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Favorite music for system/speaker evaluation?

I listen to Steely Dan on vinyl as well as Romantic Warrior. I use Haggard now because there is so much going on that it lets me know where my system(s) are falling short. Thanks a lot guys for the reply's, Now I have a bunch more stuff to check out. BTW, if you try to use the audio off the youtube link I put in, it's horrible. I'm just looking for tunes with a variety of things from lows to highs that will push everything to the limit. For low end only I use "I Love Big Speakers". It lets me know when the drivers or the windows need to be tightened. Thanks Guys!
 
Rob Wasserman's "Duets"... especially the Jennifer Warne cut, "Ballad of the Runaway Horse".
EMI's Prokofiev's Cinderella
Laurie Anderson's "Strange Angels"
Yello '80-'85 on Murcury
Dolly Parton "Little Sparrow"
 
Well, there's a chance that something about Steely Dan/Donald Fagen that has caught so many people's attention. Not saying it's warranted, but there must have been something there at some point to make someone take note.

For me, I think it's that much of the later half of their output has so many multi-tracked details and subtleties that slightly supplement the main track or instrument that it offers a lot of details to listen for. I'd say Aja, Gaucho and The Nightfly were the peak of this. But that's just me.

I guess it also depends on what you you usually listen to. I mean, Kiss and Peter Frampton were big names at the same time. Nothing against either of them, but if you're listening to them to see what kind of detail a given speaker offers... well... you probably aren't stressing the speakers or your ears. Same thing with Pink Floyd. As much as I love the Meddle - Animals era of Pink Floyd, it's not really filled with hard-to-resolve details. It's an experience, but not detail filled. I know people that have listened to Steely Dan and Donald Fagen for decades and still occasionally hear to subtle details.

:dunno:
 
Urchinn said:
I agree here except I can't stand Steely Dan's music! The production sounds good (nothing exceptional) ...but the music seems tailored for folks who love background music.
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Listen critically. And imagine trying to play some of that stuff yourself.
 
cratz2 said:
Well, there's a chance that something about Steely Dan/Donald Fagen that has caught so many people's attention. Not saying it's warranted, but there must have been something there at some point to make someone take note.

For me, I think it's that much of the later half of their output has so many multi-tracked details and subtleties that slightly supplement the main track or instrument that it offers a lot of details to listen for. I'd say Aja, Gaucho and The Nightfly were the peak of this. But that's just me.

I guess it also depends on what you you usually listen to. I mean, Kiss and Peter Frampton were big names at the same time. Nothing against either of them, but if you're listening to them to see what kind of detail a given speaker offers... well... you probably aren't stressing the speakers or your ears. Same thing with Pink Floyd. As much as I love the Meddle - Animals era of Pink Floyd, it's not really filled with hard-to-resolve details. It's an experience, but not detail filled. I know people that have listened to Steely Dan and Donald Fagen for decades and still occasionally hear to subtle details.

:dunno:
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I think their last 'good' album was The Royal Scam. Not a bad song to test a system by either.
 
I wasn't much of a Steely Dan fan back in the day, but I have a new found respect for their music today. Go figure.:scratch2:

I'd also like to add...

-Peter Gabriel; So, Us and Secret World Live
-Early Genesis
 
I'm another person that has used Steely Dan for speaker/component/system evaluation. Lots of details, well produced. Last time I was speaker shopping, I also used a jazz compilation called Third Coast Jazz. Again, lots of details to listen to. But lately, I've found that female vocals seem to be difficult to reproduce; a good discriminator. So a frequent "test" CD is Diana Krall. Another benefit is that there's ALWAYS a copy at the stereo store. For dynamic range, Tommy Bolin's Teaser goes all the way from almost silent to LOUD. Great at home, impossible in the car.
 
And in my defense, I am a musician that plays several instruments. Maybe the respect that I have in terms of sheer ability skews my feelings. To be honest, I mostly hang out a music forum and when I responded, a fair bit of what I said was with me thinking I was talking to musicians.

Fagen and Becker were probably bastards to work for, but I have the ultimate respect for someone that writes a song and has a vision of how he wants the end result to sound and isn't afraid to use 10+ to get just that one song exactly as he wants it.

It's all good though. I don't care what anybody listens to or values or appreciates. And I am a hair younger than the typical Steely Dan fan and I wasn't constantly bombarded by it on the airwaves in the 70s. In fact, I grew up almost never listening to the radio. I know a number of musicians and fans alike that used to like something and now are burned out on it. That has literally never happened to me other than maybe one year out of college circa 1993-1994.

In absolute terms though, if a sizable percentage of folks see something of value in terms of test material, there's probably a solid reason it's that popular and it's probably not completely out of habit.
 
Like their music or not (I do BTW) you can't deny that Steely Dan recordings usually sound superb. That's why so many use them for system/speaker evaluation.
 
JoeESP9 said:
Like their music or not (I do BTW) you can't deny that Steely Dan recordings usually sound superb. That's why so many use them for system/speaker evaluation.
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But I can. While there is nothing wrong with the way their recordings sound I have never felt them to be a great test of a system. That's why so many do not use them for system/speaker evaluation.

cubdog
 
doublefacepalm.jpg
 
I don't know, I've always really liked Steely Dan and Night Fly by Donald Fagen. The Royal Scam, the song, is pretty well recorded, and has good dynamics, I also believe the title track Aja does as well. I like everything from Dirty Work to Hey 19, but hey it's music, some love it, some hate it. I do admit the fact that Steely Dan is even polarizing to be pretty shocking. They seem so neutral, that people would either love them, or just mildly like them, not love them or despise them.
 
Wow! There's some awesome recommendations here! AK must breed good taste in music!

Dead Can Dance, Supertramp, Thomas Dolby, Yellow, and Steely Dan are all some of my favorites. Throw in Dire Strait's Love Over Gold and you have most of my audition list too!

I also have to include some female singers. Usually some Kate Bush, Paula Cole, or even believe it or not, Grace Jones. Her Slave to the Rhythm is a very good set up album too. A good recording that has female vocals, as well as spoken male vocals, plus fast transient music that contains nice punchy bass.

A little jazz is nice too. Some Billy Cobham, Al Di Meola, Flim and the BB's, or Bela Fleck.

For Prog, YES, Rush, Genesis/Peter Gabriel, Dixie Dreggs, Ozric Tentacles & Happy the Man.

Finally, classical. Newer for me. Mainly Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky. Plus, any good movie soundtrack. Danny Elfman, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, John Williams stuff.
 
I use Aja because it is so familiar to me. I also spin Dire Straits- Brothers in Arms. I then spin Miles Davis- Kind of Blue to evaluate horns. Then I spin some Chopin to evaluate piano, then a full blown Beethoven symphony. After this, I pretty well know if something is working for me.

What I have a problem with is deciding if something is better or just different. It takes me a while to adjust to a different presentation.
 
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