Remember back when we had controls for tonal balance? Bass, treble and sometimes even midrange. I recall several integrateds from high-end manufacturers that sported a full 5-band graphic equalizer.
This was, at the time, the cat's meow.
One might ask the question of why. Why did we need tone controls?
I think the answer says a lot of the progress we've made in both amplification and, in particular, speakers. With today's products we don't need to modify the tones coming out of our amplification chain.
The lack of tone controls on modern equipment makes a statement to me that I think is important today. The entire reproduction chain, from the recordings themselves to the final output of your loudspeakers has progressed to the point where we don't need Band-Aids to help it be enjoyable.
That's progress.
