my book and keeps me as a loyal customer.