Everyone here listens to their music flat, right? (No eq, sub, etc.)

I forgot that my EPI speakers have some kind of "brightness" knob that you can adjust. I fiddled with them for the first day or two after I got them, found the setting I preferred, and left them there.

 

What exactly do those brightness controls on speakers do, anyway? Do they distort the signal like tone controls do? Why do some manufacturers feel it's necessary to have a brightness switch on speakers at all?

 

In-room frequency resonse varies depending on furnishings. Listening and speaker positions produce different results, too. I wish my tweeters could be turned down a couple dB, but I have no controls for that. So there are makeshift solutions like putting some facial tissue or a very thin cloth over them.

 

Yes, I know why manufacturers recommend using these treble switches. I'm just wondering why they feel it's necessary to have them at all, as opposed to just using tone controls or getting speakers that better suit your room response.

 

no tone controls on my Naim Nait.

Gotta love it.

 

If your speakers, headphones, and cartridge do not suck all on their own,
you are better off w/o the tone controls . . . read Steve's post as to why.

If you use tone controls just on speakers but not the headphones
you may have a speaker design, speaker placement or room problem.

If you use tone controls usually on your headphones but not the loudspeakers, the headphones may be the problem.

If you use tone controls on vinyl playback but not cd playback,
you may have a bad phono cartridge. Get it?

 

It depends on how it's done, but I think it's possible that the speaker tone curves are less invasive than outboard EQ or amplifier tone controls. At least I recall being told this, but, of all people, an amplifier designer.

Maybe another forum member can educate us as to how this can be.

I recall my large Advents had three settings - everyone I know used the brightest possible setting. It still was a very warm speaker.

 

Well, you are right on these points, but not every problem is immediately or reasonably solvable (such as room construction), and some people may want to settle for amelioration.

 

I just look at it as a detrement to the sound (frequencies) that your system IS producing on its own. The whole signal has to go through this processing afterall. Basically I like what Steve said....just more stuff in the way.

 

The brightest possible setting on my speakers is very bright - I have them set somewhere just right of the middle.

 

What are tone controls? I do not have them...

Bob-

 

You guys must have perfect rooms... I don't (I live in reality land). You think you are listening flat, but your not!

I use a Behringer DEQ2496 totally digitally (digital in, digital out). http://www.behringer.com/DEQ2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG
I use the parametric EQ to bring down bass peaks below 250 hz and use the 31-band graphic EQ to smooth out the bass (using auto EQ) and i add at slight rolloff around 1 khz (with a dip at 2.5khz for flavor) to help tame some edge off of CDs, the metal tweeters of my speaker and my bright room (hardwood floors). I also EQ my subwoofer flat with a slight room curve using the Behringer Feedback Destoyer (it has a digital parametric equilizer).

 

Double ditto

 

Wouldn't that make you a treble slut? Or did you actually take money for turning up the treble?

 

Listen to music mostley flat, but use some tone controls for sonic duds such as Long Distance Voyager and The Unforgettable Fire

 

My system is quite bright I have to knock the treble down a bit on some badly mastered newer CDs. Occasionally nudge the bass up a bit if I'm listening to dance/ebm/industrial stuff.
98% of the time though, I run totally flat.

 

Well, I don't have a perfect room (mine sucks!) but I don't have tone controls.

 

Then i guess your not listening to music flat (which may not be such a bad thing)

 

In my teens I had a Sansui amp/preamp with bass, treble & loudness knobs and a Rat Shack graphic band equalizer with an odd booster called an IMX Expander.

Now, zero tone controls, but some very slight EQ futzing occasionally, for the more abrasive classic rock recordings.

 

If I want to turn the treble up, I swap in my silver cables. But then, most CD's top out at 20kHz or so, so...nothing beyond that most of the time.

I have a Musical Fidelity X-Tone, but it's not in my system most of the time.

 

I used preamps with no tone controls from the late seventies until a couple of years ago. I bought a 1974 vintage Marantz 2235 receiver, which has bass, midrange, and treble controls, as well as loudness and mono switches. Inever use them.

 

i gotta try that toilet paper over the tweeters trick.