Life without tone controls ... it sucks!

Some of you are so out of control. Like the person up there saying that people are saying that tone controls are evil. Please quote someone saying that. All I see are people reasonably stating why they prefer to not use/have tone controls but people are acting as though we are stomping kittens.

 

Yep, this thread has likely run it's inevitable course and is ready for silence. Pretty sure no one from either side of this topic had been converted to join the other! Tune on!

 

One of my pet peeves is not having physical tone controls. Pretty much every new receiver for a home theater doesnt have physical knobs. Very annoying

 

Because the folks who don't use tone controls seem so very proud of themselves.

 

Unless you are using the same playback setup as the mastering engineer for every recording, you are not hearing an accurate playback. THAT IS A FACT!

 

Even if your set-up was perfect.Most recordings are not.Most are flawed in some way and many have too much/ not enough treble or bass..Tone controls can be invaluable in rebalancing less than perfect recordings.For example Donald Fagen's 'Nightfly' sounds far better with a touch more bass and a touch less treble..The only downside to tone controls is the less pure path from source to speakers.So i only use tone controls when needed then stick to 'Source Direct' when they are not needed.

 

I prefer subtractive EQ when both mixing and listening to music. Midrange needs a little boost .. cut the hi and low end a little.

 

I don't always use my tone controls but when I need to,I do. I don't like "not" being able to make adjustments because the manufacturer deemed it unnecessary for me to do so. Makes me feel like I have one hand tied behind my back.

 

I'll never understand these discussions about trying to manage tone.

 

Many have no problem using cables to supposedly tame hot treble or choosing tube amplification for a pleasing distortion characteristic (which I like, BTW), but, if only for the sake of the children, no KNOBS! You may be opposed to tone controls, but there are audiophile -approved ways to achieve exactly the same effect. Hard to see the difference.

 

Dude, I have been where you are and have tried many things. Tone controls, EQ's, etc. I have had issues on and off with my gear as I have moved up in the $$ value of components over time. I would research then replace with better equipment. For me what has worked the best and most is cables. Many see it as snake oil, but I am a believer. I am an analyst for a living and REALLY OCD, so when it comes to my hobbies, I am all in. Several years ago I began replacing my interconnect cables with Audioquest. I learned that not all cables will provide the same result, so I played around with them. For example I found the AQ Sydney was brighter in sound than the Big Sur using it with a CD player. However, the Sydney provided the most range and depth. Which one did I want to use? Not all CD players are the same as you know - swapping out cables makes for a big change. The last thing I changed was change my speaker cable. After dropping semi-serious money on gear, on paper it should sound better than it did. I realized I had the same speaker wire for the entire time I built my system. I sold that off and bought new and voila, no more harshness. As our host has done, I refuse to use tone controls. Being OCD and a purist, I want to hear the recordings without adding or subtracting anything. My goal with building my system is like I do at my job - continue to find the weak link. Once you determine the weak link, you will then have another weak link. It never stops but at some point, you will arrive in a good spot. You will know you can do better, but as many here on the forum will tell you, enjoy the music! Not sure if this helps, but don't give up.

 

Wrong assumption-the point is about what sounds best to our ears-- but regardless, who are you to say what is accurate and what isn't anyway?? As soon as you move your head the signal is different from where it was. The dog walks in the room it is different. You put a different set of cables in it is different from what you had. The cartridge gets to the inner groove of an LP, and the signal is different from what it was at the beginning. You open a window and the signal is different. The list goes on and on and on...

Cripes. Have fun beating your dead horse!

 

Jesus, people. Buy gear that has the features you want and StFU.

 

From reading this thread it seems the opposite is true. Why don't you tally up the people making remarks like yours vs the people making snarky remarks about how great life is without tone controls.

 

You're one of the few.

 

Today I shaved -0.5 db off the treble and switched over to my receiver's DAC which widens the soundstage but recedes the midrange vocals into the image while listening to the Blondie Parallel Lines remaster CD. It helped. I definitely didn't feel the need to use either of those options right before when playing the original CD of Fleetwood Mac's Tango In the Night. For me in my room, choice is good.

 

For me tone controls are not an option. Having OCD i'd never be able to relax and stop fiddling with them.

 

0.5dB? Really?

 

That's what is taught in audio engineering school.

 

I find a passive is clean, a bit like a camera well focused,
I find tone controls blur the focus .
But also each to their own!
My own theory is that something is seriously wrong if you constantly need
Tonal correction!

 

I haven't used them for decades either. I feel like it degrades the sound but it could be my imagination. Anyway, I don't listen to music and really think about the overall EQ curve, especially with so much to reference all the time.

 

I don't understand this. If you cut the low and hi a little, perceived total volume goes down, so you increase the volume knob, and end up in the same place as boosting the midrange and lowering the volume slightly.

 

Well, usually I don't inject deep scientific data, but this is such a critical personal decision, I want to try to clarify just how effective tone controls can be in a truly high end system, so I conducted some critical blind testing, and offer these scientific findings to finally put to rest the tone control question. As I wanted the most realistic sound, I chose the highly acclaimed Realistic STA-800 Receiver, coupled with the United Home Audio UHA-HQ Phase ll 15 ips tape deck, with only the finest original master tapes from different sources. With tone controls set at 12 o'clock using the Wilson MAXX speakers and tone controls set "full blow" maxed out with the Bose 201 speakers, only 2 people in the group could tell any difference between the Wison MAXX and the Bose 201 proves the power of tone controls, we just can't argue with science!

 

How loud and what kind of music? Try AC DC loud at 90+ db average volume and see if anyone can't notice the difference in bass hits. : )

 

Yep. Perhaps it was the DAC switch that counted more. I will have to check next time I play Blondie.