jhoak Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I'm not quite sure where to put this. If the mods feel like this thread belongs in another area please feel free to move it. The question is: What is the very first thing you play after making a change? Your "reference" song. The piece of music that you know so well that it immediately shows the effect of whatever you changed good or bad. Myself... It's Tocatta from the DVD-A of ELP's Brain Salad Surgery. That album is one of a dozen or so that I own on CD, DVD-A (or SACD) and vinyl so I get to hear a couple of different mixes. No matter what the source is I've yet to find another piece of music that will give a set of speakers the workout that Tocatta will. Enlighten me... Please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 4, 2009 Moderators Share Posted May 4, 2009 Try asking in 2 ch or general questions you will get alot more traffic there. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I can't pick just one, I have a few. A single recording will not tell you everything. I use Krall, Jennifer Warrens, Mindy Smith, Manhiem Steamroller and my long time favorite ELP's Lucky Man, I've got to hear that deep subsonic Moog! Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelA Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 The one song I always seem to go back to is Dire Straits, "Telegraph Road". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Conatser Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I'd probably go with any of several of the earlier Steve Miller songs, where there is music shifting back and forth from left to right speaker. If the stereo separation sounds good while your system is playing those Steve Miller songs, you're good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 The one song I always seem to go back to is Dire Straits, "Telegraph Road". good tune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 The one song I always seem to go back to is Dire Straits, "Telegraph Road". good tune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastlayne Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Janis Ian's "Breaking Silence" on Analogue Productions gold CD or LP. I don't see the CD available on their website currently, but you might be able to find one somewhere. http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=6045 http://www.stereophile.com/recordingofthemonth/763/ Just found it, unfortunately it's this one: http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Silence-Janis-Ian/dp/B000054P0H/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1241539714&sr=1-9 They were selling for less than the LP when I got mine, which I thought was a lot for a CD at the time. It turned out to be well worth it and an example of how good CDs can sound. Looks like I should have bought a case of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastlayne Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Mark Knopfler's "Sailing to Philadelphia" is another I often use. The recording is decent, but he has good depth in his voice and the appearances from Van Morrison and James Taylor are a bonus. I like tracks 10 and 11, "Speedway at Nazareth" and "Junkie Doll" in particular. If you want an electronica workout for the speakers, try Madonna's "Music", "American Life", "Confessions on a Dance Floor"...or probabaly anything from "Ray of Light" on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 In my lucky-me day job I get to play with lots of really big systems & tune mostly by ear. My 1st song is (& has been for well over a decade) Vince Gill's "Don't Let Our Love Start Slipping Away." Probably not the best recording but incredibly revealing of a system & room's short falls. Here are my main points of contact: 1) VG's vocal, is it clearly defined? He should sit nicely in the mix and not get touchy around 1KHz and 250Hz. 2) Guitar solo, has a bite at around 3KHz on peaky systems. 3) Snare, can you hear the gated reverb or does it all blur into the hit? Guess which speakers I think the track sounds best on? Yep, my K-Horns! Next I use his "I Still Believe In You" to tune the subwoofers, huge low end. Another interesting cut is Steely Dan's "Babylon Sisters", on a good system you can hear the background vocals as distinct voices otherwise they all blend into a nice but indestinct smear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNRabbit Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Babylon Sisters is an excellent example of a great recording. I also like "Morph the Cat" and "Everything Must Go" by Steely Dan which are exceptionally clean recordings with incredible dynamic "pop" & bass extension. Most of Donald Fagen's solo recordings would work as reference material. I also like "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" & "Sinister Minister" by Bela Fleck to check out bass response, and "Time Squared" on SACD by the Yellowjackets. You CANNOT leave out "Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture etc. / Kunzel, Cincinnati Pops (Multichannel Hybrid SACD) by Tchaikovsky, Cincinnati Pops, Kiev Symphony Chorus, and Erich Kunzel" from your list of reference material. This works for both Redbook, SACD 2-channel, and SACD Multi-Channel systems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipbarrett Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Babylon Sisters is an excellent example of a great recording. I also like "Morph the Cat" and "Everything Must Go" by Steely Dan which are exceptionally clean recordings with incredible dynamic "pop" & bass extension. Agreed, but here's the rub - they make almost any POS system sound pretty good which is a huge compliment to the recordings but only useful if you want to impress rather than analyze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossman Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Blues Brothers, "She Caught the Katy" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Telarc's "The Great Fantasy Adventure Album - Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra" T-Rex stomp gives subwoofers a mighty workout. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Main Titles has a very crisp triangle that's great for testing high frequency detail. There's a lot of songs I use but I seem to pop in that disc with most gear changes. The Robin Hood theme song was taken to another level with I installed the titanium diaphragms in my Fortes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 My current stack of reference discs includes: the wonderfully sultry and showy vocal jazz of Diana Krall (Stepping Out, 24-bit/96 kHz, Justintime 2000, see my gushing review); the excellent darkness and tone of a variety of excellently recorded instruments on the DMP does DSP SACD (Digital Music Products '99). For dynamics, I love the Japanese ceremonial drums on the DMP Does DSP and Tracy Chapman’s “Revolution.” For bass, I usually have to hear the riff on Paul Simon’s “You can call me Al.” The "Acoustic drum solo" (Russ Henry, Stereophile test CD 2, Stereophile, STPH 004-2) is an excellent minimalist recording done at the former Manley Labs with their reference microphone. With speaker proper placement and toe-in, I can experience a life-sized holographic image of a drum kit about 6 to 8 feet in front of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germerikan Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 I use Yellow - Rhythm Divine IMO great mix of Electronic and Acoustical music with the great voice of Shirley Basse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 There are several favorites that I play on my sysem and others' systems if I am evaluating something. E Power Biggs and/or Michael Murray for pipe organ, Steely Dan's Aja, Johnny Adams There is Always One More Time, Elton John Funeral For A Friend, AC/CD Ballbreaker and Stiff Upper Lip, Grateful Dead Skeletons From The Closet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36Hz-20kHz Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Little Feat "Waiting For Columbus", (live album) - recorded to CD with full lossless audio compression, (FLAC). Check it out & look it up on the internet if you haven't tried it yet.... OMG! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 If you ever wanted to tes out the effectiveness and strength of your mids and high horns... try playing The Bulgarian State Woman's Choir Le Mystere will ansolutely give those things a work out and you will know immediately if they are weak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 I go through several CD's, versus individual songs, when listening to something new or after a change... "Brothers In Arms" - Dire Straits "Vegas" - The Crystal Method "Ah Via Musicom" - Eric Johnson "Flesh on Flesh" (Telarc SACD) - Al Di Meola "Quad Maximus" - Bass Mekanik "The Immaculate Collection" - Madonna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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