[madcow235]

Nofx- The Decline Its nice and long and has good guitars and stuff. Hardly audiophile material but its one of my favorite songs so it gets played. Boy did my grados make that song sound real nice

 

[EricP]

Dream Theater- Honor Thy Father
I like this one because it's very heavy and will immediately show the bass qualities of gear. If there's separation and I can hear everything, it's passed that portion of the test.

Joe Satriani- Satch Boogie
This is just a great all-rounder, and it gets fast enough that equipment that doesn't have terrific treble response is immediately eliminated.

 

[rodentdog]

"Parallel Lines" Todd Rundgren, "Parker's Band" Steely Dan "We Close Our Eyes" Oingo Boingo, but thats 3 not 1

 

[luukas]

Whatever song I found to be exceptionally impressive on the previous/usual setup. Though... Juno Reactor - Master of the Universe is certain to be among the first songs.

However the real test is the LOTR soundtrack (yeah yeah, I'm always yapping about it). If it sounds less than epic, I deem the equipment unworthy.

 

[mrkangpae]

Saint-saens Sym. 3 "Organ" - Maestoso (2nd half, 2nd mvt.)
I like to be blown away by that first C major chord
God it's so cool

 

[DCnphones]

Beta Band "Dry the Rain", just wait for the second set of horns

 

[traficante]

For the past 8 years it has been Shakira - Estoy Aqui

 

[EyeAmEye]

Tiamat "Divided"
A Perfect Circle "Gravity"
Tristania "Tender Trip To Earth"

 

[brandoj]

incubus - aqueous transmission

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Do yo uknow where I can buy that Danny ferrington CD? I had one that came with my Ferrington guitar book, but the CD was stolen a long time ago. Thats one I wish I still had. to the OP... I usually play Eric Johnson, Venus Isle. IMHO a fun CD, and wonderfully engineered.

unfortunately the only place i could find them was here, and the book is included, and they are asking way too much - over $30!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/off...?condition=all

 

[ZappaSG]

Anything off of "Joe's Garage"...one of the most perfectly produced albums ever, well, produced. Steller sound, amazing musicianship, and with so much going on you can really push the limits of your gear. Amazing.

 

[jerb]

Radiohead - 2+2=5
reel big fish- beer
less than jake- als war

after listening to thos i get a decent sense of the strenghths weaknesses of a pair of phones

 

[BANGPOD]

Pink Floyd -- Dark Side Of The Moon / The Wall

If my new gear does not sound up to par with the above, it is gone.

 

[bigshot]

I use stuff that's extremely well recorded... Steely Dan's Gaucho was one of the most extravagently recorded albums of all time. They spent more on studio equipment for that record than any other. They even raised the price on it when it first came out because the studio cost was so high. Joni Mitchell's Court & Spark is a great sounding record too. The Capitol Sinatra records are great, but the most recent remasterings on CD suck big time. I have a Billy May CD that I use too. For classical, I use samples from the complete Hannsler Bach edition, particularly the organ pieces; and recent solo piano recordings. Solo piano music is the most difficult to reproduce accurately in headphones because of the sharp transients and the need for clear soundstage.

I generally avoid synthesizers because there's no way to know what they are supposed to sound like. It takes acoustic instruments to really get an idea of what headphones are doing to the music.

 

[Bosch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Propellerheads - On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It better blow my socks off, or I'm getting rid of it.

I'm listening to this CD right now for work!! I usually play 'Take California' first from this album to gauge general impact, and then skip to various other tracks. 'Better?' (track 4) has a great deep bass kick that I use to check bass punch and/or boominess, but the whole album has a fantastic mix and gutsy sound.