Tone controls.

[dAvE6]

My NAD 370 has them, but i'm not sure if it's advisable to use them or not. I've heard rumours that they dilute the sound quality.

The reason i'm asking is because my system is just slightly too bright in the treble and lacking a little in profound bass on certain CD's. This is probably caused by the marantz CD6000 OSE player being detailed and ever so slightly bright coupled with a fairly aggressive sounding amp and QED silver anniversary cable. Also the b&w 603 S3 speakers have one fault and that's the treble: It's a bit crude in comparison to the flawless mid range and tight bass. Apart from this, the system sounds great.

So do i adjust tone controls, or invest in some subtler cabling?

Cheers.

Dave,

Don't take this the wrong way but

"AAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!"

Mike.

[Bert Coules]

Why not try an experiment: twiddle the tone controls a touch and see if you like the result...

Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

[dAvE6]

Originally posted by Flimber
Dave,

Don't take this the wrong way but

"AAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!"

Mike.

Um what?

If you think i'm dissatisfied with the sound then you're wrong. I love it. I was just enquiring whether using tone controls was a good idea. I.e. Use them to suit the sound to personal taste. If i knew they were safe to use then i wouldn't even bother asking. God I'm never going to buy any kind of upgrade again. Complete waste of money. Maybe in 10 years i will buy a whole new system for a new house or whatever.

[Bert Coules]

Dave, I think the problem is that people have been brainwashed into thinking that there are absolutes in this business. There aren't. What's "good sound" to me might be anything but to you, and vice versa.

What matters is what you hear. If you like it, why worry?

Speaking for myself, I fiddle with tone controls a lot. Some of my records, tapes and DVDs sound better with different settings than others. And even there, I often use different settings on different days, or different times of day, or when I'm in different moods.

There's no such thing as a universally correct setting, or a universally correct sound.

Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

[John Dawson]

At Arcam we've put tone controls on most of our amplifiers for exactly the sort of reason you are citing. The absolute transparency of any amplifier may go down a little when you engage them but if sensible adjustment improves the sound more then that's your answer. BTW there's no such thing as the Tone Control Police who will pop up and berate you if you use them - it's just a myth :-)

HTH.

John Dawson (Arcam)

Mr Dawson put it rather more eloqently than me

Tone control is nowt to be scared of. The differences in sound which using one might induce will largely be proportional to the degree you turn the knob and not the existence of the control in the circuit, IYSWIM.

Mike.

[philmate]

Could be talking complete twadle here, I'm sure someone will put me right if I am. I'm thinking room acoustics. By making tiny adjustments to the tone controls I think you can alter the room interaction giving a more even response on certain frequecies or it could make them worse, so experiment. I'm sure you'll find a good compromise. Try moving the speakers a tad left or right, more toe in etc, this can also help you find the sound your after. I prefer an amp with these controls as you can adjust the amp if you desire to make the room interaction more friendly especially if its not a dedicated room for hi/fi etc. There not just there for younger people to impress their friends, listen to that bass,((boomy etc to me and you) they can be usefull if used delicately. Make sense or shall I get me coat.

Philmate.

[dAvE6]

Yeah, thanks for that. I'm assuming having tone defeat on is exactly the same as having bass and treble set to the middle-standard point. It sure sounds the same anyway. Ok, i'll fiddle when i want to.

Thanks.

[browellm]

Originally posted by dAvE6
Yeah, thanks for that. I'm assuming having tone defeat on is exactly the same as having bass and treble set to the middle-standard point. It sure sounds the same anyway. Ok, i'll fiddle when i want to.

Thanks.

Not quite. For amps that have tone controls, tone defeat will re-route the audio signal around the tone control circuitry for the "purest" signal path.

Having the tone controls centred means that the audio signal still passes through the tone control circuitry (potentially adding colouration), but with 0dB gain/loss of bass/treble frequencies.

[CJROSS]

Originally posted by browellm


Not quite. For amps that have tone controls, tone defeat will re-route the audio signal around the tone control circuitry for the "purest" signal path.

Having the tone controls centred means that the audio signal still passes through the tone control circuitry (potentially adding colouration), but with 0dB gain/loss of bass/treble frequencies.

This is generally the case dude I agree but there are some Amp's (my Sony ES for example) whose tone controls switch out of circuit in center détente position as a feature, just like a tone defeat or source direct in effect. Later Sony ES amps opted for tone defeat switches on the fascia FWIW. But a nice feature none the less IMO.

[browellm]

Ah, nice. And more logical too. Why you would want the signal to go through the tone control circuitry if you had zero values set is beyond me.

Sound like a case for an equalizer .