^^^yep; dealers can use perfect recordings that show stuff off, but if it has nothing to do with what you listen to, AND you donāt get to compare using those same tracks elsewhere, then what is the point.
Tracks you know, are the best to listen to.
you know how they sound.
You are familiar with what you want from themā¦
And, ā¦
when they sound so much better than anytime you have heard them beforeā¦ then you know you are on to something good. (system wise)
Some might argue that auditory memory is shortā¦
but when instruments youāve never heard before magically reveal themselves, or āan extra lyricā pops up,ā¦ (or a muffled lyric becomes clear!); then you are on the right path.
My tracks?;
started with the albums I grew up with (my early CDs if you will), stuff like Pink Floyd Momentary Lapse of Reason.
The opening track has a soundstage and is great for listening to room setup/interactionā¦ I must admit I overkilled this album, personally, and stopped using it around fifteen years ago. (too many great systems I had heard it on, so it is hard for me to eclipse thoseā¦ āIāve had my zenith with this trackā)
So, using specific tracks for aspects of sound:
Inches of Darkness - T.J Eckleberg - in part because I love this trackā¦ but it has vocal nuance, and the drumming at the start tells me about how the system renders into the space of the room (can it throw back beyond the front wall?)
Devil will Ride - Gomez - apparently and āelectronicā band; this album has some complex layering, and some easy partsā¦ the dynamics and the effects offer a few aspects āon my list of checksā all in one great song.
State of the Art - Gotye - not on my list, although if I was building a new list, this one would be. listening to it is self explanatory. It is a system test track of incredible quality. (to be fair, if I am doing Gotye, as I do when testing a system, it is always the track āThanks for your timeā.)
Suzanne Vega - Fat Man and Dancing Girl - this one is hard to know how it proves a system as a pass or fail affairā¦ once you have heard it play on āone of eachā (a dynamic system and one with āno lifeā= āwall of soundā/fatiguing and horribleā¦ )on a great system this is a beautiful render. Personally if I were playing Vega, Iād have a tonne of tracks to run with. (discipline)
it is easy to have a hit list for female vocal and that will depend on who you like.
Many go with Alison Krauss/Diana Krall/Norah Jones/Sade/Tori Amos/Kate Bush etcā¦
If I want a simple piano piece and it is āhome auditionā it is Tori Amos - Yes, Anastasia
Iād recommend something live; the audience setup and listening to a large theatre space can be a great reference to understand if a system can place you āinā the crowd.
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Nirvana - Unplugged
Rock:
Dire Straits - Private Investigations - offers phase shifting guitars and, well ,ā¦ much rock. (not all amps do rock well, so this is worth being able to tick off the list; phase shifting effects should roll out across the listening space. Hifi is about hearing this stuff hit the back wall and āwith powerā)
Sting - Hounds of Winter or Brand New Day (depending on your emotional tilt)
male vocals should be on your list (just like you will develop a preference for a favourite female artist or so, need to do male vocals as well). I myself like some Crowded House - (any track off Woodface just about does it for me)
Studio mastered for the massesā¦ Michael Jackson is an easy one hereā¦ (Iād go tracks from Black or White, eg āRemember the Timeā)
Jamiroquai - A Funk Odyssey - starting with the first track is a great way to show off the system to friends (it is a slow build that doesnāt reveal how loud the hifi is), but Little L or any liked track is a good listen.
Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (most people go with),ā¦ although I go with a later album, and the song āHarder Better Faster Strongerā
Some soundtracks that have diversity and are enjoyable:
City of Angels
O Brother Where Art Thou
Go
Blues Brothers
Blues Brothers 2000 (the last track is a veritable whosā who of blues)
For my orchestral fix (the hardest genre to reproduce); I like to get a little trickyā¦
nothing especially brilliant ( I have many friends into classical as a genre and Iād not want to pretend Iād know which are GREAT recordings)ā¦ but London Philharmonic doing Pink Floyd tracks is a great listenā¦
As is the New Zealand Symphonic Orchestra (?) performing āENzsoā (songs of Split Ends)
again,ā¦ build your own list.
Desert island discs for me are things like
Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club (any track is great and there is diversity / a āfewā go to tracks that give me what I wantā¦ āWe do what we canā (/āWhat i can do for youā, āI Shall Believeā
R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (you can find your own tracks on this albumā¦)
Joan Osbourne - Relish
Get something with some chorusing/choral.
I have a band called Aka a capella,ā¦ and I love every track
Sometimes a favorited artist will layer vocals in their tracks (eg Tori Amos - Suede), although my favourite album is āBoys for Peleā (and it has a range of recorded spaces); and how a system or component can free up those voices (or clump them together) shouldnāt be down to individual preference- try to hear them on a top tier/reference setup so you know how it should sound
To be fair this is why some of the best equipment critics I know are adamant that people should get out and see Operas/Orchestral presentations. (and buy me tickets, Yay!)
One last, and certainly not least: if I want other people to hear what i am playing; Iād probably go with
1 Giant Leap - first or second albumā¦
āWhat About Meā (second project) has so many excellent tracksā¦
^^If I had to live with one album, THIS would be on that shortlist^^
I would have a tonne more, but as I said,ā¦ reference and high quality recordings is only a part of the equationā¦
listening to what you WANT to listen to is probably most important.
Having five favourite test tracks that cover a few aspectsā¦ (ie soundstage/dynamics/male&female vocals/instrument timbre etc) is ultimately why we have select test tracks.
Know what you like and find tracks that highlight those traits in meaningful waysā¦ and then make your own shortlist
I use less than ten.
(and try to listen to whole albums once I get the equipment homeā¦ ātry toā as when we have new kit and are excited to hear how it handles XXXXX, and XXXXX, we start to get in DJ land, with small piles of discs being rotated quickly)
smiles with~