quality music recordings?

[001]

curious what others opinions are on available quality recordings. as some may know i am a new owner of new to me k-horns. i am searching for some good recordings to continue my "testing" of these speakers. i mainly listen to classic or newer rock & roll, nothing too heavy, some "oldies" but am always open to anything besides country or rap.... just things that sound good at most volume levels, especially louder than "normal"

heres what i have found to be excellent recordings so far. some songs are better than others for whatever reason:

some led zepplin

pink floyd the wall & dark side of the moon

fleetwood mac

steely dan

eagles

police

toto

dire straits

supertramp

only tested a fraction of my collection so far. & i just heard for the first time on youtube nora jones, i can only imagine what she will sound like on the k-horns. i dont think the worst recording can ruin her voice, just like linda ronstadt & a select few others.

feel free to list your favorite recordings, not just what artist you like, what recordings sound good.

Edited February 15, 2014 by klipschfancf4

[tjohnusa]

Another artist to consider is Al Stewert.....the recording quality was the first thing that I liked about him. Year Of The Cat and Time Passages are particularly good.

[joessportster]

Paul Simon Gracelend (somewhat known as an audiophile grade recording), also rhythm of the saints, Eric Clapton Unplugged, Tracy Chapman, self titled, Jackson Browne Solo acoustic volume 1 & 2. Try Chesky records (I would order thru amazon only though) Awesome for gauging a system

[Dennie]

Vinyl? CD? SACD? R2R?

If you are listening to CD's, try this one, it can be had for about $20 on Ebay. No special equipment needed to play the JVC Extended Resolution Compact Disc (XRCD) and I've found them to sound incredible. Dynamic's like you can't believe.

The Joker -- XRCD

The Steve Miller Band

1973/2008 Capitol/JVC Records

And since you listed Pink Floyd, this one is worth every penny of the nearly $40 price tag, but a SACD player is a must to get the higher resolution sound.

Wish You Were Here -- SACD

Pink Floyd

1975/2011 Pink Floyd/EMI Records

Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here on Hybrid 5.1 SACD

Pink Floyd's 1975 Classic Finally Arrives on Stellar-Sounding SACD: Stereo and Surround Options are the Best of All Worlds

Mixed for 5.1 from Original Multi-Track Master Tapes by Pink Floyd Engineer James Guthrie

An Essential Counterpart to Dark Side of the Moon–The Biggest-Selling SACD in History

Shine on You Crazy Diamond: Reflective Landmark Ranked #209 on Rolling Stone List of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

You Will Never Hear a More Immersive, Realistic Digital Version

Congratulations on the "new to you" K-horns....

Dennie

[jacksonbart]

Led Zepplin? I like their music, but not sure I would describe any of their albums as "high fidelity"..

[gnatnoop]

[joessportster]

+ 1 on Zeppelin not being HIFI, I have there japan press box set and though better than any other i have heard i would not classify as HIFI

I am however listening right now to Jethro Tull, Aqualung Japan press, and it would fit the bill

[gnatnoop]

[gnatnoop]

that's 3 good recordings to get you on your way....happy listening!

[jacksonbart]

Here is the issue, I have to love the music before I would even consider it as a quality recording. So that is a limit. For example I find that Steely Dan and Dire Straits did spend extra time their recordings and I really like them of the music I enjoy. But I have no idea if the recording Rick Astley's song "Never Gonna Give You Up" was good cause the song sucked for me, but for some that could be the best sounding recording in their lifetime.

[joessportster]

One more for tonight

Mark Knopfler, The Ragpicker's Dream

Simply Outstanding

[Schu]

If you want to test the demension and sparkle of you klipschorns... get something by Gary Burton, like duster.

Also something like Robert Fripp, league of Crafty Guitarists.

Are you open to something like Radiohead? Try In Rainbows... superb sonics.

All on vinyl if you can.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Schu

[001]

thanks for the suggestions, never heard of quite a few of them, i will have to spend some time checking them out. as stated i do have to like the music or song i listen to, but like broccoli, you never know if you like it untill you try it!

led zepplin? yes i agree not considered hifi, but remember i do like to listen to most my music somewhat on the louder side. listen to mobydick, ramble on or bring it on home off led zepplin II, or the song nobodys fault but mine, bad or good recordings, they sound very good up loud, it really brings the k-horns alive...

agreed on the wish you were here, floyd is probably my favorite band, if i had to pick just one. i have a nice onkyo sacd/dvda player, will have to look for some of those discs, im sure they sound about as goood as you can get for digital music.

thanks again for the suggestions, i will check each of them out to see what i like.

Edited February 15, 2014 by klipschfancf4

[Thaddeus Smith]

If you guys want quality music, just spend a few days following the "right this minute" thread.. You'll quickly have more music lined up on Amazon than your wallet can absorb.

[joessportster]

One word of caution, try not to use your favorite music to analyze your setup, Reason: as your system progresses and you use the same music to asses if you have improved the sound or not with your newest piece of gear. That music will take on a new meaning and you will listen more critically to it. Thus losing your enjoyment with that music

This is advice my friend Bryan gave me, which i ignored and now "Wish you were here" is impossible for me to just set back and listen to, My brain automatically starts analyzing when i hear it

[Lemon string]

these are two that I think are really good from 2012 and 2013

[Max2]

Steely Dan- Gaucho in DVD Audio. A stoner wouldn't give this one up for a free week in Denver.

Rush- Moving Pictures and 2112 (buy the combo pack!) in Blu Ray. (Audio only) I just have the Moving Pictures Disk and in DTS Master its incredible. If you have been a Rush fan for more than two decades this Blu Ray disk will make throw your Red Book copies away.

Any Fleetwood Recordings and a few Lindsey solo singles.

Stan Getz has some pretty low level recordings that turn out to have great dynamics...if you're into that sort of music.

If you're in to spatial kind of "noises" and strange lyrics that keep you coming back like a 10 year olds tongue to a 9 volt battery. Try some of Mike Pattons off band offerings like, Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk and Peeping Tom. This dude is so undervalued its not even funny. He has his hand in so many styles of music, he is a true artist. He has range that would put even Chris Cornell to shame. Oh, don't forget what he cut his teeth on, Faith No More. I wouldn't count on a lot of dynamics and low compression in any FNM album though. Also, check out his Mondo Cane Album. Its a 40 piece Orchestra where he sings Italian pop songs ( I think he speaks four languages) from the 50's and 60's....It may not sound good for the majority, but you instrument guys give this one a test drive on iTunes .

One more I can think of and Im probably going to get an eyebrow or two raised on this one, but George Michael's Album Older. I never got into his mainstream stuff much, but this album was later in life, is pretty dark and not the bubblegum pop that you're thinking that Georgie was all about 24/7. The Vocals are a smooth as a Norah Jones recording , but deliver enough energy to cut through your listening room door. Its very clean, and very clear and made me give the guy a little respect when it comes to this piece.

[willland]

some led zepplin pink floyd the wall & dark side of the moon fleetwood mac steely dan eagles police toto dire straits supertramp

Funny, most of those groups(Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Eagles, Dire Straights, Pink Floyd, Police, Led Zepplin) are part of my CD collection. I used to own Toto and Supertramp Lps years back. I guess I will have to explore Toto and Supertramp again.

One common denominator, they all had their hay days in the 70's and 80's and some into the 90's. Even though these bands had great commercial success, the quality of the music and recordings seemed to matter just as much. It took more "work" and time to produce a well recorded album than it does today in the "nouveaux" digital world we live in.

Bill

Edited February 15, 2014 by willland

[oldtimer]

MFSL pressing of Some Girls==Rolling Stones

Most any Talking Heads lp

Japanese pressing Apostrophe---Frank Zappa

CBS half master--Abraxas--Santana

[mustang guy]

Pull My Finger the Fart CD

It will blow you away.