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ONE Headphile track. ONE fave: Name them.

post #1 of 18
6/7/06 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
One song only for each category.

Not an album (though you may cite the whole album if you love it!)

1) The track you think is the best Headphone reference, the one you use to test your cans out and always refer to.

2) And your favourite song ever (if you can... not sure i could).

Try it.....?

(if you simply must have 2 or 3, ok, but no lists!)
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post #2 of 18
6/7/06 at 10:51am
Thread Starter 
Ok... I'll start.

Krafwerk and Laura Cantrell for the two ends of the Can spectrum. Base, bleeps, and an ethereal voice.

And I have a thing for "There is a light" by the Smiths.
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post #3 of 18
6/7/06 at 11:18am
The first song used to try out any new cans is Tool "Lateralus" (the song, not necessarily the entire album).

Naming a favorite song is next to impossible, it varies from time to time.
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post #4 of 18
6/7/06 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
I guess it is a bit impossible. Current favourites then, and you wont be held to them for life!
I change each day! Remember, the thread is not for fun. Its only a game...
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post #5 of 18
6/7/06 at 11:33am
Test: "Black Cow" by Steely Dan

Favorite: "Celebrated Summer" by Husker Du
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post #6 of 18
6/7/06 at 12:52pm
I guess right now Im using Alice In Chains Unplugged as sort of my reference album.

Cant name an all time favorite song. But my current favorite is Bal Sagoth - The Imperial Lexicon
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post #7 of 18
6/7/06 at 1:20pm
[QUOTE=Cousin Patty]I guess right now Im using Alice In Chains Unplugged as sort of my reference album.
[QUOTE]

Excellent choice.

I've been listening to Blue Lines (again) a lot lately so this week my favorite track is Five Man Army by Massive Attack.
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post #8 of 18
6/7/06 at 2:13pm
[QUOTE=seantx][QUOTE=Cousin Patty]I guess right now Im using Alice In Chains Unplugged as sort of my reference album.
Quote:

Excellent choice.

I've been listening to Blue Lines (again) a lot lately so this week my favorite track is Five Man Army by Massive Attack.
you should track down the old Horace Andy song "Money Money" - he re-uses the chorus from that in "5 Man Army"

That was one of my first favorites by Massive Attack too.

Really, pretty much all of Horace Andy's reggae stuff is worth picking up, though Massive Attack's label Melankolic put out a nice compilation of his stuff in 1997 called SKYLARKING. It includes the MA tracks "One Love" and "Spying Glass" plus a bunch of classic Horace Andy tracks, including his original "Spying Glass" which is just as awesome as the version he did with MA.

-jar
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post #9 of 18
6/7/06 at 2:19pm
Reference Track:
Ivy - "Keep Moving" from In The Clear
There's a lot going on throughout this track. It opens with what sounds like the murmer of a crowded room, and then starts in with a great bass line (that tests extention and will quickly expose "one-note" bass) and some great high-hat work (that can expose any harshness or sibilance). Next come some guitar swells, and Dominique Durand's amazing voice (which really test the mid-range). There's a bit of a breakdown in the middle, with hushed conversations in the backround, and some trumpet work. The complexity of this middle section really shows limitations in separation and detail.
Good stuff!

Favorite Track:
Opeth - "When" from My Arms, Your Hearse
There's not a whole lot that can be said about this track other than it has everything. It's the perfect track from the damn-near perfect album. I almost hate to say it because Opeth gets so much attention here, but My Arms, Your Hearse just doesn't get old with me, and "When" is everything that is great about them.
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post #10 of 18
6/7/06 at 3:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Masonjar
you should track down the old Horace Andy song "Money Money" - he re-uses the chorus from that in "5 Man Army"

That was one of my first favorites by Massive Attack too.

Really, pretty much all of Horace Andy's reggae stuff is worth picking up, though Massive Attack's label Melankolic put out a nice compilation of his stuff in 1997 called SKYLARKING. It includes the MA tracks "One Love" and "Spying Glass" plus a bunch of classic Horace Andy tracks, including his original "Spying Glass" which is just as awesome as the version he did with MA.

-jar
I like MA's more reggae orinted stuff the best so this would be perfect. Thanks for the tip.

Edutted four speleng
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post #11 of 18
6/7/06 at 3:16pm
1) My Bloody Valentine - Loveless - "Only Shallow"

2) Way too hard to pick.
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post #12 of 18
6/7/06 at 4:54pm
Reference: Ozzy's Crazy Train from Live and Loud not for its fidelity but because I have heard it a zillion times and I can play it back in my head down to the audience cheers and screams.

Favorite: Man, that's a hard one. If I HAD to pick one, at the moment it would be April Ethereal from Opeth. My favorite track from, IMO, the most perfect metal album ever.
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post #13 of 18
6/7/06 at 6:00pm
if i have the luxury of auditioning headphones before i buy, i try to have the amp i'm planning on using to test with. for music, there is usually a good selection of cd's i've never heard, either at a meet or a store. i prefer jazz and classical to test with because of the plain recording style, with male and female voices. testing with unheard music helps minimize preconceptions.

my favorite songs?
hello goodbye (beatles)
aurora (bjork)
across the universe (beatles)
wow & flutter (stereolab)
etc...
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post #14 of 18
6/7/06 at 6:21pm
Reference: Hans Zimmer - Gladiator Soundtrack - "Barbarian Horde"
This track can tell me almost everything I need to know about a system, and it sounds powerful enough to move mountains with to boot!

Favorite: Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons (studio)
My favorite song since the first time I heard it, about 5 years ago; this one is the culmination of everything this band is all about, a 23-minute rollacoster of instrumental insanity, soaring melodies, and a beautiful message.
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post #15 of 18
6/7/06 at 7:49pm
Hmmm, now I have never auditioned headphones before I bought them but I would imagine that there's no one track for me that would test out any headphones, so I would use the following songs.

1) Comfortably numb and Brothers in arms, What It is (Mark Knopfler) - for electric guitars
2) Joy (Shakti) - for acoustic guitar and tabla
3) The Zen of Space (Zakir Hussain) - for spaciousness/soundstaging

The one song that would have to hit the sweet spot for me to buy the headphones would probably be Comfortably Numb/Brothers in Arms.
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