Tone controls are starting to creep in - The D'Agostino preamp comes to mind, but old habits die hard. Many (most?) audiophiles believe that the inclusion of tone controls taints the circuitry, hence their absence from the great majority of high-end components. I don't think anyone doubts their effectiveness in compensating for poor recordings or room acoustics, but the rationale is more about EQ ruining timing and phase relationships, whatever that means.
McIntosh MEN220 Room Correction System
Has anyone tried or demoed this piece of equipment and what were your impressions? This is a 2 channel(or main front LR channels) specific inquiry.
I have and I was actually taken aback by the positive effects. Devices like these are not a one size fits all solution however it takes a series of measurements of your room and develops a virtual 3D model of your room. The system then develops a filter that exactly measures the in room frequency response of your room, speakers and speaker placement. This filter is optimized for your seating position or for a broader sweet spot.
I used to be firmly planted in the no tone control camp until, dare I say it, I got tired of changing out cables and constantly tweaking speaker placement along with various room treatments that always seemed to create a new challenge when solving the last. We have all seen a lean system placed closer to room boundaries to reinforce bass and vice versa. If you have not heard this device or others like it, you owe it to yourself to at least demo it, preferably in your own room, to see for yourself. Your room and speakers may interact perfectly and that would be really cool if they did however for the vast majority of the rest of us, this is a really amazing device.
Your thoughts and impressions, pro or con are welcome. There is one nimrod I would prefer remain out of the dialogue, he or she knows who they are although they are likely not open minded enough to venture out of the home theater forum to benefit from the typically excellent dialogue and idea exchange found on this site.
I have and I was actually taken aback by the positive effects. Devices like these are not a one size fits all solution however it takes a series of measurements of your room and develops a virtual 3D model of your room. The system then develops a filter that exactly measures the in room frequency response of your room, speakers and speaker placement. This filter is optimized for your seating position or for a broader sweet spot.
I used to be firmly planted in the no tone control camp until, dare I say it, I got tired of changing out cables and constantly tweaking speaker placement along with various room treatments that always seemed to create a new challenge when solving the last. We have all seen a lean system placed closer to room boundaries to reinforce bass and vice versa. If you have not heard this device or others like it, you owe it to yourself to at least demo it, preferably in your own room, to see for yourself. Your room and speakers may interact perfectly and that would be really cool if they did however for the vast majority of the rest of us, this is a really amazing device.
Your thoughts and impressions, pro or con are welcome. There is one nimrod I would prefer remain out of the dialogue, he or she knows who they are although they are likely not open minded enough to venture out of the home theater forum to benefit from the typically excellent dialogue and idea exchange found on this site.