) but this is VERY boomy bass I'm talking about--bloated, in other words. Using the bass control helps tame it. My worst CD to listen to? Emmylou Harris'Wrecking Ball album. Holy crap, the sound of her voice on this CD is incredibly harsh--it's like they totally overloaded the mic's preamp during the recording session. Everything else--drums, cymbals, guitars--sounds excellent by contrast. I can't listen to this album without the treble control being turned down to at least "9:00" (and I am definitely not a fussy golden ear either). Since my Technics receiver's treble control is centered at 20kHz--so as not to disturb the touchy midrange frequencies--it takes that much knob twisting to tame this CD. Luckily, the bass control is centered at a low 50Hz so its easy to get rid of "Attack of the Clones" outrageous amount of bass. ) the large majority of people disliked "accurate" sounding systems, saying they sounded too harsh/strident and lacked bass & treble. But at high volume levels (normal conversation not possible) they found they sounded much better. This is totally understandable considering the proven fact that the human ear is less sensitive to bass & treble at low levels than at high volume levels. Ta da, this is what loudness controls are designed to compensate for! (and this partly explains the "smile curve" on demo graphic EQs at audio dealers). This is why I lament the scarcity of these circuits on today's receivers, and why I don't feel guilty using them. My receiver doesn't have one though, and things sound pretty weak at low levels, like at night. 
