Tone controls are practically a dirty word in the world of hi fi. I admit I'm guilty of this audio snobbery myself. I mean tone controls are one step away form using an equalizer, the ultimate purist sin. "Look at all them dancin lights...they're purdy...".
While it's true that a goal of hi fi is to have truly neutral music reproduction, what about the music itself? Everyone has CD's in their collection that suffer from mediocre production. So a totally neutral hi end system will simply let you enjoy the bloated bass or shrill treble recorded to the CD. Wouldn't it be great if you could correct some of those anomolies that occur during the recording process and still enjoy the music?
Well you can, it's called tone controls. I think tone controls got a bad name for 2 reasons. First, some people abused them. They would turn the bass way or the treble way up and that would be the default position. This mis-use of tone controls is worthy of contempt. Second, many tone controls are poorly designed. They simply do little to improve the sound. That's been my experience and when I've had them, I have been very reluctant to use them.
However, the NAD amps have tone controls that only adjust extreme frequencies and have no impact on mid band output. I find for the first time that I can use them to improve recordings. I still use them very sparingly, but occassionally they can really help.
Seems like more companies should include these useful controls. Can't think of a valid reason for not doing so.
While it's true that a goal of hi fi is to have truly neutral music reproduction, what about the music itself? Everyone has CD's in their collection that suffer from mediocre production. So a totally neutral hi end system will simply let you enjoy the bloated bass or shrill treble recorded to the CD. Wouldn't it be great if you could correct some of those anomolies that occur during the recording process and still enjoy the music?
Well you can, it's called tone controls. I think tone controls got a bad name for 2 reasons. First, some people abused them. They would turn the bass way or the treble way up and that would be the default position. This mis-use of tone controls is worthy of contempt. Second, many tone controls are poorly designed. They simply do little to improve the sound. That's been my experience and when I've had them, I have been very reluctant to use them.
However, the NAD amps have tone controls that only adjust extreme frequencies and have no impact on mid band output. I find for the first time that I can use them to improve recordings. I still use them very sparingly, but occassionally they can really help.
Seems like more companies should include these useful controls. Can't think of a valid reason for not doing so.