Saint Saens, 3rd Symphony, Munch, Boston SO, Bartok, Concerto for Orchestra, Reiner, Chicago SO: two excellent recordings that I've lived with for 35 years.
Mark Knopfler / Chet Atkins "Neck and Neck", Randy Newman "Faust", Lyle Lovett "Joshua Judges Ruth" : all very good studio recordings that can be listened to multiple times before the brain explodes (important at the tweaking stage).
...various Pink Floyd, Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel,Cooder, Taj Mahal...familiarity reigns.
Mark Knopfler / Chet Atkins "Neck and Neck", Randy Newman "Faust", Lyle Lovett "Joshua Judges Ruth" : all very good studio recordings that can be listened to multiple times before the brain explodes (important at the tweaking stage).
...various Pink Floyd, Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel,Cooder, Taj Mahal...familiarity reigns.
Hey, a lot of old-timers here and familiar old favourites.
I agree with the basic point long-familiarity being the key but really old recordings just don't have the quality ultimately.
Don't laugh, but for bass, I have an old favourite "performance" from around 1960: the bass sweep band 300-20 repeated many times made by Popular Science. I've heard that sweep thousands of times since.
Howard Hanson, Telarc, Holst's Band Suites. Incredible loud bass drum, sax, all the brass in the world. I think it is band 6 that has an orchestral anvil. Each improvement in my treble makes it sound more metalic and there's no way to fudge the upper upper treble and sound metalic.
Anybody think of another piece with an anvil?
I gotta say, on psych-theoretical grounds and from experience, I can't understand the assessment value of a blast of pink noise? Always sounds like random noise to me. Maybe a system has to have terrible peaks for pink noise to sound different on that system? But Olive and Toole rate it highly as discriminative in their listening tests with naive listeners. Puzzling to me.
I agree with the basic point long-familiarity being the key but really old recordings just don't have the quality ultimately.
Don't laugh, but for bass, I have an old favourite "performance" from around 1960: the bass sweep band 300-20 repeated many times made by Popular Science. I've heard that sweep thousands of times since.
Howard Hanson, Telarc, Holst's Band Suites. Incredible loud bass drum, sax, all the brass in the world. I think it is band 6 that has an orchestral anvil. Each improvement in my treble makes it sound more metalic and there's no way to fudge the upper upper treble and sound metalic.
Anybody think of another piece with an anvil?
I gotta say, on psych-theoretical grounds and from experience, I can't understand the assessment value of a blast of pink noise? Always sounds like random noise to me. Maybe a system has to have terrible peaks for pink noise to sound different on that system? But Olive and Toole rate it highly as discriminative in their listening tests with naive listeners. Puzzling to me.
Last edited:
I can picture A-B'ing with pink noise. That's comparative.
But I can't imagine screwing the back panel on a box late one night, turning on pink noise, and then saying, "Gosh, that's really good (or right or something)." That involves a judgment of what pink noise "really" sounds like and remembering it - despite all the problems with that kind of subjective memory.
LOL we wouldn't expect any other colour Al. A pinkmouse listening to white noise just wouln't be right!
but yes, I'm sure I remember David Weems suggesting that listening to an unturned TV channel was a very useful for evaluating speakers, unfortunately I can't remember exactly what it tested Tony.
But pink noise can sometimes tell you what's wrong. I have some minimonitors on hand that got a rave review in one of the high end magazines. Music sounded OK through them, but with something not quite right. Pink noise immediately pinpointed the problem- the woofer and tweeter were clearly audible as separate sources!
Don't know but as I heard it, this recording of the 9th set the parameter for Sony of how long each disc had to play. It had to be long enough to get this (or another Von Karajan recording) of the 9th on a single disc because it was the most popular classical recording in Japan. It also had to be small enough for the player to fit into the space of a standard car radio/cassette player in an automobile. I guess that was the best technology developed at the time and why the 44.1KBPS standard was developed. Phillips I think was their partner in it. So if you're unhappy and believe this is not adequate (I think it is excellent and good enough for any music) then this at least may be the reason why.
Member
Joined 2003
I find it helpful as an audibility check for different polar response implementations. Try moving up, down, and around the room with one speaker playing pink noise.
Ah, another good use. Thanks. Well again, kind of a comparative "yes/no" measure once again as you move into and out of an iso-contour.
But can just listening to pink noise be informative as an absolute judgment?
Member
Joined 2003
When I demonstrated concrete speakers I used this record. It recreated in my living room a huge cathedral with ancient organ and contrabas made by Amati himself, very realistically.
http://www.amazon.com/Gary-Karr-Ada...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1306709449&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Gary-Karr-Ada...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1306709449&sr=8-1
Guns And Roses "Use Your Ilusion" I and II
First, I love them;
Second, the sound is like pink noise - full frequency band, all type of bass drums in different songs, female back vocals in the background, several guitars, drummer in a frenzy with the cymbals from time to time...
It will set light at any not well aligned crossover, it will bring up room echoes, valleys and peaks in the response.
Most systems fail with GNR!
Additionally allot of 30 and sub 30 hz content on relatively low level, if the system is not flat to 30 hz, this would be exposed.
Next in the test is Nicolo Paganini "Capricci" - pretty unbearable on speakers that are not flat or have any anomalies.
Classical music, JSB, Rossini, Gershwin.
Michael Bolton - very specific voice and very good records with lots of well recorded low frequencies.
Paco Delucia.
The Troggs.
And there is a theory according to which speakers should be tested with unfamiliar music material.
First, I love them;
Second, the sound is like pink noise - full frequency band, all type of bass drums in different songs, female back vocals in the background, several guitars, drummer in a frenzy with the cymbals from time to time...
It will set light at any not well aligned crossover, it will bring up room echoes, valleys and peaks in the response.
Most systems fail with GNR!
Additionally allot of 30 and sub 30 hz content on relatively low level, if the system is not flat to 30 hz, this would be exposed.
Next in the test is Nicolo Paganini "Capricci" - pretty unbearable on speakers that are not flat or have any anomalies.
Classical music, JSB, Rossini, Gershwin.
Michael Bolton - very specific voice and very good records with lots of well recorded low frequencies.
Paco Delucia.
The Troggs.
And there is a theory according to which speakers should be tested with unfamiliar music material.
DSO Gustav Mahler Symphony No 3. Especially the first movement. I tune the amp to just hear the very low notes at the beginning and keep my fingers off the volume knob as this recording exploits full dynmic range. You will need some decent bass as midwoofer based speakers are driven to distortion without sub or bass box. There is lots of detail and texture in shorter following movements inculding contralto and boys choir pieces.
I have an organ record with a band with organ chimes. With poor treble, you don't hear them at all - practically like an on-off switch. Michael Murray at the Ruffatti Organ in San Francisco.
Another fun test piece is a recording of music boxes that KLH (??) produced just for such purposes long ago.
BTW, not sure everybody can tell when a drum is playing on a system with strong bass to 50 Hz or to 25 Hz - the ear fills in fundamental tones quite invisibly and, to the ear, quite convincingly. No kidding. Before you say "This record has 30 Hz notes on it...." make sure you've SEEN those notes on a real-time spectrum analyzer.
Another fun test piece is a recording of music boxes that KLH (??) produced just for such purposes long ago.
BTW, not sure everybody can tell when a drum is playing on a system with strong bass to 50 Hz or to 25 Hz - the ear fills in fundamental tones quite invisibly and, to the ear, quite convincingly. No kidding. Before you say "This record has 30 Hz notes on it...." make sure you've SEEN those notes on a real-time spectrum analyzer.
Last edited:
So many to choose from.
Bass - Cream - White room, kick drum and floor tom should separate like they're in the room, natural tone and beater rubbing sounds.
Mids - Beatles - Here comes the sun, the instrumental refrain has synths climbing the octaves and should sound related in tone, level and location.
Placement - was listening to Led Zep - No Quarter today. Artificial placement but good separation, one shouldn't affect another.
Bass - Cream - White room, kick drum and floor tom should separate like they're in the room, natural tone and beater rubbing sounds.
Mids - Beatles - Here comes the sun, the instrumental refrain has synths climbing the octaves and should sound related in tone, level and location.
Placement - was listening to Led Zep - No Quarter today. Artificial placement but good separation, one shouldn't affect another.
a sample in no order
Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound; title track, Cannonball
clean and tight "produced"
Bobby McFerrin - Spontaneous Inventions; Thinkin' about your body, Turtle Shoes
demanding body music, unlike anything else I have
Melissa Etheridge - Brave and Crazy; title track
funky beat and powerful vocal
Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound; title track, Cannonball
clean and tight "produced"
Bobby McFerrin - Spontaneous Inventions; Thinkin' about your body, Turtle Shoes
demanding body music, unlike anything else I have
Melissa Etheridge - Brave and Crazy; title track
funky beat and powerful vocal
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.