2. amps-preamps
  3. 175792-134479

I miss my Loudness Button and Tone Controls....

So I recently upgraded my system to a Rogue Audio Sphinx integrated amplifier, V2.

Prior to this purchase I was using a NAD C162 preamp, and an Emotive UA-200 amplifier.

After a month of listening, I have to say, I miss the tone controls and the loudness feature on the old NAD pre-amp, especially when listening at lower volumes. The Rogue amp sounds great when played at a minimum of 50% of its output, but at lower volumes, it just seems flat. I do use a sub (SVS SB-2000 pro, and I'm using a very efficient speaker (Zu Audio DW's).

I've toyed with the idea of buying an EQ of some sort that has a bypass so that I can boost some of the frequencies when listening at lower volumes, and then bypass when I listening at higher volumes.

Any thoughts on this? Anyone experience anything similar? I'm about to pack and sell the Rogue amp, as the cons outweigh the pros for me.

 

 

barkeyzee1
cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 

Get a schiit lokius. Its 20 hz setting is almost equivalent to the loudness control. Anything over 50 hz and the bass will sound a bit bloated hence the very good frequency selection on the Lokius. 

styleman
132 posts
 

"All McIntosh integrated amps come with tone controls."

Not all of them - the slightly more expensive ones do.  For example, the MA 252 hybrid integrated does not come with equalizers but the MA 352 does. It cost $6,500 (I can't remember the cost of the MA 252).  The  MA 252 puts out 100 watts but has no equalizer. The MA 352 puts out 200 watts but has a 5-button equalizer.  

 

lovefnm
4 posts
 

For me EQ is a good idea due to my old age hearing. I use two old school EQ’s because of two power amps.

helmholtzsoul
111 posts
 

From the manual MA352

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

How to Operate the MA252 .........................................24-27

Trim Functions:

Balance.......................................................................24

Trim Level..................................................................25

Tone Control...............................................................25

Bass Control...............................................................25

Treble Control ............................................................26

Information Display...................................................26

They have tone control.. I’ve never seen a Mcintosh that didn’t.

sandthemall
544 posts
 

I once had the NAD 162 preamp also. These are pretty good preamps. It didn't have a loudness button but had very good tone controls that operated at the frequency extremes so were not heavy-handed at all...subtle yet effective.

Anyway, I've found speaker placement and listening position to be way more effective than tone controls. 

As I've upgraded, I've generally found my new equipment to be more detailed, delicate and yet more neutral in some ways. Less flattering of bad recordings. However I do get excellent bass presence at low volume without tone controls or loudness button. Something I didn't get with my NAD preamp with tone controls. 

 

More to discover