Merged thread of demo songs, tracks and CDs

How about any of the Stereophile CDs made for this purpose?

One of them (I forgot which) has the song "Eden" by Corey Greenburg (the guy on the diynetwork channel's Home Theater howto show). He used to (maybe still does) write for audio publications.

Anyway, that song Eden is "interesting". It sounds like really distorted guitar music played backwards.

Oh, one of the very best all-time recordings (IMHO) is the Weaver's Reunion Concert on the 180 gram Analogue Productions pressing. The vocals are simply outstanding, with a "you-are-there" feeling. While listening to it through a really good system, the audience clapping is very 3-dimensional, with a very deep and wide soundstage.

I just discovered that this album is selling for $75 new from Acoustic Sounds!!
 
Parsons is good and also the Sheffield lab test CD .

For Bass and drums-The next revolution in cd technology XRCD. Those Japanease drums are a great workout for a system.

For Jazz- Girl talk , Tsuyoshi Yamamoto trio TBM recordings
Blow up, Isao Suzuki TBM recording
Das mikrofone vol ll, Tacet recording

For classical- Die Rohre-The Tube, Tacet Recording

Rock- The Wall, MFSL recording

Vocals- Patricia Barber Companion XRCD FIM recording.

There are more but these seem to be my favorites.
 
Diana Krall's When I Look in Your Eyes is absolutely magical!

The song "I've Got You Under My Skin" is great. I was just looking at the liner notes and it says she used a Neumann microphone. I think that is one of the reasons her voice sounds so natural.

Another reason this is such a great recording is that it was mastered by Doug Sax who is one of the founders of Sheffield Labs, the people that did those great direct-to-disc records.

This CD is a must have if for no other reason than to see how good a recording can be.
 
our current (comedy) test track is "the shen" by the isreali psy-trance band "infected mushroom". eight and a half minutes of crazyness- if your system can handle the deep, fast bass, insane left/right steering and dynamics of the piece you'll collapse in fits of giggles due to the otherwise sheer awfulness of the track.
Hard to explain it really- a lot of beats per minute but really well produced- i hate the music but as a demonstation of the speed and dynamics of a system its excellent.

:D
 
One that has recently become an all-time classic for me:

Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey: Water, Live at Glastonbury 1995. Off the Send his Love to Me single, from the album To Bring You My Love.

I'm a big fan of Polly and I found a copy of this just before Christmas. That was the concert where she walked on stage in a neon-pink catsuit, black Wonderbra and full 'vamp' makeup. Oh boy, how I'd love a recording of the full concert. They do exist, but are tricky to get hold of. This is straight from the mixing desk so the scale and energy is enormous, the group is on top form and Polly... never heard anything like her. How that tiny, desperately shy girl from Dorset transformed into a genuinely frightening stage-presence is staggering. Her vocal range is huge, all the way from lost little teenage girl through to insomniac, manic-depressive banshee with laryngitis. On a decent setup she should be firmly centre stage, the band hanging further back, with the crowd out of phase reflecting off the side and rear walls. You need very rapid response from the speakers or Polly and the bass-guitar will sound slightly slow or choked. If you hear this and you're not shaking afterward though, check to see if you have a pulse. Then consider a new set of speakers as a matter of urgency.

Cheers
Scott
 
I fully agree with Scottmoose.. PJ harvey is a genuine test..of the hardware. Onna less than 'good' system She sounds just Awfull.. noise and screeching mostly, but on a decent setup she has a lovely voice.
Not a lot of point in using some recording that sounds good even on a MP3 in yer pocket.