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McIntosh Tone Controls

Confession: I like bass. Not like EDM or Rap. Like jazz and classical bass. 

Anyway, I have a McIntosh C47 with bass and treble tone controls. Does anyone know if these are pure analog or they are doing an ADDA conversion? I find a need to turn the bass up in my room about 3dB with most music and it’s pretty transparent and doesn’t seem to cause much if any side effect. 

Because of this, I was considering upgrading to a C52 to get finer control. I would love to hear other suggestions as well in case anyone has them. 

(Setup is Mytek Manhattan II as DAC and Phono stage, MC452 amp, And B&W 802 D3 speakers)
Ag insider logo xs@2xmayoradamwest
10 responses Add your response
mgattmch
570 posts
 
I use a C50 (plus MC275-VI power amp) with unusual speakers; Gale GS401As. See my previous post on this system. With my setup the 8 band EQ is very useful, specifically approximately 6dB boost at 50 Hz. Works very well for me.
miketuason
337 posts
 
I too have the C2300 tube preamp and normally, I listen with a flat response 0 treble and 0 bass 80 percent of the time as I usually listen to my audiophile recording vinyl or SACD but, there are some recording that are just not so good or not enough bass, only then I adjust my bass control accordingly.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,385 posts
 
@mayoradamwest...……………………

I'm running a Mac C2500 tube pre, MC152 amp with GE Triton Reference speakers and I can shake the walls with it.  The Heartbeat on Pink Floyd DSOTM is felt in your chest.  The bass is in no way over bloated or muddy.   Are your speakers known for deep bass?   Perhaps positioning them differently will give you what you want without having to goose the bass control too high.  I very seldom have to use the tone controls, but they are nice to have.  I use the treble control occasionally to take the edge off some of my rock music which were recorded too hot..
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mayoradamwest OP
430 posts
 
It would allow me to target low midbass which is a bit of a null in my room. 
scorpio1951
189 posts
 
  But is it worth the extra money to get an 8 way EQ? What is your EQ now? 
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mayoradamwest OP
430 posts
 
Thanks all, that makes me feel better about it! I could not find anything in the C47 manual that talks about the signal path for tone controls.

@scorpio1951 The reason for the C52 would be to get the 8-way EQ, assuming it’s also analog. The integrated Luxman I was playing with at a shop today had a choice of frequencies for bass and treble, though I see that the C-900u has bass set to 100hz (at least according to the specs).
scorpio1951
189 posts
 
   I own two McIntosh preamps and have a 38 year history of owning McIntosh components. I agree with stereo5. They are analog. To confirm you might look in your owner's manual, or just simply call the factory and ask for someone in Technical Support. By the way, that C47 is a very nice preamp. Unless money is no object to you, I see no need to upgrade to a C52. I doubt that you would hear any difference between the two. 
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,385 posts
 
The bass control on a McIntosh preamp is set at 30hz and treble control is set at 10Khz. They are analog. 
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mayoradamwest OP
430 posts
 
Does anyone know if the McIntosh tone controls are analog or digital? 
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