Best Songs to Test Speakers

[admin_exported]

Hey all,

What would you say are some of the top songs to test speakers with, that have a good range in them?

Thanks,

Evoss

 

[drichardb]

My personal favourites for testing include...

Rush - Subdivisions (Signals, 1982) Nice warm tones from the synths combined with crisp notes on the drums

Golden Girls - Kinetic (Ministry Presents The General S'election, 2002) More warm tones but with added punch in the bass

Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (I shouldnt have to name the album for this!) Its awesome simple as.

Meshuggah - Pravus (Obzen, 2008 ) Chaotic!

Lamb of God - Laid to Rest & One Gun (Ashes of the Wake, 2004) Balls out Metal, love the sinking bass tones and big kicks at the end of One Gun.

Chicane - Far From The Maddening Crowds (1997) This is still in my top 10 fav albums of all time and is my number one test disc.

I tend to blitz through a lot of my favourite material as its the stuff I'm most used to hearing but these tracks are the ones that I usually go back to for repeats.

 

[piper1st]

My favourite tester track would be "air - la femme d'argent".

 

[Anonymous]

Just been through a test session myself last Friday:

AC/DC - Its a long way to the top (if you want to rock n' roll) - good for treble, the pipes can sound 'wrong' and its very noticeable

Muse - Feeling good - good for keyboards and 'big entrances'

Pearl Jam - Immortality - acoustic lows to drum highs, great mixture

The Answer - Under the Sky - big guitars, drums and vocals

Led Zeppelin - Going to California - no comment required!

The Faces - Ooh La La - fantastic acoustic guitar and vocals

Smashing Pumpkins - Zero

Black Crowes - Remedy

Can you tell I like rock..?!

Job done :cheers:

 

[fr0g]

Some of my test tracks...

Bass tests (all electronic, I'm not much into organ music 🙂 )

Biosphere – Oi-1

Echaskech – Redeploy

Aphex Twin – Ageispolis

The Orb – Prime Evil

Vocal / acoustic test

R.E.M. – Everybody Hurts

Damien Rice – The Blower's Daughter

Beck – We Live Again

Beth Orton – Stolen Car

Various others

The Aliens – Bobby's Song

Sigur Ros – Flugufrelsarinn

My Dying Bride – The Wh*re, the Cook and the Mother

Metallica – For Whom The Bell Tolls

Slayer – Skeletons Of Society

Not all are great recordings, but then not all recordings are great 🙂

 

[omnibeard]

Fr0g has a great list here, I would add anything off Coil's superbly demented album "Love's Secret Domain" particularly "Further Back and Faster".

Diamanda Galas will test the vocal reproduction of any set up.

 

[matthewpiano]

The best songs or pieces to test with are ones you listen to a lot.

 

[omnibeard]

The best songs or pieces to test with are ones you listen to a lot.

Very sensible and true!

 

[Anonymous]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
Burial - Etched Headplate (Smashing Bass and Fine detail test)
Roy Ayers - Gotta Find A Lover (Xylophone works wonders for testing)
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (Album)
Pink Floyd - Time
Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
Portishead - Machine Gun

Just to name a few.

 

[chebby]

The best songs or pieces to test with are ones you listen to a lot.

Very sensible and true!

Especially the ones where the recordings are a bit 'sub-optimal' (and no re-master is available). You don't want a system that can only be enjoyed with perfect recordings. Some of my favourite music would be rendered unlistenable on some systems.

 

[atanakata]

I was just listening to Keane`s Perfect Symetry Album when noticed your Topic. It is not their best album, but the first track " Spiralling " sounds just fantastic ... Great detail at the beginning, the bass is good and quite deep, and vocalwise is perfect as he sings as an angel that guy ... Give it try...

 

[Overdose]

Try anything by Bjork, listening to that horrible caterwauling would test even the patience of a saint, never mind your speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

If you want top notch live production try Hell freezes Over by the Eagles, also good is Saturday Sessions from Dermot Oleary's radio show. The Editors version of it ain't me babe and Alex Cornish acoustic Brothers in Arms are highlights.

 

[plastic penguin]

Hey all,

What would you say are some of the top songs to test speakers with, that have a good range in them?

Thanks,

Evoss

Over the weekend I heard a track by Rolf Liebermann called 'Les Echanges'. It's a percussion-based intrumental and it blew me away. I really cranked up the hi-fi and it was mind blowing.

 

[toyota man]

Bredfan Budgie . Vincent black lightning Richard Thompson . Preachin the Answer. last stop this town the Eels. I heard Romona sing Frank Black . Headlong Flight Rush:rockout: :rockout:

 

[atticus]

'The Fashion Show' from Slave to the Rhythm by Grace Jones

'Emphasising enharmonic partials' from January 07003: Bell Studies for the Clock of the Long Now by Brian Eno

'Don't Worry, Be Happy' from Simple Pleasues by Bobby McFerrin

'Brush with the blues' from Live at Ronnie Scott's by Jeff Beck

 

[nopiano]

Especially the ones where the recordings are a bit 'sub-optimal' (and no re-master is available). You don't want a system that can only be enjoyed with perfect recordings. Some of my favourite music would be rendered unlistenable on some systems.

Agree 100%. If you only listen with good, cleanly recorded, digital stuff you miss a lot of what great kit does - making imperfect recordings as musical as they can be. A ghastly CBS, pre-Sony, is an easy choice. Simon & Garfunkel, anybody?!

 

[Anonymous]

For me, my first and foremost speaker test song would be "John Martyn - Solid Air".

Plus anything with second to none production quality. Any pink floyd, particularly Gilmour - Live In Gdansk.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hey all,

What would you say are some of the top songs to test speakers with, that have a good range in them?

Thanks,

Evoss

Hi Evoss

Try these tracks -

L' Estasi Dell' oro (Ecstasy Of Gold) from the album The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Asha Bhosle (Piya Tu Ab To Aaja) and (Dum Maro Dum) from the album Kronos Quartet - You've Stolen My Heart

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[atanakata]

....and then I turned the volume UP - the sound went from very good at low volumes to horribly wrog and messy at high-ones, So that track is defo Not to be listen to at high volumes...Sorry 🙂

 

[stevebrock]

As one poster said...music you listen to a lot!

Massive attack - teardrop

Dire straits - brothers in arms

Zero 7 - crosses

Morcheeba - big calm (amazing amount of detail in this that some systems can't reproduce)

 

[stevebrock]

As one poster said...music you listen to a lot!

Massive attack - teardrop

Dire straits - brothers in arms

Zero 7 - crosses

Morcheeba - big calm (amazing amount of detail in this that some systems can't reproduce)

 

[Pike900fish]

Agree...Always test with something you listen to alot. Across the spectrum of good and bad recordings so you can choose best compremise

One NOT to use...Bat Out Of Hell on vinyl...terrible recording. Brilliant sons and music but how it sold so many with such dire production, I will never know :wall:

 

[relocated]

Try anything by Bjork, listening to that horrible caterwauling would test even the patience of a saint, never mind your speakers.

:rofl: :rofl:

 

[MajorFubar]

Anything you like and know well.
Auditioning any piece of HiFi with music you don't know won't tell you a great deal.