Tone controls (bass/treble)
Tone controls are simple bass and treble adjustment knobs (or remote buttons) on integrated amps. Purist audiophiles disable them for "flat" response; practical listeners use them to compensate for room acoustics or personal preference.
Tone controls are simple 2-band shelving equalizers – a bass knob (typically shelving below ~200 Hz) and a treble knob (typically shelving above ~5 kHz). Historically standard on every amplifier; disappeared from many premium audiophile amps in the 90s.
Why some purists disable them
- Adds circuits in the signal path (potential noise/distortion)
- Flat/unmodified response is “faithful to the source”
Why practical listeners use them
- Room acoustics create bass humps or treble dips
- Some albums are mastered too bright or too muddy
- Personal preference at different volume levels (Fletcher-Munson curve)
Where you’ll find them
The AIYIMA A80 has bass and treble controls on the remote – convenient direct access. Many Class-AB integrateds (Yamaha A-S series, NAD) offer defeat switches to bypass the tone stage entirely.
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