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Are tone controls worth a second look ?


Are tone controls still prohibited from ''high end''audio?

Seems to me that with all of the advances in electronic design, they starting to make sense again.

In my humble opinion, tone controls are not unlike adding, or substracting sonic flavor to music reproduction. Like switching interconnects or speaker cables that will affect the sound in X or Y manner.

I am not reffering to a technical comparison between tone controls and cables, but rather that their effect could be similar. When you think of it, cables have their own colors. And we pay dearly for this without the opportunity of a ''tone defeat'' button.

What do you think?
sonicbeauty
ajackson1
156 posts
 
Trelja, LOL u crack me up, b'cus u speak the truth. Though I am not an advocate of tone control, I find myself using the equalizer in itunes every now and then and I say to myself that really sounds really good.
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 
Only if you are not a genuine audiophile.
sonicbeauty OP
324 posts
 
Orpheus10. What is a ''genuine'' audiophile according to you?
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 
Before I became a "genuine" audiophile,I used an equalizer; this is the ultimate tone control.
After I discovered how beautiful the music sounded when it was reproduced by Theta, Conrad Johnson, and Audio Research; without tone controls, I became a "genuine" audiophile.
I define a "genuine" audiophile as a lover of music who wants to hear the music exactly as the artist recorded it, and not become part of the band.
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
Gotta agree with Joe (Trelja)'s post. Just look at the posts in the forums looking for warm cables, power cords that improve bass, tubes that have a lush midrange, etc. I don't have tone controls per se in my equipment, but the components, cables and tubes in my system have been matched to suit my taste rather than to serve sonic neutrality (and to the detriment of my wallet). I did have an equalizer years ago before I started getting too serious about this hobby, but I must admit I really only used it to jack up the volume a bit in my system rather than for any real tonal adjustment.
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