Last evening at CanJam, we gathered after dinner at the hotel lobby where chat and laughter ensued. At some point we got back to audio and I lobbied a question that elicited some fun replies, We all agreed we should port this question over here to the thread, so here goes…
If you could choose only 1 test track to use to demo gear, which would it be?
If you could choose 5 test tracks, which would they be?
My replies:
My current go-to single track is:
- “Blind-Hearted” by Sara K. — The track opens with a very low frequency bowed double-bass that I find can only be reproduced well on the best systems (and, when done well, can be an utterly exquisite moment of acoustic reproduction). It is also a great vocal track, which I like quite a lot, and great for testing female vocals. This recording was made by Stockfish Records in Germany, which has made several fantastic acoustic recordings.
If I currently chose 5 test tracks to test, those would be:
- “Blind-Hearted” by Sara K. (see above)
- “Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63: Part III- See, the conqu'ring hero comes!” by Oscar Motet’s Choir — The entire album of “Cantate Domino” is an incredible recording made in 1976 at Oscarskyrkan (Oscar’s Church) in Stockholm, Sweden. A marvelous choir, an organ, and trumpet, showcasing classical and holiday tunes. This specific track (the 4th of the album) features the choir singing a cappella, and the acoustic chamber of the church hall in which this was recorded is wonderful for getting a sense of spacial reproduction.
- “New Oldie” by Eric Bellinger and Snoop Dogg — I find this track great for testing frequency extension for treble as there are high frequency instrumental notes at the start of it that can reveal the quality of treble and air when well resolved. Then, after a few seconds, the drum beat kicks in like a mule and offers a great test for low bass quantity and dynamics.
- “Trying to Figure It Out” by Grace Kelly — I’ve recently been using this track by this talented composer, saxophonist, and singer to gauge timbral accuracy. This track showcases both her beautiful sax playing as well as vocals.
- “Now That The Summer’s Here” by Michael Franks — I love using this track to capture the sparkling instruments at the start of the track, which occasionally reappear. These high notes move from right to left channel occasionally and it’s also interesting to see how organically this happens. I also like the sense of space in this recording.
This isn’t a permanent list; rather, it keeps changing from CanJam to CanJam and as new tracks pop into my consciousness. But, at this moment, on this weekend, these were my go-to’s to get a quick sense of gear and calibrate myself.
What are yours?
1. "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" sung by Sandy Denny with Fairport Convention. An old but surprisingly well-recorded track, and the purest of female vocals. Her voice really soars, but can be sibilance prone with the wrong gear. There is also some oh-so tasteful guitar with great tone and a bit of bite from Richard Thompson, propulsive bass and an array of drum sounds to evaluate, which all layer beautifully with the right gear. Not to mention a "timelessly" gorgeous and emotionally moving song.
2. "Blue Rondo à la Turk" by Dave Brubeck quartet has it all: sax, piano, bass and drums with the latter hitting hard in several places for visceral impact assessment.
3. "All Blues" by Miles Davis features incredible trumpet (Miles!) and sax (Cannonball and Coltrane!), Bill Evan's peerless piano backing, subtly tuneful bass, and splendid drum fills. The best part of the recording is the way the instruments are re-created in space, each from their own distinct position but layered cohesively and convincingly like the listener was in a jazz club or studio.
4. "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac is a cliché but for good reason. The opening bass thump is magnificent and the percussion that follows carries a trailing decay that lingers on good gear, and of course Stevie Nick's vocals have a unique raspy richness that never gets old. There are some subtle guitar and backing vocal details enhancing it all...a good test track for bass but also detail retrieval.
5. "Spanish Harlem" by Rebecca Pidgeon is another great female vocal track with diverse and wonderful instrumentation. When the violon comes in so well-positioned in the sound field I always get a thrill.
Honorable mention x 2: "Bourée" by Jethro Tull (Steven Wilson remix) for that irresistible opening bass line, tactile drumming, spectacular rhythm guitar in the right channel and of course Ian's flute, and "Hey Nineteen" by Steely Dan with it's sinuous bass, guitar and keyboard / synth. fills and especially that blended vocal chorus across the entire soundstage ("No we got nothin' in common..."), both poignant and ethereal-sounding.
Now, don't even get me started on my preferred genre of classical. I am always rotating through test tracks, usually Bach or Mozart on piano, a string quartet or two, and some orchestral works. If gear can reproduce classical piano, from the gravitas of the left hand lower registers to the sweet euphony of mids and the singing / ringing upper registers of the right hand...well, look out wallet.
