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Bass and Treble Dials

It seems every high end audiophile quality preamp/amp comes with no bass/treble dials. There is no way to adjust the sound coming out of the system other than by adding, removing or replace the audio equipment components... such as the needles, tubes, cables and etc etc. I wonder what would be a real reason behind of not having the treble/bass dials? While it might be a simple question but I really don't know the exact answer. I only guess that it is because the adding the treble/bass dials will unavoidably make an electronic circuit more "complex" which would go against a whole concept: "the simpler the better" or "the less is more". Am I correct in my assumptions?
sputniks
rgs92
974 posts
 
Accuphase, Mcintosh, and Van Alstine offer them in many
of their preamps, FWIW.
jfz
570 posts
 
You are correct with regard to the signal path. And tone controls can affect things such as imaging, soundstage, etc as much other things (distortion, purity, etc).

I also want to suggest to you that there are other ways to affect the sound in your system, other than adding or removing components. In fact, some of the best ways include room treatments, speaker position, and listening position. Experiment with those things - a lot - and you may be surprised how much better your system can sound.
niacin
70 posts
 
It took me a good many years until I found out why "higher end" gear didn't have tone controls. I always assumed that many factors denoted a need to adjust the sound. I then discovered that having built a system with care and a great deal of synergy, I now hear far more of the music. There are underlying passages I had never even noticed and instrumental lines that had hitherto eluded my ears. Ergo, there was no longer any need for adjustment and certainly zero need for things like balance and tone controls.
But that's just me.
niacin
70 posts
 
I forgot to add to my above post - the music opened up and became spacious, the bass was deep and concise and the treble clear and distinct. I also discovered mid-range as well. Where the music was pretty much a wall of sound and tone controls only muddied that overall impression, with quality came clarity.
timlub
2,043 posts
 
I have read from a few sources that Jim Bonjourno's
Ambrosia Preamp has tone controls the work very well. I've never heard it, but I've never read that about ANYTHING else. Maybe someone can confirm.
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