Audition/Reference music (CD)

[NhojGnol]

Greetings,

This has probably been asked before but after searching I wasn't having any luck so here goes; (Dons flameproof suit)

When you are auditioning equipment, be it amps, speakers, receivers, cd players etc, what do you use as "reference"/"audition" music. I mean do you have a set list of favorite songs from across your collection or a more specific list that really helps to accentuate the qualities of the gear?

I listen to a wide variety of music, mostly Rock (70's to 90's) classical, jazz, Some techno, and various others, both instrumental and vocal.

My Thanks
Nhoj

[rakeford]

Welcome to AR.

My standard check-out CDs are:

Santana ~ Supernatural, the whole CD
Dire Straights ~ Brothers In Arms
Stevie Ray Vaughn ~ Texas Flood

for bass:
Fleetwood Mac ~ Tusk, the song.

I don't have a "Stereo Test CD" like my Realistic "Stereo Test Record" LP. Anybody know of a good "Stereo Test CD"?

[Hyfi]

Welcome to AR.


Santana ~ Supernatural, the whole CD

Although I really love this disk and it does sound pretty good, the whole thing is so overly compressed for radio play that it really starts to get to me at loud volume halfway through a listen. I also heard it played through Wilson Grand Slams with mega buck components and it still sounded too compressed.

[Luvin Da Blues]

Since I'm mostly computer based, I keep a playlist of all the well recorded stuff. I just cherry pick from that list to create an audition specific disk.

I might use different tunes for speaker auditions vs. source vs. preamp/amp. etc.

[(O0o*o0O)]

I do a lot of buying, selling, and trading. Over the last few years I've landed on a CD that I use first in demoing anything. Its just solid digitally clear music and perfect for letting yourself know or your customer know what your getting.
I came across this album not by any preference, but rather the fact that it started with a B in the top shelf corner of my collection. Its the Black Eye Peas, Elephunk album. I play it first for every customer then generally onto Classical or their choice.
I've always liked Lenny Kravitz, AC/DC, or something Industrial.

Sony STR-DA50ES Receiver
Sony TA-N77ES Amplifier(mod)
Sony CDP-C77ES CD Changer
Sony RM-TP501 Remote
Cerwin Vega LS6C Center Channel
Cerwin Vega LS-12 Front Channels(mod)
Cerwin Vega AT-15 Front Channels
Cerwin Vega HT-S15 Subwoofer
Klipsch SF2 Rear Channels

[mlsstl]

...Its the Black Eye Peas, Elephunk album. I play it first for every customer....

If that was the first thing an audio salesperson played for me, I'd leave the store. ;-)

I know the group is very popular with a younger crowd, but talk about an over-processed victim of the loudness wars, whew! Here's "Hands Up" from that album.

[mlsstl]

I try to avoid "audiophile" recordings and instead use the music I prefer for routine listening.

My particular reference points are recordings of acoustic instruments and voice that could be played live in my listening room. If the system gets the tonality and image of that right, then I find I'm probably going to be pretty happy with how it plays other material such as large scale music or more processed/artificial stuff such as rock & pop.

For example, last weekend I spent some time listening to a pair of Harbeth speakers. I brought about 20 CDs with me and listened to a very eclectic range. One CD was from a local folk singer I've heard live in a coffee house, another was a recording from a very early Ozark Mountain Daredevils practice session at their farm house retreat outside Springfield Missouri where I was present. There was some Empire Brass quintet material, liturgical pieces from the Boston Camerata, Ronnie Magri's "Shim Sham Revue" (New Orleans style jazz), some Mozart solo piano by Ingrid Haebler, a cut or two from Spirit, Neil Katzman & Ruby Green plus some Madeline Peyroux.

There were a few other pieces, but you get the idea. A very wide variety of music that I enjoy. Next time I listen to some new equipment the list will likely be quite different, but still have the same underlying logic.

[atomicAdam]

NhojGnol - Welcome to AudioReview.

For me I typically bring 4 CDs.

One being a dynamically shifting classical CD - typically Heifetz playing Tchaikovsky.
Second being a simple but emotional Piano piece - I've got a couple to choose from.
Third - for bass - typically Massive Attack's Mezzanine or Ratatat - they use real and electronic bass
Fourth - something I'm familiar with and like to listen to - Sufjan Stevens - Broken Social Scene - Miles Davis - really any thing from my collection that I tend to listen to a lot and have heard on a variety of systems.

I heard a good test piece the other day. It was a movie sound track with a lot of deep bass and at points horns would come in. It was great at showing the weakness in a system's dynamic range and ability to play it all.

Typically complex and dynamic music is best to judge a systems performance level. Rock, techno, blues, etc, while fantastic music, most of the time just doesn't demand as much from a speaker as some heavy classical pieces. Now I know there are always examples so before people just down my throat - I admit - there are always examples in the genera - I'm just generalizing. There are also a lot of boring and simple classical pieces that don't put a system through the ringers.

Also I don't really care if a disc is considered 'audiophile' grade. In my opinion, that doesn't even mean anything when it comes to a recorded disc. The whole point of an audiophile system is to play music back, either completely transparently, or in such a way that pleases your ear with your favorite music.

[Pat D]

Greetings,

This has probably been asked before but after searching I wasn't having any luck so here goes; (Dons flameproof suit)

When you are auditioning equipment, be it amps, speakers, receivers, cd players etc, what do you use as "reference"/"audition" music. I mean do you have a set list of favorite songs from across your collection or a more specific list that really helps to accentuate the qualities of the gear?

I listen to a wide variety of music, mostly Rock (70's to 90's) classical, jazz, Some techno, and various others, both instrumental and vocal.

My Thanks
Nhoj

In the first place, I try to avoid auditioning speakers that aren't pretty good. I don't consider subjective reviews very reliable, so if possible, I look at the measured results on Soundstage, Stereophile, and perhaps Audio Ideas Guide. Research has shown that most people with normal hearing favor the same sorts of performance characteristics in speakers. Some people seem to be deeply offended that I prefer to have some good measured results to peruse. My advice to someone who doesn't want to bother with measurements is to ignore them. I couldn't tell you how many times I've told that to RGA over the years. If a number of subjective reviews favor a speaker, I'll consider that, too. Remember, all I'm doing so far is making up a list of speakers I would like to audition.

I have a small number of recordings, really different tracks on CDs, which experience has shown can tell me in a few minutes quite a lot about what a speaker will do, and in particular, can show up some things I definitely do NOT like. You probably couldn't find some of them (not that they're anything special, just not easily available), and might not suit you anyway. Any speakers that do well go on a short list, and I will then try out a lot of other recordings. But for a first audition, I carry at least recordings of with some examples:

Full orchestra with massed strings (Mozart or Beethoven symphony)
Male vocals (Roger Whittaker, Mark Knopfler, Clancy Brothers, opera singers)
Female vocals (Diana Krall, Angele Arsenault, opera singers)
Mixed Chorus (Requiems by Mozart or Brahms, Handel's Messiah)
Piano (Horowitz, Earl Wild, etc.)

But you will need to choose what recordings you want to use, and what you want them to tell you.

Any speakers that pass the initial auditions with flying colors get on my short list, and I want to try them out with a lot more recordings, and if I really like them, I want a home trial.

[NhojGnol]

I just wanted to post a "Thanks" to everyone that has responded. You certainly have given me a lot to reread and digest!! I appreciate the different viewpoints and suggestions.

I hope to have some time this weekend to sit down and really "listen" to some of the different pieces that are suggested and some that are from my "usual" collection and see how it comes together.

Please keep the suggestions coming! I'm really enjoying the chance to learn a 'little bit" and branch out some

Nhoj

[Feanor]

I'm almost exclusively a classical music listener and, accordingly, my reference recordings are all classical. Make no mistake though: classical music provides a huge variety of sound.

In particular I like to used large-scale choral music for equipment evalution. There is simply no better test for resolution and transparency. I use orchestral music too, and chamber music which is useful for evaluating the reproduction of instrument timbres.

Some like to use a mix of good and bad (or at least not so good) recordings for evalution. I tend to use 95% excellent recordings, though I sometimes include one or two with specific defects, e.g. exaggerated treble.

Here are some of my reference selections ...

... Amazon.com

... Amazon.com

... Amazon.com

... Amazon.com

... Amazon.com

... Amazon.com

... Amazon.com

[JoeE SP9]

(O0o*o0O), You may have misunderstood the point of mlsstl's post.

It shows the almost complete lack of dynamic range in that recording. Unfortunately a large number of popular music recordings are overly compressed like the example. Lack of dynamic range in popular recordings is a routine and well founded complaint here and on most other audio oriented forums. Classical and Jazz recordings usually don't suffer from much if any compression. Audiophile recordings by definition shouldn't have any compression or studio "sweetening".

Demo quality recordings I use:
Jacintha Here's To Ben
Tim Weisberg Undercover
Holly Cole Don't Smoke in Bed
These three were recorded without a lot of studio "sweetening". The Jacintha was recorded direct to a 2track master from which the CD was made. Of course there are others I use for auditioning including LP's if possible. Just about any Chesky recording is demo quality.

Santana's Supernatural is known to suffer from over compression. IMO it's not "demo" quality. I have it and a 12" DJ single of Maria Maria. The LP is less compressed.

[(O0o*o0O)]

I'll take your word on it. With your set-up I suppose you can tell what an artist had for lunch by the rumble of his stomach.
Massive Attack is awesome and a great idea to bring along.
Anyone here into Mr. Bungle? How about Buckethead?
Lets talk about some meters moving and those classical albums pictured in here now. I'm going to look for a few of those in the used section. I'm not very versed on classical music, and there's a question.
What classical tracks light up the meters?

[atomicAdam]

I'll take your word on it. With your set-up I suppose you can tell what an artist had for lunch by the rumble of his stomach.
Massive Attack is awesome and a great idea to bring along.
Anyone here into Mr. Bungle? How about Buckethead?
Lets talk about some meters moving and those classical albums pictured in here now. I'm going to look for a few of those in the used section. I'm not very versed on classical music, and there's a question.
What classical tracks light up the meters?

From the Mr. Bungle I've heard I liked it - but never enough to seek it out on my own. Maybe I should. That guy is a bit of a trip.

I tend to lean towards more aggressive classical music most of the time - so Tchaikovsky or Wagner are great composers to start with. Something with dynamic shift that knocks your socks off.

[JoeE SP9]

I'll take your word on it. With your set-up I suppose you can tell what an artist had for lunch by the rumble of his stomach.
Massive Attack is awesome and a great idea to bring along.
Anyone here into Mr. Bungle? How about Buckethead?
Lets talk about some meters moving and those classical albums pictured in here now. I'm going to look for a few of those in the used section. I'm not very versed on classical music, and there's a question.
What classical tracks light up the meters?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "light up the meters".Are you looking for just loud sound or good sound? If you're looking for dynamics you could try The Firebird on Telarc CD. If you set the music volume at a nice level the bass drum thwacks will make you jump and raise the hair on the back of your neck.

If you're overly concerned with volume an SPL (sound pressure level) meter will let you know exactly how loud things actually are in dB's. Radio Shack has a fairly decent digital SPL meter for around $50. dB ratings are the only accurate and meaningful way to express how loud something is. The meters on most gear (except Mac's) are worthless for anything other than eye candy.

[atomicAdam]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "light up the meters".Are you looking for just loud sound or good sound? If you're looking for dynamics you could try The Firebird on Telarc CD. If you set the music volume at a nice level the bass drum thwacks will make you jump and raise the hair on the back of your neck.

If you're overly concerned with volume an SPL (sound pressure level) meter will let you know exactly how loud things actually are in dB's. Radio Shack has a fairly decent digital SPL meter for around $50. dB ratings are the only accurate and meaningful way to express how loud something is. The meters on most gear (except Mac's) are worthless for anything other than eye candy.

those r only good for telling time.

[swan24]

Sparse chamber music for me... If the instrumentation and timbre is right, then I know I have something going... Timpani is a good indicator... Piano, always... And solo voice... (m.)

[(O0o*o0O)]

In classical music that's where I'm generally at. I really like Bach and I have several compilation CD's. I also want some stuff by that one guy Hitler liked. Just to piss people off.
Did you ever see that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm?
As for as the meters I think I'm going out and getting one from radio shack. It will look cool and light up my life a little. I have dB meters on my amplifier, but its strictly bass and they're dials. And that voodoo cable is awesome... "I need a red eyed smiley face here"

[RDS1]

Alan Parson, Amonnia Avenue

[pixelthis]

GETZ AND GILBERTO.
KINDA BLUE.
A LOVE SUPREME
BOZ SCAGGS BEST
RICKI LEE JONES
EDIE BRICKELL
TIGERLILLY
to name a few.
But an album that has a good "mix" of different kinds of music is best, I have found.

[JoeE SP9]

Welcome to AR RDS1.
Trying to build your post count quickly?

[eisforelectronic]

I just bring things that I listen to normally

Various Sarah McLachlan cd's
Dido live at Brixton Academy
Jheena Lodwick - All My Loving
Alison Krauss - Now that I've Found You
10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged
and I just bought Underworld - Barking

[pixelthis]

I just bring things that I listen to normally

Various Sarah McLachlan cd's
Dido live at Brixton Academy
Jheena Lodwick - All My Loving
Alison Krauss - Now that I've Found You
10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged
and I just bought Underworld - Barking

HEY...you have the DVD of Dido at BRIXTON?
Really kick butt. Iron in a velvet glove.

[eisforelectronic]

HEY...you have the DVD of Dido at BRIXTON?
Really kick butt. Iron in a velvet glove.

Yes, but I play the CD much more than the DVD.

[poppachubby]

Honestly, to each his own. If compressed, tween-bop is what you dig around the house, then you should use it in an audition.

I think you need to take a combination of exceptional, above average recordings and regular, not so great ones. All of them should be titles that you listen to regularily. Taking only great stuff may result in getting a shock once you get home. You want to know how a system deals with average to crumby recordings as much as great ones.

One more thing on compressed music, has anyone verified the suicide rate's connection to compressed music sales? For example, Jimmy bought 20 over compressed albums last year and killed himself within a year but Suzy bought 30 compressed albums and waited for 3 years to off herself. What does it all mean?

Here are some titles I rely on...