To tone control or not to tone control

Seantaylor99
I replaced the Infinity speakers with Silverline Sonatas. A big improvement, but the biggest improvement in dealing with the bad recordings was to replace the Sherwood cdp with a Theta Miles cdp. Now all cd's are listenable. Obviously some cd's still sound better than others but overall they all sound good now. I haven't thought about tone controls or sub woofers since. Maybe a sub will come into play when I work on the HT end but I am just finishing the 2 channel with the purchase of Homegrown Silver Lace ic's and a dedicated AC line.

I can't imagine not having the flexibility of tone controls-far move value in having the flexibility vs. any minimal loss, if using a high-end piece.

The Accuphase EQs have silly prices, so here's a little secret from the high-end and separate music production realm-get a high-end studio EQ. The White 4700-2 stereo EQ is $1,800 new, about $100 on Ebay. Shhhhhhh....

The Adcom GTP-450 offers the most transparent, relaxed sound I have ever heard from a preamp that has tone controls. I even like the sound produced from the GTP-450 better than the GFA-565, this preamp has soul. This of course is not an audiophile way to go but who cares. You can leave the tone controls in the twelve o clock position and even then it sounded better to my ears than some of the most expesive units, but not all. However I know to most audiophiles who want to do some extreme critical listening they of course will say get the tone controls out of the signal path. I have a GTP-450 & switch to an ARC tube preamp only when I want to do some serious listening on softer music.

Tone controls got a bad reputation several decades ago. Tone control circuitry of modern equipment does not degrade audio quality, but can correct defects in the way a recording was made, and perhaps compensate for your speaker's weaknesses.

To correct the model number I referred to above is a GFP-565 preamp. Again my point is this. The GTP-450 sounded much more open and musical than the GFP-565. I always thought the GFP-565 sounded dark. The GTP-450 is a newer model but was the 450 a mistake? I don't know but when connected to a quality power amp, the sound is remarkable & dynamic. Here is a preamp that can do all music very well. Connected to an Adcom power amp the sound quality is mediocre at best. I tried this preamp on a McCormack 0.5 Rev A & the sound produced was stunning & satisfying, still
maintainig the huge soundstage the McCormack was capable of. For the price this is proof that a preamp retailing new for Five hundred dollars in the early nineties can hold its own against the big boys. Most reviews done on this pre have come from newbees that have no idea what good sound quality is. I don't necessarily seek out a preamp with tone controls but the fact that this fine piece for its price sounds good with them could be a plus!