Any High End Tube Preamps with *gasp tone controls?


After dropping in a vintage Scott 222C into my system while my amp was out for repair I'm really missing the tone controls now that my amplifier is back. It seems sacrilegious but I just can't get the bass where I want it without a bit of boost plus I'm sure my hearing is changing as I get older so why not be flexible... even if it results in me being thrown out of the audiophile club.

dhcod

As an older gentleman, I also find my hearing is changing and that I need a tone control, I have therefore incorporated a Schiit Lokuis 6 level tone control into my system. It is fully balanced in & out (RCA's are also there for my tube amps when in service). I find this is very useful when playing some older vinyl and poorly recorded items. The only drawback is that it doesn't have a remote like the Loki Max, but it was only about $500 which is reasonable (Price was $300.00 plus taxes, delivery and duty).

I have used it for about 3 years and find it invaluable in about 10% of those recordings between my hearing and the sound of the recording that requires some minor tweeks in my judgement. It has a tone control by-pass so flipping the toggle to "off" is all that is required for most listening. I find any alteration in sound quality with the unit installed is so small, given the benefit provided, as to be insignificant. This is just my experience, I would probably opt for the Loki Max today, just for the convenience of the remote.

The Octave HP 700 SE preamp is as good as it gets. I was going to get one, but the waiting time was too long at the time, and bought the Accuphase solid state instead. 

I use a DBX Driverack 360.  It has graphic and parametric eq’s, delays for main and subs, harmonic synthesizer for deep bass and on and on. It’s been the only thing I’ve found to seamlessly incorporate my subs. 
I have 2 Krell FV 600 monoblocks feeding a couple of Wilson Maxx II’s and two JL Fathom 113’s. The 360 works really well with these. 

Find and examine an APT preamp from the late 70s. Designed by Thom Holman (the TH in THX) it not only has tone controls, but adjustable turnover frequencies, phase switches, A>B / B>A and a A-B to A+B fader that is an education in imaging and soundstage all by itself. Not to mention one of the best, most tunable MM phono stages ever built, with a proper subsonic filter. I have kept mine, recently had a Level 3 upgrade and rebuild done. It is a fabulous piece, one few current preamps can even approach in SQ a certainly not in flexibility.