Which Component Has the Greatest Affect on Low-Level Listening

Tone controls on the preamp to compensate for lower volumes. Took me years to realize this as for 30 years my equipment had no tone control.

A full range full frequency response speaker will have the most effect on low level listening. Also a full sounding amplifier will help at low levels.

No component, except one that includes loudness or tone controls.

Speaker response changes a bit with volume, but any competent speaker will not change even remotely enough to compensate for how much the response of your ear changes with volume.  If your amplifier has high distortion at low volume, you could loose some detail at low volume. Could happen with a pre, but unlikely.

It's your ears/brain that are changing and they are changing by a large amount. Only way to compensate is to change the response of your system.   This is one of the problems in audio. Different listening levels all present a much different balance of frequencies.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kmuw.org%2Fpost%2Floudness-and-fletcher-mu...

Hi,

No doubt that more dynamic is available, more the listening to low level is confortable...
Try to compare mp3 vs cd or hi res..
Physiologic correction with loudness ( fletcher)remains artificial but efficient compromise  with hifi standart components..

As far as the amp reproduce the "matter" I would say that electronic is involved in the result..

Raymond

There is nothing artificial about compensating for loudness contours.  Not compensating could be argued to be the most unnatural wrt the original.