Tone Controls?

[SWL3600]

To paraphrase our seldom seen AK sage Tom Brennan.

Speaker position is critical to obtaining good sound. HPM 100 sound best positioned face down on the floor.

He may be onto something there.

Cheers
Mister Pig

I remember him posting something similar about Klipsch Heresies.......they sound best face down, in another room.

Cracked me up.

 

[KingBubba]

I don't use the tone controls, but I do use the loudness button on the G-8000 in the bedroom system.

 

[vwestlife]

The gospel of never using tone controls or equalizers is most often preached by people who want to sell you expensive speakers. The fact that they can be used to make cheap speakers sound good is an anathema to their profit margin.

 

[Grenadeslio]

People in the 70s loved playing with knobs! .

I still like playing with knobs, check my avatar lol.

 

[jetstream]

This subject is nicely addressed on the Schiit Loki page, read the description and the FAQ: http://www.schiit.com/products/loki

 

[slow_jazz]

Love em.

 

[Chrisxo55441]

i sometimes use the balance control as well , but i draw the line at the loudness control. wait what about the volume control are we allowed to use that?

 

[usedto]

To paraphrase our seldom seen AK sage Tom Brennan.

Speaker position is critical to obtaining good sound. HPM 100 sound best positioned face down on the floor.

He may be onto something there.

Cheers
Mister Pig

That's like saying a pig is best positioned on a spit over a charcoal fire with an apple in it's mouth and a carrot up it's @$$.

 

[0Hz]

those are some neat products. That Schiit stuff...

 

[musichal]

This subject is nicely addressed on the Schiit Loki page, read the description and the FAQ: http://www.schiit.com/products/loki

Although I own a couple Schiit products, with which I am pleased, I hate their site because of my sight. The black background with light (whitish) lettering is way too hard for me to read. I avoid such sites, as much as possible, so I won't be attempting to read their take on tone controls.

My own opinion, which is the only one in this thread that counts, is that I don't need them. I know this because, even when I have them, and even when I've tried them, I always ended with them either defeated, or in neutral.

If I ever do decide to use equalization, then I will most likely use it for room correction with one of the many gizmos (with software) that do it. However, one may well argue that setting up dual subs is EQ-ing, in which case I do use it. But not bass/treble controls, or an equalizer. Again, mine is the only opinion that matters.

 

[Grenadeslio]

That's like saying a pig is best positioned on a spit over a charcoal fire with an apple in it's mouth and a carrot up it's @$$.

Wait, I thought....hey, a pig is best on a spit, are you dissing Klipsch Heresys lol?

 

[Alobar]

I'm currently running my biamped system with all tone controls bypassed. I use a DSP and set the PEQ's with a mic at my listening chair. Compared with just using tone controls it is just far better, more natural now. Doubt I will be going back to the way it was. .

 

[Alobar]

Although I own a couple Schiit products, with which I am pleased, I hate their site because of my sight. The black background with light (whitish) lettering is way too hard for me to read. I avoid such sites, as much as possible, so I won't be attempting to read their take on tone controls.

My own opinion, which is the only one in this thread that counts, is that I don't need them. I know this because, even when I have them, and even when I've tried them, I always ended with them either defeated, or in neutral.

If I ever do decide to use equalization, then I will most likely use it for room correction with one of the many gizmos (with software) that do it. However, one may well argue that setting up dual subs is EQ-ing, in which case I do use it. But not bass/treble controls, or an equalizer. Again, mine is the only opinion that matters.

I hate that white text too! When I have to read it for any length of time I try to copy paste it into a word processor. .

 

[quiet]

I'm amazed only one pair of speakers in the house needs any help. The Fisher XP10. All the top it can get.

 

[onepixel]

Whatever sounds good.

 

[tom67]

In my experience bright sounding speakers is usually due to the upper midrange and not the treble frequencies, maybe it's just my ears but theres something about the 2 - 8K reigion that rapes my ears with some speakers. Placing speakers on the floor and toeing in really helps.

Great point. We are led to assume that there are more notes in the upper range than there really are. Note also that we have been in the guitar age for the last 50 years where that is the dominant instrument in contemporary music.Most guitar notes are below 2,000 HZ. The vast majority of notes of musical interest are below 2500 HZ.....and Soprano female voices are below 1,200 HZ and are the source of a lot of sibilance complaints....Some interesting numbers on the attachment. Paul Klipsch was right when he said "We all live in the mid range"

http://www.zytrax.com/tech/audio/audio.html

 

[Grenadeslio]

Great point. We are led to assume that there are more notes in the upper range than there really are. Note also that we have been in the guitar age for the last 50 years where that is the dominant instrument in contemporary music.Most guitar notes are below 2,000 HZ. The vast majority of notes of musical interest are below 2500 HZ.....and Soprano female voices are below 1,200 HZ and are the source of a lot of sibilance complaints....Some interesting numbers on the attachment. Paul Klipsch was right when he said "We all live in the mid range"

http://www.zytrax.com/tech/audio/audio.html

All true, but it's amazing how much the balance of the audio spectrum relies on the tweeter being right. I was recently reminded of this when I needed a replacement tweet for my AR58s speakers. Went online knowing that my search for OEM tweets would more than likely be an excersize in futility.

As luck would have it I found a pair of refurbished (upgraded) AR92 tweets that should have worked. But on arrival it was apparent these were not only different but more like 1" rather than the 3/4" the originals were. Still that's a non starter if all else is ok, but it wasn't.

At first listen it was startling how forward the new tweets were, but about 10 minutes in they began to calm down. My experience shows new drivers can take 100hrs to fully settle in so I was patient. After a week the sound was improved but the new tweets were just way too hot. I'm not saying they weren't better tweeters, very smooth presentation, great dispersion characteristics, but they just didn't have synergy with the speaker system as a whole. Sure I could have tried mucking with the crossover, or maybe added some means of attenuation but still a crap shoot on the possible results.

This prompted me to go back on line to try and locate one replacement for my one bad tweet. A few days of searching and a pair of OEM NOS tweeters for my AR's show up with a BIN price, I grabbed them. Installed last night and immediately new my AR's were back, even before break in the soundstage was impressive.

Sure the midrange is what our ears are attuned to, but without the bass fundamentals and balance provided by the other drivers it just isn't music.

 

[Frank Sol]

Paul Klipsch was right when he said "We all live in the mid range"

Perhaps why EL34 amps are beloved

 

[Mister Pig]

That's like saying a pig is best positioned on a spit over a charcoal fire with an apple in it's mouth and a carrot up it's @$$.

Eh that is a misconception held my many people.

For those in the know, a pig is best positioned in Pigtopia! That is the preferred hangout of all pigs, and far more comfortable than a gentle charcoal warming. Let me illustrate:

And while not on Pigtopia, we can see that pig love is a world wide phenomenon.

Cheers
Mister Pig

 

[tom67]

All true, but it's amazing how much the balance of the audio spectrum relies on the tweeter being right. I was recently reminded of this when I needed a replacement tweet for my AR58s speakers. Went online knowing that my search for OEM tweets would more than likely be an excersize in futility.

As luck would have it I found a pair of refurbished (upgraded) AR92 tweets that should have worked. But on arrival it was apparent these were not only different but more like 1" rather than the 3/4" the originals were. Still that's a non starter if all else is ok, but it wasn't.

At first listen it was startling how forward the new tweets were, but about 10 minutes in they began to calm down. My experience shows new drivers can take 100hrs to fully settle in so I was patient. After a week the sound was improved but the new tweets were just way too hot. I'm not saying they weren't better tweeters, very smooth presentation, great dispersion characteristics, but they just didn't have synergy with the speaker system as a whole. Sure I could have tried mucking with the crossover, or maybe added some means of attenuation but still a crap shoot on the possible results.

This prompted me to go back on line to try and locate one replacement for my one bad tweet. A few days of searching and a pair of OEM NOS tweeters for my AR's show up with a BIN price, I grabbed them. Installed last night and immediately new my AR's were back, even before break in the soundstage was impressive.

Sure the midrange is what our ears are attuned to, but without the bass fundamentals and balance provided by the other drivers it just isn't music.

Even after a half century of being spoiled by better sources, I can still enjoy a tune on an AM radio. But you are right for most (almost all here including me), more is better than less, especially once you are used to it...