Life without tone controls ... it sucks!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by albertoderoma, Mar 19, 2011.

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  1. ShallowMemory

    ShallowMemory Classical Princess

    Location:
    GB
    My amplifier has non defeatable tone controls so 99% of the time I keep them both at 12 o clock.
     
  2. McGruder

    McGruder Eternal Musicphile

    Location:
    Maryland
    I've always felt that there are unfortunately a lot of poorly recorded or mastered music out there that a tone control of some kind would tame.

    Audiophiles tend to look away from tone controls, because it adds something to the signal path which represents a potential degradation to the signal. Others want to hear the music from a flat reference, listening to the music as it was "intended" to be heard. Despite the prevalence of "purist" attitudes such as these, audiophiles still are left to swap cables, power chords, and expensive tubes to manipulate the sound characteristics of their system.

    I personally feel there's no wrong or right in how you get there. At the end of the day, we want to make the best of our investment in music, so more power to anyone using tone controls. Eventually I adopted the goal of building a system that would make the majority of my music collection sound good, and have succeeded with this to the point that I don't want tone controls in the signal path.
     
  3. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident

    I think we all also have widely varying abilities to hear or not hear anything that is tonally correct or not correct.

    Ive never actually "heard" noise or distortion added from a tone control circuit, as minor distortions of this kind are usually so tiny in comparison to the additive distortions of the Amp, pre-amp, speakers and especially the recording itself.

    To ME as a listener though, im immediately made aware of tiny changes in the frequency responce, the overall sound quality. That may be why I find it more beneficial to add or subtract a few db here or there on certain recordings etc.

    To a listener that is more acute as to resolution and tiny distortions and lacks the ability to notice slight frequency responce changes from neutral it wont matter to them.

    Remember we all pay attention to different things. Some are totally bothered by vinyl surface noise, some dont even think they hear it. We are all wired differently as to what "matters" to us sound wise, not so much only hearing ability.
     
  4. McGruder

    McGruder Eternal Musicphile

    Location:
    Maryland
    Well said !
     
  5. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    I only occasionally find myself adjusting the EQ - say on a K-tel compilation that has the bass frequencies rolled off or a recording where the mastering engineer decided to boost the upper-mids or highs to a fatiguing level, but I could NEVER go without any EQ controls whatsoever...it just helps some recordings too much. More power to the audiophiles who can listen to ALL recordings as is.

    That may be the first time I've agreed with one of your posts, Kevin! :eek: :laugh:
     
  6. drbryant

    drbryant Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I agree with Alberto; sometimes, it's nice to be able to add a little high end to a recording, or cut it back a little. I had a McIntosh C220 tube preamp, and while I didn't use the tone control much, if there was a poorly recorded album, or I was listening a low levels at night, it was nice to be able to fiddle with the sound to get something that I liked. I still miss it from time to time; not too often, but every now and then. . . . . .

    Of course, there is one alternative - never listen to poorly recorded/mastered albums, and always listen when you can play the music at an acceptable volume.
     
  7. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    That would eliminate a sheetload of albums!
     
  8. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident

    Ehh the real life me your probably get along with. You are talking my alter ego online personality. :D
     
  9. Chris Schoen

    Chris Schoen Rock 'n Roll !!!

    Location:
    Maryland, U.S.A.
    High end equipment will not make "less than perfectly mastered" sources sound better, they may actually bring foward the deficiencys of the source. It's nice to have the abilty to "correct" this (somewhat) with tone controls.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  10. stuwee

    stuwee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson AZ
    :laughup::laughup: Right On Bill! :righton:
     
  11. stuwee

    stuwee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson AZ
    Wow! 7 pages any not a single mention of Yamaha's brilliant variable loudness control, It's about the coolest, most effective tone device outside of a parametric EQ or a soundboard in your livingroom (Oooo, that would be fun! :D).
     
  12. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    The problem I have with tone controls is that a setting that has been dialed in to make one recording listenable will be exactly the opposite setting the next record needs. I don't need all that jazz. I wanna play records and plop my butt in my spot. I have no tone controls.
     
  13. Feisal K

    Feisal K Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malaysia
    so it's ok if both records are unlistenable? ;)

    'course in reality, neither record is unlistenable - they just don't sound as good as they should, unless you have a perfect room and all you ever listen to are perfectly recorded stuff.
     
  14. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    For audiophiles tone controls are a no no. They always spoil the sound even when subtle. Most amplifiers that still provide them fortunately provide a tone defeat button. If you want more bass get bigger speakers and tune by choice of equipment to give the sound balance you like.
     
  15. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    Sounds snobbish to me. I probably listen flat at least 95% of the time but some stuff needs some correction. Do I have to send back my audiophile membership card for saying that?
     
  16. Greg1954

    Greg1954 New Member

    Location:
    .
    Or three way tone controls that include a midrange control. Midrange used to to be a not uncommon feature of older units, and for some reason, seem to have disappeared in the 1980's.

    I keep my tone controls on flat, most of the time, until something comes along, like say, a modern recording that has the high and low end boosted to unpalatable levels. Then the tone controls come into play, and it's often just the midrange knob that is needed, a little nudge this way or that and all is right. Wouldn't want to be without it/them.

    Maybe someday I'll get to a level of sound reproduction that will be so refined as to make tone controls seem really gauche, but I'm not there yet, if ever. :)
     
  17. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident

  18. Feisal K

    Feisal K Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malaysia
    Well, I'm glad I'm not one, then!!
     
  19. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    Glad you're not a tone control? ;)
     
    Ortofun likes this.
  20. Feisal K

    Feisal K Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malaysia
    that, too! :laugh:
     
    Drifter likes this.
  21. Baron Von Talbot

    Baron Von Talbot Well-Known Member

    To my surprise I don't miss them.A subwoofer helps plus my rig is more on the dark than bright side - most albums sound great,no matter the style - some suck. but I do not play those often. Takes some time to get accustomed to....
     
  22. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Drifter, I checked your profile to see what amplifier you are using but could not see it there. Am I missing something obvious?
     
  23. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I'm surprised that tone controls are so disparaged here - I rather thought that it was EQ's that were the devil because they messed with the signal too much.

    My new Pioneer only has bass, treble, and tone defeat, and like with every other system I've owned, I just set it and forget it. Sometimes I'll hit the tone defeat button but I usually don't bother. The bass/treble controls on my amp don't seem to really do a whole lot anyway, certainly more subtle than amps I've had in the past.

    I see several people championing subwoofers, but frankly I will never have on on my system, because every time I've had a subwoofer in the past, all it manages to do is annoy my wife. I can listen to my current system with the volume up to the 10:00 position and she never hears it. We were talking about the configuration of the room and it turns out she thought I was listening with headphones all this time. I never use headphones! :laugh:
     
  24. joeriz

    joeriz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pennsylvania, USA
    Amen.


    I'll add that I have a Behringer DEQ2496 in the digital processor loop of my Slim Devices Transporter and I love it. It has the ability to save graphic and/or parametric EQ settings. I have about ten or so of these stored that I've created that seem to do the trick for most situations. It's not engaged much of the time and the "presets" that I've saved are mild in nature but it's there when it's needed and I'm glad I have it.

    Joe
     
  25. RonW

    RonW Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I have gotten away from usiong tone controls and I am not really sure why. I like the way my systems sound without adding and bass or treble to the mix. To be really honest here it keeps me busy optimizing everything. :)
     
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