[Snufkin]

I've been going through my cds for ages trying to find a track that is good for testing/comparing and I've found one that really grabbed my attention;
The Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the rain

I listen to a huge range of music and so far I've been switching cds randomly to do a/b comparisons, but after a while I just start getting less and less sensitive to what I'm listening to. Not only that, but some cds that I really enjoy end up actually being fairly badly produced and therefore sound bad no matter what I listen to them with

Anyone else got some good suggestions for test songs that are well produced/mixed and have good range?

 

[raymondlin]

Madonna's Ray of light album is really well produced, the first track is a good demo track. But if you want really good ones, you can always get audiopfile labels CDs. The problem is that they cost more then normal ones and are mostly classical stuff.

 

[Snufkin]

Not a huge fan of madonna, and I don't want to be listening to tracks that are specifically designed for testing per se.
I'm more after general stuff that just sounds damn good

 

[rohorn]

While this probably belongs in the "Music" forum, here goes...

The Blue Nile's first album sure does sound good, but it also has a bit of tape hiss in it as well. Their second album (Hats) is a lot cleaner sounding. The last track (Saturday Night) is a standout for me.

Both albums are good for finding out how good your CDP/amp/headphones can really sound. They also led me to question the point of SACD, HDCD, etc..

I looked for years for those two CDs. I had to get them from somebody in Australia.

Speaking of Australia, wide ranging CDs, etc, ever try "Man of Colours" or "Measure for Measure" by Icehouse?

 

[Snufkin]

Hm, I guess this does belong in music..
It's interesting finding out how different things sound on different headphones/with different amps.

I'm not a big fan of later Icehouse stuff myself, there's a couple of ok tracks in there, but overall I prefer primitive man to the later ones.
INXS however have some great stuff to test out how well your headphones 'rock'

For something different, I'm listening to Dead Can Dance again atm, I just keep going back through my dcd cds and listening to certain tracks over and over just closing my eyes and enjoying them more than I ever have before

 

[rohorn]

"Primitive Man" is my favorite of theirs as well. It has a MUCH lower FFF (fast forward factor) than the later ones. But the sound quality isn't as good. I never did get any albums after "Measure for Measure", since half the tracks either annoy or amaze me.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Copied and pasted from another thread (because it seemed pointless to type it over again):

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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.
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I'll add here that it's EXTREMELY well recorded. A great disc all around.

Russ

 

[gloco]

I was listening to The Verve Pipe's Villains cd this morning on my 7506's and thought, "damn this sounds good." Probably one of the better cds i have heard in the last few years.

George