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I like my system flat, no tone controls, no eq..........what is your preference, and why.

A poster on another thread here has encouraged me to post this. Been an audio professional and a hobbyist for 50 tears. I had my time with eq, tone controls ( even reverb and time delay units ). I am currently at the point where I need nothing to alter the recordings I listen to, nor to compensate for room aberrations. I have spent lots of money on equipment , had equipment on loan, of all types ( pretty much a bit of everything, for the most part ) and I have tweaked, and tweaked, and tweaked. I have recently tooled down to a much simpler and less expensive system, and I find I am the happiest I have ever been. Might be my amp, my passive unit, my speakers...…….yes, all of that. Yes, all of that is important, but it is the system synergy that has made me realize that changing anything with an eq or tone controls took me further from that synergy, that balance. I accept, and enjoy my recordings for what they are. Some better than others ( sq ). But, I am enjoying the brilliance of all the studio work put into them,  exactly as they were intended to be listened to. This is me. I do not believe in right or wrong, better or worse, newer vs older, yada yada yada. I have believed, and have stated, particularly in this hobby, to each his own. I hear fuse differences, power cable differences, etc. Some believe I was born a bat. I am happy of my gift, not just hearing well, but through the years, teaching myself " what it is I like ", which is the key for most of us. I am not sure where this thread will go, but I put it out there, and hope folks will drop in, even though much of it might have been stated before in other threads. Thank you A'gon family, be well, and Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
maplegrovemusic's avatar
maplegrovemusic
1,113 posts
 
I think Flat is what people are using tone controls and eq to try an achieve . So many speakers , dacs, wires , ect... seem treble tilted . Bass bumps can get annoying as well . 
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,040 posts
 
A very refreshing take on this hobby, and most appreciated. I used to use tone controls to tame and tailor the sound and was never satisfied until I hit on the right combo of gear and associated tweaks (fuses) and now, for the foreseeable future, I’m content.

My system, like yours, is pretty simple and basic and I can actually appreciate the better recordings out there. Their realism can be striking, which leads me to feel I hit the nail on the head this time. Lessor recordings that I used to enjoy sound a bit off so I keep in mind that it’s just that, the recording, that is at fault, and not my system. Going back to the better recordings is all it takes to bring that big old smile to my face.

The urge to tinker is still there but if I ignore it long enough, it will subside. 😄

All the best,
Nonoise
wolf_garcia
6,744 posts
 
I also have wound up with a system that doesn’t need anything but me listening to it...However, not having tone controls doesn’t mean your system is "flat," it simply means you aren’t able to flatten or un-flatten anything with a gizmo or tone/loudness knobulation. I have a Schiit Loki EQ in my otherwise "tone knob" free system, and it’s always out of the loop until that rare time I need it to add sparkle to a dead sounding recording, or require some other tone mod...the thing is rarely used but looks cute sitting there anyway, and doesn’t add any audible noise when not in use. The minimalist approach to hifi works for me (I’ve also been at this stuff for 50 years plus), which contrasts with my live sound mixing gigs to some degree (piles of outboard stuff in a rack, plus tone shaping in every channel) but influences them also as I eschew compression and and try to keep the sound honest, relative to what the performers prefer and what the various mics require...they all have their own sound. My "minimalist" hifi has extended to a simple single ended tube amp that seems clean as can be, efficient speakers to make that amp shine, and a clean tube preamp...but one "tone control" I still use here and there are the level pots on my subs...little more, little less...but I think even for a "tone purist" that’s allowed.
n80
2,133 posts
 
I guess I’m at a similar place but by a totally different route. I inherited a very nice older system. I’ve made a few tiny tweaks. I love the way it sounds. Rarely do I feel like something is missing or that I need to spend a lot of money.

I suspect that is a combination of three things: 1) My untrained ears. 2) A nice system that was well matched from the beginning (by someone else) that probably sounds pretty good. 3) Fairly decent room set up.

The only thing that bothers me....and sometimes it really bothers me....is that recordings I know to be poor (over compressed DR, and other stuff) actually sound poor on my system. The bothersome part is that there are knowledgeable folks that say the problem is my system and not the recording and that if I’d get an EQ and make lots of other changes those bad recordings would sound great.

I don’t know enough to argue with that assessment. But I think it is probably safe to say that if I go mucking around with things and spending money to make bad recordings sound good then I run the risk of messing up how good recordings sound now. I’m not willing to take that chance or spend that money.

So I’m sticking with what I’ve got and enjoying the good stuff and suffering through the bad when the mood strikes me.

But yes, as someone pointed out there is now a big movement towards EQ and lots of derogatory things being said about those who don’t believe in its merits. Hard to sort the wheat from the chaff.
wolf_garcia
6,744 posts
 
A great system can often highlight the crap part of crappy recordings, or since the system sound is so nice otherwise it might make them more palatable. A paradox...the Schiit Loki is an inexpensive little gem of a gizmo that could be worth a shot.
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