You're listening to a new system for the first time...
- Thread starter sruffatti
- Start date
darkblue94
The Devil made me do it.
Depends on whose system it is and how much latitude they're willing to give.
Last edited:
darkblue94
The Devil made me do it.
I always like to sample female vocals, solo piano, violins, upright bass etc. Flamenco guitar, trumpet and saxophone solos are always good.
Give me specifics, my friend!
I am currently listening to the Spotify playlist - Songs To Test Headphones With
M0therG00se
Active Member
The whole gig. Classical, Electronic, Bass test, Rock. Only properly putting a system through its paces finds its weaknesses. I've found the more power demanding builds leave you with a buffer. I can demand power but I rarely need to. The regular listening volume is so much lower on average than people believe.
Carraway
Well-Known Member
Something along these lines.
- Herbie Hancock, The Piano. A rich sounding solo piano recording.
- Kenny Barron and Dave Holland, Art of Conversation. Piano and bass.
- Son House, Original Delta Blues. If House's vocals don't give chills on "John the Revelator," something's wrong.
- Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Witty indie rock.
- John Coltrane, Africa/Brass. I've heard Trane's tone and this album on a number of systems. It's the classic quartet augmented with a larger ensemble.
- Maria Schneider Orchestra, The Thompson Fields. This is a beautiful, lush, intricately arranged large ensemble recording.
- Rush, 2112. Ya' gotta rock.
- Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez, Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring. Nothing quite like a symphony orchestra.
- Public Enemy, It Takes a Nations of Millions to Hold Us Back. Influential, well delivered rap.
If you happen to have neighbors within earshot that kind of list may confuse them.
- Herbie Hancock, The Piano. A rich sounding solo piano recording.
- Kenny Barron and Dave Holland, Art of Conversation. Piano and bass.
- Son House, Original Delta Blues. If House's vocals don't give chills on "John the Revelator," something's wrong.
- Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. Witty indie rock.
- John Coltrane, Africa/Brass. I've heard Trane's tone and this album on a number of systems. It's the classic quartet augmented with a larger ensemble.
- Maria Schneider Orchestra, The Thompson Fields. This is a beautiful, lush, intricately arranged large ensemble recording.
- Rush, 2112. Ya' gotta rock.
- Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez, Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring. Nothing quite like a symphony orchestra.
- Public Enemy, It Takes a Nations of Millions to Hold Us Back. Influential, well delivered rap.
If you happen to have neighbors within earshot that kind of list may confuse them.
darkblue94
The Devil made me do it.
There's three fantastic iconic albums that I both know and love, not sure what "Band Of Brothers" is other than a book and HBO mini-series.
There's three fantastic iconic albums that I both know and love, not sure what "Band Of Brothers" is other than a book and HBO mini-series.
And other than the book/tv series those records sound good on a set of 6 by 9s in a shoebox. The sound is pretty great on any system, so what really do they reveal about a new setup?
To me, those records don't lose much when played on lesser systems and they don't gain much when played on better setups. That's why they're low on my list of records to use for system evaluation. I don't hate em. I just don't find them to be useful.
DrTebi
Active Member
One song I like to test speakers with is The Look of Love by Sergio Mendes. It's on YouTube if you don't have it:
What's interesting about that song is, that there is one incredibly deep bass sweep, it appears during the "breaks" of the song. I am quite certain it goes below 20Hz. Just watching it on a software analyzer is fun, watching that sweeping motion...
What's not fun is, when the bass driver starts to distort at the end of that sweep... it's tough with Open Baffle speakers. Since you have to equalize them "up" quite a bit in the low range, they will easily distort when you play songs like this one at higher volume.
Would be interesting to hear what that bass sweep sounds like on your system... ideally it should make everything shake and vibrate for a second or so, without distortion.
What's interesting about that song is, that there is one incredibly deep bass sweep, it appears during the "breaks" of the song. I am quite certain it goes below 20Hz. Just watching it on a software analyzer is fun, watching that sweeping motion...
What's not fun is, when the bass driver starts to distort at the end of that sweep... it's tough with Open Baffle speakers. Since you have to equalize them "up" quite a bit in the low range, they will easily distort when you play songs like this one at higher volume.
Would be interesting to hear what that bass sweep sounds like on your system... ideally it should make everything shake and vibrate for a second or so, without distortion.
the burn-in deniers will refuse to believe it but you first let it burn-in with wide range of music that
hits all the frequencies. Some folks use a mono signal to both speakers with one speaker's
cables reversed.
then listen to all your favorite music - you'll be able to hear the differences since you're
familiar with it.
hits all the frequencies. Some folks use a mono signal to both speakers with one speaker's
cables reversed.
then listen to all your favorite music - you'll be able to hear the differences since you're
familiar with it.
MJB1959
Super Member
There are quite a few "test/demo" discs out there that are specific for these evaluations. Chesky, Marantz, Philips, Telarc, Focal jmlab, Siltech sts, Denon, B&W, etc,etc.
As for common music, Celtic music like Cara Dillon, Chieftans. Or some slammin' funk like Marcus Miller, brilliant acoustic guitar by Tommy Emmanuel, Phil Keaggy, or Sharon Isbin.
Some of Allison Krause' music is very revealing with her beautiful vocal tone and the variety of acoustical instruments used.
As for common music, Celtic music like Cara Dillon, Chieftans. Or some slammin' funk like Marcus Miller, brilliant acoustic guitar by Tommy Emmanuel, Phil Keaggy, or Sharon Isbin.
Some of Allison Krause' music is very revealing with her beautiful vocal tone and the variety of acoustical instruments used.
