Favorite songs for testing speakers?

Shockmaster

Active Member
Hey guys, what’s your all time go-to songs/albums/artists for testing speakers? Mine is:
Underworld - Rubber ball
Tota - Rosanna
Jimetta Rose - Master in Disguise

Just to name a few.
 
Alvin and the Chpmunks: Christmas, Don't Be Late

This is the litmus test for any speaker, anywhere, anytime with any electronics. If the delicate nuances of vocal harmony inherent in this excellent minimalist recording aren't immediately obvious... if the instrumental imaging isn't precise... if the timbre of each instrument doesn't take my breath away... or it the soundstage is smaller than Kansas... then I pour a gallon of gas on them in the backyard and sponsor a neighborhood wienie/mashmallow roast.
 
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Eric Claption Unplugged - Just pick your favorite song from that album you cant go wrong
Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly
If I am testing driving them at home Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon and Brothers at Arms on SACD.
Then I start working my way through Jazz and Classical Selections. Telarc 1812, Scheherazade Reiner/Chicago Symphony, Dave Brubek, and throw in some Florence and the Machine because those vocals man...

And if you havent heard it, Mandolin Orange is not only good music their albums are top notch recordings for many, many reasons.
 
My real choices are numerous, but a few include:

Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat (the track)
great clean bass check, muted horns and female background vocals for mids

Glenn Miller Orch - from the album In the Digital Mood, Chattanooga Choo-Choo
dynamics, brass, and male voice

Helmut Muller-Bruhl - Bach's Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor
great mids, subtle detail

Melody Gardot - Worrisome Heart (the track)
female voice, good bass

Dave Edmunds - Get It (the track)
just to get the toes tappin'
 
Many genres listed work. Also Rolling stones or others with a lot of cymbals for the tweeters. especially high-hat.
Note though chamber organ music like in a cathedral.. can have very low hz in the bass region.. like 10hz if properly recorded may sound like a buzz so a lot depends on speaker response and other factors in quality of amp.
 
Yet ANOTHER one of these posts?!?

But, anyway...

1. L.A. Underground (Lee Ritenour & Larry Carlton) 5:48
2. Billie Jean (Michael Jackson) 4:54
3. Keith Don't Go (Nils Lofgren) 6:50
4. Thanks To You (Boz Scaggs) 6:01
5. True Love Ways (Buddy Holly) 3:00
6. Body And Soul (Diana Krall) 5:35
7. The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers (Brian Bromberg) 6:15
8. How's Your Mother-In-Law? (Red Norvo Quintet) 6:42
9. Welcome To The Machine (Pink Floyd) 7:31
10. Red Right Hand (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) 6:10
11. Tom Sawyer (Rush) 4:34
12. Go Hard (Q-Tip) 3:02
13. Know Your Enemy (Rage Against The Machine) 4:55
14. Locked Out Of Heaven (Bruno Mars) 3:53
15. Can't Stand Losing You (The Police) 2:59
 
Any CD from the jazz band Fourplay from the decades from 1990 to 2010. If you haven’t heard them give yourself and your stereo system the pleasure of trying at least one. Their CD Heartfelt is my favorite which sounds amazing, causing your stereo to sound so too! Try it and if you like it try their others.
 
Eric Claption Unplugged - Just pick your favorite song from that album you cant go wrong
Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly
If I am testing driving them at home Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon and Brothers at Arms on SACD.
Then I start working my way through Jazz and Classical Selections. Telarc 1812, Scheherazade Reiner/Chicago Symphony, Dave Brubek, and throw in some Florence and the Machine because those vocals man...

And if you havent heard it, Mandolin Orange is not only good music their albums are top notch recordings for many, many reasons.

IF your a fan of Mandolin Orange, there LP's are pressed like non-other. I have a few of there albums.

clover tune is a good track to test gear out to. Good Stuff ^^
 
Glitter In The Air- Pink
Pepper- Butthole Surfers
Make It Bun Dem- Skrillex&Damian Marley
You And Your Friend- Dire Straits
Do It Again
My Old School
Dirty Work- Steely Dan
Fanfare For The Common Man- Copland - Orquesta Filarmonca De La Ciudad De Mexico
And about 100 others.;)
 
Every time I see one of these threads (which seems to be about once a week these days), I cite Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire". The part where Herbie Flowers unwinds the E-string on his Fender Jazz Bass is a great test for woofer excursion and the entire "Nilsson Schmilsson" album is beautifully recorded and mastered.
 
Music that I use to test the ability of potential new equipment and speakers. For me, music with good vocals, dynamics, and transient response. So:

YES : "Going For The One" - Awaken
Peter Gabriel : "Melt" - Biko
Dire Straights : "Love Over Gold" - Private Investigations
Aaron Copland : "Billy The Kid" - Fanfare For The Common Man
Kate Bush : "Hounds Of Love" - Running Up That Hill
Grace Jones : "Slave To The Rhythm" - The entire recording. Male and female voices. Good production from Trevor Horn.

Oh, and pretty much any Billy Cobham.

There's others as well. But, these are my main tracks.
 
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