[MeltedWelly]

Hi there

I'm lookin for some suggestions of what you audiophiles regard as essential reference tracks / albums to test out my new DAP / Headphone combo.

I mainly listen to electronic music but appreciate all sorts of creative genius and after getting some suggestions from you it could seriously broaden my musical tastes

Regards

Steve

 

[Bizzel]

Chesky Records' Ultimate Demonstration Disc. It's mainly jazz, which is great if you're into that. It's without a doubt the best redbook CD I've heard, bar none.

 

[MeltedWelly]

That'll be this one here then, sounds interesting, I'll check it out thanks for the tip

The Ultimate Demonstration Disk - Chesky Records' Guide to Critical Listening (1995)

released: 1995
label: Chesky Records
catalog no.: UD95

Written & produced by: Steve Guttenburg
Executive producers: David Chesky & Norman Chesky
Recorded by: Bob Kath (except track 21 by Jeremy R. Kipnis)

Welcome to Chesky Records: The Premiere Audiophile Record Label

Chesky Records is dedicated to producing the finest audiophile recordings, and High Resolution Technology brings the listener closer to the music in three significant areas.

To maintain the utmost in transparency we use a custom recording chain, through innovative technology and recording techniques, we continue to produce recordings that
further the state of the art. Listen and learn!!!


TRACK LISTING

01. Steve Guttenberg - Welcome To The Ultimate Demonstration Disc
02. Steve Guttenberg - High Resolution -- Introduction
03. Rebeca Pidgeon - Spanish Harlem
04. Steve Guttenberg - Depth -- Introduction
05. Sara K. - If I Could Sing Your Blues
06. Steve Guttenberg - Atmosphere -- Introduction
07. Leny Andrade - Maiden Voyage
08. Steve Guttenberg - Midrange Purity -- Introduction
09. Livingston Taylor - Grandma's Hands
10. Steve Guttenberg - Naturalness -- Introduction
11. Ana Caram - Correnteza
12. Steve Guttenberg - Transparency -- Introduction
13. The Fred Hersch Trio - Played Twice
14. Steve Guttenberg - Presence -- Introduction
15. Mccoy Tyner & Joe Henderson - Ask Me Now
16. Steve Guttenberg - Visceral Impact -- Introduction
17. Monty Alexander - Sweet Georgia Brown
18. Steve Guttenberg - Rhythm & Pace -- Introduction
19. Johnny Frigo - I Love Paris
20. Steve Guttenberg - Focus -- Introduction
21. Antonio Vivaldi - Flute Concerto In D (The Connecticut Early Music Festival Ensemble)
22. Steve Guttenberg - Holographic Imaging -- Introduction
23. Benjamin Britten - Festival Te Deum (Westminster Choir)
24. Steve Guttenberg - Transients -- Introduction
25. Igor Stravinsky - The Royal March (Solisti New York Feat. Conductor- Ransom Wilson)
26. Steve Guttenberg - Bass Resonance -- Introduction
27. Best Of Chesky Jazz And More Audiophile Tests, Vol. 2 - Best Of Chesky Jazz And More Audiophile Tests, Vol. 2
28. Steve Guttenberg - Dynamic Test -- Introduction
29. Best Of Chesky Jazz And More Audiophile Tests, Vol. 2 - Best Of Chesky Jazz And More Audiophile Tests, Vol. 2
30. Steve Guttenberg - Final Announcement


When looking for music to assess hi-fi equipment, everyone of us has his or her own preferences. But it is also nice to have a standard, a common denominator which can
be referred to when conversing with others. Cheskys Ultimate Demonstration Disk has become such a standard. I have seen it referred to on a number of forums, including
Head-Fi, AudioReview.com, and Audio Asylum.

Listening to the music compiled here following Steve Guttenbergs hints to what to pay attention will add new dimensions to your listening ability and conscience, the more
you listen to these tracks on different equipment paying attention to the same aspects of the recording. Try it yourself.

Besides, some of the music is definitely inspiring, too. For my part, I cannot get enough of Rebeca Pidgeons Spanish Harlem.

~Steve Guttenberg


--- Understanding Audiophile Terminology ---

Reading about transparency or focus will only take you so far, The Ultimate Demonstration Disc acts as a virtual aural dictionary by cueing the listener to the specific
sonic qualities of each selection. By consistently using The Ultimate Demonstration Disc, hearing and understanding these terms will become so much easier. With your
newly trained ears, auditioning components will take a more confident and logical route.


--- The Ultimate Demonstration Disc as a Diagnostic Tool ---

A brief explanation of each audiophile term is followed by music to help illustrate that term. For example, youre curious about the depth reproduction of a certain
loudspeaker: just select the depth track (Sara K.). The announcer will describe the relative depth (distance from the microphone) of the various instruments on this track.
Now, armed with this knowledge, your task is simplified. The speaker (or whatever component youre auditioning) that best reproduces that _true_ sense of depth is the best.
Next, choose the tests that are most important to you, and resume your evaluations. The Ultimate Demonstration Disc can be used to judge loudspeakers, receivers,
preamps, power amps, CD players, digital-to-analog converters, even cables!


--- Surround Sound ---

With the increased popularity of Home Theater, interest in surround sound has sky rocketed. Our use of minimalist miking techniques (Blumlein) results in out of phase
information that will decode through surround-sound processors as ambience. You will be pleasantly surprised, this ambience will add a degree of spaciousness not possible
through conventional two-speaker stereo. Give it a try.


Album Credits

Sara K. - Performer
Westminister Choir - Choir, Chorus
Fred Hersch Trio - Performer
Ross Hudson - Artwork
Alan Nahigian - Artwork
Roy Spangenthal - Project Director
Steve Guttenberg - Producer, Liner Notes
Ransom Wilson - Conductor, Performer
Connecticut Early Music Festival Ensemble - Ensemble, Performer
Shari Rothstein - Production Coordination
Livingston Taylor - Performer
Westminster Abbey Choir - Performer
McCoy Tyner - Performer
Rebecca Pidgeon - Performer
Norman Chesky - Executive Producer
Peter Cho - Assistant Engineer
Johnny Frigo - Performer
Bob Katz - Engineer
Jeremy Kipnis - Engineer
Miguel Kertsman - Editing, Mastering
Leny Andrade - Performer
Monty Alexander - Performer
Ana Caram - Performer
David Chesky - Executive Producer

 

[Rav]

For electronic, Massive Attack Blue Lines, Protection, Mezzanine, and to a slightly lesser degree (imo) 100th Window. All fantastic sounding albums. you might also look into some of Bjork's stuff, personally i rate Debut, Post and Vespertine.

Other genre stuff...

Anything by Alison Krauss & Union Station, a good introduction is the Live double album (contemporary bluegrass for the most part, almost entirely accoustic).

Gomez Bring It On - everything including the kitchen sink indie mellow rock. In a similar vein, The Beta Band Hot Shots II, maybe includes a few more kitchen sinks though.

Other notables off the top of my head include Eric Claption Unplugged, Diana Krall Live in Paris (and others) anything by Eva Cassidy, Kate Bush The Whole Story etc etc.

 

[MoodySteve]

Here are some of my reference tracks and what I feel they test best about the piece of gear being tested...

Robert Rich - Shadowline (from Electric Ladder) - This beautiful track is a good test for 'brightness', tonal balance in the mids and hi-mids and voice separation. It's a very busy song and many of the details become obscured by congestion on low-fi gear.

Murcof - Oort (from Cosmos) - I use this track to see how much of a sense of 'space' I hear, as this track is about as vast as music can be. It's also a good reference track for low end, although not of the 'fast attack' variety.

Shpongle - ...And The Day Turned To Night (from Are You Shpongled?) - This track has it all - dozens of voices, a creative stereo image, sounds of all timbres and textures, and a punishing kick drum. This song can test the dynamic range of the gear as well as the detailing and imaging.

Pub - Summer (from Summer) - This track is incredibly rewarding on gear that can reproduce minute details and has a nice, flat frequency response. Lack of bass or bloated bass really shows up on this one.

Digitonal - Maris Stella (from The Centre Cannot Hold EP) - Another bright, gorgeous piece that tests the gear's ability to reproduce real instruments and Kirsty Hawkshaw's heavenly voice.

Jairamji - Swaragami (from Kindred Spirits) - This perfect blend of downtempo electronica and relaxing world music will exhibit your gear's treatment of instrument separation, clarity and low-end. This track can sound like it's being performed live on the right gear.

 

[pdennis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rav /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anything by Alison Krauss & Union Station, a good introduction is the Live double album (contemporary bluegrass for the most part, almost entirely accoustic).

I have to beg to differ here... the production values on Allison Kraus' albums are very pop-oriented (relative to the bluegrass/acoustic genre in general), and you can do much better in terms of balanced and detailed acoustic instrument sound. The focus here is on "vibe" and the way the music supports the vocals. Even the instrumentals sound wrong to me... too much compression, perhaps?

Mark O'Connor's "30 Year Retrospective" would be my recommendation. Though recorded live, there's no crowd noise and the detail and realism of the instruments is among the best I've heard in this genre. No vocals, plenty of variety in the music (a cross-section of the bluegrass/jazzy/classical-ish "new acoustic" repetoire).

I find recordings of percussion (not necessarily drum set) to be great for testing how a system reproduces transients. One possibility would be the Omar Sosa (piano/prepared piano)/Adam Rudolph (misc. percussion/winds) collaboration disc "Pictures of Soul". Well recorded and great music besides.

 

[hawk]

Johnny Cash-Live At Madison Square Garden[1969]......very natural sounding no compression as far as I can tell.[for country/folk you can't go wrong]

 

[sejarzo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rav /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....... Anything by Alison Krauss & Union Station, a good introduction is the Live double album (contemporary bluegrass for the most part, almost entirely accoustic).

Another "beg to differ" here.......the mics used on that recording are not nearly the quality that are used in studios. Live sound mics are chosen on an entirely different basis--rugged construction, directionality/ability to avoid feedback, etc. In fact, I recall reading on one forum that the AKUS Live album is compiled from two shows, and they changed the model of Alison's vocal mic between them due to problems with using the original choice on stage.

On the other hand, I absolutely love that disc from a musical standpoint. I always have a hard time going back to studio cuts after a live version is released--it always seems to be more appealing to me. It's generally recorded after the artist has performed the song for a while and has changed it somewhat, plus it is generally a much more energetic performance. Given that the studio version is typically cut and pasted from a number of takes, well.....seems to me that there just cannot be the energy present that is obvious in a live recording.

t's awfully hard to use music that you don't inherently like very much, even if it's undoubtedly recorded more accurately, to evaluate gear. Sort of pointless, too.....if you adore metal, but don't listen to classical music (which has virtually no processing, so IMHO is a far more valid baseline to judge a system) it makes no sense to use classical music as your standard.

 

[Know Talent]

"Smack my bitch up" by The Prodigy
"Dragging Hooks" by Cowboy Junkies
"Road to Hell: pt 1" by Chris Rhea