Favorite Music for Auditioning New Gear

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Play Dead, Feb 10, 2016.

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  1. chrischerm

    chrischerm Forum Resident

    I use the original CD pressing of Thomas Dolby's 'The Flat Earth' for testing. Especially for speaker testing. Specifically the songs 'Dissidents' and the title track.
     
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  2. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    When I posted this disc, I did not offer much information, so let me fill in the gaps. If you really enjoy female vocals of the highest caliber, this artist is for you.
    The disc and LP I listed here is her hallmark recording. It was done on LP, CD, Gold CD and finally Analogue Productions. The recording was made in October 1995 and mastered at Pope Music Studios. Like Telarc and Reference Recordings, Pope was another top shelf label, hated to see that one go!

    The album was recorded with one pair of stereo microphones through Cello electronics into a Nagra digital 2-track recorder. All of the music was recorded simultaneously with no overdubbing. The acoustics that you hear include the natural ambience of the recording studio. Each song was recorded complete in one three-hour session. The arrangements, mixing and interpretation were all fine tuned in the same single session. The engineer was Gene Pope III.
    Folks, this is about as good as it gets, a disc everyone should own. Even the standard CD is exceptional, so if you don't get the GOLD CD or the Analogue Production CD, you are still going to get an exceptional product, to be sure. We all search for those very special CDs and SACDs and here is one you might not have heard about, as it is now 20 years old, but it is timeless, hope you find it. This artist has several wonderful discs, however, this is the one that defines her work. Happy listening. :whistle:
     
  3. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    Over the weekend I went and auditioned a pair of speakers that a local seller had listed on another audio web site. I took my ipod loaded with AIFFs and listened to:
    Life's Railway To Heaven by Johnny Cash from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken 2
    The Valley Road
    by Bruce Hornsby from the same album
    Tori Amos' version of Famous Blue Raincoat from Tower Of Song: Songs Of Leonard Cohen.
    Calling All Angels,
    Jane Siberry from When I Was A Boy.
    Black Night
    by Willie Nelson with Dr John from Milk Cow Blues.
    I always start every audition with Johnny Cash. His vocal is a make or break for me as it has to come across full and rich or forget it. Unfortunately I knew after the first minute the speakers I was looking at weren't for me. Although, they were absolutely stunning with the female vocals and imaging.
     
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  4. Play Dead

    Play Dead Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I see that Acoustic Sounds has the Lori Lieberman "Home of Whispers" on LP in stock at a reasonable price. Have to put it on my acquisition list. You Tube has the album to preview if anyone is interested. From a quick preview, I can understand why it was used at the Audio show. Just received a copy of John Scofield's "A Go Go" with Martin, Medeski and Wood. Excellent sounding LP on a German import... pricey but worth it. Very well recorded.

    Thanks for the many suggestions so far. I'll have fun checking some of these out.

    Play Dead
     
  5. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Music Direct, I believe has it for $2.00, the standard CD, that is a GIFT. Heck, if I did not have it already, and the GOLD CD on order with Amazon, I would buy it again, go to Music Direct and jump on that! Oh, be SURE and call them with your order and tell them to ship out media mail, otherwise they will charge you about $7.00 for shipping, and if it goes media mail, $2 or $3 at most. This is a great buy indeed, hope you get one.
     
  6. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    One other thing I forgot to tell you, Music Direct has Farewell- Tchaikovsky, 24 KT. Gold CD, $3.00. I think I paid about $35.00 15 years ago!!!!!! You need to jump on both of these immediately. On Home of Whispers, it's the second song everyone played at the audio shows, "Let the rain come down".
     
  7. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Thanks for the tip! I'll try that when I get home.

    By the way, which mastering do you use?
     
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  8. Louis Kirsch

    Louis Kirsch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rolesville, NC
    I am in the process of auditioing turntables and my test recording are:
    1) Aja-Cisco
    2) Hope-AP 45
    3) KOB-Classic Records 45rpm
    4) Neil Young greatest hits-Classic Records Quiex SVP....I find his voice very difficult to reliably reproduce
    5) LA Woman-QRP 45
    6) Hell Freezes Over-Simply Vinyl
    7) Band of Gypsys-Classic Records Quiex SVP
     
  9. bhazen

    bhazen I Am The Walrus

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    If I'm doing it now, probably the most recent CD ... 2014 (?) Truthfully though, any of the CDs of LZ II will do the trick. That master tape is just murder on speakers lacking a certain robust quality.
     
  10. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Ok, thanks. I have (and love) the orignal Diament mastering.
     
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  11. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Just tested it. My speakers hold up well. I sampled a half dozen of the songs. [​IMG]
     
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  12. fuse999

    fuse999 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    Wow, just bought the Lori Lieberman gold cd for $6.49 on Ebay. Would say I won it, but it cost me $6.49 + shipping! Thanks for the suggestion Litejazz53.
     
  13. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Wow, fantastic, you have got a good find there, and the GOLD one to boot, great job. I found the GOLD one a couple of days ago for $9.99, which I thought would be unbeatable!
     
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  14. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    Any music I know well will do, but

    ...for soundstaging, dynamics, frequency extension at both extremes, the NY Percussion Ensemble's late '70s recording of Varese' "Ionisation" from the original Ludwig mastering is great. (Another good one for wumpus dynamics is the RCA Living Stereo Power of the Orchestra album -- in one of the later audiophile pressings -- version of "Night on Bald Mountain.")

    ....for bass articulation and continuity and retrieval of detail Dave Holland's solo bass album One's All

    ...for a natural representation of an acoustic space and soundstage I know well -- Bill Evans' Sunday at the Vanguard

    ...to find out whether something or not is too steely in the highs, Bloch's Concerto Grosso No. 1 on the Mercury Living Presence recording by Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra

    ...for vocal presence, Isaac Freeman's Beautiful Stars and Sarah Vaughan's Afterhours.

    ...for center localization, Nat Cole's After Midnight and Miles' Relaxin' (also great for the tactile drum quality)

    ...for soundstage cues, the old RCA Living Stereo recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnole by Kiril Kondrishan, the Motion-Lovano-Frisell trio's Vanguard recordings -- At the Village Vanguard and Sound of Love

    Generally, and for detail -- Sonny Rollins Way Out West, Thelonious Monk Alone in San Francisco, the drum-vocal duet between Louis Bellson and Sarah Vaughan on "When Your Lover Has Gone" from How Long Has This Been Going On (I listen to drums and piano a lot when I'm testing -- two instruments I play).

    For a rhythm section kick -- the title tracks from AC/DC's Back in Black and Muddy Waters' I'm Ready.

    If I have to take something with me, the "Ionisation," Sarah Vaughan Afterhours, Dave Holland and Sunday at the Vanguard will probably do.
     
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  15. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    This is really good info, thanks so much!
     
  16. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I use music I like.
     
  17. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I remember reading a very long time ago, advice exactly to the contrary of this. "Liking" the music means you could have some attachment or emotional sentiment around it which can cloud objectivity.

    Not saying that's true, but I always felt it was an interesting perspective. I will say that, for example, were I to see two dance routines - one to music I get into, and one not - I'm almost universally going to like the dancing in the first one better, even if it's the same routine, just a different song.

    Again, not saying you're wrong by any means, I think you have to be emotionally involved on many aspects of system demos, but having something you know very well, but don't really "like" isn't a bad way to go for some aspects either.
     
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  18. noahjld

    noahjld Der Wixxer

    " Slave ToThe Rhythm" DMM pressing
    "Nightclubbing"
    "Living My Life"
    "Warm Leatherette"
     
  19. DPM

    DPM Senior Member

    Location:
    Nevada, USA
    My SACDs of Dead Can Dance/Into The Labyrinth and Vanessa Fernandez/Use Me are fun disks for trying out gear. I also have several CDRs containing choice cuts.

    My latest CDR comp includes:

    Inca Roads - Frank Zappa (taken from One Size Fits All - the Ryko Au20 gold CD)
    South Bound Traveller - Al Di Meola (from Kiss My Axe)
    Magic Fingers - Bela Fleck & The Flecktones (from UFO TOFU)
    John S. - Sonny Rollins (from ORG SACD of The Bridge)
    I Don't Want The Night To End - Phoebe Snow (from self-titled A.P. SACD)
    Lonely One - Nat "King" Cole (from A.P. SACD After Midnight - mastered by our host)
    Finale - Joseph Haydn (from Isomike SACD of Haydn String Quartets)
    Dissidents - Thomas Dolby (from The Flat Earth)
    Good Lovin' Gone Bad - Bad Company (from A.F. gold CD Straight Shooter - mastered by our host)
    Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) - S.R. Vaughn (from MFSL SACD of Couldn't Stand The Weather)
    Scherzo No.2, Op 31 in B Flat - Frederic Chopin (from Ballades & Scherzos)
    The Beat Goes On - Patricia Barber (from MFSL SACD of Companion)

    Some of these tunes are selected for a specific purpose, such as to suss out bass performance, dynamics, frequency balance or an ability with vocals. Others are just fun tracks that aren't necessarily considered audiophile recordings. I do want to make a new CDR. This current one lacks a big orchestra track, such as something from The Planets.
     
  20. Potential Energy

    Potential Energy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle
    I use music I know well and I try to hit a lot of genres to see how the gear handles each. Not all audiophile stuff though.

    Steely Day - Black Cow
    Hendrix - Voodoo Child (slow version)
    Herbie Hancock - Chameleon off Headhunters
    Fleetwood Mac - Dreams/Go Your Own Way (drums!)
    Pink Floyd - Time
    Miles - So What
    Stones - Love in Vain / Wild Horses
    Dylan - Tangled up in Blue
    Daft Punk - Give Life Back to Music
    Courtney Barnett - Small Poppies
    Parliament - P.Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) / Mothership Connection
     
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  21. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    But, using music you like means you use music that you know, and what you know what should sound like.
     
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  22. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I know "Ballad of the Runaway Horse" exceptionally well - doesn't mean I like it :) I'm just saying, it's good to have a song or two that you are very familiar with that you have no "connection" with. It keeps things objective - that's all. I wouldn't ever advocate taking a bunch of sterile tracks into a shop and solely judge based on them. Music, and the systems that reproduce them should move the listener and impact them emotionally. And absolutely, songs you "like" will inherently mean you are, in most cases, intimately familiar with them in multiple settings.
     
  23. Daddy Dom

    Daddy Dom Lodger

    Location:
    New Zealand
    I used Stan Getz with Guest Artist Laurindo Almeida (on Verve) for a long time. Mostly acoustic with lots of different percussion being played at once. You'll soon know if it makes sense or not!

    I steer clear of so-called audiophile releases as I have no benchmark, I prefer selections that I know move me. I they don't move me, then it's no cigar.
     
  24. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Yeah, that's a good one. For a few years now I've used "You Can't a Man With a Gun," from "Annie Get Your Gun" sung by Bernadette Peters.

    Dynamics, female vocal, orchestral. It has it all.

     
  25. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    Pink Floyd-Animals

    Alan Parsons- Turn Of A Friendly Card

    The Police- Sinchronicity
     
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