Life without tone controls ... it sucks!

Old post but still - I agree with this!

 

Anyone still use volume controls?

Unless your system source/amp and most importantly, your ears and speakers, sound exactly the same at every volume level, from very low, to low, to "normal" and then higher and highest listening levels, you are using a "TONE CONTROL".

And, if it does, I either want your system or your ears.

 

Except you're not injecting the nasties of tone controls into your listening...

 

If they were so nasty why would companies like Yamaha and many others even dare to provide sound killing controls on their products?

 

Hmmm...unless you have a box full of cables labeled accordingly (bright, warm, etc) and you enjoy changing the cables out between recordings...I guess you are right.

Just one question...who is the master of ordaining "Audiophile approved ways" this guy?

 

If it sounds "perfect" within a given range and "not perfect" outside of that range, there is no need to insert "nasty" tone controls to make your "perfect" system, "imperfect", as the system and your ears are already replacing the "nasty" tone controls, with their own form of sonic imperfections.

Which brings me to another point. How many people find the "perfect" volume level and "always" listen to everything at that level? It might seem to me, that from a strictly "technically" point of view, would be the most "audiophile" correct way of playing back recorded music.

It would also be the most defensible. You could never be wrong, if you always did things the "audiophile" correct way.

I know that sometimes I will be listening to music and it will seem a bit on the dull side, no "sparkle" to it. I usually turn up the volume control a bit more and suddenly there is life and sparkle in the music.

Sometimes, a vocal will come on after an instrumental, the voice is a bit too loud and takes on that "harsh" quality, I simply back off the volume a bit and everything is all right in the world again.

But wait!, What if you don't have ANY tone controls, because most modern "audiophile" equipment, lacks them, from a point of "audiophile" correctness?

I know, that I must be an audiophile, because none of my modern audiophile amps have tone controls, like the consumer products do.

But, what if I am a closet audiophile, one who desires tone controls and does not have them? I'm left to constantly fiddle with the volume knob, just because I don't have any tone controls to adjust.

Suddenly, that seems ever so wrong.

 

I had the honor of meeting him once. I was visiting Greece and I saw a big mountain, and decided to climb to the top, which was above the level of the clouds. He was sitting on a large stone chair, gazing down at all of the audiophiles on earth down below.

I think I remember him saying that his name was Zu.

I was in a temple like structure and he sat at the far end, directly in the center. As I gazed around, I saw that there were other, smaller stone chairs, they were evenly placed around the perimeter, facing inward, like his.

There were others sitting quietly in each of those chairs. Each chair had what appeared to be a single large red button on the arm of each chair.

He noticed that I was gazing at the others, with questioning eyes. He quietly spoke and said that these were his children.

They were known to audiokind as Gorts.

 

LOL...

Was the temple filled with magic audiophile crystals?

Audiophile Rocks

 

I don't remember seeing any crystals, but there were what looked like green sharpie's and glistening thick snake-like cables hanging between the columns.

 

Thank you for this link! I plan to order two pair of their Star XLR interconnects (made of wood and crystals). Great price! I hope they accept Bitcoin.

 

Seriously? Commercial audio companies - even moderately decent ones - have been incorporating varying degrees of cheap tools and gimmicks that deteriorate the audio signal since practically the beginning of commercial audio equipment.

 

Wait a minute! There was some sort of alter at this Zu guy's feet, there was a golden bowl sitting on the alter. It was filled with objects, like those in your link. At the time, I just figured that they were some kind of jelly beans intended for the audiophile gods.

 

Right you are!

But now days, "commercial" audio companies - even moderately indecent ones - have successfully incorporated varying degrees of expensive tools and gimmicks that don't really serve any real practical purpose, related to their expense, that deteriorate the audio signal, and have taken the art of deception to even grater levels and are even more cherished by consumers who proudly purchase them, from audio salesman wearing blue polo shirts.

 

Even these gimmicky basterds

 

When a company designs a product, it is usually to fit somewhere in the market place.

Even thirty to forty years ago, before tone controls were destined to be banished from the audiophile world, in other words, a time when tone controls were still popular among audiophiles, forward thinking company's realized that they were not a necessary feature for everyone.

Not to force unwanted features on their buying public, manufacturer's began incorporating tone bypass switches, if someone did not desire to have tone controls in the signal path, with a push of a button, woosh, they were gone.

Kind of a clever idea, they are there, use them if you like them or not if you don't.

Is there a negative here that I'm not getting?

 

Yes. Even my old Pioneer 7 fiddy has tone bypass. Good point.

 

I was just thinking about all the thread crapping here.

Let's say the thread title was "Life Without Yoko Ono Music ... It Suck's!"

That would be an obvious "pro" Yoko Ono thread.

Now, if I were to come along and post something contrary to the spirit of the thread, what would happen?

That's right, I would be called on the carpet for thread crapping.

Now, every time someone starts one of those audiophile snake oil threads, like "how many out there like [insert audiophile snake oil product here]?" and someone comes along and makes a post with regard to common scientific principals and plain old common sense, they are reminded, that if they wish to post about anti snake oil, that they should start their own thread, because this is a pro audio snake oil thread.

I gather, by the thread title, that it was intended for people to post about their support for tone controls. And, perhaps, explain bout the wonderful benefits of using tone controls in their systems.

I say this, as the pro tone control camp is already well aware of the audiophile naysayers who dislike the use of tone controls, quoting the same reasons over and over again.

For those who are against the use of tone controls, we dearly understand that you dislike putting something in your precious signal path.

So, please DON'T, we really do understand, there is really no need for further explanation.

And for those who preach the evils of turning a tone control knob. Please relax and take a deep breath, the world as we know it, will not come to an end, as the saying goes, the sun will come up tomorrow.

Just got an idea for a song about tone controls and the sun coming up tomorrow...

Since we leave the use of tone controls up to the audio amateur's who use them, rest assured, that they are doing it within the safety of their own homes and at their own risk! Users of tone controls understand and acknowledge the risk of damaging the song that they are listening to, and accept the possibility that said damaged song might be forever remembered in their mind. They are willing to accept these risks.

The intervention of the audio nannies is entirely unnecessary.

Audio nannies, we appreciate your input, but go in peace, please!

S&G

 

I found this on YouTube and it seems appropriate for this thread...

 

Tone control or equaliser is not for adjusting gear but to correct for records or CD's. If all records/CD's were perfect you dont need any controls.
However adjusting gear is also handy, loudspeakers differ in sound. Go study tone controls and you will understand there is no sound degradation involved, being a purist oke but dont go too far.

 

I can't go tweakless.

It also has to do with my meager gear.

 

That is too funny for words!

What is funny to myself personally is...

I listen to streaming Internet with Pandora One. I don't have any issues with Pandora itself, but...

Every time there is a slight glitch in the Internet, the music stops streaming.

When this happens, I have to go back to my Sony streaming box and go through a lengthy process of reestablishing a connection to the Internet and get back to where I was.

You think that it would happen automatically, but nooooo.

Even then, I get a message that I have access to the local network and Internet, I navigate to select Pandora and when I hit the select button, I get a message, telling me that the box is checking for the network, I try this a few times and then I unplug the power supply from the box and start over again.

Since I have to move the box to disconnect the power, because there was not a $1.49 power switch accessible front of the box, I have to pull the box out a bit, to pull the power plug from the back of the box and disconnect and reconnect it to reset the box, so that I can start over and repeat this process.

Of course, in the process of pulling the box out, the optical cable from the digital box, falls out and slides behind the TV stand. After preforming this task a few times, I finally result to painter's tape to fix the optical cable connector in place.

After doing this, sometimes, if the god's are willing, I can get the streaming music player back to streaming music.

This sounds like the radio skit that you posted (only it is real, though it should not be!).

I keep thinking, that back in the 60's everyone had a table radio that was on their kitchen table, it had small signal tubes that lasted forever. When you wanted to listen to the radio, you turned it on. The volume switch, was the radio 0n/off switch, you turned up the volume knob, to where you remembered it should be and the AM radio, started playing as soon as the tubes warmed up, on the last radio station that you had tuned the radio to.

Seeing the kitchen radio, even before playing the YouTube audio/video, reminded me of what I had been going through, just trying to play streaming music.

 

Which is my point exactly. Fix the hardware and fix the room, because tone controls aren't the solution!

 

Go listen to tone controls you you will hear there is sound degradation involved.

 

Cheap, fast, and easy. Obviously there is a market.

 

Point is tonal correction comes at a price; tone controls correct some issues and introduce others. IME the pros outweigh the cons.

Hilarious !!!!!