No single equalization target curve can suit all listeners

Evidence

More data would be enlightening, but this amount is sufficient to indicate that a single target curve is not likely to satisfy all listeners all the time. Because these preferred curves were subjectively determined, they include the “circle of confusion” issues. Just as they changed with listener experience and training, they are likely to change with different programs. It is proof that we need easily accessible bass, treble and/or tilt tone controls in playback equipment. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1422

Categorization

• DEFINE: Justifies restoring tone controls (seen as outmoded) as a scientifically grounded necessity rather than a legacy feature.
• XREF: connects to: No single loudness compensation curve can serve music with dynamic range; Equalizing to a universal target curve cannot reliably improve sound; Spatially averaged equalization can satisfy no individual listener — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1046 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• No universal sound-quality model exists; listener data is the only shared starting point #corroborates (0.85)
• On-axis curves alone cannot predict loudspeaker sound quality #corroborates (0.80)
• Equalization masks a mode’s audibility but leaves the room itself untouched #expands (0.78)
• No tuning system can make all diatonic scale intervals perfectly consonant #corroborates (0.72) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1306