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

I understand why people want tone controls...I had very good one said my repairman, a very experienced guy who even say they are top notch in the Sansui AU 7700 not toys at all... I am then lucky .... 😁😊

I was so glad to have them FOR YEARS, and i used also refined filtering controls to this day ...

This is the reason i bought the Sansui technology : no negative reviews at all on all counts...I read all for 6 months before buying.... 😁😊 I dont regret my choice...

But i dont use tone controls nor the loudness button after years with them...Only one filtering control button....

Why?

Because contrary to the belief of some who wrote it above, tone controls compensate the gear/room relation with your "taste" and ears, yes, but DONT FIX the room/system acoustic nor can they replace it at all... They can only alleviate the sonic harm of an acoustically untreated and uncontrolled room in relation to the system, or alleviate some wrongly matched piece of gear, thats all...

HOW did i know?

Because i stop using them almost a year ago when my room acoustic begin to be optimal , i did not need them ever for ANY album now, nevermind the recording quality...

Tone controls can alleviate some harm coming from a lack in synergy between pieces of gear or between the room and gear, but IN NO WAY can replace acoustic... it is an ILLUSION, a deceptive belief...

I am not against tone controls, i think most sophisticated amplifier for the general public must have them, and filtering controls , because most people need them anyway...

But dont bent the acoustic truth: tone controls are useless if the gear is well match in an acoustically optimized room...But this situation is the exception among all audiophiles...Not the norm at all ....

Why this is so ?

Because when you tune the room, you tune it for your specific gear in relation to the specific acoustic general content of the room and your specific ears history and specific functional structure in relation to the the brain ( i prefer to use these words than "taste" because i associated taste with the gear fetichism in my posts)..

No audiophile with well matched piece of gear and a well controlled room need any tone controls for any albums...

Mechanical acoustic tuning , what i call Helmholtz mechanical equalization in a well treated room, is a mechanical tone control itself between room new zones pressures distribution and the speakers characteristics and your own tuning specific ears....

Then yes most people can enjoy tone controls, but when acoustic is completely under control there is no more needs for it...

And for those who think that each recording being different it is useful to adapt each one to our "tastes". ..I will say that what is the most astounding fact in a treated and controlled room is the fact that we can NOW perceive all acoustic cues CHOICES of the recording engineer the way they are made because the acoustic settings of our room made them AUDIBLE and they are interesting in itself, nevermind the sound quality of the album compared to another one... ALL ALBUMS ARE SONICALLY INTERESTING NOW , even if the recording remain bad for sure compared to many others;  this is the acoustical hallmark impression of a tuned system/room : emerging acoustical recorded cues choices of the recording engineer for our ears and we become more conscious of  the way some other acoustical choices were let aside because recording art is a trade-off process.......

This is the reason why some "purist" lucky enough to have a good room, treated and under control, "spite" with despise on tone controls, and it is the reason why all of us need for some time like me or forever like most of us tone controls...

Like usual dividing people in two groups is childish to say the least....For or against tone controls, objectivist and subjectivist, ETC and other human distinctions which separate us in misunderstood opposition instead of uniting us in understood differences...

Here’s the thing. Mahgister always advocates for rigorous (some would say obsessive; check out the photos of his system!) room acoustics treatment. Yes, room acoustics are hugely important. The room is one of the very most important components in your music system, no question. BUT...not all recordings are created equal! Tone controls give you the option of adjusting for a recording that is harsh in the upper midrange, or lacking in bass, or a host of other deficits that would be, shall we say, grossly inconvenient to do by re-arranging one’s entire acoustic space for each new piece of music.

 

 

 

 

I’ve got tone controls on my McIntosh MA8900 and like them for things like rock and hip hop. For jazz and classical recordings, I typically turn it off. 

I have the Rogue Sphinx  and my suggestion is to make your next upgrade in An RME adi2 dac it works great with the Sphinx and has loudness, bass and treble plus a built-in equalizer if you get even more ambitious… And oh yeah it is a superb Digital to analog converter.

I have become a Schiit head as well. I love my Freya+ with nos tubes. And I have 2 Lokius EQ’S in 2 of by 4 systems—I love them! The best $300 each I have ever spent in a very expensive hobby.

Another option, would be to have a DAC with a nice set of DSP options; continuously variable loudness control using a recent, advanced algorithm, full range of user programable equalization or even user programmable room correction (not an algorithm, simple method of doing it by ear with frequency sweeps) and anything else a full featured DSP engine can provide..

The RME unit above, appears to be the value choice. Many folks report excellent sound quality and the nice set of DSP options are icing on the cake. I have not heard the RME.

At a completely different level of sound quality and, of course, price is the Weiss DAC501 which I own. It has all the features mentioned in my first paragraph, many useful remote controlled options including volume, balance and the very important feature of switching absolute polarity on the fly from your listening position (roughly half of all digital music is the wrong polarity which can be heard if you have good ears and a highly resolving system). One can also program up to twelve presets which can be switched remotely on the fly. For example a combination of loudness and equalization settings for quiet, late night listening based on your ears, room and speakers. Also a world class headphone amp with cross feed and factory equalization curves (currently only Audeze curves are included). Finally, direct connection to your network via wired ethernet (saves the purchase of a rendering computer wihich most DACs require externally).

For those who don't want to give up their uber expensive uber DACs, one can add all these DSP functions with a DSP501 (no DAC but everything else).

I, like many of the folks above, feel that loudness and equalization options done right will enhance any system.

For those of us with turntables, the Schiit products at the lower price range or the vacuum tube Manley Massive Passive for much more money (I'm saving for one) are excellent options.

The tide is turning. Congratulations to the OP and those that chimed in; you are at the forefront of a major shift in high end audio.