Tone Bypass
Tone Bypass indicates whether you can switch the tone controls out of the signal path.
A Yes means the feature is available. Bass and treble controls adjust low and high frequencies. Setting them to zero removes their intended boost or cut, but does not prove their circuitry is bypassed. A separate bypass setting does that.
Tone Bypass — Preamp
On a preamp, tone bypass lets you listen without tone adjustments while normally keeping volume control. Home-theater bypass is different: it can disable the preamp’s volume control, leaving an external surround processor to set the level.
Check the manual rather than relying on a name such as Direct. Confirm that it bypasses tone controls and whether it also disables balance or loudness compensation. If it bypasses an adjusted loudness control, lower the volume first: the level can jump when that compensation is removed.
Sources
Sources
- RC-1572MKII Owner’s Manual — Rotel