Quote:
I (still) have and use an old Luxman C-12 preamp with the "linear tilt" tone control - I believe they licensed it from Quad. What are your thoughts and experiences with "well done, reasonably designed" tone controls? Useful? Useless, no place in the high performance gear??

I have found the Quad Tilt control to be very useful with some recordings as it can change the overall balance. Some recordings (usually older ones!) are too bright and a little cut on the Tilt control can improve matters--say with Dorati's recording of the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies. I don't need it very often, but it is a useful tool and I wouldn't want to be without it.

Generally, a tone control is not very useful for correcting most speaker or placement deficiencies or a peaky recording. The Tilt control works best with well balanced systems.

I think that for many of us who listen to vinyl a great deal you will have to use your tone controls at some point as many are not properly riaa equalized. I mean, the main point is, enjoy your music to the best extent you can and if that means boosting or reducing the bass content or the highs for the media then do it.

On my preamp I have a bypass switch that takes the tone controls out and I use that mostly for CD/SACD listening, but when I listen to LPs, it is "out" and I use my tone controls as needed. I also have quite a few LPs that do not need any EQ, so I use it as needed.

Jim

Jim write: "I mean, the main point is, enjoy your music to the best extent you can . . ." I completely agree Jim. I put money into my system and software to experience it, to enjoy it, to have it move me emotionally. One of my U2 records, I think it is Pop, has MIA treble. A little goosing of the treble tone control makes the record much, much better! I listen to the music instead of wondering where the treble is.

My bottom line is that I do not care about the absolute sound or fidelity to the source, I care about enjoying my music. If a tone control helps me do that, and it does every now and then, then the tone control is another useful tool in enjoying tunes.

Speaking of which, I enjoyed the heck out of some Steely Dan Two Against Nature last night. No tone controls needed.

Drtrey,

"Speaking of which, I enjoyed the heck out of some Steely Dan Two Against Nature last night. No tone controls needed."

That's because Roger Nichols knows how to engineer a recording. There was an intersting story about how that disc was almost mis-issued.

http://www.rogernichols.com/ In EQ columns read : Cds give me the jitters. What a great read and some great insight into the perils of the recording engineer...and I guess how careers can be lost and made.

I'm not sure if there is a bad Steely Dan recording since he was involved with them. He and Al Schmitt are my favs.

Jim

Great link Jim! I am so glad that Roger caught the crud before it was pressed. Thanks for the interesting reading brother.

Trey

Exactly ditto on Jim's take for tone controls. Sparingly used only to correct egregious recording errors. Re: Have Two Against Nature on cd and dvd-a- both excellently engineered. Donald Fagen and Steely Dan are very meticulous about quality sound on their recordings. Even my old vinyl of theirs sound great.