Mike, thanks for the feedback. I would experiment by increasing the bass
but I have no tone controls, hence my post. There have been so few responses
from people who have used compensation that I am beginning to think that
this feature is not common enough to get a response.
I know that the vintage preamps often had variable loudness compensation.
Does anyone know of newsgroups or the like that are frequented by owners on
vintage components? There seems to be lots of activity in vintage Marantz,
McIntosh, etc whose owners could recount their listening experience.
Wylie Williams

"Mike Prager" wrote:

Decades ago I used a Yamaha receiver that had that feature.
Because I lived in an apartment with poor soundproofing, I
wanted to listen more quietly without losing the bass. I
thought it was a great feature.

Now I listen at nearly lifelike volumes, which provides the
bass in a more realistic context (if reproducing an orchestra
-- or even a string quartet -- in a relatively small listening
room could be ever be considered realistic). Although I have
much more elaborate gear, it's more obvious than ever that
home audio always involves compromises.

So back when, I thought the variable loudness compensation was
a pretty good one. Today, I still sometimes insert a slight
bass boost when listening at low levels.

Mike Prager
North Carolina, USA