[dfkt]

Are there any specific recordings where you start to drool, cause of the huge soundstage? I'm looking for really 3-dimensional material to A/B test some headphones.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[majkel]

I don't know any typical tests CDs but might recommend Front Line Assembly "Millennium" with emphasis on track 08 to test localization abilities of headphones. There are some travelling sounds that when coming out from a good amp to decent headphones, you hear it move in three dimensions, left and right, back and forth, simply like a fly.

You can judge whether the headphones are able to image from behind your ears to some distance forward, and soundstage width, too.

 

[dfkt]

Thanks for the tip, Majkel - I was thinking about "real" music, not about test recordings - real music probably shows more than some pure, separate signals. But, OTOH, test CDs should be fun, too. Sorry for being a bit unclear.

Haven't listened to FLA in ~10 years, time to find it again.

 

[Demetrio]

I think you can't go wrong with these three masterpieces:

- UAKTI - I Ching (perhaps a bit hard to find, but definitely worth the search)
- HECTOR ZAZOU - Lights in the Dark
- ROGER WATERS - Amused to Death

 

[kontai69]

Some of my reference tracks off the top of my head...

Dave Brubeck's Take Five...
one of the benchmark audiophile recordings. You should be able to precisely visualize the location of each musician on a good system.

Tea in the Sahara by the Police...
great track to listen for depth of soundstage; Sting's voice should sound from really far away

Lives in the Balance by Jackson Browne...
Percussion at the beginning should move across from side to side

Dancing on the Ceiling by Lionel Ritchie...
At the very beginning, you hear Lionel's voice on the extreme right, footsteps over to the extreme left.

 

[Redo]

Don't forget the Ultrasone CD!

 

[drews]

Not music, but here's a Dolby Headphone recording of a MacBreak podcast:

MacBreak #23

Drew

 

[Duggeh]

Jean-Michel JArre - AERO

 

[razerx]

The audio shops in my area tend to use Eagles' Hotel California from Hell Freezes Over.

 

[Sordel]

When you've got K 701s everything has great soundstage.

Try "Signal to Noise" by Peter Gabriel.

 

[JadeEast]

This is a bit out in left field but check this out,
Christopher DeLaurenti recorded intermissions
at classical gigs, there is an mp3 that has got
a pretty interesting sound stage on the page
http://www.delaurenti.net/music.htm

Another thing to check out is Amon Tobin
some interesting stuff check him out
http://www.amontobin.com/field/

 

[dfkt]

Thanks for all the recommendations! It's a great help, not having to wade through all my music to find something suitable.

Good thing I have half of the mentioned tracks already (even found the Jackson Browne track on a, um... "Miami Vice OST" CD, heh...).

 

[dfkt]

BTW, I found Thomas Newman's soundtrack for "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" to have great soundstage and positioning, especially track #7.

 

[Goh]

I'm not very knowledgeable on this stuff but Miles Davis - Kind of Blue and Buena Vista Social Club have excellent room-like ambiance!

 

[papomaster]

If you can use a good DAC, take a dvd player, use the coax out and put some movies... The scene where Sarumane is standing on top of the tower in The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King is very challenging (good echo rendition), along others.