Top 5 Favorite recordings to use for system tests?

[Painful Reality]

Most music sounds like dung and is poorly recorded. I do most of my listening to below.

- Stereophile Test CD 1-3 (No cannons, but there is some awesome bass guitar and bells and whatnot)

- Telarc 1812 (cannons are awesome)

- Telarc Sampler CD (Fanfare for Common Man is awesome - Firebird kicks it)

- Pomp and Pipes ( The pipes are ok but the POMP brings house down!)

- Conan the Destroyer Soundtrack (man, this is awesome, too! No modern explosions, though)

- TOTAL RECALL soundtrack (this DOES have modern blasts! Subs to the rescue!)

- Arnold Soundtracks (you can just skip looking and get this one if you want. HasteLaVistaBaby!!)

- Pearl Harbor (Want to hear a Zero at 11? That first bomb drop is ecstasy!)

- Jazz at the Pawnshop (not really a pawn shop so a bit disappointing. No bass but GREAT crowd clapping!)

- Sheffield Drum Record (man, if you like drums you gotta get this one. No explosions though)

- HFNR Test Record (one side has no tracks but cool to watch tonearm skate on record!)

- Sara K. (Any thing by her rocks. Sounds like Jesus in heaven)

144 dB of dynamic range kicks *** dude! Especially when recorded at an average of 140 dB. Make it loud baby!

My top 5:

The Cramps "Bad Music for Bad people"

Iggy and the Stooges "Raw Power"

The Ramones "Rocket to Russia"

Dead Kennedys "Fresh fruits for rotting vegetables"

Sonic Youth "Evol"

[JJkizak]

1...Blues for Robert Lockwood---Colin Dussalt Blues Project (center channel bass)

2...Something on Her Mind---Buddy Guy

3...Come Home For Christmas---Eagles

4...Crossroads---Eric Clapton

5...Premonition---John Fogarty

JJK

[divin11112000]

Unfortunately I don't have 5 that I like to use. I also don't have a "great" music collection, but since I've gotten Klipsch (RF-35, RC-35, RS-35, RSW-15) my cd collection has started to grow.

If I am trying to show off the bass in the system I typically use

Eminem "The Eminem Show" track 3 " Buisness"

The bass hits pretty hard and it happens fast and often.

If I'm trying to show off detail i typically use

Garth Brooks "Thunder rolls"

The rain and the lightening strikes sound real, infact real enough to get the dog to look at the speakers and see what was going on.

I also use Eric Clapton "Layla"

I tried using

Metallica "Ride the Lightning" - "For whom the bell tolls"

However in that cd i get a faint hiss in the backtrack. I thought it was my speakers (messed up tweeter or something) but my other cd's sound fine. Well most of them... Led Zeppelin IV, The Jimi Hendrix experience both store bought CD's sound like crap. VERY low volumes no hiss, but when you turn it up AT ALL you can hear it... very annoying

I think that is the only downside to good speakers. If I had crappy speakers I would never have heard the hiss.

I now just wish I could test out CD's prior to purchasing them so I know they sound ok.

Chris

[Frzninvt]

First off, to remove the background noise and hiss mentioned above just pick up a used DBX SNR-1 (Single Ended Noise Reduction) it is capable of removing up to 40db of background noise/hiss from any recording without sacrificing any HF loss at all.

Now a few that I use to show system detail and ability:

Michael Jackson's - Bad, and Dangerous (Phenomenal Recording Quality)

Fleetwood Mac - Greatest Hits, tracks 5 & 11

Saga - In Transit (DDD) (Killer Drum Solo)

Rush - Hemispheres

Eminem - Curtain Call (I love track 7) (Got Bass?)

Rick James - Wonderful

Sade - Diamond Life

Flock of Seagulls - Flock of Seagulls

Thompson Twins - Greatest Hits

Supertramp - Even in the Quietest Moments, Greatest Hits

Kansas - Leftoverture

These are a few that come to mind, if they sound dull I just engage the DBX DX5's DAIR circuitry and adjust it to my liking.

[Colin]

Diana Krall, k.d. lang, Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, Jack Johnson and music/test samplers from Stereophile, Digital Music Products, and Reference Recordings

[JBryan]

In no particular order...

'Outbound' tracks 4-8 - Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - wide and deep soundstage and great bass presence.

'Sometimes God Smiles' - various artists from DGM records. Great selection of instruments and settings. Included is a guitarist in a chapel, intricate acoustic guitar from the California Guitar Trio and Tony Geballe, wicked drumming from Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto, chamber music/rock from McFall's Chamber, heavy guitar from the likes of Robert Fripp, David Torn and Adrian Belew, vocals from Peter Hammil and Bill Nelson and complex instrumentation and live recordings by Project 2, Radical Dance and of course, King Crimson - there's even a bagpipe solo. Lots of variety!

'Saxophone Colossus' and 'Someday My Prince Will Come' by Sonny Rollins and Miles Davis. These are mono recordings that I am very familiar with and can compare systems in regard to the instruments sound signature, pacing, image, clarity, detail, etc.

'Joshua Judges Ruth' - Lyle Lovett. A well-recorded album with good vocals - great for soundstage and image and toe-tapping to boot!

A test CD or record comes in very handy. I'm using the 'Stereophile Editor's Choice' at the moment for the test warbles but most of them have adequate test tracks and a good sampling of music to demonstrate a systems' ability.

The list is ever-changing but this one works for me now.

[MarkBK]

Artist - Dave Brubeck

Title - Time Out

Year of Release - 1959

Record Label - Legacy Recordings

The classic quintessential jazz. This is one of the all time greats. I'm sure you have heard it. If you haven't your missing something very special. For you vinyl guys, the album takes this recording to the next level. Take Five is truely breath taking.

.....................................

Another great choice and I almost listed this first in my list. This, along with some other vinyl recordings from the 50's was the first thing I heard on a true high fidelity system. It was Mac tubes gear - Gerrard turntable and 1950's /60's vintage JBL HiFi cabinets and I'll never forget the magic of the music. Demond was in the room playing and Morrelo's solo was the most melodic thing I's ever heard on drums. It took me another 6 years to finally get gear to approximate the sound......

Just passed up the Getz/Gilberto CD last week - but I'm going out NOW to pick it up if still there.

[aviserated]

Pink Floyd's masterpiece, The Wall.

[ben.]

5 at the top of my head, anyway:

Bjork: Really any of her solo records after Debut. I tend to use Homogenic to evaluate changes I've made, as it uses well recorded strings along with electronica. Dense textures along with her stunning voice will reveal congestive flaws very well.

Sloan: Twice Removed. Sonically unremarkable for its middle-of-the road presentation, but this has been a reference recording of mine for about a decade. I'm familiar with it on every audio system I've spent any time with, and I carry it with me whenever and wherever I mix. It helps that it's a desert-island pick for me, too.

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue. One of the handful that I own in multiple formats & versions. If the Harmon mute sounds wrong, you've made a mistake somewhere...

well I guess there's 3, but I'm tired of writing about it...

[ygmn]

Gypsy Kings

[jbsl]

Jack Johnson last two cds very good vocals, acoustic guitar.

[StretchZep]

Thanks Wards Web!!! I got the Matt's Mood last Tuesday and really enjoyed it alot along with Stan Getz and the Peterson Trio (gonna have to give it the three listen rule, sax kind of gets on my nerves) Peterson Trio Night Train "Oh yeah I like this one ALOT!" And last but by nowhere near least Patricia Barber Modern Cool. What can I possibly say, this disc is awesome and I just love it to death. Sat down on the couch last night with my wife and we had some wine and really got into it. I told her the first chance we get with the kids out of the house we are going to put this on and "get with the program" I can't believe that this woman has been out there for so long and has not even come across my radar. THANK YOU for the new artist! I picked up all this music just from reading your post and Patricia is by far the best I have heard in years. As a side note I have had Time Out for quite some time and actually grew up with it. My father had it on vinyl and we used to listen to is on Saturday or Sunday afternoons on his "HiFi" player. A one speaker deal that sat up on four legs and you could stack albums on top of each other up to about five at a time and they would drop down onto the previous ones until you went through the whole stack. ( can you say ouch!) This was way hi tech at the time and I was never aloud to touch the thing. I credit my vast appreciation for music to him and would love to have those Saturday Sunday afternoon Vinyl sessions with him. Thanks again for the heads up and you have a fellow Barber addict here.

[texas42]

Dire Straights- Brothers in Arms (great disc for soundstage)

Enya- Watermark (specifically track 10, the Long Ships, for deep bass)

Alan Parson Project- Try Anything Once (Sony Gold SBM disc) Clarity is Incredible

Steely Dan- Aja (MFSL Gold Disc)

Round-Up- Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (Telarc CD-80141) Put this one in and crank it up a bit. On high efficiency speakers, the dynamics have to be experienced. Especially on the opening track, 'Sounds of the West'.

I know there's a bunch I can't think of, but since our limit was 5....

Happy Listening,

Dave

[ndskyz]

Here are a few of mine, in addtion to the classic Jazz, Miles, Brubeck...etc..Not in any particular order.

Chuck Mangione: Last Dance (seriously. the song has a great sound stage deep Bass plenty of subtle things to hear)

Ellis Marsalis Trio: Charlie Brown.. (again Im serious..The old Charlie Brown Theme done by Marsalis..wonderful sounds from a classic Trio)

Becker Brothers: Wakaria (What's Up) Great song for overall system Test Plenty of highs, and DEEP bass

Spyro Gyra : South Beach (Another song for overall speaker testing..Deep bass Wonderful Highs (great for dancing too )

Don Grusin: Island Cowboy.(Yet another good song for overall speaker testing. Plenty of Piano, Bass, Violin, and Horns)

What Can I say..Im weird guy

[ben.]

Probably the first time I've seen someone with the stones to put ole Chuck Mangione up as a rec, and the first one, too. That whole album (Feels So Good) is very well recorded. The title track was so overexposed that now it's like the in-joke that everybody gets if you play the melody. While certainly not a record that will go down as a timeless classic as it was very much a product of the time, there is a lot to be enjoyed from that group. The chemistry of the group together as improvisors was excellent as well.

[IB Slammin]

Artist - Dave Brubeck

Title - Time Out

Year of Release - 1959

Record Label - Legacy Recordings

The classic quintessential jazz. This is one of the all time greats. I'm sure you have heard it. If you haven't your missing something very special. For you vinyl guys, the album takes this recording to the next level. Take Five is truely breath taking.

Artist - Matt Bianco (featuring Basia)

Title - Matt's Mood

Year of Release - 2005

Record Label - Decca

First off, Matt Bianco is the name of a group, not a person, and the trio's 1984 debut album, "Whose Side Are You On?," went platinum. That didn't prevent the threesome from splitting up before they could even tour together. Basia Trzetrzelewska, the group's female singer, had her eyes on a solo career, and she took Matt Bianco keyboardist Danny White with her to create four albums under the single name Basia. Male singer Mark Reilly recruited a new keyboardist, Mark Fisher, and recorded eight more albums under the Matt Bianco moniker.

Last year Trzetrzelewska, White and Reilly reunited to co-write and co-produce a new Matt Bianco album, "Matt's Mood," and this spring they're touring as a trio for the first time.

Matt's Mood is flavored with jazz, bossa nova and "Quiet Storm" R&B. This one is great all the way through and does not get old after repeated plays. Check out some of the sound bites on Amazon. From the opening number "Ordinary Day" with Basia's smooth vocals to the rhythm of "Slip & Sliding", this album will make your speakers come to life.

Artist - Patricia Barber

Title - Modern Cool

Year of Release - 2002

Record Label - Mobile Fidelity Koch

This is an incredible ablum, right from the start. The very first cut "Touch of Trash" is sensuous music, showcasing Barber's voice and piano skills. Her voice is sultry and appealing. Close your eyes and just get lost in this smokey jazz.

Artist - Brian Bromberg

Title - Wood

Year of Release - April 2, 2002

Record Label - A440 Music Group

This is an incredible album of jazz bassist Brian Bromberg on a 300 year old upright bass. The tonal quality of the notes is pure and sweet and what Brian does with it are magical. You will love his version of The Beatles "Come Together" like you've never heard before and smile when you hear "Star Spangled Banner".

Artists - Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto

Title - Getz/Gilberto

Year of Release - 1963

Record Label - Verve

Here is another classic. You have all heard "The Girl from Ipanema", but did you know it was written about the seventeen year old Helô Pinheiro. She inspired Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes in 1962 to write this song. Sitting in a cafe they saw her every day going to the beach of Ipanema, a district of Rio de Janeiro. Also, on the album the girl singing is Astrud Gilberto, Joao's wife. She and Getz's wife, Monica, were in the studio to listen. There is some debate over who suggested Astrud try singing a verse; Stan, Joao or Monica, but whoever did, it created one of the most memorable songs in history. This is only one of the jewels on this album.

That Brubeck is so great. Can't believe that it is so old and sounds so good!!

Terry

[Christopher L. Berry]

MFSL's version's of Rush's Moving Pictures and Steve Winwood's Back In The High Life.

Eagles-Hell Freeze's Over

Days Of The New- I

Dire Straits-Brothers In Arms

[meagain]

I wanted to BUMP this as I'm running out of quality CD's. I can't listen to 85% of my stuff anymore and need fresh blood.

Thinking about placing an Amazon order. Need some killer quality Floyd for starters (suggestions?).

[thebes]

Meagain, a couple I've been liking lately is Gomez "Bring It On"

(they're opening for Dave Mathews this summer) and concrete Bolonde

"Still In Hollywood".

I should also you to make you aware of the Members Weekly Music

Recommendations thread down in DVD/Music. It's been a little slow

of late but if you scroll back (it's been running for close to two

years now) you will find a wealth of music of various styles and

tastes. You can be sure that coming from your fellow Klipschers, that

most of it is very well-recorded.

Hope this helps.

[chops]

Thinking about placing an Amazon order. Need some killer quality Floyd for starters (suggestions?).

Yes, DSOTM. Not the botched up SACD garbage either, but the original version produced by Alan Parsons. Another good one is "The Division Bell".

My list includes (not in any special order):

The Innocence Mission - Any of their later acustic stuff (very natural, clean and lifelike)

Sarah Mclachlan - Afterglow (just an all around good recording)

Jimmy Buffett - Banana Wind (great acoustic recording and vocals)

311 - Transistor (the music has a little to be desired, but the recording quality is excellent)

Almost any of the Dorian, Erato, Philips, Telarc, Chesky, Stereophile recordings.

Oh yeah, and pretty much anything from Sara K, Diana Krall, Rebecca Pidgeon, Norah Jones (however her voice can get rather annoying) and Ana Caram, which I might add is a little hottie!