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I like my system flat, no tone controls, no eq..........what is your preference, and why.

A poster on another thread here has encouraged me to post this. Been an audio professional and a hobbyist for 50 tears. I had my time with eq, tone controls ( even reverb and time delay units ). I am currently at the point where I need nothing to alter the recordings I listen to, nor to compensate for room aberrations. I have spent lots of money on equipment , had equipment on loan, of all types ( pretty much a bit of everything, for the most part ) and I have tweaked, and tweaked, and tweaked. I have recently tooled down to a much simpler and less expensive system, and I find I am the happiest I have ever been. Might be my amp, my passive unit, my speakers...…….yes, all of that. Yes, all of that is important, but it is the system synergy that has made me realize that changing anything with an eq or tone controls took me further from that synergy, that balance. I accept, and enjoy my recordings for what they are. Some better than others ( sq ). But, I am enjoying the brilliance of all the studio work put into them,  exactly as they were intended to be listened to. This is me. I do not believe in right or wrong, better or worse, newer vs older, yada yada yada. I have believed, and have stated, particularly in this hobby, to each his own. I hear fuse differences, power cable differences, etc. Some believe I was born a bat. I am happy of my gift, not just hearing well, but through the years, teaching myself " what it is I like ", which is the key for most of us. I am not sure where this thread will go, but I put it out there, and hope folks will drop in, even though much of it might have been stated before in other threads. Thank you A'gon family, be well, and Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel
flatblackround's avatar
flatblackround
279 posts
 
I don’t think a system can be a 10 if it is flat.

just sayin
n80
2,107 posts
 
From reading responses here it does not sound to me like there is any consensus on what the term "flat" means.

I also don't see a real riff between purist and not-purist. What comes out of our speakers is a reproduction and that is all it will ever be. So how can there be any right or wrong way to listen to it? Even the intent of the producer is lost in most cases by his limitations, budget limitations, equipment limitations and the fact that he has no idea how his product is going to be consumed....ear bud, million dollar hi-fi, single speaker in a Ford Pinto am/fm radio.
heardthat
52 posts
 
@n80, +1
And this is what they call diversity. I'm glad we don't all have the same systems, same rooms, same ears, same tastes. It would be boring. I've tried flat and I've tried curves. The purist in me says go flat. But for my sonic appreciation I go curves. If I listened to mrD's setup in his environment I may be happy with flat. But if he came and listened to my system he may cringe unless he throws some EQ at it. I dont think anyone would say that all systems in all environments are sonically best if left flat. Would they?
mrdecibel OP
2,932 posts
 
Like I said, to each his own, no right or wrong. My powered subs do have eq controls, so I suppose I am not eq free. I have been reading about the Loki, and it does remind me of the 5 tone controls on the Mac preamps, of which I have owned several over the years. I do not understand the 20 hz control, and it's use ( rumble filter ?, maybe wolf can jump in and give his findings ). I honestly can easily see why someone would use it, and enjoy it's characteristics. I, personally would find a greater amount of control from a unit such as the Rane ( which sonically, is excellent ). " Interpolating Constant Q filters ", of which the Rane unit has, and Rane was the company to design this, is very specific, as each control ( 30 per channel ) has less overlap of the adjacent frequencies, and this I find to be awesome. Possibly not for everyone, although more of these types of eqs today use this topology. I still choose not to use mine. My thing is, and always has been, whatever we need to do to extract every bit of information out of our systems to achieve our goals, is what this hobby is all about. Cables, fuses, room tuning, chassis and component damping, tubes, capacitors, each and everything makes an audible impact. I love music. Thank you to everyone for your participation. and sharing your experiences and preferences. Nice to see a clean slate ( no bickering ). Enjoy ! MrD.
alwynlarryv
35 posts
 
I have been an audiophile for about 57 years; got my first system at the age of 15 (Eico ST40 amp and AR2 Speakers). Over that length of time I have learned a few things, some times by doing stupid, and regretting it.
Here are my best thoughts.

1)  At least 50 to 60 percent of the cost of a system should be devoted to the speakers, the pre amp, and the phono cartridge, because they infulence the total sound quality more than other components.

2) Where you and the speakers are place is very important. A good starting point is 6 to 7 feet between each tweeter and the same 6 to 7 feet between the tweeter and your ears.  The speakers should be canted in a bit.  The further the speakers are from the side wall and the front wall the better.

3) Do not put anything in the signal path that does not absolutely need to be there.

4) The best arrangement is a tube per-amp and a solid state amp.  You should get a slightly warm tuby sound, but still have the "slam" of a solid state amp.

5) A "big time" record matt will do wonders for your turn table; the two best are Ring Matt, or the one made by Music Hall.  They both work on the concept of decoupling the record from the platter. 

6) Which would you prefer to own, a five year old series 5 BMW or a new Ford Focus?  If you can find top quality stuff that is 4 or 5 years old you will have more system for the money.

7) If you play a poor recording on a great system you will be disappointed.  The quality of the recording is a big part of how your system sounds.

8) Don't make a lot of big changes to your system every year or so.  Do your research, buy really good stuff, and keep it for years..  
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