Good Music for testing Audio Equipment

24bit

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Jun 14, 2013
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Both albums are must haves. But don't forget their more traditional recorded albums, the new REF trio is fantastically well recorded and as with all the musicians Sound Liaison employs very well played. These recordings are more than just sound, they are great music.
https://www.soundliaison.com/
 
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Blue58

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Jan 20, 2013
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Lots of talk about Sound Liaison but please checkout https://trptk.com , another label offering DXD downloads and arguably better sound, imo.
Check out their website and their mastering room with the Kef Blades.
I particularly like this recording
87F6151C-2A14-4FB9-B0F0-CAC366ADDCB3.jpeg
 

Kefas

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May 21, 2014
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Yes Trptk has some very very well recorded albums indeed.
I especially enjoy the
https://trptk.com/shop/elegy/

2 of the musicians from that trio is also on the Sound Liaison label with this album;
https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/390-atzko-kohashi-lujon
I think both albums sounds amazing.
Maybe the Trptk sound is more classical inspired, less direct, while the Sound Liaison is more intimate more jazz.
But both labels are the absolute vanguard in recording technique.
 
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APP

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Oct 1, 2014
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Yes Trptk has some very very well recorded albums indeed.
I especially enjoy the
https://trptk.com/shop/elegy/

2 of the musicians from that trio is also on the Sound Liaison label with this album;
https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/390-atzko-kohashi-lujon
I think both albums sounds amazing.
Maybe the Trptk sound is more classical inspired, less direct, while the Sound Liaison is more intimate more jazz.
But both labels are the absolute vanguard in recording technique.
I agree, that is how I hear the difference as well.
 

Kefas

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May 21, 2014
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These 2 albums of solo piano music sums up the difference in approach between the 2 labels quite well.
 

APP

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Oct 1, 2014
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It is available on their site now. Spectacular live recording. That one microphone way of recording is truly amazing. Sound stage is maybe even better than the Carmen Gomes recording.
https://www.soundliaison.com/

There is only 1 day left of the special offer on the Sound Liaison site; https://www.soundliaison.com/

But for the DSD fans hold out a bit as it seems that DSD Native are planning to release the album in DSD512.
They just released a sampler with music in DSD512 with one track rom the Feenbrothhers album.
But the original format is DXD 352.....so what Native DSD is doing is a conversion.
 

24bit

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Jun 14, 2013
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These 2 albums of solo piano music sums up the difference in approach between the 2 labels quite well.

I prefer the 1st album, musically and in terms of sound. I find the SQ much more natural. It has warm glow, a very inviting sq that draws me in.
 

Kefas

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May 21, 2014
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It is available on their site now. Spectacular live recording. That one microphone way of recording is truly amazing. Sound stage is maybe even better than the Carmen Gomes recording.
https://www.soundliaison.com/
The new recording with Pigalle44 is even better in my opinion.
I think they keep learning new ways to use the microphone;

https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/515-reinier-voet-ballade-pour-la-nuit

The advantages of the One Microphone approach to recording are obvious; phase coherence, perfect imaging, great sense of depth, superior realism.
Another advantage is that it it forces the band being recorded to really play. There is nowhere to hide, no fixing it in the mix, so this is where it helps being a real band.

Reinier Voet and Pigalle 44 are just that; a real band, road tested, with years of experience playing clubs and concert halls all over Europe. When recording with one microphone the mix is done before we start to record.
We have to make the complete sound stage on the spot by carefully moving each instrument closer or further away as well as left and right in relationship to the microphone.
Reinier Voet & Pigalle 44 immediately understood the situation, and their great live experience made getting the sound just right a breeze.
 

APP

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Oct 1, 2014
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The new recording with Pigalle44 is even better in my opinion.
I think they keep learning new ways to use the microphone;

https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/515-reinier-voet-ballade-pour-la-nuit
It just recieved a sensational 5 star review in audiophile style; "
Review about One Mic Recording by Joe Whip at Audiophile Style.

.....These guys and this recording just rocks. Pace, rhythm, tone and soundstage are just off the charts.
The precise placement of all four of the musicians perfectly matches the photos of the sessions.
The balance of all four instruments is darn near perfect. As you can no doubt tell, I am a huge fan of this recording.
It is one of the best in terms of recording quality I have ever heard. Of course, and as always,
your view of the actual music content may vary quite considerably from mine.
Nonetheless, I think we would all agree that this recording sounds sensational...."
 
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Migo

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Aug 10, 2013
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Those one mic sessions are ideal for what this thread is all about, music for testing. I can't think of better recordings for speaker placement.
And at the same time it is lovely music played by superb musicians. What more could one ask for.
 

APP

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Oct 1, 2014
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Interesting article here on the old Living Stereo recordings from Mercury; https://www.stereophile.com/content/fine-art-mercury-living-presence-recordings

I think that this technique is the basis for the '' One Mic'' approach on the Sound Liaison recordings except that they have the three capsules in one body in order to minimize phase.
All their recordings are being sold with a 20 percent discount at the moment. And don't forget their older but very fine sounding 24/96 recordings
they still sound very good, maybe not as special as their one mic recordings, but After Silence and the older Carmen Gomes albums
gets played a lot on my system;

link; Summer Sale

 
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APP

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2014
455
108
273
It just recieved a sensational 5 star review in audiophile style; "
Review about One Mic Recording by Joe Whip at Audiophile Style.

.....These guys and this recording just rocks. Pace, rhythm, tone and soundstage are just off the charts.
The precise placement of all four of the musicians perfectly matches the photos of the sessions.
The balance of all four instruments is darn near perfect. As you can no doubt tell, I am a huge fan of this recording.
It is one of the best in terms of recording quality I have ever heard. Of course, and as always,
your view of the actual music content may vary quite considerably from mine.
Nonetheless, I think we would all agree that this recording sounds sensational...."

Here is the link to the review; reviews/sound-liaison-one-mic-recordings
 

ChristionaYan

New Member
Aug 12, 2019
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Thank you so much for sharing! most pop musics in my list may not be suitable to test devices, so I can mark these down.
 

APP

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Oct 1, 2014
455
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273
For some reason pop music and audiophile recording quality is kind of rare. Maybe an idea for a thread; well recorded pop music, ?
 

Simon Moon

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Apr 24, 2015
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For some reason pop music and audiophile recording quality is kind of rare. Maybe an idea for a thread; well recorded pop music, ?

There are many reasons for this.

First of all, pop music is not recorded with audio enthusiasts in mind. It is recorded to sound good on car stereo, smart phones with cheap ear buds, sound bars, home pods, etc. Even before all these new ways to listen, pop recordings were still engineered and mixed for the least common denominator in playback. Things have only got worse in the ensuing years.

All one has to do is look at Michael Jackson's "Black or White" to see what has gone wrong.

The first graph is from the 1991 recording, the second is from the 1994 reissue version, and the last is from the 2007 reissue. Notice the decreasing dynamic range in each ensuing version. This is to make the recording sound louder on the radio, and therefore, more 'exciting' to average listeners, thus more likely to be purchased.

Loudness War_0.png


Other problems with pop recordings of all types are: the massive amount of studio effect done in the recording process, auto-tune, massive amounts of noise gating, too much overdubbing, etc, etc.

One of the worst modern recording techniques is quantization. This is where they perfectly synch up all the musicians to be perfectly on the beats, or fractions of beats. This drains any of the humanity and life left in the music (after all the preceding destructive recording techniques have done their job).

All one has to do, is listen to great drummers of the past, who would purposely play slightly behind or ahead of the beat. This gives the music breath and life. Phil Collins was a master of this, even on some of his most complex drumming. I doubt this could be done these days. The engineer and record company would step in and make the recording sound 'perfect'.

Basically, the vast majority of modern pop has been 'Pro Tool-ed to death'.

Listen to a modern pop, or even rock, recording, and see if you can tell, there were ever real musicians playing their instruments, in a real space.
 
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