who wants tone controls on your next preamp?

I would love a well-executed bass and treble control for my Connie-J PV-11. My purpose is simply to make bad recordings more tolerable. I do not restrict myself to audiophile recordings - I like what I like. But, as my system has evolved, and become more resolving, listening to poorly recorded CDs has become more of a challenge (even as well-recorded albums have become more pleasureable). Presently, I have a Behringer T-1951 parametric EQ in one tape loop. It is wonderfully flexible (and it has tubes!), but a recent speaker upgrade has exposed the T-1951 as much less than transparent. I like my PV-11 a lot. Preamp options with tubes and balance (which I need for several good reasons), bass & treble controls are either used, McIntosh, or Van Alstine. I am not sure that anything other than the top-line Macs would be a real step up from the C-J, and I can't afford that. I am pondering having the C-J modded, which means a long-term committment to it, or looking at something like a used Mac C220. I must have a full-function preamp, with tape loops and phono section (at least MM). I wouldn't mind a remote, either. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks to the O.P. for bringing up an important, if polarizing, topic.

I do not need one and I agree with Almarg 100%;a point I never thought of was the extra cost.

Rleff - Most of hi-end preamps don't have tone controls while practically every cheap system has them. It suggests to me, that it is very inexpensive to make it cheap and very expensive to make it right.

I also suspect that nature of recording (or system) deficiency is more complex than "Treble" and "Bass" and using tone controls (that affect whole harmonic structure) can do more harm than good.

I want to hear bassy record bassy and bright recording bright - the way it was intended and not to adjust/normalize them to sound the same.

To hear recordings way as intended would be possible only if we have an ideally universal standard sound/system calibration method. As well, similar taste, preference and listening environment as some have suggested.. imo.

I saw this thread when it was just getting started and wanted to comment, but I was at work and well... First off, I want to congratulate Elizabeth for bringing up the subject. She has some great questions and I feel they are very important. When I started over again with a new system three years ago, if I couldn't have had tone controls, I would have stayed with my then current gear. No matter the arguement, not all music is recorded the same. Having tone controls that can help make a bad recoding a bit more bearable and a good recording even better is a real plus. Here's another example. When I bought my system, I heard it with all the pieces I bought (at that time). I listened for two or three hours and the system sounded really great (and best) with the tone controls set at zero. But when I brought it home, it did not sound the same. Needed some help from the treble control. I'm sure its my room (the vaulted ceiling). But the point is without tone control, I would be very unhappy. Personally, if they make no difference when turned off, then why not; they should be included. They will provide a great benefit when you need it. And I doubt that the cost to add them is very significant. Finally, hearing a recording the way an engineer wanted you to. I'm not sure they deliberately engineer a recording that is bass heavy or bright. I bet that's not the intent or the intended product. It just comes out that way. (Just look at your music collection and you'll probably note that not all of your music sounds great (I bet). If I bought music that only was recoreded well, my collection would be pretty small. With tone controls, I can help those pieces that need it and turn the controls off on those that don't. -Thanks Elizabeth for addressing a great need in this high-end audio market. Very interesting thread for sure. BTW, it would be great if tone controls could also be controlled by a remote.