What's your "reference" song?
Jul 9, 2006 at 4:03 AM Post #17 of 128
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbucla2005
Getz/Gilberto - The Girl from Ipanema


Awesome choice man!! Glad to see we have some fans of latin jazz!

I listen to a couple... although I haven't had too much experience at this point in my life.

from The Terminal soundtrack- Jazz Autographs by John Williams (I'm a John Williams fanboy)

Ruben Gonzales- Melodia del Rio
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 4:24 AM Post #19 of 128
Would have to be my Mobile Fidelity edition of Darkside Of The Moon
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Jul 9, 2006 at 4:37 AM Post #20 of 128
Dreamtheater "Once in a livetime" CD set. It has a pretty broad range of sounds and musical styles. I listen mainly to Portnoys drum tones and Petruccis acoustic guitar tones. Mikes snare tones and rim-shots should hit you with 3 distinct phases: STRIKE of the drum, imediate resonance of the drum chamber, and a hint of echo and surround as the note decays and the sound disperses throughout the house PA. Petruccis acoustic tone should be quick and snappy. Again it should present itself in the basic steps: Pluck of the string, resonance through the guitar body and reverberation through the house PA.

Plus I like the tunes. It can be painfully bright when played with a poorly selected headphone / amp / source. On a good system it should surround you with near and far-field sounds coming from the stage and crowd cheer should come out with a sense of distance and depth.

I was listening to it the other day on filburts custom pint and hot rodded PCDP... Heard a LOT of things in this recording for the first time, and I realized I have some tuning to do with my own system.

*edit*
I also use clapton unplugged and the eagles Millenium concert a lot.

IMHO cowbells, Xylophone and drum rim shots and snare sounds are the most revealing kinds of sounds.

Garrett
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 4:40 AM Post #21 of 128
Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ e
I really don't have a "reference" song; I usually just play whatever song I happen to want to hear at the moment.


3x, usually that would include some songs, by Basia, Anita Baker, or the The Doobie Brothers just to name a few.
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 4:43 AM Post #22 of 128
Quote:

Originally Posted by dremsburg
I listen to the album Dark Side of the Moon. It is my favorite album.


2x
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 4:43 AM Post #23 of 128
I usually grab Dream Theater's CD 'Awake' for the track '6:00.' I'll also grab Mr. Bungle's 'California,' Peter Gabriel's 'Passion,' '1' or '3,' Great Big Sea's 'Up' for the track 'Buying Time,' and Prodigy's 'The Fat of the Land' for a good mix of genres.
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 8:24 AM Post #24 of 128
It's far too difficult to choose a single song. These are the songs I use to judge any audio system. I have all of them in either redbook or SACD format apart from the Gun's N Roses Greatest Hits, which I have in 320kbps AAC.
  1. Cantate Domino, Oscar's Motet Choir from Proprius "Cantate Domino"
    Large choir and range of dynamics. A test of soundstage, bass extension, midrange (vocal), etc
    Click to expand...
  2. Bantu, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet from "Delos Surround Spectacular"
    Percussion/drums. This recording really shows how "quick" your system is!
    Click to expand...
  3. Praeludium and Allegro, Salvatore Accardo from "I violini di Cremona: Omaggio a Kreisler"
    If your system is coloured, this recording will reveal that: A violin should sound like a violin and your system should be able to reproduce that. It's very well recorded and contains a lot detail and nuances that a violin's sound has.
    Click to expand...
  4. Limehouse Blues from "Jazz at the Pawnshop"
    Live "feel". Fun, charismatic recording that should sound fun. 'Nuff said.
    Click to expand...
  5. O Fortuna from Orff's Carmina Burana (DG recording)
    Again, another one for sheer epic-ness (?). A bad system will make this sound muddy, undefined, etc...
    Click to expand...
  6. Cold Cold Heart, Norah Jones from "Come Away With Me"
    Human solo vocal. Also pay attention to the accompaniment piano c and how well it blends in with Norah's voice.
    Click to expand...
  7. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits from "Brothers in Arms"
    Lots of electric guitar, drums and synthesized sounds. Grados will love this.
    Click to expand...
  8. Fantasie in F minor for Piano Four Hands, D940, Evgeny Kissin, James Levine from "The Carnegie Hall Concert"
    How "relaxed" is your system? Can you reproduce the golden, articulate sound of a Steinway without sounding too hard?
    Click to expand...
  9. Welcome To The Jungle, Guns 'N Roses from "Guns 'N Roses: Greatest Hits"
    I don't know why, but I often use this recording as one of testers.
    Click to expand...
  10. Berlioz Symphony fantastique, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus/Michael Tilson Thomas/Vance George
    Sometimes, I just play the whole Berlioz Symphonie fantastique through because the range of dynamics, simultaneous complex textures and different timbres really do challenge most systems' resolution, bass/mids/highs definition/response, three-dimensional soundstage, instrument positioning/separation, clarity, handling of different dynamics, etc.
    Click to expand...
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 8:42 AM Post #25 of 128
dire straits; money for nothing
pink floyd; money
opeth; deamon of the fall
meshuggah; chaosphere
roni size; brown paper bag
Holst; Mars the bringer of war
ulver; perdition city (the first track of this album)
herbie hancock (sp?); watermellon man
Fantomas; the godfather
Emperor: into the infinity of thoughts
Frank Zappa; broken hearts are for ********

i like to test for frequency range, extention, detail, how forgiving components are of bad recordings, soundstage and enjoyment factor. the above tracks do well for this.
it changes though, i have made reference cd's with the above tracks, frequency tones and sound samples thrown in. good for burn in too.
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 8:44 AM Post #26 of 128
3 words:
Y
Y
Z
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 9:44 AM Post #27 of 128
Although I listen to mostly classical, my "test" track is Alison Krauss's "Down to the River to Pray" from the _O Brother, Where Art Thou?_ soundtrack. It's so well-recorded and her voice is so sweet and accessible that it makes it very easy to hear the kind of differences that matter to me in a headphone (extreme clarity and detail).
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 11:09 AM Post #29 of 128
Holly Cole - Told him my dog wouldn't run
Van Halen - Doin' Time

Not really songs I listen to regularily but they are great 'test' tunes.
 
Jul 9, 2006 at 11:18 AM Post #30 of 128
My current test track playlist:

01. Hans Zimmer - [Gladiator #03] The Battle [10:02]
02. Olga Kern - [Rachmaninov Transcriptions & Corelli Variations #01] Bach Suite from Partita E major - Preludio [3:22]
03. Alexander Markov - [Paganini, Nicolo: 24 Capricci Op.1 #01] Capriccio I in Mi major [1:55]
04. Cantus - [Let Your Voice Be Heard #18] One By One [2:31]
05. Jesse Cook - [Nomad #03] Surrender [3:58]
06. Cowboy Junkies - [The Trinity Session #03] Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis) [4:28]
07. Aerosmith - [O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits #19] Cryin' [5:08]
08. The Cure - [GALORE The Singles 1987-1997 #03] Just Like Heaven [3:32]
09. Linkin Park - [Reanimation #15] My<Dsmbr [4:17]
10. Nirvana - [Nevermind #05] Lithium [4:16]
11. Infected Mushroom - [The Gathering #05] Psycho [8:38]
12. Joss Stone - [The Soul Sessions #06] Some Kind of Wonderful [3:56]
13. Norah Jones - [New York City #03] Deceptively Yours [4:18]
14. Michael Jackson - [Invincible #06] You Rock My World [5:38]
15. Jane Monheit - [Taking A Chance On Love #05] I Won't Dance (feat. Michael Bublé) [3:36]
16. Josh Groban - [Josh Groban #09] vincent [4:39]
17. Stan Getz, Joao Gilberto, An.. - [Getz | Gilberto #01] The Girl From Ipanema [5:24]
 
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