Receivers with midrange control

[KiltedCowboy]

I see receivers with bass and treble controls and some with midrange controls. How important is it to have control of the midrange?

 

[kwayde]

Depends on how one likes his music to sound. Some feel equalizers are a must where they have even more control.

 

[Lavane]

I personally like having a midrange control. I'm kind of in the less is more crowd, but with tone controls just having a bass and treble control isn't quite enough.
The less junk in the audio path the better, but having that midrange control is worth it.

 

[swechsler]

I'm of the "no tone controls" school (I have them but don't use them); IMO their bandwidth is generally too broad to do anything useful without making something else worse at the same time. If you want to do any real tweaking of the sound to adjust for your room, an EQ (or DSP) is a better bet.

Having said that, if you've got a poorly mixed recording, tone controls can help to some extent. In general, though, I prefer to hear music as the engineer and/or artist intended.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

People who don't have tone controls, or a good equalizer (I prefer Parametric to Graphic, but know how to use both effectively) tend to listen to a more narrow variety of music. Not always, but tone controls or equalizer help with recordings which need it.

 

[twiiii]

I prefer units with 5 and 8 graphic controls.

 

[tubelectron]

My Marantz 2250B has the Midrange control feature :

This is a well designed and useful feature, tied to a versatile Tone Mode selector (below)...







Same feature on my Marantz 2270 - without the Tone Selector though :

...But I must confess that I barely use it...

T

 

[Catmanboo]

'Tis better to have & not need, than to need/want & not have. My Marantz 1060 has mid control, when in rotation that helps keep it in the stack for a while, since what's next in line doesn't have mid control.

 

[KingBubba]

In past years, I had midrange controls and used them to help with speakers that had a colored sound of their own. It was helpful in that situation. At this time I have speakers that are not colored and my tone controls, since I obtained these DCM speakers, have not been needed. EQs are only useful if you have a spectrum analyzer and a calibrated mic, otherwise all you are doing is guessing.

 

[Lavane]

I'm of the "no tone controls" school (I have them but don't use them); IMO their bandwidth is generally too broad to do anything useful without making something else worse at the same time. If you want to do any real tweaking of the sound to adjust for your room, an EQ (or DSP) is a better bet.

Having said that, if you've got a poorly mixed recording, tone controls can help to some extent. In general, though, I prefer to hear music as the engineer and/or artist intended.

Same here. My main system and several smaller systems I have don't have tone controls. I do have a Marantz 1060 integrated amp with tone controls with a midrange control. But they usually stay flat unless I run into poorly mixed music.
Placement of speakers is really important. If done right, you don't really need tone controls. It can be difficult sometimes to get good placement with some rooms.

 

[tourmax]

My 8080DB has them. But they’re generally at the neutral position (ie:flat).

I will mess with them though if I think the playback could be better or if I want to hear certain parts of the sound more than others. Say, if I’m in the mood for more bass, or I want more emphasis on voice, etc…

 

[BilboBaggins]

While I love the control options on my Sansui AU-9900 and my McIntosh MA-6200, I get along just fine with the McIntosh C26 and the Bose 4401 in my two main systems.

 

[gizzyman47]

I prefer receivers with the mid control, even though I'm a "Run it Flat" type of guy!

 

[OBMG74]

Too much midrange bothers my tinnitus so on my 1060’s I kick the mid down a notch or 2. very handy.

 

[Lavane]

Too much midrange bothers my tinnitus so on my 1060’s I kick the mid down a notch or 2. very handy.

I turn the midrange down a notch or two myself with the 1060 depending on the recording. At first I thought it was just because they're a cap coupled amp. But even with the 140 power amp connected to it, it's the same. I love the little 1060. Adding the 140 power amp makes for a nice combo.

 

[Artie]

I find a midrange control to be essential on a guitar amp, but not so much on stereo equipment. But I DO like the option. I especially like Yamaha's variable "Loudness" control, which is essentially a mid cut only. I doubt I'd ever boost midrange.

 

[billyz]

The best tone controls are the kind that are completely bypassed .

 

[ernieb1536]

I see receivers with bass and treble controls and some with midrange controls. How important is it to have control of the midrange?

My realistic sta2080 has it love that feature as well as an excellent loudness control my sta2290 has it as well my carver hr772 has 4 frequency controls but I prefer the 3 tone controls it a very nice feature !

 

[ernieb1536]

Too much midrange bothers my tinnitus so on my 1060’s I kick the mid down a notch or 2. very handy.

For me it’s the opposite I have model 26 cv that are 2 way the control allows me to add a nice midrange sound and tone down the tweeters great for vocals as for the bass it’s Cerwyn Vega. No shortage of bass there ! And my other sta2080 running a set of Mach 2s and klh 8s it’s nice too !

 

[Mr.White]

Since finding a Yamaha EQ-550 on the side of the road I don't know how I ever lived without one. Especially when listening to bootlegs. I personally don't give two farts what the artist or engineer wanted me to hear. I'm the additional member [think Eno/Roxy Music] on every recording I listen to, tailoring the sound to my satisfaction.