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Adding Tone Controls?

My system sounds wonderful when playing well recorded jazz, classical, or "audiophile approved" material. Unfortunately, mass market pop frequently sounds horrible, with screechy splashy highs. It's obviously recorded with a built in bias to be played on car radios or lo-fi mp3s.
What can I add to my system to tone-down the highs on this sort of material? Sure, there's plenty of well recorded material to listen to, but there are plenty of pop rock bands I'd really like to explore if the recordings could be made a bit more listenable.
bama214
Post removed 
rpeluso
1,046 posts
 
This problem is exactly the reason I recently bought a Luxman 509U integrated amp, it has by-passable tone controls, makes hard sounding recordings listenable. Wish more equipment makers would add tome controls to their gear.
hifigeek1
770 posts
 
I would suggest rather than use tone controls, do some research and make sure you use proper interconnects and speaker wires to tailor the sound you want. Some products are more forgiving than others.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Oh yeah, that's a smart way to go about it - not! Interconnects and speaker wires have very subtle effects if any at all. And they would always be in the signal path, thus "tailoring" the sound for all sources. Not to mention the hassle of swapping them in and out and the time and money spent purchasing them only to find out they didn't do what was needed.

And if you're buying interconnects and speaker wires that have multi-decibel effects upon certain portions (frequencies) of the signal, you're buying very poorly made products. EQ is the way to go, plain and simple...

-RW-
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
Rlwainwright has suggested your best approach.
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