speakers test cd..

[indietronic]

i'd like to make a compilation cd of reference recordings /tracks of different genres... can you give me a link to some list or even help make a song list here ? thanx

 

[Tony_R]

Hi Inditronic,

I made a general test CD (not speaker specific) with the following tracks:

I guess a lot of this comes down to individual taste, but most of these recordings are good quality and some are also a good test of your system's abilities.

Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
Beyonce / Luther Vandross - The Closer I get To You
Jack Johnson - Cocoon (On and On)
Beverley Knight - Woulda Shoulda Coulda
Barbra Streisand - Till I loved You
Ry Cooder - The Very Thing that makes you rich (makes me poor)
Audioslave - Like A Stone
Bon Jovi - Dead or Alive
Dire Straits - Private Investigations
Jack Johnson - Flake (Brushfire Fairytales)
Jack Johnson - News (Brushfire Fairytales)
Guns 'n Roses - Sweet Child Of Mine
Jamie Cullum - High and Dry
Texas - Everyday Now
Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow
Jack Johnson - Tomorrow Morning (On and On)

-- Tony.

 

[Anonymous]

Add some bass heavy dance - suggest Leftfield for some cracking recordings. What about some classical, opera etc. to hear the human voice in full flow - Renee Fleming's Strauss Four Last Songs is an amazing recording.

Roger Waters' Amused to Death is one of my references, along with Dave Gilmour's Live in Gdansk.

Enjoy!

 

[Dave_]

Graham_Thomas:Add some bass heavy dance - suggest Leftfield for some cracking recordings.! absolutely. leftfield-leftism is great for plumbing the depths

 

[Don Guess]

Jack Johnson's album "Sleep Through The Static" has great production and I think makes a good test CD.

Another one I use is Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Ease Down The Road"

 

[chebby]

Forgive me if I am missing the point here, but - unless you are a professional reviewer or demonstrate kit to the public - the best 'test CD compilation' is going to be a mixture of music that you and your family enjoy rather than what we like.

I assume you need something to take around hifi shops to test new gear so your own music is best.

I would (did) turn up at my dealer with CDs of the Tallis Scholars (Palestrina and Hildegaard Von Bingen), Handel's Messiah (John Eliot Gardiner & Monteverdi choir etc), The Seekers, XTC (English Settlement), Spike Lee (Do It Acapella), John Coltrane, Stranglers, 1970s compilation with lots of really naff Pop stuff that I still love and half a dozen other Rock/Pop/Jazz/Classical CDs.

If I was to recommend one stand-out track to hoof up the volume with, then Steeleye Span's 'Fighting For Strangers' (from 'Spanning the Years') is awesome and will seperate 'the men from the boys' in so many ways! (Forget Steeleye Span's normal wimpy folk pop, this one track is a hard edged and bitter war protest song with a collossal sound and massive soundstage and impact.)
For a small idea of what it sounds like, plug some headphones into your PC/Laptop and listen here... http://www.last.fm/music/Steeleye+Span/_/Fighting+For+Strangers ... obviously the CD version will sound better.

 

[matthewpiano]

Why only take 'reference' recordings that are good quality? A large proportion of albums aren't well recorded and surely a big test of a system is whether poorer recordings of great music can be made to sound enjoyable. I find 'Aqualung' by Jethro Tull is a great taste. Below par recording but on the right system it can still sound fabulous.

As for the 'wimpy folk pop' comments about Steeleye, I think they are a bit unfair. Listen through their recorded output and their are loads of examples of superb folk rock. Still going strong now - their latest album 'Bloody Men' is astonishing and they were brilliant when I saw them live last year.

 

[chebby]

matthewpiano:As for the 'wimpy folk pop' comments about Steeleye, I think they are a bit unfair.

I made that comment based on 99 percent of folk probably thinking only of 'All Around my Hat' when SS are mentioned.

I actually agree with you Matthew. I am not a huge fan but can listen to most of my 'Spanning the Years' compilation with some pleasure.

 

[JoelSim]

I couldn't agree more on JJ Sleep through the static. High quality in every sense, especially the very last track.

Leftfield is also good, track 4 Song of Life.

LHB Dig you may find a friend track 5. If you want to test bass, check this out. Unbelieveable

Tracey Chapman - Fast car

And many many more

If I were you though I would use originals.

ÿ

ÿ

 

[the record spot]

chebby:

I made that comment based on 99 percent of folk probably thinking only of 'All Around my Hat' when SS are mentioned.

"Gaudete". Wimpy Christmassy folk-rock.

Just kidding - the lovely Maddy Prior - a unique voice IMO.

 

[Tony_R]

Graham_Thomas:Add some bass heavy dance - suggest Leftfield for some cracking recordings.

Kind of invokes memories of sarcastic remarks made in some Hi-Fi publications during the 70's...

"Never mind the quality, feel the bass" !!

No offence intended Graham!!

-- Tony.

 

[Anonymous]

Tony_R:
Graham_Thomas:Add some bass heavy dance - suggest Leftfield for some cracking recordings.

Kind of invokes memories of sarcastic remarks made in some Hi-Fi publications during the 70's...

"Never mind the quality, feel the bass" !!

No offence intended Graham!!

-- Tony.

My quote is never mind the quality, feel the width....... or is that some other situation.

 

[Anonymous]

Why need a special test cd? i think any song will do. a good speaker will give a good result no matter what song u play. better to test with your favourite cd, afterall you will be listening to your cds not to the test cd

 

[indietronic]

AudioSyok:Why need a special test cd? i think any song will do. a good speaker will give a good result no matter what song u play. better to test with your favourite cd, afterall you will be listening to your cds not to the test cd

partly right, BUT i can not take let's say 20 cd's with me when i want to test my friend's new speakers...

THANK YOU ALL btw. 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

fast car mag gave away 'weapons of bass destruction' phat bass choons, tones, drops and eff-x

Its pritty good. a few car audio shops use it. there are a few tunes, then bass sweeps of various kinds. pink noise. thunder. rain. a load of tone applications a hz appart to see how low you can go, with how much grit or waffle. Very good for setting up a system for bass drivern music, or cinema. Its not really for mids and tops though. There good, but not its design task.

spoken word. radio 2 perhaps. very usefull.

bit of classical for cymbols and triangles and stuff.

I find between all that you can cover everything as long as you know what your aiming for.

edit: having spent years toying with drivers and crossovers i learn quickly. Your own favs are indeed the best starting point. you will notice differences, and have a better idea what you expect to be hearing. ive a 80s sampler cd i use a lot, just because i know it so well.