Treble boost in loudness controls damages sound quality unnecessarily

Evidence

It is important to note that no great changes are required at high frequencies. Many loudness compensation devices over the years have significantly boosted both bass and treble as sound level was reduced. With such controls, sound quality is diminished—a result of misinterpreting the equal-loudness contours. With 10 or 20 phon reductions essentially no high-frequency compensation is needed. — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 917

Categorization

• SHARE: A common belief is that ‘loudness’ controls should boost both bass and treble, but the equal-loudness contours show high-frequency correction is essentially unnecessary for modest level cuts.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Toole, Floyd E, Sound reproduction- the acoustics and…, 917
• XREF: connects to: No single loudness compensation curve can serve music with dynamic range