My best demo albums

[Blackmorec]

You’re probably like me and love discovering great new music.....this is what this post is all about. 

 

Imagine that next week you are getting a visit from a couple of Hi-Fi News editors who have asked to listen to your system playing 3 of your favourite albums. Great Music and sound quality are the criteria.  Which 3 albums would you select to demonstrate your system at its finest?

 

Here are my choices:

 

Rodrigo y Gabriela (the lizard eye album)

Deep Forest - Music detected.  (Recently discovered from CA ‘best recordings for system evaluation’ thread)

Malia - Convergence

 

Bonus album

Leonard Cohen - 10 new songs 

 

So which albums do you love listening to that do a great job demonstrating your system’s abilities?

[TheAttorney]

I would certainly consider your Rodrigo y Gabriela album.  And as a Leonard Cohen fan, I may choose You Want it Daker, or Old Ideas, simply becuase I prefer them to 10 New Songs.

 

But if pushed for only 3, off the top of my head I'd go for:

 

Laura Marling - Once I was an Eagle (Simply the most natural, life-like, female vocals I've ever heard, particularly on the 2nd half slower tracks. Warning: this is a sombre album)

 

Lambchop - Is a Woman (The original recording is better than the louder remaster)

 

Holly Cole - Temptation (Superb covers of Tom Waits songs)

 

PS. I'm a heahphone-only listener.

 

 

[GUTB]

Belafonte and Carnegie Hall (AAPF 6006)

 

Rival Queens (Sony)

 

The King James Version (LAB-3)

[mjb]

I thought this is the gold standard....

 

[Screwdriver]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mjb]

@Screwdriver some good ones there.

[GUTB]

It's interesting to see how people's reference music choices align with their system quality and type.

[Screwdriver]

2 hours ago, GUTB said:

It's interesting to see how people's reference music choices align with their system quality and type.

 

Do you mean...."It would be interesting to see"? Or, "It's interesting to see how your poor music choices align with your peasant system"? ?

[GUTB]

26 minutes ago, Screwdriver said:

 

Do you mean...."It would be interesting to see"? Or, "It's interesting to see how your poor music choices align with your peasant system"? ?

 

For example, @mjb thinks that Norah Jones album is the "gold standard" -- but when you check his system he has a class D amp so female vocal albums probably all sound the same to him.

[Screwdriver]

1 minute ago, GUTB said:

 

For example, @mjb thinks that Norah Jones album is the "gold standard" -- but when you check his system he has a class D amp so female vocal albums probably all sound the same to him.

 

Your kidding, right?

 

[GUTB]

5 minutes ago, Screwdriver said:

 

Your kidding, right?

 

 

Have you had extensive experience with class D?

[kumakuma]

16 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

For example, @mjb thinks that Norah Jones album is the "gold standard" -- but when you check his system he has a class D amp so female vocal albums probably all sound the same to him.

 

I'm pretty sure @mjb was making a joke. Maybe if he'd used Diana Krall you might have gotten it...

[Screwdriver]

36 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

Have you had extensive experience with class D?

 

I have....Stereo and Mono blocks.

 

But you seem to be saying that Norah Jones and Stevie Nicks would sound the same on a Class D amp. 

[jabbr]

38 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

I'm pretty sure @mjb was making a joke. Maybe if he'd used Diana Krall you might have gotten it...

 

Can you reliably distinguish her from Norah Jones on a Class D amp?

 

This is my test album for female vocalists:

https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1120

 

[GUTB]

15 minutes ago, Screwdriver said:

 

I have....Stereo and Mono blocks.

 

But you seem to be saying that Norah Jones and Stevie Nicks would sound the same on a Class D amp. 

 

I have a lot experience with class D amps -- I haven't listened much to the Hypex-based products and I heard a NC-1200 amp at the LA show this year which bears further listening but from what I've owned so far is very underwhelming. All these amps I've owned sounded different, and some were much better than others (D-Sonic was very good in some ways, whereas the Teac integrated was basically unlistenable) but something they all share in common is their inability to render the inner detail / harmonic texture of quality vocals.

 

I'm more of a fan of male vocals, but if I had to pick a gold standard of a female vocal album out of my library, I'd pick this one:

 

[kumakuma]

4 minutes ago, jabbr said:

 

Can you reliably distinguish her from Norah Jones on a Class D amp?

 

This is my test album for female vocalists:

https://www.mackavenue.com/store/mac1120

 

 

I think I'd be okay considering that I've heard this album dozens of times. 

 

Also I don't have GUTB's preconceptions about amps coloring my hearing...

[jabbr]

2 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

I think I'd be okay considering that I've heard this album dozens of times. 

 

Also I don't have GUTB's preconceptions about amps coloring my hearing...

if even you don't get my joke, it must've been bad ...

[kumakuma]

2 minutes ago, jabbr said:

if even you don't get my joke, it must've been bad ...

 

Sorry, I thought you were referencing GUTB's ridiculous statement about female vocalists sounding the same by choosing an artist quite different from Ms. Jones.

[Screwdriver]

3 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

I have a lot experience with class D amps -- I haven't listened much to the Hypex-based products and I heard a NC-1200 amp at the LA show this year which bears further listening but from what I've owned so far is very underwhelming. All these amps I've owned sounded different, and some were much better than others (D-Sonic was very good in some ways, whereas the Teac integrated was basically unlistenable) but something they all share in common is their inability to render the inner detail / harmonic texture of quality vocals.

 

Well....I am off this thread after looking at the one you started on Class D that was a cluster puck of nothing.

 

BTW, why would you troll a thread about what music people listen to? Was it just to bait people into another Class D sucks discussion?

[GUTB]

I picked this up last year at a Record Day sale on a whim which turned out to be exceptional:

 

[jabbr]

5 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

Sorry, I thought you were referencing GUTB's ridiculous statement about female vocalists sounding the same by choosing an artist quite different from Ms. Jones.

Was trying to elliptically redirect toward a vocalist that music loving audiophiles should want to listen to  The other two are very talented of course, but shes a voice.

[kumakuma]

18 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

I have a lot experience with class D amps -- I haven't listened much to the Hypex-based products and I heard a NC-1200 amp at the LA show this year which bears further listening but from what I've owned so far is very underwhelming. All these amps I've owned sounded different, and some were much better than others (D-Sonic was very good in some ways, whereas the Teac integrated was basically unlistenable) but something they all share in common is their inability to render the inner detail / harmonic texture of quality vocals.

 

I'm more of a fan of male vocals, but if I had to pick a gold standard of a female vocal album out of my library, I'd pick this one:

 

 

6 minutes ago, GUTB said:

I picked this up last year at a Record Day sale on a whim which turned out to be exceptional:

 

 

Both wonderful artists and albums.

 

I would also recommend Melody Gardot and Rhiannon Giddens.

 

[kumakuma]

3 minutes ago, jabbr said:

Was trying to elliptically redirect toward a vocalist that music loving audiophiles should want to listen to  The other two are very talented of course, but shes a voice.

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

Rhiannon Giddens (who I mentioned above) also has an amazing set of pipes:

 

 

 

[GUTB]

48 minutes ago, kumakuma said:

 

 

Both wonderful artists and albums.

 

I would also recommend Melody Gardot and Rhiannon Giddens.

 

 

Thanks for the recommendations. Picked up an LP from each via Amazon.

[elcorso]

 

My all time favorite.  Available on CD & LP.  The FIM CD version is the best.

 

 

Roch