Loudness Button


I am for the Loudness Button....

Below is an odd comment I thought from PS Audio.

You don’t see loudness controls on high-end audio equipment much for two reasons: its benefits have to be weighed against the impurity of additional phase shifting circuitry, and most high-performance systems aren’t used at background listening levels so it’s not needed.

"Not needed"......I beg to.disagree.

ishkabibil
What happened to the old premise of straight wire with gain? Just saying, again


I buried it when I realized how much personal taste and imperfection was inherent in music production. 

It came back as a ghost of scientific perfection, which I had exorcised with gear I liked the sound of.
Hi @tooblue

Listen, I just want to say that was a little cold of me. You should buy and enjoy what you like, according to your own personal values and aesthetic.

I gave up on arbitrary perfection. I rely on tests, numbers and science a lot, but in the end, this is about my own somatic pleasure.

When it comes to tone controls, I've heard issues with some, and not with others. I had to step back and think about whether the alleged imperfection of the tone control itself was worth denying myself better sound.

I'm lucky to have a unit whose tone controls I cannot tell.  Maybe my ears have gotten worse? I've heard other units and did not like the tone controls.  Now, at night, listening with the loudness switch on is heaven. It means I don't have to have live sound to have great music.

Should you? Up to you, but the rigid self discipline of avoiding them is something far in my past. I even use a digital EQ to do some careful room correction.

Best,

E
@erik_squires, no opology necessary but that is where we differ. I could care less sbout the spec sheets as they usually have very little to do with what my ears tell me. Enjoy the music
@tooblueI 

I am with you.   All these digitalists and numbers guys....ok wow very impressive talk but seriuosly it does not always add up to a presentation of the music being played in an impressive way....again we can talk circles regarding sound...I have listened to so many high end audio systems that seriously I would take a really good Mid Fi setup over it.

Being a Bass player of 45 years now it really shocks me of most people's idea of Bass for example....I have stood there auditioning systems and the seller looks at me waiting to hear a positive response on the Bass in the system when there is only a sense of it but no weight.

There must be some realistic weight to it.

This is where most high end expensive systems leave me scratching my head in an underwhelming thin listening experience.