Dr. Floyd Toole covers this subject thoroughly in his book "Sound Enginnering." One thing he discusses is that experienced listeners are much less likely to boost the bass and treble from "ideal" levels than are novices. Also, everyone seems to like bass so if any tweaking is to occur even among experienced listeners it is likely to be in the bass region. In all of reported experiments under controlled conditions novices adjusted both bass and treble to quite high levels. This from the 4th edition, chapter 12 if memory serves.
Fletcher Munson 'Loudness Control' Video
Anyone listening at low levels (or advising others who do) ought to watch this IMO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnC35ATzz_0&t=470s
Interesting, I didn’t realize it was research for Bell Labs regarding telephones.
I’ve always said, it is named stupidly, and still very relevant but poorly understood.
He is right, in all my years, my Yamaha CR-1040 Receiver has the best implementation. I’m also happy with how my Chase RLC-1 Remote Line Controller automatically implements bass boost as you lower the volume below your pre-set ’normal’.
Implementation is important to benefit properly from the scientific facts.
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- 19 posts total
- 19 posts total

