HI, I'm flying in to Chicago with my gf to the head-fi meet in a few weeks, and I want to get maximum exposure to new products. My expereince in audio stuff is limited to what I have now and a few things I've tried and sold. I could use advice on CD's to bring that might really show off what a headphone or amp, or both, can really do. TIA


Austin

I wouldn't suggest you go out and buy $80 worth of music to audition headphones. I'd suggest that you seek out 5 of your favourite CDs in your collection to take with you. It might be interesting to see what Choral Pipe Organs sound like on headphones, but will the headphones be broken in or just plain broken when you listen to them? So just take a wide range of music with you: whatever you like the most and which has a wide range of instruments with the ocassional solo piece.

I prefer to listen to female vocals, so I always take Leann Rymes' "Blue". For male vocals I take AHA's "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale", although I will also take some Garth Brooks. I also like Pink Floyd, and some bluegrass, disco, rock guitar, Tibetan Monks, trance, rap, eurodance (Shiny Disco Ball), chamber, symphony, swing, big band, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, ...

see. just take your favourites. if you're into Jazz, take some Jazz. I prefer Jazz Piano, myself. If you love the Beatles, take some of their most demanding works with you. Take something that has a lot of bass, a lot of cymbals, pianos, clarinets, bass guitar, electric guitar, kettle drums, violins, oboes, harpisord, pipe organs, horns, trumpets, ...

and since she's going with you, see what she has in her collection. make sure that you try to take one 'live' album with you. and if you happen to both share a favourite song... just don't be surprised if you end up buying two sets of headphones

and if you're really serious in spending money - head over to the head-fi music section, pronto. It's where I learned of Joshua Bell: Sibelius Violin Concertos and Diana Krall.

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Paul Simon: You're the One (pop, male vocal)
Blue Nile: A Walk Across the Rooftops (art rock, male vocal)
Prefab Sprout: Jordan, the Comeback (pop, male vocal)
Keith Jarrett: Köln Concert (jazz piano)
Caroline Lavelle: Spirit; Brilliant Midnight (celtic pop, female vocal)
EDUARDO PANIAGUA GROUP: Danzas Medievales Españolas
STEVE TIBBETTS: A Man About a Horse (ECM)
THEATER OF VOICES: The Age of Cathedrals (chant)

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hey Austin,

not sure if you like Sade. but the Lovers Live album is very very good!

JOHN TESH

lol

I did some testing with alt/indie rock (Pavement/Malkmus/Wilco), but paid most attention with listening to the Kate Rusby songs, "The Maid Of Llanwellyn" and "My Yound Man" (Diana Krall fans check her out).

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Well, actually I find his music to be an outstanding example for this type of auditioning.

If you want some real bassy stuff that will send the person off into a intense trip that they feel as much as hear, I suggest a CD called "Nightmare On Bass Street."

Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom
Dave Matthews Band - Crash
George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
The Who - Who's Next
Beethoven - Symphony #6
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Steely Dan - Katy Lied
The Eagles - Greatest Hits 71-75


I'm sure that there are a few I'm forgetting...

The unplugged recordings from Eric Clapton, Nirvana and Neil Young are what I use thats mainstream. If you dont have one of these, somebody you know should have one you can borrow.

Dire Straits, "greatest hits"
Mark Knopfler (any solo album)
Ian Anderson (the last two solo CDs)
Joe Satriani, any studio album
Pink Floyd of course (the classics, WYWH, DSOTM, TW, etc..)
Stevie Ray Vaughan with Albert King
Eric Clapton "Riding with the King"
Kansas "Audiovisions" or "Leftoverture"
Boston "Third Stage"
Craig Chaquico (any)
Chic Corea Band "Eye of the Beholder"
etc........

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nothing wrong with John Tesh

You really want some recordings that don't have a lot of production or effects. Any album on the Chesky label would be great.

I also really like Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms. It's really well recorded with a wide range of sounds.

1. Use whatever you want.
2. Most likely you'll feel like using the CDs you have in current heavy rotation, which is fine.

I'm pretty sure some of the stuff people recommend here, I couldn't withstand for 5 seconds, and vice versa with my music and their tastes, so again, wise thing to do is just go with what you like.

thank you for all the suggestions! I am going to write these down and see what I can find at the local used CD store. Before I bought the RS-1 I had not been into CD's for a few years, relying mostly on high-quality MP3's. About 3 years ago I ripped all my CD's (~250) to MP3 and just put them away. But now I have reason to get that exra 10% out of the music. It might seem obvious to audition with CD's I allready like, but I'm not even sure how audition and I won't have a chance to play with toys like this very often. I've not even heard a tube amp yet, or the Sennheiser HD600, or how interconnect/power cables may affect the sound. I guess it's just a learning process that will be a long and interesting road. Thanks again...