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Some songs to test your speakers..

Brett a said:
Yes, that's one of the ones I've used. The folks over at TNT think it's a good one too:

"Rage against the machine - An audiophile-non-audiophile recording"

http://www.tnt-audio.com/topics/ratm_e.html

"Conclusion

Good sounding rock albums are rare. This is a BRILLIANT and jaw-dropping exception."
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Go for the LP if you can find it. There's a little bit of mastering-compression on the CD, which makes the vocals a bit fatiguing (compared to the LP, mind you). The vinyl version was basically-identical to the CD, minus the slight, added compression. It's an awesome listen, believe me. Back in the early '90's, labels had just started using mastering-compression to boost the volume - These early '90's recordings seemed loud at the time, but not by today's brickwalled standards - Nowadays, "RATM" and "BSSM" are considered audiophile discs, but in comparison to their LP counterparts, they don't seem so-great. It's funny, isn't it?
 
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Okays, don't laugh, or if you want too, go ahead..:yes: My fav CD for listening/testing speakers in the soundtrack from the movie "King Arthur" composed by Hans Zimmer. Delicate highs, female and male voice, thundering tympanies, a pipe organ pedal, lush stringed basses, and IMHO beautiful music to boot! :music:
 
DaveElton said:
Okays, don't laugh, or if you want too, go ahead..:yes: My fav CD for listening/testing speakers in the soundtrack from the movie "King Arthur" composed by Hans Zimmer. Delicate highs, female and male voice, thundering tympanies, a pipe organ pedal, lush stringed basses, and IMHO beautiful music to boot! :music:
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I actually like that movie a lot. I got bored with other knight-movies like Kingdom Of Heaven, but that one's much-faster-paced.

By the way, another good test-CD is the Mobile Fidelity gold CD of Rush's "Moving Pictures". Some people prefer the original, non-remastered CD, but I strongly-disagree. The Mofi disc is less-fatiguing and yet still slams. I've compared them over and over, and I always get the same result. "YYZ" just dances out of my speakers.

Also, the Mobile Fidelty SACD of Pat Martino's "East" is very-good. WIDE soundstage. Great recording.

One word of advice though (especially to those AK'er musicians) - Protect those ears! Ever since getting into the whole vintage-audio thing, and as my system has improved, I've learned to appreciate my hearing. When I'm playing out, I ALWAYS wear earplugs - even when I'm just watching other people play at an open-mic or something. Early last year, I started noticing some high-frequency distortion in my left-ear that would appear during louder transients/dynamic peaks, and I basically-had to walk around with an earplug in one ear for a month before it went away - Scared the hell out of me, and that's when I started wearing earplugs when listening to other bands. I've noticed that a lot of musicians/sound-guys don't seem to worry about their own hearing, let alone mine, so I can't rely on them keeping the volume at a safe level (and people in the audience seem even-less-conscious of it, standing right in front of blaring PA speakers). I don't know how many times I bent down to pick up something off the floor in front of another guy's amp, only to have them start noodling at full-volume right in my ear. It's like someone firing a pistol near my head. I want to continue listening to music, not to mention playing it, and I won't enjoy either if I lose my hearing.
 
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David Bowie - Station To Station - Original, German-pressed RCA CD

In my opinion, this is the best of the original German and Japanese-pressed RCA CD's from '84 (PD81327 - in case any of you stumble on one - They're quite-rare). The original RCA discs are the closest thing on digital to the original vinyl LP's. Very-smooth and warm-sounding.
 
HarryB said:
mine is actually on vinyl. U can see the grooves for the canon shots.
I guess Stupid loud is loud enough to damage hearing. I am lucky enough to have most of my hearing. I spent too many years standing in front of speaker cabinets at concerts and with local bands. When I photograph concerts, earplugs are a must when standing in front of bass cabinets..

Harry
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Now I understand those deeper/wider groves in the LP's. LMAO.

We should compare images, years ago I shot my best friends band at the Trubadore in LA. Back then that was THE place to get your break. He's still playing. I have 5 TT's all in need of new stylus. Some day.
 
Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Barry Altschul - A.R.C. (1971 - ECM)

A little out there, but still great. Outstanding recording considering the year. I don't think this has been remastered, so if not, then just find the original CD. Corea's piano must be multi-miked because the notes are panned all over the place, and when he slides his hand from one end of the keys to the other, you can follow it across your speakers' soundstage.... I knew about guys running a Fender Rhodes in stereo to get the keys bouncing back and forth across the speakers, but this is the first time I've noticed it with a piano.

I always go for this one when I'm testing/checking my system. It begs to be cranked. You can really get some slam out of the drums (not to mention the piano).
 
I know this post is old but here goes anyway. A couple of good older songs I use to test speakers are "Lets Groove Tonight" by Earth Wind and Fire, and "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. Another great one is "Fly Me To The Moon" by Sinatra.
 
Actually, this is quite timely. I am on my 4th iteration of test CD to bring when testing out speakers or amps.

Carpet Crawler - Genesis - Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
Ave Maria - Sarah Brightman
Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Love is Found - Sade - The Ultimate Collection
Black - Pearl Jam - Ten
Little Wing - Jimmy Hendrix - The Ultimate Experience
Flesh For Fantasy - Billy Idol - Essential
In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins - Hits
Summertime - Janis Joplin - Greatest Hits
Pearl - Sade - The Ultimate Experience

and my next iteration will have "I Can See Clearly" - Holly Cole Trio and "Sk8er Boi" - Avril Lavigne - Let Go.

Sk8er Boi blew me away when I was playing it on my Kef Concerto's. I hear/feel an almost subsonic hum. It is part of the song, and I can attest that the Kef's sound great, so it isn't a fault of the speakers. They are just reproducing something most speakers can't. I've tried this song on all my other sets of speakers, and I don't hear it with any other speakers. These Kef's are keepers!
 
Little Feat "Waiting For Columbus": Dixie Chicken
KSCA Live From The Music Hall Vol. 1: Dave Alvin "King of California"; Boz Scaggs "Lowdown"; Willy Porter "Angry Words"
 
crissew said:
I know this post is old but here goes anyway. A couple of good older songs I use to test speakers are "Lets Groove Tonight" by Earth Wind and Fire. Another great one is "Fly Me To The Moon" by Sinatra.
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Yes. "Let's Groove Tonight" is awesome through a good system. Great soundstage, vibrant highs, and a kickass bottom-end (And I'm just talking about the old CD version. Vinyl would be even better.

My main speakers are Wharfedale W90's (first-generation model with no rear-venting), and they're extremely-compliant when it comes to making most types of music sound great, but they love a really-well-made recording, like those Sheffield direct-to-disc CD's/LP's. They do best with uncluttered recordings with plenty of air and headroom. That's the stuff that just knocks my socks off.
 
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