What are your "go to" recording(s)

[jadis]

In the past, when I had big dynamic speakers like the B&W800, I would use a couple of Telarc LP, Fennel's Holst Handel and Bach Suites, and Time Warp to 'test' the dynamics of my system. I still have these records in case I move to dynamic speakers again someday, as my Maggies can never be able to handle the 'torture'. I get a kick out of super dynamic demos from showrooms and none more memorable than a short Telarc CD cut from Beethoven or Bust that I heard in HK's Golden String audio shop in the 90s, playing through big Rowland amps and a pair of Duntech Sovereign. At a very loud but clean dynamic blast, I had to look a the ceiling as I thought something might have collapsed up there.

 

[Gregadd]

[video=dailymotion;xqj4f]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqj4f_george-gershwin-rhapsody-in-blue_music#.UQ2u7R37Img[/video]

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

[video=dailymotion;xqj4f]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqj4f_george-gershwin-rhapsody-in-blue_music#.UQ2u7R37Img[/video]

Absolutely wonderful and thank you Greg for posting this. Who's the ivory-tickler? I wanna know more!

Also can you get me youtube link to this?

 

[TBone]

I like a few "go to" recordings for their ability to test the system.
...
What are your " go to" recordings to test your system?

I'm more of a individual song person ... a few examples on CD ...

Trinity Sessions (16bit orig), Mining for Gold (church ambiance), Sweet Jane (top end extension);
Cafe Blue (HDCD,FIM)(16bit.orig), Nardis (dynamic contrast)
Live at Blues Alley, Bridge over troubled water (live performance)
Mutations, Beck, (HDCD) Cold Brains (lower freq. extension & impact)

tb1

 

[Gregadd]

Absolutely wonderful and thank you Greg for posting this. Who's the ivory-tickler? I wanna know more!

Also can you get me youtube link to this?

Marcus Roberts. He has an excellent CD by SONY.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlI2hJ9GtU

 

[Gregadd]

Even thought the dog has heard at all before this is a good test for your sisytem

 

[Gregadd]

Ac

apella is good.

 

[garylkoh]

I don't have any "go to" music to "test" the system, but lots of music to show-off the ability of the system. This changes all the time. The music that we played during CES 2013 are listed here:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...Anniversary-Show-International-CES-2013/page4

WBF members suggested "show music" for the last RMAF here:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?4072-The-quot-Show-Music-quot-Thread

To set-up the system, I have recommendations here:
http://genesisloudspeakers.com/whitepaper/Genesis_Loudspeaker_Setup_Procedure.pdf

 

[Gregadd]

 

[Gregadd]

 

[garylkoh]

LOVE Jon Faddis. I heard him live in Chicago years ago.

Thanks for the reminder. I've got to dig up one of his albums - I think it's Terenga or something like that. I used it as a demo years ago, and it had some of the most in-your-face realistic trumpet sounds from a CD the audience had ever heard.

 

[Gregadd]

 

[Gregadd]

Can it play loud?
Can it perform low level resoliuion?
Can it image front to back side to side and top to bottom?
Can ii keep up the tempo of the music?
Does it start and stop on time?
Is there silence between notes?..
Is the noise floor adequately low?
Finally many systems can do some of these things. The trick is to get them to them all togehter.
As Harry Pearson says when you push air into the room the room pushes back.

I think that's why it's so important to begin with music you like. No sense spending money for a system capable of reproducing a symphony orchestra with choir and pipe organ if you never listen to that type of music.

Your ears are very good at detecting problems. Curing those problems is another matter. Test records can help with things like phase, stereo separation,etc. If you are really obsessive-compulsive you can visit your local music store or audit band rehearsal at the local college.
I think piano is a really good test. It spans the frequency range can play loud or soft, slow or fast.

 

[Gregadd]

If we take the notion of looking at a t a forest. We can see a close up.


Now lets back up a little


Finally we get a full veiw.



Consequently if you like a Jazz quartet with saxophone, you might want to listen to sax, piano, double bass and drum kit solo. Then put them all together to see how the system handles it. You cna add in a female or male vocal.


Edit:: Three different versions of Lonnies Lament. One is sole by McCoy Tyner.
http://www.realbooksite.com/songs/real-book-volume-1-page-273.php

 

[rockitman]

I'm adding Willie Nelson Stardust 45 rpm Classic Records on Clarity vinyl to my list...a recent acquisition.

 

[Gregadd]

Willie Nelson has a quality to his voice that is difgcult to capture.

 

[jadis]

Amanda McBroom's Growing Up in Hollywood Town on Sheffield Lab.

I used to play this a lot and use it as my reference to check my sound whenever I changed gears. Haven't played this in a while but I decided to use this again last night while rolling some tubes. It still sounds good as I remembered it, and it has some details in between tracks like flapping of page notes, coughing, and sometimes I hear it, sometimes I don't. I wonder if this is a test of my own hearing too.

 

[Orb]

So, are your "go to" records only test records...if so, which ones?
IMO, you don't need test records to evaluate your system, many of the already suggested pieces will do the same.

Definitely worth having on CD and still available are the Stereophile test cds 1,2 and 3 (well I knew they were available up to last year, if I can remember the shop here in the UK will post a link for those interested but a search should find some places anyway) - goodness knows how many they purchased because these are legit CDs.
For LP there is but difficult to get hold of the HifiNews one.
Cheers
Orb

 

[Orb]

Yeah that high fidelity foot stomping isn't my cup of tea after all. Love flamenco style guitar though.

I guess you checked out Paco de Lucía and Christopher Parkening (challenge is finding right performances due to also doing traditional classical)?
Plenty others just mentioning these as they cross over from some of the greats (who acknowledged both) to a more modern time with "better" recordings.
Using quotes because not all recordings are necessarily better than earlier ones before the 70s

Cheers
Orb

 

[Orb]

ROFL,
just gone to the Stereophile website and front article.... Hot Off the Presses: 1000 Copies of Stereophile Test CD1
http://www.stereophile.com/content/hot-presses-1000-copies-stereophile-test-cd-1
Looks like last time pressing, so seriously worth considering as it then relies on knowing stores that keep a nice stock of test CDs and LPs.
More info on CD1: http://www.stereophile.com/reference/176
Still worth checking out CD2 and CD3 (better and more valuable test options IMO).
Cheers
Orb