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What is your "reference" recording?

mulester7 said:
.....I say, Telarc- "Anything" - Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops
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Agreed.

I like the quality of just about everything from Telarc. Another great label to utilize is Windham Hill. I have Shadowfax recordings on both record and CD, and they have always sounded simply outstanding.

It's a little harder for me when it comes to CD's though, just because I have yet to find a CD player that I am truly happy with. I use to listen to compact discs in my stereo all the time-and then I got into records...Whole different ballgame folks. I still listen to CD's occasionally, but mostly my really nice Carver CD player just sits idle, while I spin my vinyl-I get such a higher level of satisfaction watching that album spin on the platter-I just can't explain it.

Plus, I have yet to find a CD that outmatches the quality of any older Mobile Fidelity half-speed master. Most of mine are in such great shape that you can easily forget that you are listening to a record. Once in a while a click or pop can be heard (about one, MAYBE two per side) that kindly reminds you of the medium that you are listening to, but most people don't believe that I am listening to records-if they are taken care of, they will last you virtually a lifetime, IMO.



-Jason
 
Various Artists - A 20-bit Taste of DMP
Jacqui Naylor - East/West
Jacintha - Here's To Ben
Steely Dan -Aja
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Jeff Back - Blow By Blow
Crosby, Stills & Nash - CSN
 
Both me and my dad use Bob Marley's Legend for reference, in fact this is really the only time we ever listen to this album (probably not a good thing). I think it just does a good job of testing the response of a system. I'm not a huge Marley fan or anything, but I'd rather use him for reference than some orchestral piece.
 
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 on Everest Records.

My 1961 copy of Symphonic Dances From West Side Story; Symphonic Suite From On the Waterfront (New York Philharmonic/Bernstein) has TERRIBLE wow and flutter at the end of On the Waterfront side, which will be magnified on a turntable with unstable speed. (Took me a few turntables to figure out it was the record and not the deck.)

"Not a Day Goes By" (Sondheim), last track side 2 of Carly Simon's Torch, shows up sibilance and IGD pretty well.
 

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Zubin Mehta Conducts Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra – Suites From Star Wars And Close Encounters Of The Third Kind--there is a tremendous crescendo near the beginning tjat can challenge your entire system.

"Ein Straussfest" by Erich Kunzel on telarc. the explosions polka contains guns shots that be quite dangerous to your speakers. slowly play the gunshots from a fairly low volume repeatedly, each time a bit louder until the amplifier distorts. then back it off slightly. it will knock anybody off the couch if they dont know its coming. people who have actually been shot at will NOT think its as funny as you do. the rest of the disc has stygian bass as well.

"Time Warp" by Erich Kunzel on telarc. the cut 'Ascent' is a synthesizer tour de force with a transient signal that begins deep in the right channel and shoots up to the left and toward you and nearly makes you duck. with a super amp like the hafler 500 you're in for a physical massage.
 
Dave Mathew's Band live in Central Park. Think it was 2005....

And....

Best of the Bee Gees volume 1 ( great early stuff )


Hehehehe.. You might be shocked at the sound quality on the Bee Gees....lots of very deep bass, strings, chimes, harmonies and silent space to hear the fine details..... And some really good songs.....

But the reference changes over time.....It used to be DMB and The Who's Tommy master addition...so go figures. Also Aron Coplands Fanfare for a common man is a good test.....


Johnk
 
One of the best acoustic recordings I own and highly recommend for subjectively scrutinizing a system, especially speakers:

Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice "The Pizza Tapes"
 
LP's
AC/DC - Back In Black - Shoot to Thrill
Van Halen - 1984 -1984 & Jump
REO Speedwagon - High Infidelity - Take It On The Run
Def Leppard - Hysteria - Armageddon It
45
Van Halen -Why Can't This Be Love
CD
Journey - Greatest Hits Live
 
I think Guiller brings up an important point- use something that you know well. I play songs which I've listened to hundreds (thousands?) of times. The familiarity makes it easier for me to hear sonic differences.

That said, Dire Straits- Dire Straits.
 
My favorites for reference are:
The Cure: Disintegration, Faith, and The Head on the Door
Bob Marley: Legend (LP)
Jimi Hendrix: Rainbow Bridge (LP), and Axis: Bold as Love (LP)
Andreas Vollenweider: Caverna Magica (LP)
All of these feature a good range of frequencies, and I'm familiar with them to the point that problems/deficiencies are immediately apparent. :thmbsp:
 
victor.askew said:
Mine are : Pink Floyd, Dark Side of The Moon and Alan Parson: Turn of a Friendly Card.:thmbsp:
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I ran my copy of Turn of a Friendly Card through the RCM and put it on yesterday - still as great as when I first heard it.
It's one of those albums that a lot of people missed when it came out. I think the Alan Parsons machine was running out of marketing steam and folks were starting to move on to the next big thing musically.
 
Herb Alpert - a Taste of Honey (the one with the nekkid chick covered in whipped cream)

Dont laugh, the original A&M recording is great and the brass sounds excellent on a clean amp.

(besides when I was a kid, my mom had this record and it was literally one of the first I listened to. I know all the songs. I found this one at a yard sale, still in the plastic. Its only ever seen good TT's)
 
Tubeage said:
One of the best acoustic recordings I own and highly recommend for subjectively scrutinizing a system, especially speakers:

Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and Tony Rice "The Pizza Tapes"
Click to expand...

I concur, listening to it right now.
For those unfamiliar with the history of this recording you should google it.
 
Agree with 'drail' re" Copeland "Fanfare for the Common Man" - and yes, the first listen should be well below max gain, due to the excessive (explosive) low freq from the percussion section. The french horns should not sound shrill, with the final crescendo showing no distortion even at the sustained forte levels.

Blackbird - Beatles White Album - clear vocals, crisp string sound on the frets. The blackbird should sound. . . well, like a bird.
 
Any of the XRCD releases of "The Isao Suzuki Trio," on the Three Blind Mice label. They have a technique of recording piano that makes the speakers disappear.
 
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