I Used Tone Controls Yesterday.

My preamp has no tone controls....lucky me!

 

I'm always fiddling. If something isn't bright enough, I normally re-eq it to my taste.

 

How is a girlfriend different than a phonograph record? A girlfriend can be both FLAT ~and~ WARPED! (rimshot)

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Back to the topic at hand, I can't "bypass" the tone control circuitry on my 50 year oldd McIntosh. So, on that one stereo, I do use the tone controls occasionally.

Please recommend one for us while we're on the subject!

 

I know good things have been spoken about GML (Massenberg) and the other one that escapes my mind at the moment that has the colored knobs.

I looked into those a while back, and have had the idea on the back burner to get one of those units. But those are rather expensive for most folks around here.

I still want a pro one, for the approaching day when I start needledropping. I am almost finished with my wire and cabling.

If there were an affordable parametric ($1k or less, used market included) that was properly transparent when disengaged, I'd love to hear about it.

ccm

 

I haven't had tone controls for a long time, and now I don't even think about them. If an a spect of a record annoys me, and if it's a perceived tonal imbalance, so be it. That's the way the record is.

 

And your room is perfect? Your speakers absolutely neutral?

 

Right now when I needledrop I'll use Audition to record to my PC and use its onboard parametric to fine-tune my work. And boy, Steve is right, you can really "slice and dice" the sound to your liking with so many frequency bands to work with. It can be confusing.

 

What strikes me funny are the complaints of masterings that have too much bottom end or smiley faced. How do you change this if you don't use your tone controls?

 

Heathen.

 

Don't quite get your point. I've long since arrived at apoint where I accept my sysyem as it is, the most realistic sound I can get. I don't want to be tinkering with tonal balance for every record I listen to.

 

Get a better mastering.

 

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Or two.

"Just because I've discovered what those two knobs do to sound does not mean I'll stop buying remastered albums", says the Heathen.

 

Let's make sure the tone controls are not touched again...

 

..which are readily available for purchase...

 

And where's the listening pleasure?

I think many of you actually don't want to use tone knobs because you are supossed NOT to use them, you know, "you are an audiophile so you can't use tone controls", no matter you'd really like to use them sometimes

I've found many audiophiles who really show off themselves rather than listen to music. I've found many audiophiles who really "listen" to music based on other audiophiles' opinions

That's not true listening pleasure

 

I love flexibility. I can roll tubes in my preamp, in my amp (input, output, rectifier and two regulation stages!), in one of my SACD players, and I can select from five upsampling filters on my DAC as well as (what I mostly do) use it non-oversampling, and change phase from the preamp or the phono preamp.

A flexible system has been my biggest weapon in the battle against bad mastering.

 

I do that on my G-8000 as well. I even use an eq. in that system-it is in a bedroom with JBL L5 speakers. It also provides music for the speakers outside by the hot tub.

It works plus it was what I had in college many moons ago.

 

You said "that's the way the record is", but I'll betcha it's not. Room and speakers add coloration. Tone controls, in some cases, when used properly could get you closer to "how the record is".

(ps - what do you think the RIAA curve is?)

 

Those audiophiles aren't likely to spend much time here as this is primarily a music forum. The listening pleasure is at an all-time high at my place and the last thing I'd ever want (or need) would be an equalizer or tone controls. The electronics in my system are very well designed as are the speakers. I doubt that the answer is ever tone controls, even with entry level gear.

I was pretty certain that SH wrapped this topic up several pages ago. LOL.

 

Not so easy to do on my copy of Naked Eyes "Fuel For The Fire" or The Sun and The Moon's S/T. There is only one mastering / release in existence.

(I bring these up on purpose as their EQ, when playing as neutral as I can, is a bit "off" imo.)

 

Nope. After you go to a quality system that has no tone controls and you live with it for a long time, your ears get trained to be sensitive to the kinds of distortions that tone controls impart.

And I have found that a lot of people like to view audiophiles in ways like this for their own less-than-wonderful reasons.

Equating adding broadband distortion with increased listening pleasure is a strange concept to those who seek to minimize it.

ccm

 

I hide my tone controls when my audiophile friends come over.

 

most pointless exercise ever...do whatever it takes to make it sound good to your ears, that's all that matters, the room, gear, the actual recording, your ears on a day to day, the mix/EQ, the equipment used by the musicians, the mastering and so on how can anyone define what is neutral and flat given so many variables, it's impossible, I know I'd like to work some magic on the new Rush or Van Halen, screw neutral that sound needs help pronto