Equalizer in a Hi Fi system

Most audiophiles have no idea how musical good Hi & Lo shelving EQ can really sound because it's so poorly implemented on most HiFi gear. 

Many years ago I had an NAD C165BEE preamp.  Only $999, entry level hi-end, I realize, but I was shocked at how bad the tone controls sounded.  Every time I turned up Bass or Treble, it instantly called attention to itself, rather than simply being part of the music.  

I have a Manley/Langevin mic-preamp that has Bass & Treble shelfs, each with 2 turnover frequenices that sound amazing.  I'd kill to have THESE tone controls incorporated into a hi-fi preamp.  They gently shape the music without sounding phasey or electronic.  Switchable frequencies is SO important too.  People and/or companies seem to fear knobs and switches these days.  So many preamps today are totally featureless.  I don't get it.  

My name, is Miro.  I'm old, and I like knobs and switches.   

@tlcocks What do u mean how is the 10k treble band. It’s excellent. I wouldn’t want to go any higher with another frequency knob. It’s more than enough. I usually back it off also. 

Miro, I couldn’t agree more with you. Again, we are kindred souls. Totally agree that most audiophiles have NO IDEA how good a quality treble shelf or broad bell can sound. How well it can integrate with the music and not draw attention to itself and truly open up , beatify, and breathe air and life into a flat or dull record on hifi gear. Why do few know this?  It’s because like you said there are so many poor implementations of bass and treble tone control. You have to go out of your way to find it. Which you and I have. And we’re rewarded in spades!

@tattooedtrackman , if that 10K switch is properly implemented you should find benefit out of occasionally boosting it for some records. If you don’t and it’s always flat of cut, then McIntosh didn’t implement it well. Eg too broad a Q hence pulling undesirable frequencies up too, for example. Its center point is too low, so likely tge Q would be narrow and may not sound that natural and good to boost. You never know though. I’ve got a 10K switch in my car stereo that I boost usefully often. I you have hi fi gear, which clearly you do, not sure why you’d ever cut at 10K. Unless a record is unusually bright. I don’t know. Guess I’m a quality bass and treble lover. Adds EXCITEMENT and life. I’m at zero to +3 db for excellent recordings but can be as high as +8 for dull or bass less recordings, usually older. 

@tlcocks 

The Chord Mojo 2 is a cute little DAC/headphone amp. The fastest it can go is 756/32. The Artix 7 field programmable gated array processor is trick in this application because it requires very little power. A 64 bit Floating point processor would roast that little unit alive. You might even burn your hand. It is nowhere near as powerful as a Trinnov Amethyst or the DEQX Pre 8. I hate headphones by the way. I do not like the way the music is presented. It is very unnatural. It is interesting to note that people with the very best systems do not use headphones. I should also note that people who live in apartment buildings might have no choice. I've been there and hated it, I suspect my neighbors also hated me😈 

In short, comparing something like the Chord Mojo 2 to an Amethyst or Pre 8 is folly at best. The best comparison to the Mojo would be the MiniDSP SHD another 32 bit device. 

The Amethyst and DEQX Pre 8 are full function preamps. Both even have phono stages. Both use 64 bit floating point processors so degradation at low volumes is insignificant. This is extremely important for processors that are being used to adjust volume levels at various frequencies. 

@jacobsdad2000 

Room acoustics are very important and most rooms require some sort of management depending on the type of speaker used. 

Room control is a misnomer. It is really speaker control. It repairs and adjusts things that are totally immune to room management like group delays and the variations in frequency response between the two channels. Then there is making the system sound the way you want it to. I boost bass below 100 Hz and attenuate frequencies above 1000 Hz. I have my own "house" curve. I also have a high volume curve which flattens the bass and reduces treble even further. People never realize how loud the system is playing until they try to talk.