Best Songs to Test Speakers

gregory

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Songs you know, whats the point of testing something you dont know regardless of it's dynamic range, bandwidth, bass response and so on, i could reccommend a thousand songs but if you dont know the song or what it sounds like on your gear you still wont know. Many years ago hi fi shops would play the familier hi fi test records of dire straits, fleetwood mac, rikki lee jones etc, etc and nearly all would sound good so you could start there but most dealers, if they are good ones encourage you to bring your own recordings.
 

6th.replicant

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Yep, take music you know well and have been listening to for years. You should hear detail, bass, texture etc you've never noticed before.

Having said that, when dem'oing recently I also used the following:

Massive Attack, Unfinished Sympathy - has 'hidden' low-end 'thunder' during intro, some speaker/amps reveal, some don't...

Cee Lo Green, Bright Lights, Bright City - good test of organisation/rythm, can sound a 'flubbery'/boomy mess.

David Bowie, Always Crashing In The Same Car - good test of mid-range detail and texture.

Frank Sinatra, Moon River - there're a few bars of guitar during the finale, if it's clearly audible, you've great detail.

Melody Gardot, Our Love Is Easy - if all of the above qualities are revealed and her voice has no sibilance, you've reached audio/musical nirvana.

And probably spent over £30k on perfectly matched speakers/amp/source :grin:
 
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Anonymous

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The compilation CD that Dali do is pretty amazing. The soundtrack CD for Tron, by Daft Punk is pretty amazing too. Plenty of complex kick ass bass, and orchestral subtlety as well.
 

drichardb

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lol just replied to the unanswered thread! Here's my post to keep it all in one place...

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.
 
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Anonymous

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Ulla Meinecke - "Wenn nicht fuer immer, denn wenigstens fuer ewig"

German, a very old LP, but superbly recorded and great songs.
 

Thompsonuxb

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Toni Braxton - 'Toni Libra' track 7- 'Sposed to be', Bass, female vocals(sibalence, tone..etc), seperation, depth of stage.

track 10 - 'Shadowless' - emotion, neunces/transients, edges, image.

D'angelo - 'Brown sugar' track 7 - 'Crusin' = musical magic.
 

relocated

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The eponymous Tracy Chapman album, especially track 4 - Behind the Wall. If you can't hear the space around her and the natural reverb of the studio then the speakers are really flawed.

The whole album is a brilliant test disc, simply recorded and very good range.
 
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Anonymous

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drichardb said:
lol just replied to the unanswered thread! Here's my post to keep it all in one place...

Me too..!

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.gif
 
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Anonymous

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6th.replicant said:
Yep, take music you know well and have been listening to for years. You should hear detail, bass, texture etc you've never noticed before.

Exactly :clap:
 

Roby

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Hey,

I have my selection of song's an cd's that I take with me the last 3 months, On my quest to find a new amp to match my 683's but also to match the future upgrade of speakers (provably in 3years).

Anyway one of the dealer's I have visited during this quest Let me use my cd's but on the end of the demo he asked me if I could come back but next time he will use cd's I don't know.

He says it's the best way to determine which speakers fit's me the best.

Personally I'm not shore about that, but as I have a curious nature and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt I will go do the experience.

What's your opinion about this statement?
 

piper1st

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I like "Air - La Femme D'Argent" ... its got a good frequency range with low bass and sweeping highs. As its been said before, you need to be very familiar with the track so you can tell if bits are missing, or you notice bits you didn't before.
 

The_Lhc

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Roby said:
I have my selection of song's an cd's that I take with me the last 3 months, On my quest to find a new amp to match my 683's but also to match the future upgrade of speakers (provably in 3years).

Anyway one of the dealer's I have visited during this quest Let me use my cd's but on the end of the demo he asked me if I could come back but next time he will use cd's I don't know.

He says it's the best way to determine which speakers fit's me the best.

Personally I'm not shore about that, but as I have a curious nature and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt I will go do the experience.

What's your opinion about this statement?

I think what he means is, "I'm desperate to get rid of this particular range, so I'll play you some stuff that sounds good on them, in the hope you'll buy them even though they sound rubbish with the music you actually listen to."

I'd go elsewhere. What's the point of testing speakers with music you never listen to?
 
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Anonymous

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Counting Crows – Good Time

Great use of stereo image, with acoustic, electric, guitar solo, banjo, keyboards etc. making an ideal test track - try it! :)
 

Wardio

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Have a go with some of the tracks from Bassic, such as: On The Horizon, Rain, Tranquility Bass II, E.I., and Pacifica.

Phenomenal bass, bags of detail, separation etc etc
 

matthewpiano

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The_Lhc said:
Roby said:
I have my selection of song's an cd's that I take with me the last 3 months, On my quest to find a new amp to match my 683's but also to match the future upgrade of speakers (provably in 3years).

Anyway one of the dealer's I have visited during this quest Let me use my cd's but on the end of the demo he asked me if I could come back but next time he will use cd's I don't know.

He says it's the best way to determine which speakers fit's me the best.

Personally I'm not shore about that, but as I have a curious nature and I want to give him the benefit of the doubt I will go do the experience.

What's your opinion about this statement?

I think what he means is, "I'm desperate to get rid of this particular range, so I'll play you some stuff that sounds good on them, in the hope you'll buy them even though they sound rubbish with the music you actually listen to."

I'd go elsewhere. What's the point of testing speakers with music you never listen to?

There is another way of looking at it.

I often find that when my hi-fi is really working well for me with the music I know inside out, I also find it much easier to appreciate new music, even if it is the sort of thing I wouldn't normally listen to. Maybe this si where the sales guy is coming from?
 

shooter

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Beck - Chemtrails

Rampant charging pop tune with low funky bass lines, crashing high hats and recessed vocal.

Rather grey background with constricted stereo image.

If the right system will be airy, atmosphecic and textured in the wrong system will be a congested mess.
 

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