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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
ron17
607 posts
 
Hey Mr.D nice thread,

I use EQ because of the room/speaker interaction not to compensate for poor recordings. I have measured a peak @ 42hz in my room that I have not been able to eliminate by speaker placement or room treatments.....When a bass player plays an open E (lowest note on a conventional stand up or electric bass is 41hz) and that note plays louder than all of the other notes being played, it's very annoying. If you are lucky enough to have a good sounding room that needs no room treatment or EQ I envy you!   I think adjusting tone controls for every recording would drive me nuts. I hear huge differences between poor recordings, great recordings, heavily compressed recordings etc... I just don't get the uneven deep base I use to.
mrdecibel OP
3,065 posts
 
Ron17, I was prompted to start this thread because of the viper experience on WC’s amplifier / speaker thread, as you know quite well. As I have said so many times, and yes it has become repetitive by me : anything we audio folks need to do ( whether it be eq, cables, fuses, whatever ), to get us ever closer to that musical nirvana we are all chasing, so be it. I would not consider myself lucky, per say. My room is nothing special, but my speakers and my listening chair are all away from walls, and I played and played and played, tweaked and tweaked and tweaked, until I was happy. My biggest challenge was finding, and blending, a pair of subwoofers with my Lascalas, which I accomplished years ago. I am with you, as eqing for each recording would drive me nuts. I accept each and every recording, as they are, as I enjoy all of them. The greatest upgrade I made was to go passive, using a Luminous unit, the best they have ( rca ), as they also do xlr. It works for me. I am really enjoying the feedback on this thread, and find we are all a bunch of passionate music listeners, not satisfied with the sound coming from a Bluetooth speaker. There are many roads to take, as no two of us are the same. Enjoy ! MrD.
gibsonian
73 posts
 
Tone controls? Isn't that just admitting that your gear/room are crap or that you prefer colored music?

Preferring colored music is the realm of tube enthusiasts.    For some of us, the presence/use of tone controls is admitting that some recordings are substandard.

I think adjusting tone controls for every recording would drive me nuts.

Yes, it would drive me nuts as well.  Having tone controls does not mean one needs to adjust for every recording.   I sure don't and most recordings are fine just the way they were created.


ron17
607 posts
 
@gibsonian

 I wasn't inferring that having tone controls means one needs to adjust for every recording...I'm all for tone controls (if you need them).  I meant I prefer to adjust EQ for the problems with the speaker/room interaction one time and then take the good recordings with the bad...not fuss over each recording.  I'm OCD enough....lol
wolf_garcia
6,714 posts
 
I totally agree that if one is to own a Loki, one must deny ever using it or at least explain those rare times that you do use it, with a damn good explanation by the way, of why you would violate the unspoken rules of True Audio Geek Authenticity by allowing a tone control of any kind anywhere near your well sorted heap of hifi. I may now deny ever owning the thing but I’ll continue to use it...SPARINGLY...I swear...so "win win."
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