CDs to take to the loudspeaker store

I could have written almost every word. (St. Matthew Passion is my favorite Bach piece.)

My organ “test” CD is the Dorian Recordings release mentioned earlier.

 

Totally agree that how a system handles piano is a key test/differentiator. What piano recordings do you recommend to highlight strengths and weaknesses?

 

Yes , something you know very well, but remember you'll be listening to a whole different system in a different room. Bringing the speakers home for an in-house demo is the way to go, if possible.
It's the only way I do it.

 

It does sound nice. But yeah, audio stores aren't around the corner, and in-home demonstrations do become a bit of a pain. Still feasible, I would imagine you would just have to pay for shipping.

 

Well said. You articulate clearly the reason NOT to evaluate or select speakers using poor recordings, even if those recordings are of music you enjoy and listen to often.

 

I like many of the classic Glenn Gould recordings because he used a very percussive attack. Do you get a sense of his

 

One of the best live recorded Rock albums was Steppenwolf Live. It sounds like the concert (and I was at one of their live concerts).



If you want to see how your perspective speakers sound at reproducing a live rock concert, this is the album to bring for demo.

Select the song "Monster", turn it up really loud and sit back.

If you are not completely blown away by the experience, you have the wrong speakers...

 

Probably true if you like to listen to loud rock ‘n’ roll. Not so much if your musical enjoyment comes from other sources.

Whenever I attend a live music event (arena rock, string quartet recital, jazz combo in the corner of a restaurant, whatever) I whip out a decibel meter and get a general level. It’s amazing how much live music, heard from a moderately priced seat, never goes above 80 dB. Sometimes it hardly pegs 75 dB!

I understand if someone wants to rock the level at home beyond what he might actually experience at a real event, or at least at some events—decibels are fun when you are young! On the other hand, for this retired music teacher, who spent his career in rehearsal rooms with dBs over 100 created by junior high kids with trombones and snare drums—well, let’s just say I’m ready for my music at home to behave itself!

 

I would agree about St. Matthew Passion being better, except that I really like Bach's organ music. My fascination with organ music makes it impossible for me to be unbiased in evaluating all of Bach's works on equal footing. I have over 20 different versions of the Passacaglia and Fugue, and have five different complete sets of all of Bach's organ works. I have only one version of St. Matthew Passion (Linn Records).

 

Get the Matthew Passion from The Netherlands Bach Society on the Channel Classics label. Nicest physical object in my CD collection. 190 page smyth-sewn book with art and complete libretto. A stunning masterpiece of physical presentation. Follow along with the libretto all the way through and tell me what you think. For me it’s devastating.

 

Good points! I was one of those Jr. High band students with a coronet. Fortunately I had the good sense to get out of band class by the time the H.S. rolled around.

I'm now 65 and I have learned how to listen at much lower dB. levels and have been using a small Decware 3.9-Watt single ended pentode (SEP) power amp.



But for me, speakers should be able to reproduce the sounds of a live event, be it a rock concert, Broadway play or intimate jazz club.

You are correct, it is not about volume, it is about reproducing the feeling.

For me, my vintage Altec theater speakers, do the job quite nicely.

 

Never heard this album - I'll grab it when I come across it.

That said, small room, small speakers - though pretty large for standmounts, that provide a lot of weight to the music and hit 40Hz. But I'm not expecting them to reproduce a live rock concert.

I will agree with @William Bryant - I like my hearing. My speakers fill my small room with sound very capably, and when I turn it up I can feel the weight of the music, and the dynamics and punch are all there. I love hard rock and I can get into that music at 75 - 80dB (not sure how high peaks get). It's loud enough, believe it or not, to sound kick @$$. How loud does one need it? Till their ears are ringing? That's not for me; I want to listen to music without any issues for many years to come.

Edit: just saw your last post. Yes, it's not about loudness, it's more about scale, weight, and ease of the sound. Not fitting Altecs in my 13 x 11 room though, so I need to use speakers that can do a good job approximating that.

 

Klipsch Heresy's...

 

I have considered them. Maybe one day! I'm quite content at the moment though and I think I could live with what I have for a long time.

 

This is one of the tracks I always insist to be played back when auditioning gear. I love to see the snobs' faces when I say it's Metal music and then watch them having their jaws dropped during playback. This short track contains a massive church organ, men's choir recorded live, a first class Epic song with exquisite lyrics, combined with one of the best metal singers ever. It is no coincidence that Sarah Brightman picked him to sing a duet with from all metal singers.

 

Not a fan of that band so you’ll forgive me for thinking it sounds like a passed over demo tape before Peter Jackson picked Howard Shore for LOTR!

 

Do you like country? The mailman just delivered this OOP CD yesterday. It is very well recorded; I was completely surprised. Everything is in place here, the drums, piano, bass and vocals and you can really pick out the detail. Two number 1 hits multi platinum with a talented singer and piano player. It just sounds outstanding to my ears and you can find this disc cheap.

I would not hesitate to check out some speakers with this disc.

I recommend this exact edition which I learned about on this forum (Thanks)!

 

I have exactly one country CD in my collection. Should this be number two? Ha!

 

Which one do you have?

 

I have "Appalachia Waltz" filed in my country music section.
So I'm guessing that "Appalachia Waltz" is your current country CD.

 

George Strait — Lead On

 

I filed it under Classical Hillbilly.

 

I have no idea who this guy is, but I´ve never heard a 1980s CBS/EPIC US cd I didn´t like. Even the ones considered "bad" or "muddy" are crankeable and smooth sounding to my ears. This one will probably sound good.

 

Here are my 2 cents:

Tracy Chapman - First two albums. Any original cd will do
John Martyn - Grace and Danger (Island Masters "IMCD" pressing). Sweet Little Mystery is great for gear testing
AC / DC - Back in Black (Barry Diament mastered cd). Good example of how a "old school" rock should sound when nicely mastered
Rage Against The Machine - Self Titled (Steve-Mastered Audio Fidelity SACD). This should be the standard for how "modern mastering" should sound. Go to track 3 and enjoy that bass & drums

 

I have this one and understand exactly what you mean. I don’t listen to this genre much anymore but this album is definitely a good test example.