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What to Play First?


Tinnitus

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On 4/14/2021 at 2:32 AM, Tinnitus said:

Do any of you have a standard you use for fist time auditions?

This subject comes up often.  The last time I remember was October 2020.  Here was my response at that time:

 

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I think that Roy's test disc [i.e., Roy Delgado]--with a few added tracks tacked on at the end--is still a good go-to place for this type of thing.  Here are the genres, artists, track titles, albums they came from, disc release dates, length, DR database values (including album DR), ReplayGain values, and the number of times I've played them since ~February...  All of my tracks are demastered using the Jubs as the "studio monitors"...

 

1882217204_RoysTestDiscfoobar2000screenshot.thumb.PNG.7c471d581825afee517bcfc9d84e3f91.PNG

 

These are really good to compare and check out your system after making changes.  If you're of a mind to go to other's setups...these are excellent for checking out how those other setups sound relative to home base.

 

The above tracks that you see listed are "demastered", i.e., most of the creative "mastering EQ" and the remaining specular noise (50/100/150 Hz for European recordings, 60/120/180 Hz for North American-produced tracks), and plenty of instances where HVAC specular noise is pretty bad (usually one or more of the following frequencies: 17, 19, 23, 27, 29, 31, 39, 41 Hz)  has been removed or re-EQed.  If you're interested in hearing these tracks in FLAC format (lossless), just shoot me a PM with an email address (the email address is necessary for Google Drive authorization where the tracks reside).

 

On 4/14/2021 at 2:32 AM, Tinnitus said:

...For me, it’s a good mix of vocals, strings, percussion, and horns that reveal the strengths or shortcomings of the speakers...

 

In general, I select tracks based on the issues that come up via measurement.  I find it's much better to test them first, then listen to the loudspeakers using specific tracks to hear the issues identified via those measurements. This typically takes a lot less time to find the issues than trying to use one or two "go-to tracks", and trying to discern what the issues might be.  A lot of the time, the problems that arise are very difficult to hear at first, but over time, begin to stick out like a sore thumb (at least, that's been my experience).

 

Chris

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17 hours ago, Islander said:

 

Have you heard the cover by Leonid & Friends?  Sure, it's not the original band, but it's a great cover, and it was recorded on modern hi-res equipment.

 

Leonid & Friends -- 25 or 6 to 4:  

 

Islander, outstanding thank you.

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Taps on Corb Lund Horse Soldier! really good for the singularity of the horn

In My Life by Sean Connery, amazing male vocals

Sunrise by Norah Jones, female vocals

Anything on Crossroads festival for guitar

Anything on Live At Abbey Roads

Kodo any track on Blessing of the Earth for percussions 

 

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2 hours ago, MC39693 said:

Taps on Corb Lund Horse Soldier! really good for the singularity of the horn

In My Life by Sean Connery, amazing male vocals

Sunrise by Norah Jones, female vocals

Anything on Crossroads festival for guitar

Anything on Live At Abbey Roads

Kodo any track on Blessing of the Earth for percussions 

 

 

Corb Lund îs great.  I heard him interviewed on Q earlier this week.  Did you hear him, too?  Smarter guy than I realized.

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ZZ Top: "Fool for Your Stockings" (best recording is found on "One foot in the Blues")

Pat Donohue: "The Road to Kingdom Come"

Police: "Murder by Numbers"

Dire Straits: "Six Blade Knife"

Los Lobos: "Kiko & the Lavendar Moon"

Steve Winwood: "Higher Love"

Pink Floyd: "Time"

Thin Lizzy: "Cowboy Song"

KD Lang: "Constant Craving"

Tracy Chapman: "Fast Car"

Cowboy Junkies: "Sweet Jane"

John Secada: "Just Another Day"

Shannon: "Let the Music Play"

Ace of Base: "All that She Wants"

Copeland: "Fanfare for the Common Man"

Pachelbel: "Kanon" (On 

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On 4/14/2021 at 3:19 AM, Shakeydeal said:

Mary Black- Shine, from the same titled album. This one has been my go to for new gear for years. There’s also not a stinker on the entire album, all good stuff.

 

R-1055642-1298555889.jpeg.jpg

 

This CD just came in yesterday (I wasn't familiar with the musical artist).  After running "Clip Fix" and "Normalize..." within Audacity (a listing of the Audacity macro or "chain" that I used is shown just below)...

 

1645713357_ClipFixandNormalizemacro.GIF.cfe01f84d10f8e74ab6a9d5d8c1f32d9.GIF

 

...I found that the album has about 5.5 dB of hard clipping (i.e., the album's "ReplayGain" went from -5.4 dB to +0.1 dB after declipping).  The crest factor--that is, the album's "DR Database" rating--went from "10" to "15".  That's a 5 dB increase in crest factor--which is a lot of improvement.  Listening to the album after this fix, a lot of the artificial splattering of the transients was mostly fixed.  It's a fairly pleasant CD with only a little vocal sibilance that's left on hard consonants. 

 

If anyone already owns this album and wants to hear the de-clipped version (in FLAC lossless format), you can PM me with your personal email address, and I can access you to the de-clipped version...or you can de-clip the tracks yourself using Audacity (freeware) using the little macro above.  Note that the tracks will, on average, be 5.5 dB quieter (which is a welcome change in my estimation).

 

Chris

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Puerto Banus-Jazzmasters
Leon Bridges - River (Live on Austin City Limits)
Deuter - Earth Blue
Deuter - An Ocean Apart
The California Guitar Trio - The Marsh
2002 Band - Lady of the Moon
The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
Stick Figure – Breathe
Midge Ure - Dear God
Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas
Beck - Uneventful Days
Danny Carey - "Pneuma" by Tool (LIVE IN CONCERT)
Loreena McKennitt - The Mummers' Dance
Sade - No Ordinary Love
Molly Hatchet - Dreams I'll never see

 

 

Edited by uteman1011
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