Music for testing Audio Equipment

[blue2]

Try this for a drum test track (24bit 96KHz) - best I've come across "#8 Drumkit Quartet No. 54" Not so much a fan of the rest of the album though.

[blue2]

Notes on the above track by Glenn Kotche\Yuka Honda\Sō Percussion: excellent soundstage, realistic imaging, big impacts on tom toms, nice decay on cymbals, especially small bell like ones.

 

The Bad Plus, These Are The Vistas, track #3 Smells Like Teen Spirit well recorded piano, upright bass and drums. Nice decay on cymbals then holographic double bass comes in at 10 secs!

 

Jim Brock, Tropic Affair (Reference Recordings) track #8 O Vazio Very deep bass, excellent imaging, micro details such as water slopping inside its container. Speaker tweeter test at 2:20 - drum roll should appear above and between speakers as each drum in the kit is traversed. This

is from his DVD different, but nice too!

[theoctavist]

Yep, my playlist, curated for this very purpose.

 

https://play.spotify.com/user/129670382/playlist/6FddkgT3Vnv1JBgOl45Cai

 

also - chris whitley- dirt floor

 

Lux Aeterna(RCM Records)

 

Appalachian Waltz/Appalachian Journey (Sony)

 

Cloudburst- whitacre

 

Tom Waits- Filopino Box SPring Hog

 

Tom Waits- Nighthawks at the diner

 

True Widow- Flat Black

[semente]

This was one of the tracks used by the french magazine La Revue du Son in their tests.

They would give a short description of each test track for every equipment under test.

 

 

 

 

[video=youtube;SadTCU8-pvM]

 

 

 

 

Other tracks were:

Ella Fitzgerald, "Reach for Tomorrow", Verve Classic Compact, VSCD 4043

Mozart, Fantaisie pour piano, en ré mineur, Ivo Pogorelich, track 1, DG 437 763-2

Johann Strauss, "Marche Egyptienne" Op. 335, Dos Mikrofon, plage 2, Tacet 17

Mark Curry, It's only time, plage 1, "All over Me", Virgin CDVUS 49

Christian Mc Bride, "Gettin' to it", plage 5, "Splanky", Verve 523 989-2

[blue2]

I like the track on youtube - bit tricky to find though! Juan del Encina BNL 112848 (track 1 Pues que ya nunca) is listed on Amazon or MusicMe (download for €13.99)

[oso]

Good Stuff!

[rtb]

Good Stuff!

 

Just dragged out Joe Jacksons "Body and Soul", I forgot what dynamic range this album has

,

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

[blue2]

Just dragged out Joe Jacksons "Body and Soul", I forgot what dynamic range this album has

 

According to some reviews the CD remaster is poor and the original A&M CDA-65000 is the one to get.

[rtb]

According to some reviews the CD remaster is poor and the original A&M CDA-65000 is the one to get.

 

The vinyl copy I have is certainly better.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

[Harpy]

For AAD rock Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage Act 1. Some nice guitar working in the album and well really recorded.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[Harpy]

For AAD rock Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage Act 1. Some nice guitar working in the album and really well recorded.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[blue2]

Thanks to oso I bought Cassandra Wilson's New Moon Daughter. I particularly like "Harvest Moon" and "32-20"

for the well recorded vocals which sound "in the room", and the 3D sound stage guitar and percussion.

 

More of the same can be found on Jack Johnson's first album "Brushfire Fairytales" with contributions from Ben Harper. Check

. JJ's catalog is full of high SQ albums.

[oso]

Now it is my time to say thanks!

[blue2]

There are more good suggestions on this previous CA thread including more Sound Liaison recommendations (Paul Berner Band - Road To Memphis, Carmen Gomes Inc - Torn, Andre Heuvelman - After Silence).

 

For something completely different Naxatras on Bandcamp (I skipped the first track, Greek stoner rock with well recorded drums, bit like pre Meddle Pink Floyd).

[oso]

Yes lots of good recommendations there indeed.

There are more good suggestions on this previous CA thread including more Sound Liaison recommendations (Paul Berner Band - Road To Memphis, Carmen Gomes Inc - Torn, Andre Heuvelman - After Silence).

 

For something completely different Naxatras on Bandcamp (I skipped the first track, Greek stoner rock with well recorded drums, bit like pre Meddle Pink Floyd).

[oso]

For AAD rock Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage Act 1. Some nice guitar working in the album and well really recorded.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

Yes Joe's is great album indeed. All Music.com review;

Joe's Garage was originally released in 1979 in two separate parts; Act I came first, followed by a two-record set containing Acts II & III. Joe's Garage is generally regarded as one of Zappa's finest post-'60s conceptual works, a sprawling, satirical rock opera about a totalitarian future in which music is outlawed to control the population. The narrative is long, winding, and occasionally loses focus; it was improvised in a weekend, some of it around previously existing songs, but Zappa manages to make most of it hang together. Acts II & III give off much the same feel, as Zappa relies heavily on what he termed "xenochrony" -- previously recorded guitar solos transferred onto new, rhythmically different backing tracks to produce random musical coincidences. Such an approach is guaranteed to produce some slow moments as well, but critics latched onto the work more for its conceptual substance. Joe's Garage satirizes social control mechanisms, consumerism, corporate abuses, gender politics, religion, and the rock & roll lifestyle; all these forces conspire against the title protagonist, an average young man who simply wants to play guitar and enjoy himself. Even though Zappa himself hated punk rock and even says so on the album, his ideas seemed to support punk's do-it-yourself challenge to the record industry and to social norms in general. Since this is 1979-era Zappa, there are liberal applications of his trademark scatological humor (the titles of "Catholic Girls," "Crew Slut," "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?," and "Keep It Greasey" are self-explanatory). Still, in spite of its flaws, Joe's Garage has enough substance to make it one of Zappa's most important '70s works and overall political statements, even if it's not focused enough to rank with his earliest Mothers of Invention masterpieces.

[oso]

For speaker placement this is an ideal recording. It is still introduction offer for 10$ as we speak;

Sound Liaison Music Shop

 

“The recording was made with a main pair of matched DPA microphones in an A/B configuration. Our DPA mics have a completely identical frequency response, securing a very stable and well defined stereo image. We had spot microphones on each one of the musicians. The distance of the spot microphones were meticulously measured in relationship to the main pair and the distance was then compensated for in the mix. We always use a great deal of time perfecting the phase between the spot microphones and the main pair in order to secure a completely focused stereo recording that clearly implement the depths of the acoustics of the church and vividly portrays each instruments placement in the stereo field.”

[PAP]

For speaker placement this is an ideal recording. It is still introduction offer for 10$ as we speak;

Sound Liaison Music Shop

 

Seems you are not alone in having that thought.

I qoute from the news letter anouncing only few days left of the sale;

We should like to share with you one correspondence in particular from Billy in Pasadena, California and the reply from Enghave Barok director Christian Denh Bang ;

 

Greetings All at Sound Liaison,I have just purchased and downloaded your Enghave Barok - Bach Live HD Edition 1 recording. It is phenomenal. Thank you so much for producing such masterpieces in performance and audio quality.

Is it possible for Torsten Jessen and/or Christian Dehn Bang to provide us with an Illustration or Photograph depicting the "Stage Map" which shows the actual Size and Layout of each Musician/Instrument and Vocalist on the recording "stage" in the church and also their placement within the church?

I am hearing an incredible "Sound Stage" and ambiance of the "room" with this recording, and would like to have an actual Reference to compare and confirm the "image placement" and depth of each instrument and vocalist, in order to properly set up and "fine tune" both my main Hi-Fi playback system and Neumann studio monitors in my home studio.

Thank you for your time and interest.

 

Sincerely, Billy

-----------------------

Dear Billy!

 

Thank you so much for your kind email and interest in our recording – we highly appreciate your feedback!

Here’s 3 drawings showing Cross-sections of Enghave Church – at the one with the floorplan we have placed icons for the instruments and singers showing their position at the recording of Bach Live HD Edition 1. Hope that this was what you was asking for. Unfortunately we haven’t any pictures from that project. But you can find pictures from a school concert at our Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/enghavebarok/ It’s a different setup – but it will give you a pretty good idea of the stage. Later this year the church will undergo a major rebuild that, among other benefits, makes it an even better place to perform Bach.

 

Best wishes, Christian Dehn Bang

 

Bach Live HD Edition 1 Stage Map (High resolution pdf):https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/deb7e8be-60d6-4021-86fe-14a16c6f9efe

 

Enghave Church Drawing 1.pdf (High resolution pdf):https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/e06bea4e-9538-4f2f-80e6-75199a3897d0

 

Enghave Church Drawing 2.pdf (High resolution pdf):https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/cb88bb1b-a2a8-4eb6-9e95-46f6bf062638

 

-------------------------

 

Gentlemen, Thank you so much. The PDF illustrations that you have provided are perfect and beyond my expectations! This is greatly appreciated.

I would look forward to hearing more recordings from the "new and improved" Enghave Church, so please contact me when you have new recordings available.

Thank you again!

Best regards, Billy

[blue2]

Chris C says he loves this album Fink Meets The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. I haven't bought it yet, but found Hard Believer double CD to be a bargain. The main album is good, but the bonus CD has just 4 tracks played acoustically live - superb, hard to believe you're not listening to high res

[christian u]

On 11-1-2017 at 11:53 AM, blue2 said:

 

 

The Bad Plus, These Are The Vistas, track #3 Smells Like Teen Spirit well recorded piano, upright bass and drums. Nice decay on cymbals then holographic double bass comes in at 10 secs!

 

The youtube track has an extreme amount of compression, is that less on the CD or download that you have?

youtube Bad Plus

[audiventory]

1. Jazz with cymbals.

2. Music with trumpet.

3. Powerful synthetic bass.

4. Acoustic guitar music.

[blue2]

3 hours ago, christian u said:

On ‎11‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 10:53 AM, blue2 said:

The Bad Plus, These Are The Vistas, track #3 Smells Like Teen Spirit well recorded piano, upright bass and drums. Nice decay on cymbals then holographic double bass comes in at 10 secs!

 

The youtube track has an extreme amount of compression, is that less on the CD or download that you have?

youtube Bad Plus

Did you listen to the album on Qobuz via the link I provided? I don't think that sounds extremely compressed. I have a CD rip and it sounds excellent to me.

[nancy123]

 Thanks for taking the time to put this together. It will be fun to slowly work down this list.

[PAP]

Excellent live recording with to my ears very little or no compression.

[Ralf11]

On 3/27/2017 at 6:36 PM, nancy123 said:

 Thanks for taking the time to put this together. It will be fun to slowly work down this list.

 

not to spoil the fun, but I have is a partial gleaning from this thread, with others added too saved as a playlist on iTunes - I'll post it if anyone wants, and can tell me how to turn it into postable text...