2. amps-preamps
  3. 986669323

To tone control or not to tone control

I recently stepped up to a Conrad Johnson PFR preamp to mate with my CJ MF-2200 amp (200 wpc). Was previously running an Adcom GTP-450 pre/tuner which had bass/treble controls which help to compensate for those recordings which are recorded poorly. Though the CJ PFR sounds really good on most of my cd's there are some of my favorite artists whose recordings are really pitiful. Is there a good tone control which I can use on the PFR to use for these poor recordings? Is there a way to connect both preamps to one system. I do have an older cdp that I could connect to the Adcom preamp for the poor cd's and use the main system for the good stuff. I have also thought of trying a subwoofer to help with filling in the bottom end since most of the poor recordings are R&B and Rock N'Roll and that is where they seem to be lacking the most. The rest of my system consists of a Sherwood Newcastle 980 cdp and Infinity RS 5000 speakers (12 yrs old) and next to be replaced. As always your help is appreciated
128x128artemus_5
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Art I had a similar problem trying to perform Eq. using a real old Lux SS pre connected to tape loop as described above. But there's nothing wrong with this pre if I use it to drive a PA it sounds fine. Could be an impedance issue? Didn't spend alot of time trying to debug the setup, but yes I did matchup my levels very closely. Some kind of weirdness playing tricks on us? Guess that's our 'lesson' for trying to Eq. in the first place? Yeah they took away our tone controls, & now they want to make #$%! sure that we can't ever get them back again...
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5 OP
1,933 posts
 
Can someone explain to me why a simple question has rated -4 -4? I thought these forums were places where you can gain info and share ideas. If you don't like the ideas then you should make your opinion known. Maybe you have something that can shed light on my dilemna. However throwing negatives at me while you are hiding behind annonymity only makes me suspect your lack of ability to make your case.
gregm
3,405 posts
 
Artemus, Bob, referring to Bruce's suggestion & your results. I have an old Cambridge pre with tone controls. I'll try it out and get back to you if anything musically worthwile... emerges...
Yours, (in further negative votes)!
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
My problem is now solved: this Accuphase preamp is just killer! It's so good that the featured tone controls are not even necessary most of the time. But in those cases where I do use them, in addition to bass & treble knobs I now have available buttons for hi & lo cut, hi & lo boost, loudness comp. and a Phase Invert button which is just awesome! I've never had that feature available to me before; the difference (depending upon source material) can be anywhere from negligible, to subtle, to unbelievable.
I can safely say that right now I don't even know the full capabilities of this preamp, but this 45 pound monster is WAY serious!
However I have noticed that even a few budget components (The aforementioned Adcom & NAD for example) still provide some basic Eq. features, so you don't have to necessarily break the bank.
So now I'm an All Solid-State, Tone-Controlled, Happy Camper! Sincerely Yours too, (in further neg. votes)!
gregm
3,405 posts
 
Artemus, I tried the old pre (BTW, a NAD; not Cambridge -- sorry), between the CDP & the main pre. Although it doesn't overload on low volume, the sound is, well... like throwing a blanket over the speakers. Strangely enough, the tone controls' effect increased with volume on the NAD; on the other hand, that's what ended up overloading the main pre --and distorting...
Oh well...
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