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BASS/TREBLE controls at neutral position?

cspyon said:
Do you usually set the tone controls of BASS and TREBLE of your vintage McIntosh preamps (C20, C11, C22, etc) at a neutral position? Some of you prefer to set them at the neutral position all the time, but others like me don't. In my case, I set Bass control of my C20 at 0 or neutral, but Treble control at the 5 o'clock position for a more dynamic and clear treble sound when I listen to jazz. According to the C20 manual, for example, turning the BASS and TREBLE controls to 0 is recommended for proper balancing. How about you?
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I use the C29 tone controls when listening to vinyl, and not at all listening to digital.
 
McIntosh includes basic tone controls for you even on their preamps and integrated amps without multi band EQs because no one can possibly design a component to account for every single listening room, speaker, environment, and recording. Correction: there is one component that can come closer to achieving that… a MEN220. Which requires careful setup with a microphone positioned at numerous points in the room to achieve an appropriate EQ curve and whatever other magic it puts in the sauce…

BUT outside of a fancy processor… tone controls are a fact of life. And manufacturers that purposely leave them out are handicapping you and basically saying “deal with it!… suffer through this terrible sounding crap recorded track like a REAL man!”

There’s a few recordings that I have a hard time getting to sound right in ANY system without tone controls… “Paninaro” by the Pet Shop Boys is one that always sounds terribly thin on most anything I play it on. Having tone adjustments helps to balance that recording to a listenable tolerance.
 
FWIW, I usually have the bass toned down to ~11o'clock position and the treble up ~ 1o'clock positions. It's what sounds good to me. Of course it all really depends to what I am listening to - I always fiddle with them.....
 
I have MC275 MKVI and C22 MKIII, running Klipschorns. An electrical engineer tech guy (who runs most of his songs through a computerized equalizer and a MEN220) told me that with my limited setup to turn the bass dial up one notch on all CDs and to leave it flat on vinyl. Not sure why he suggested this, but I often follow his advice or forget and leave it flat. Occasionally I turn bass or treble down one notch when playing at live-volume-concert-levels. Generally, his advice seems sound.
 
Bushikan said:
I have MC275 MKVI and C22 MKIII, running Klipschorns. An electrical engineer tech guy (who runs most of his songs through a computerized equalizer and a MEN220) told me that with my limited setup to turn the bass dial up one notch on all CDs and to leave it flat on vinyl. Not sure why he suggested this, but I often follow his advice or forget and leave it flat. Occasionally I turn bass or treble down one notch when playing at live-volume-concert-levels. Generally, his advice seems sound.
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I would leave it in the position that pleases your ears the most! Just trust your ears~
 
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