To tone control or not to tone control

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!

Because of their bad reputation, and to satisfy purists, tone controls of many preamps can be bypassed. So it is no harm to have them, (and when no one is looking, you might like to use them).

Aside from tone controls, many high end manufacturers are responding to audiophiles by producing gear that streaches the soundstage even further, extracting ever nuance of detail, pushing the limits of sound quality to the max & along the way something comes up missing. This can be a good thing for some audiophiles who want to marvel at the amount of detail that is being produced. Some of these components, not all, offer a sterile laboratory sound & lose musicality and begs to ask the question "Where did the music go?" When I judge a piece of gear, I of course want detail & transparency but beyond that I want to say that I was emotionally satisfied with what I was hearing, that the gear brouht me closer to the music. Also I want gear that sounds excellent with all types of music, not just jazz & classical, whick I love as well.