Who uses tone controls

Don’t scoff .. I want to know if anyone uses them. In my existing Parasound stack I have them but never use them.

I am close to finally making a decision ( yes I move slow) on a MF M6Si which doesn’t have them. Wondering if I will miss not having on this unit, why start now.

With that said who uses tone controls?
Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Yamaha BD-S681, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, Polk S60, Polk S30, Samsung 60" LED

Office
Cambridge Audio 851A, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
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Comments

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,033
    I haven’t used tone controls in a home setup in twenty years. You won’t miss them. The only reason they exist is to compensate for bad gear, bad speakers or bad ears. I think that they ma actually degrade the sound of a piece of gear whether they are used or not, as they interfere with the signal path.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,704
    Not me.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • Nope. Not me.
    See my profile for list of gear.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,306
    I don't on main systems, but toy with Schiit's EQ with headphone stuff. Mostly flat everywhere, otherwise.

    The only time I've used tone controls in systems since I've gotten into "more serious" audio was early on to try to correct for edgy or bright sound which was mostly due to bad speakers, like John mentions above.
    I disabled signatures.
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,420
    Mine doesn't even have them
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • No tone controls. When I previously owned a TOTL Kenwood Integrated with tone controls I always used the "defeat" option.
    Polk Audio first generation RTA-12s; 12 inch Polk Stands; DHS Speaker Service upgraded crossovers w/ Sonicap/Mills; the "westmassguy anti-lobing mod" (hyperdamped outer drivers/mirror imaged); tweeter anti-diffraction mod; Cardas binding posts; Neotech UPOCC internal wire; foam-lined inner driver baskets; xschop phase plugs; deleted fuses; Hurricane nuts; Sonic Barrier; Dynamat Xtreme
    Ayre K-5xeMP preamplifier
    Cambridge Audio 840C CD player; Herbie's Audio Lab Super Black Hole CD Mat
    D-Sonic Custom Audio M3a-600M monoblock amplifiers
    NAD 4155 FM/AM tuner
    Silnote Audio Morpheus Reference II Series II balanced interconnects; Virtue Audio single-ended interconnects
    Kimber 12TC speaker cable w/Furez connectors; VH Audio Flavor 4 power cables w/Furutech connectors
    Herbie's Audio Lab system isolation: Tenderfeet, Big Fat Dots, Grungebuster Dots, Little Fat Gliders
    Dedicated 20A/10 AWG circuit; Furutech GTX-D (G) outlet; Furutech eTP80; Shunyata Research Venom Defender; Synergistic Research Orange fuses
  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,270
    I use tone controls, it's called tube rolling.
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    I have a Parasound stack with the same, when I tried it for ghits and siggles, it didn’t do anything except make the sound come through unnatural

    I find using gear/speakers/wire/power is the best way to dial in those tones.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,922
    edited September 2020
    What is this tone control of which you speak?
    Fug, I don't have a balance control -- although there are absolutely times that I wish I did.

    47442002372_bd84dc7c3c_b.jpgDSC_4263 (3) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
    47502189721_48d0222575_b.jpgDSC_4274 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    I probably did a little when I first started back in the 70s, but haven’t for years now. I don’t remember what last piece of gear even had tone controls. The volume and balance controls do get a workout.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    ^drooling over the Magicos
  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Don’t get them wet. :)
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    They were one of two end game speakers for me that I got to experience at Axpona. The others were YG Acoustics.
    One of those two will be my end game brands.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Everything in an analog stereo system is a tone control. Toeing in a speaker or moving it closer to a wall affects the treble and bass, is one example. Tube rolling in a tube preamp is another.

    Using a tone circuit in an analog preamp is a cop out. The degree to which it affects the purity of the preamp’s output depends on the preamp. There are even digital processor stereo preamps now that have room correction capability built in. Anthem makes an interesting one which helps integrate subwoofers into a stereo. :)
  • afterburnt
    afterburnt Posts: 7,892
    Grandpa said "said son, don't you ever eat no beaver" now I want to use tone controls!

    But seriously, I think my Parasound P-5 has them??? But my Marantz something 8006 has them and Zero Fidelity said he doesn't like it in bypassed to defeat the tone knobs like (purulent) mode. I think I agree, however we are talking about all of them set to neutrino. This piece is dedicated to my cheap vinyl system now and it ain't been hooked up to a TT so I may very well use the tone controls. I am anxious to see how it pairs with the part time Emo monoblocks.
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    edited September 2020
    I use them very occasionally for quite poor recordings. On some radio stations it is almost a necessity as well.

    Now in my Buick... the stereo is so bad that when the bass is all the way up and the treble all the way down, it sounds like just the opposite. I can't describe how terrible it is.
    Post edited by mlistens03 on
  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    I haven't used them since listening to "KISS Alive II" in 1978. :o
  • Dr_Wu
    Dr_Wu Posts: 305
    I still have a Soundcraftsmen EQ, as well as an NAD preamp with tone controls. I never used the preamp controls, and haven't used the EQ since upgrading my power and cabling situation.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,033
    Viking64 wrote: »
    I haven't used them since listening to "KISS Alive II" in 1978. :o

    You can't hear anything after a KISS concert...
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • Thanks all this makes me feel good about ordering a piece that doesn’t have them.
    Living Room
    Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Yamaha BD-S681, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, Polk S60, Polk S30, Samsung 60" LED

    Office
    Cambridge Audio 851A, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s

    Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
  • Using "tone controls" is like going to a fine restaurant and telling the chef to leave off one or more of the main ingredients in a signature dish.
    "Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"


    Harry / Marietta GA
  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    Or dumping salt and pepper on that fine meal.
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,033
    Using "tone controls" is like going to a fine restaurant and telling the chef to leave off one or more of the main ingredients in a signature dish.

    unless that ingredient is spinach...
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    I have the MF2si and it replaced the Cambridge Audio CXA60 in my main setup. While the CXA60 has tone controls and a balance control, I didn’t use them. But, I’m not against using them and experimenting with them to see if they fit you, your room, or your setup. If they don’t flit your boat, you can always zero them out/bypass them on the Parasound gear. Experimenting can be fun, especially when it’s so easy to go back to where you started. That said, the MF2si provides a really wonderful sound in my setup that I have no desire to change or modify.
    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
    HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,922
    edited September 2020
    Thanks all this makes me feel good about ordering a piece that doesn’t have them.
    afterburnt wrote: »
    Have what?

    The first rule about tone controls is that you don't talk about tone controls.

    Using "tone controls" is like going to a fine restaurant and telling the chef to leave off one or more of the main ingredients in a signature dish.

    Actually, more like slathering ketchup over the dish. :#
  • Does using a sub to assist the low end count? If so then I'm guilty.