[ipumuk]

hi,

what songs or albums do you listen to when you test the soundquality of your headphones.

please suggest albums/songs only that are still being sold and easily accessable in the music store around the corner or lets say amazon.

music type does not matter as only soundquality is important.

are there any albums that are known for being perfectly recorded?

looking forward to your suggestions!

take care

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ipumuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif what songs or albums do you listen to when you test the soundquality of your headphones.

This is my test playlist used to evaluate Hi-Fi stuff (title, duration, artist, album):

• Mother Tongue5:17Dead Can DanceThe Serpent's Egg
• Medusa6:07Brendan PerryEye Of The Hunter
• Saltarello2:34Dead Can DanceAion
• Carnival Is Over5:28Dead Can DanceInto The Labyrinth
• Cheraderama5:00The Legendary Pink DotsMaria Dimension
• The Beep Beep Song1:39Simone WhiteI Am The Man
• Zegarmistrz światła5:19Tadeusz WoźniakSmak i zapach pomarańczy
• Hydropiekłowstąpienie5:52Lao CheGospel
• Signe3:14Eric ClaptonUnplugged
• Beneath A Phrygian Sky9:29Loreena McKennittAn Ancient Muse
• Se fedele tu mi adori - Cantata II - Non e' contenta l' ape ingegnosa (Aria allegro)5:31Lavinia Bertotti, Ensemble Sericento Italiano, Daniele BoccaccioScarlatti Domenico: Cantate da Camera [Disc 1]
• I Couldn't Live Without Your Love2:56Petula ClarkThe Ultimate Collection [Disc 1]
• Ese Momento4:04MISIADrama Box
• Bird5:00Dead Can DanceA Passage In Time

Cheers,
Adam

 

[tosehee]

I personally listen to several varieties of musics to identify the differences gears. Mostly in simple musics that does not have a lot of instruments in it.

Vocals: Any FIM Records with few instruments are great
Instruments: Solo Violin/Cello/Piano plays are great. I personally love Chopin, Paganini

Finally, any musics/songs that you love and listen a lot is a good candidate for ABX testing. Since you know how they sound and in your memory, you can distinguishes any differences immediately.

 

[GreatBug]

The Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails

 

[munchzilla]

RATM - self titled (1992?)
Kashiwa Daisuke - Program Music I (2007)
Toe - The book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety (2006)

 

[Acix]

I test headphones with my own music :: Acix Store ::
This way I know what the hps can offer me in my studio.

 

[Devolve]

Thom Yorke - The Eraser, the entire album. I feel the album really covers a lot of the dynamics I look for in a headphone like punchy bass and a high amount of un-sibilant treble.

On vinyl of course

 

[tribestros]

Here's what I usually play...

A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
Radiohead - In Rainbows
VAST - Visual Audio Sensory Theater

(Ignore my 90s obsession, please)

I really just work over a lot of NIN because their music fluctuates the bass, treble, and is deep. You can hear so much in Trent's production on a good pair of phones.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Just got this last week based on a 6moons recommendation and it's a very nice test CD (top notch female vocals, some nice jazz instrumentation)
Youn Sun Nah - Voyage.

My favorite CD - really awesome live orchestral recording that is wonderful for testing soundstage and imaging:
Yanni - Live at the Acropolis

 

[m00hk00h]

For me the most important part is having music that I know and that I'm used to.
From my experience it's most important to have a certain expectation and then see (read: listen) if the headphone in question can live up to it or not. Or even surpass it.

So IMHO it's not useful to use music that users use if you don't know what to look out for.

m00h

 

[thechungster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by m00hk00h /img/forum/go_quote.gif For me the most important part is having music that I know and that I'm used to. From my experience it's most important to have a certain expectation and then see (read: listen) if the headphone in question can live up to it or not. Or even surpass it. So IMHO it's not useful to use music that users use if you don't know what to look out for. m00h

Exactly the same for me. I pick music that I enjoy listening to and tracks that I know well. For me I tend to pick some Utada Hikaru since I enjoy her voice when listening

 

[tribestros]

Yeah, you really have to know your music, too.

 

[kmhaynes]

Gomez "How We Operate"
Jesse Cook "Freefall"
Radiohead "Hail To The Theif"
Andreas Vollenwieder

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Depends on what you normally listen to, what you want to evaluate in a headphone, and the kind of sound you like and are looking for.

One of my test tracks when I go to meets is "Diablo Rojo" by Rodrigo y Gabriela from the album Rodrigo y Gabriela. The main purpose for that track is to evaluate how much "love" the headphones give to the midrange. For example, high end Grados give that track a lot of love while a headphone like the K701 doesn't give it much extra love at all.

The drumming on the body of the guitars is also a good test to listen for. How much snap is there in the hits? How clearly can you hear things like using a flat open hand vs. just the fingers? Some headphones make the flat hand hits very distinct while others muffle them. In the middle of the track they're drumming all around the body of the guitars. On some headphones that part can swim all around your head with the different hits clearly coming from different areas of space. On other headphones that section doesn't swim around at all and seems to be from just the same blob of space.

It's also a track that I enjoy listening to.

 

[mythless]

I use lots of different music, here are some that I use.

Cavo - Champagne
Apocalyptica - Path
Metallica - Enter Sandman
Talib Keli - Hot Thang, Just to Get By
Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto no 2
David Drubeck - Take Five