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
artemus_5

Showing 2 responses by onhwy61

onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,341 posts
 
Tone controls are the next frontier for high end audio. Digital DSP processing has brought the arrival of transparent tone controls. IMO, tone controls are essential for the playback of normally recorded pop/rock on high resolution systems. For a wide variety of reasons, a lot of wonderful music is aggresively recorded. When played back over a hi-rez system, this music will sound shrill. The judicious use of a well designed EQ circuit can make this music much more enjoyable.

Artemus, there are very few consumer oriented preamps w/ EQ capabilities. If you are truly interested in solutions I would suggest you look at a few of the mid-level pro oriented products and run them thru your tape processor loop.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,341 posts
 
I recognize that most audiophiles do not look favorably upon consumer accessible EQ. The simplest signal path -- straight wire with gain paradigm is dominant. However, for those willing to consider something outside of the norm, I suggest you consider the following manufacturers' equalizers. Aphex, Drawmer, Manley, Summit, Tube Tech (all of the above are tube based designs) or Avalon, Focusrite, GML, Oram and Night Technologies. Prices range from $1,000 (the Aphex and Night Tech units) to slightly under $5,000 (Manley). These units are all well built and are essentially sonically transparent. Insert one of these equalizers into your system's tape loop and you'll never have to be afraid of a hearing impaired recording engineer again.
More to discover