Recommended Music CDs to Test Hi-Fi Separates

[StevenKay]

Hi

Are there any specially recommended music CDs one should use while testing the performance and capabilities of various Hi-Fi separates - Amps, Speakers and CD Players - at the time of buying? Thanks in advance.

 

[matthewpiano]

The ones you listen to!

Seriously, too many people pick out special demo discs but don't test with a sample of what they actually listen to at home. Take your favourite music and be sure to include material which isn't as well recorded too because some systems can make bad recordings pretty unlistenable. Remember, it is all about the music in the end.

 

[StevenKay]

Matthew

Many thanks. I agree that it would better to test the systems with your own kind of music which you normally listen to and are familiar with rather than trying something new.

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed. Also test a variety of music. An Unplugged session is quite something else than a Wall of Sound.

A Dutch site hifi.nl recently made a very subjective list of 30 all time best sounding albums, according to users. Always food for discussion, but you may want to have a look at http://www.hifi.nl/artikel/2145/Best-Klinkende-Album-De-Top-30.html

Also the three worst sounding albums, with Californication on #1.

 

[DavieCee]

While fully agreeing with the idea that taking your own music that you listen to - a lot - is the best idea, that list above (or similar) is very handy as if you do listen to any on the list then those would be good picks. I listen to around 10 from that list and another handful are on my possible shopping list already.

 

[the record spot]

Take the stuff you listen, but a good example and a nice benchmark would be Katie Melua's "Nine Million Bicycles" CD single. Cleanest production I've heard in years - instruments are nicely placed in the mix, good clean bass, three tracks (Guernica and the classic Stardust which she does an okay job on in addition to the title track). Get it off Amazon for next to no cash probably and I never fail to try this one out along with all the usual Yes and Genesis stuff I take for these things!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I'd want Katie Melua alongside my Genesis demo CDs but each to their own!

Heh! No, I can see the benefit of using a CD which is known to be well recorded, especially if the instruments sound 'real' and are well separated, so it would be particularly good for testing the accuracy of reproduction - not the be all and end all depending on your point of view but if there's anywhere you'll be doing particularly critical listening for this sort of thing it's in the demo room.

My preferred tactic is purely to use stuff I'm very familiar with but to use a range of sounds within that, incl. male and female vocal, live and studio, real instruments and electronica, etc. and definitely not-so well recorded stuff which I still enjoy listening to. Not sure if anyone is familiar with a Swedish band called Dungen but they're a proper retro late 60s/early 70s throw-back psych-prog band and one of their albums sounds like it's deliberately been recorded to sound like it was made 40 years ago on an 8-track! That's on my demo list because if I can enjoy listening to it fairly loud without the treble getting too harsh, the system's doing its job. Shame I can't understand Swedish though.