[templeboy]

Since my system is headphone only, I use Also Sprach Zarathustra, a binaural recording by Newport Classic, as my reference. It's breathtaking!

Also use Rusted Root for dynamics, Stereophile's Rendezvous for high registries and Clark Terry's One on One for rendering. Plus some other tracks if necessary.

 

[reynman]

Off topic. My loving wife wanted me to remind all of you that today (what's left of it) is Gustav Mahler's birthday!

In honor of his birthday, I am listening to his Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"

Regards - reynman

 

[Audio Redneck]

For any piece of equipment, I have a group of favorites that I like to use if possible:

For clairity of sound at a set volume (ie. music that goes from super soft to super loud at a set volume level) I use Feidler/Boston Pops doing William Tell Overture by Rossini and Szell/CSO doing the Mouldou by B. Smetna

For the mood factor (by instrament):
Can it make me weep:
3 different copies of Vocalise by Rachmaninov (Violins and Vocals)

Can it make me feel the wind:
Wind and the Wheat (whole CD) - Phil Keaggy (Guitars and Synths)
Dust in the Wind - Kansas
Let the Wind Blow - Imperials
Sailing - Christipher Cross

For shear rush:
Beat the System (whole CD) - Petra
Money for Nothin' - Dire Straites

Can It make me laugh:
PDQ Bach 1712 overture

Other favorites:
Why Worry - Dire Straites
Christmas Mass (Gregorian Chants - Vocals)
Nutcracker (Flutes)

And whatever I have been listening to lately, but the above tend to be what I keep going back to as they are my rank with my all time favorites. I just realized that when I try to listen to new equipment, I am trying NOT to hear the equipment.

I like this thread: many of these recommendations have peeked my curiosity. Thanks guys!

 

[coolvij]

I like Audio by Blue Man Group - it really tests the low end well...

My overall favorite for testing though is "festive drums of kerala" by "various artists of india" (what a name! lol). I have heard EVERY instrument live, and know what to hear.

Listening to that CD on my 888s is enjoyable, but i can tell that the cans are coloring it.....

 

[Cherokee Mist]

I've recently been using the 2001 30th Anniversary Edition of King's Crimson's "Lark's Tongue In Aspic". It has many complex and dynamic passages and plenty of low end. The resolution is just spectacular too!

I also use the remastered version of Dire Straits' self titled 1st cd; especially, the song "In The Gallery" which has intricate, but subtle guitar interplay.

 

[MacDEF]

In the spirit of this thread, I found the following link:

http://www.audiorevolution.com/equip...sic/index.html

"Audio Revolutions's Best Stereo Demos of All Time"

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Resurrecting an old thread...

I stumbled across this thread today. Here's a chunk of a post I made over on headwize, which is apropos:

----
BTW, I've found that a good recording for comparing headphones is the GRP disc "Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!" A great listening disc all around, but useful too for seperating the good cans from the wannabes. The saxophone and piano on track 6 "Rain, Rain Go Away" is a great test of accuracy and musicality. Track 9 "Christmas Time is Here" is a good test of female vocals. Crappy cans make Patti Austin's voice sound sibilant.

Track 4 "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" is a good test of bass reproduction -- the bass line is played on an upright bass. The bass line should be present in the mix, tight but not overpowering. Headphones that are too bass heavy get it all wrong, and the bass almost disappears in cans with poor bass response.

----

There's lots to like on that disc...

Russ

 

[KR...]

Well, the very best music to audition with is YOUR favorite CDs! Why should you care how well they sound with Classical or Jazz or Rock or whatever if you don't listen to those styles? Not only that, but since these are your favorite CDs and all, you should know them extremely well, so any improvements should jump out at you much easier than some audiophile test Cd that you only use once a year, at that.

 

[Braver]

yup, just use your favs. it doesn't matter how accurate or whatever something is when it doesn't make your favs sound good!

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by Braver yup, just use your favs. it doesn't matter how accurate or whatever something is when it doesn't make your favs sound good!

Agreed -- but I'm also suggesting that "Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown!" is a great disc, if you're even casually interested in jazz. Heck, even if you're not interested in jazz at all, you might like that disc. I know several people for whom it's the only jazz disc in their entire collection. It's THAT good.

I mentioned it in this thread because it's also a great disc for people who are auditioning/comparing headphones. It's an extremely well-done recording -- something sorely lacking in most CDs -- as if just because there's no tape hiss or crackles and pops from vinyl it's not necessary to make sure the music is well-recorded.

Anyway, I thought some others might be interested. I never said you couldn't use your favorites... I just thought others might make this one one of their favorites.

Russ

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio Redneck Nutcracker (Flutes)

And the bells! Bells are an excellent test, especially for THD. If anyone has some good ones (recordings of bells that they could recommend, that is), I'd like to hear them.

A couple of my favorites:

Holst, The Planets, as conducted by von Karajan on DG. The complexity of the first part, Mars, gets turned to mush by most systems. And the vocals in the last section, Neptune?, have a present ethereal quality.

Ghost in the Shell soundtrack. That first track has a nice 4 note motif right before the main theme that cannot be heard on most systems, it just turns into 4 bars of whooshy noises.

Stabbing Westward - Darkest Days -- hey, I have to pick one of my favorites, because it's something I listen to a lot. And it's HDCD. Metal is a good test for layers and separation.

Nine Inch Nails - Broken -- ditto. And Trent and Flood are _masters_ of layers, and this is, IMHO, their masterpiece. You should be able to hear each additional layer in the barrage of guitars as they kick in during the opener "Wish". Requires a fast system.

 

[kerykeion]

Quote:

Well, the very best music to audition with is YOUR favorite CDs!...since these are your favorite CDs and all, you should know them extremely well, so any improvements should jump out at you much easier than some audiophile test Cd that you only use once a year...

Yep, I totally agree.


Quote:

A couple of my favorites: Holst, The Planets

Ugh..I can not stand "The Planets" for some reason...I know it is fairly popular, but IMHO, 1st Suite for Military Band in E flat and 2nd Suite in F are much better to my ears...

 

[stymie miasma]

AS KR, Braver and Kery said...YOUR music is the best to audition with. Try to take a representation of all the styles you listen to. When I was auditioning, I took about 30 CDs with me, some of which were:

Techno Animal "Re-Entry"
Amazing, tripped-out ambient with dubby undercurrents. Features John Hassel on trumpets. On good headphones, this induces narcosis

Material "Hallucination Engine"
Bill Laswell and Co. doing a fine job of dub-fuelled World music. The first two tracks are exellent, heaps of bass, percussion - tablas and more.

Portishead "Dummy" and/or "Portishead"
These albums can sound very harsh on lowly headphones, especially the vocals. They may even sound harsh on some brighter headphones.

Ice "Bad Blood"
A thickly dense production - great for seeing if your headphones can resolve layers upon layers of mud

Anything recorded by Steve Albini - this man knows how to record drums! His views on analgue vs digital are always worth a read too

Also, Chet Baker, Maria Schneider, PJ Harvey, Beasts of Bourbon, The Jesus Lizard, Godflesh, Maurizio, Jungle Brothers....

Well yeah...as I and others have said...the music YOU like!

 

[KR...]

Who's Portishead?

One of my favorite bands My Dying Bride does a cover of Roads, and it's just an amazing cover. Can you tell me anything more about them?

 

[stymie miasma]

Portishead are a British duo that I guess fit into the 'tip hop' pigeonhole. Think Massive Attack, Ruby, ummm....others that I can't recall right now! I have their 2 studio albums - Dummy and Portishead - and they are both excellent.

How would you describe their sound?? Hmmm, the lead singer - Beth - has a very unique, fragile vocal style. It varies from mournful, to moody, to pained....hard to describe

The music is rooted in the trip-hop camp, slow tripped-out hiphopish beats with various instruments and samples layered over the top. Everything from brass stabs and turntablism, to thickly reverberating guitar passages, they use everything at their disposal to create a very luscious and engaging yet in some ways skewed and off-kilter sounds. I'm pretty sure you would be able to find some MP3s on the net somewhere - not to mention a much more comprehensive review of their sound!!!

Hope this helps