Which Albums/Tracks to test speakers or how to drive your dealer nuts

Cool thread. Here is some of my songs I tests speakers with.

Ben Harper, The Will to Live - Jah Work A lingering bass line, bass notes should be clearly discernible. The song is also good for testing "snappiness" of a speaker. Snare drum and percussion. The guitar provides a test of timbre/ snappiness.

Julie Feeney, almost every song from the Pages or Clocks albums. Impossible beatiful from Pages is good test for plosives. Her voice should not sound sibilant nor harsh ( although the song could benefit from some de-essing imo). The same with her song Cold Water from Clocks album. Her voice should never should sharp or sibilant.

Kraftwerk, Radio Activity - Computer Love
This song should never sound cold, harsh or flat. It should sound warm, inviting and catchy. The thermine/synth used in the instrumental chorus should "vibrate" like crazy. At the end of the song it should almost have a life of its own. There is a faint chugga-chugga rythm in the middle of the mix that should be clearly audible.

 

I have one test recording which must be satisfactory before any other further audition is considered. Human voice from an announcer who's voice I know well on and off microphone. If that is rendered free from coloration as much as possible, the speaker's worth more detailed audition.

 

Great album , seriously !

 

The track after that, Confians, has long been on my own stereo demo list.

 

During Covid? No.

Somewhat on topic, I have put together a stick containing a selection of multichannel DSD demo tracks:

01 - Alison Krauss - Choctaw Hayride
02 - Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus
03 - Dire Straits - So Far Away
04 - Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Homeless
05 - Steely Dan - Babylon Sisters
06 - BLUE ÖYSTER CULT - (Don't Fear) The Reaper
07 - Spyro Gyra - Monsoon
08 - Nickel Creek - Cuckoo's Nest
09 - America - California Revisited
10 - Roxy Music - Avalon
11 - Claire Martin - Black Coffee
12 - Henry Mancini - The Pink Panther Theme

All terrific recordings and great examples of multichannel.

I tried to keep it to ~45 minutes in length, and for that reason a lot (very lot) of most-excellent tracks were not included.

I suppose a stick full of the 2.0 versions pulled from the same SACDs would make for very good stereo demo material.

Jeff

 

Great stuff, many I have here, should revisit the albums
COVID is more or less over here, when they find 4 new infections in a week, they get nervous
That’s why my brain is not busy with that any more, sorry

 

Pretty sure I've already told this story here before.

Tested my Dark Side Of The Moon CD vs my trusty LP and blew out my speakers.... It was almost worth it, as they were old, and a good excuse to buy new speakers...

Saw 2 red circular instant flames around the woofer surrounds after hearing a couple of quick loud pops. Couldn't get off my a$$ fast enough to turn it down.

This is when I realized how low in frequency a CD could go.

 

My track for testing out headphones or speakers is Yes's "Roundabout". That bass in particular.

 

another one I like to use:

 

I like Return to Forever, "Romantic Warrior" for some pretty low bass on the synths, and a good test of bass articulation.

It is also a good test for dynamics, although, the original vinyl has the best dynamics, the 2008 CD reissue is horrible, but the 1999 CD is almost as dynamic as the vinyl.

When it comes to imaging and soundstage, I hardly ever use a rock recording. There is so much studio manipulation, that any realistic imaging and soundstage, is pretty much hidden behind it all. 70's recordings are better than modern ones, because at least with 70's recordings, there is some semblance of a real musician playing in a real (studio) space. Not to mention, drums with so many mics, it sounds like the drum kit spreads from wall to wall, instead of a specific spot.

For imaging and soundstage, I almost always use classical, chamber ensembles. Even an average classical recording, trounces the best rock recording with regards to imaging and soundstage. The reason why this drives dealers nuts, is my taste in classical tends toward the avantgarde, contemporary, and 'thorny' sounding. Not exactly easy listening. Can chase customers out of the room.

 

Speaking of multichannel, I have a favorite track which, although it's only 2 channel, gives an amazing hall effect thru most synthesized surround DSPs.

Emmylou Harris' Live At The Ryman, recorded live guess where, has an a cappella track titled "Calling My Children Home" which will give you goose bumps. On the right setup, you can hear the hall sound quite clearly. I can only imagine what it would sound like sitting in the balcony of that hallowed hall. Quite an effect, too, when the late Roy Husky Jr. comes in with a bass line on the chorus!

 

I ag

I agree, an excellent track (on an excellent album). I also like several tracks on the Louis Armstrong/Ella Fitzgerald album (Ella & Louis). Tracks by Gillian Welch, Kraftwerk (already mentioned), Ry Cooder (e.g. Down in Hollywood, from Bop til you drop)...and many others.

 

I had another thought pop up... Some older folks with long memories may remember when the Consumer Electronics Show was twice yearly, with the summer show in Chicago at McCormick Place. In 1988, all the "real" audio people were in the McCormick Hotel (IIRC), and virtually every room was using the new album by Special EFX (George Jinda and Chieli Minucci), Double Feature. A friend and I actually started laughing as we went from one room to another, and that album was ubiquitous. I hauled out my copy, and it's still pretty good.

 

Classic Yes! What a great song.

 

Another CAN supporter here, Ege Bamyasi in particular

 

https://youtu.be/u6-U-apEUZI

 

Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducting his Philadelphia Orchestra, in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, on Deutsche Grammopon. Get the hi-rez 24/96 FLAC!

Spring Rounds (I think that's Track 4?) starts off pretty enough, but the sudden fortississimo, about two thirds through, will make the entire hifi store jump.

The depth of field with the gong and timpani, and full orchestra, is amazing. If it doesn't feel at least 50 feet deep, the system is not good enough.

 

Wanna annoy a stereo salesman?

lol.
play this on a high end system.

 

Ah, fat finger problem. The correct album is Computer world not Radioactivity. The latter is an excellent album to test speakers, kits too.

 

I am in the process of narrowing down the songs I want to use on a test disc, so this is an interesting thread. Thanks for mentioning the FYC song. I remember that song from back in the day and it never made a big impression on me back then but I kind of dig it now. I picked up their two albums on used CD for cheap; $5 each.

That song though, has such a strong beat that I would guess a system doesn't have to be that great to make it sound energetic and full of momentum. I could be wrong though. I kind of favor choosing a song that doesn't have that, which is a bit slower and relies not just on the beat to drive it but on other things. To me, getting the timing down and making a song just flow and sound cohesive is one of the most important things a system can do.

I guess the most challenging tracks I have so far are:

Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27/2 'Moonlight' – III. Presto agitato, played by Artur Pizzaro (Beethoven: Piano Sonatas | Linn Records )
and
Jack Sparrow, by Hans Zimmer, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The first is a Beethoven piece that is exceedingly well recorded piano recording, that has startling scale, dynamics, and complexity, and I use this to gauge tone and just how real a piano recording can sound. Most of my speakers are small standmounts so they can typically only do so much, but still a nice torture test. Some small floorstanders can really provide that sense of scale that makes it feel like a real piano is playing. Most standmounts will need the support of a sub to achieve the same.

The second is an orchestral piece, again with great dynamics, and I use it to see how well a system images, as there are many instruments playing all across the soundstage. For imaging, I want to use a live track that presents a natural soundstage rather than one that has been artificially created in the studio.



Otherwise, the songs I have are more for evaluating the tone of different instruments (violin, guitar, voice) and capturing low level detail and detail within a crowded mix of instruments. Not really torture tests.

 

If the dealer allows me to play my own music in an audition, I always take "Overture/Cotton Avenue" from Ms. Mitchell's "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter....great fun if the dealer asserts me as to how well the component handles lower registers...even more fun if he has never heard it before and has the system set to play loud.......

 

If you want a song to drive them crazy:

Check out "sukothai" by Carl Stone. 1977 electronic music. About 3 mins in or more, the tune goes absolutely crazy.

Actually it's a good tune to check out treble response. The thing is its like a 15 minute song and will drive most people absolutely nuts after a while.

And if that doesn't do it, just play the whole album.

 

That's a good track.

Bela Fleck - Flight of the Cosmic Hippo is another good bass track.

 

Blues for Klook by Eddie Louis. This track tests the whole performance envelope of a system: turn the volume up to 12, push Play and discover whether your speakers have bass that’s deep and fast, a voicing that’s resolving, the ability to draw a soundstage (that also goes for the source), and whether your amp has enough current delivery to keep the whole lot under control.

For PRAT I use Eminem’s Lose Yourself. The intro is also a good check of male voice: listen for the slight nasality. If it’s not discernible, time to reconsider the speakers...