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What is your "reference" recording?

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"
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Sure, I love that one too but any recording that starts with "I f@cked up!" is not for reference play in public spaces.
 
I start with a quick check with the Stereophile Test CD 2

Suzanne Vega- Live at West 54th and her first S/T release
Morphine- The Night
Joe Walsh- Barnstorm MFSL aluminum cd
Jimi- Axis and Ladyland
Wilco- A Ghost is Born
Neil Young- Live at Massey Hall 1971
 
I'll throw in a third mention of Beck - Sea Change MFSL on vinyl - clear and dynamic.

I also like the Telarc stuff.

And Sade Lovers Rock.

I probably have twenty or more albums in my top ten for checking out my gear...
 
"GuyNoir---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"

that could be miking within the piano sound board itself. perhaps not the most natural but striking just the same.

midnight sugar has some awesome piano transients, probably recorded that way.
 
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hifitommy said:
midnight sugar has some awesome piano transients, probably recorded that way.
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I was lazing in my easy chair one night listening to the first cut on Midnight Sugar, just about dozing off, and for a moment I was startled, because it sounded like the piano was coming from behind the speakers. It was pretty surreal.

Great bass on this album too.
 
not so much one recording but groups of artists for me. I can always count on certain artists having excellent recordings. Seems to me it is always the more "established" artists also. A few examples
Fleetwood Mac - never heard a bad recording from them. Even in the Peter Green days
Bonnie Raiit
vast majority of Dylan, especially after 1985 or so
Indigo Girls
etc etc etc....
I normally play some of each in order to fully evaluate a piece of gear.
 
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