I have a CD of the Minneapolis Orchestra, Rachmaninoff "Symphonic Dances, Etudes..." (Reference Recordings RR-96CD) which has quite an assortment of percussive instruments and can reveal mods which can really clog up the listening experience.
Wondering what those more "skilled in the art" are using to audition or show off their systems.
Jack
Wondering what those more "skilled in the art" are using to audition or show off their systems.
Jack
I'm not skilled in the art, but if you like modern jazz music, the SACD (or hi-res digital) "New York Reunion" by McCoy Tyner on Chesky Records is one of those recordings that can sound really excellent on a clean, dynamic system, and absolutely ghastly on a poor system. It was engineered by Bob Katz and is meant to be a 'natural room sound' kind of recording of a jazz quartet (tenor saxophone, piano, bass viol, drumset). Of course if you are not familiar with or don't like modern jazz music then it may not work for you.
By this do you mean when someone else is listening to your system? Not what you use to test your system?
1. Famous Blue Raincoat. Birds on a Wire and Joan of Arc.
2. Ella and Louis. Any song.
3. Capriccio Italien. Cincinnati Pops. Eric Kunzel. Telarc.
4. Take Five. Any song.
5. Saint Saens. Organ symphony. San Francisco symphony. Jean Gillou.
There’s lots more. Hope to see some good ones from others. That Rachmaninoff RR one is fantastic.
2. Ella and Louis. Any song.
3. Capriccio Italien. Cincinnati Pops. Eric Kunzel. Telarc.
4. Take Five. Any song.
5. Saint Saens. Organ symphony. San Francisco symphony. Jean Gillou.
There’s lots more. Hope to see some good ones from others. That Rachmaninoff RR one is fantastic.
Strunz & Farah "Primal Magic"
Take your pick.
Mariah Cary, "Mariah Cary"
"The Healer" John Lee / Carlos
I always drop Pink Floyd "Dark side of the Moon" just for reference with LPs.
If I'm showing off, I usually ask them what they like. I'm good from Caribbean, Rap, Hip Hop, Rock and Roll, County Western
Classical guitar, Indian, anything but Yoko Ono. Adele makes me want to take a mood elevator.
Take your pick.
Mariah Cary, "Mariah Cary"
"The Healer" John Lee / Carlos
I always drop Pink Floyd "Dark side of the Moon" just for reference with LPs.
If I'm showing off, I usually ask them what they like. I'm good from Caribbean, Rap, Hip Hop, Rock and Roll, County Western
Classical guitar, Indian, anything but Yoko Ono. Adele makes me want to take a mood elevator.
But there are many recordings issued with those pieces. I would think the recording does matter.
If you think about it, judging your system with music you like is probably not the smartest thing.
Music you like, music you have an emotional bond with, will cloud your objective judgement of the reproduction.
jan
In general, what I hear is that for orchestra recordings, the distorsion/resolution seem to have been improved the last 10 years compared to the "great days". I guess that many think that recent recording has become dull and flat. My analysis of this is that many have "tuned" their systems to make the "old" recordings sound good. This means that one probably have "spiff up" as well as "tuned down" the reproduction in some aspects so that when a really clean and dynamic recording comes along, it will sound ... not so fun. Also I hear critics that the acoustics is not as good as the old Decca etc recordings. Well, when no compression is used, one need to replay the recording at original level in order to hear the room contribution - not many stereo owner has the luxury to do that when it comes to neighbour relations and even fewer has a system where this is possible without severe distorsion.
Thesis: The recording quality has actually risen the last 10 years but the experienced reproduction situation has deteriorated. Reason: old gear + non understanding neighbours.
A lot of good music is recorded many years ago but can't of course be neglected just due to this - there are many fine and enjoyable tracks - which my test tracks list testifies to...
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/d13391d9-82ec-44ac-8e02-363bf4a21044
//
Thesis: The recording quality has actually risen the last 10 years but the experienced reproduction situation has deteriorated. Reason: old gear + non understanding neighbours.
A lot of good music is recorded many years ago but can't of course be neglected just due to this - there are many fine and enjoyable tracks - which my test tracks list testifies to...
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/d13391d9-82ec-44ac-8e02-363bf4a21044
//
Hi Jan,
Agree, recording does matter but those albums all are at an appreciably high level. With regard to not using music you like, it is the opposite. I know that music very well, I like it and I can judge it very well. I am not so intoxicated by it that I cannot function. It has worked well for me. There are many other songs that I listen to also and I’m not going to listen to bad music or music I don’t enjoy just to judge my system.
I'm probably an oddity as I use a range of music for different purposes. I usually start with something mono, maybe sinatra, maybe an old decca LXT as it tells me if something is majorly wrong. If the mono image is as I expect then I try something with a mix that is chunked up so the tracks lay out like a patchword quilt. Various pop music does this and I chose eurythmics due to familiarity. If that passes I spin 'redbird' as a very simple 2 track recording as a final imaging check.
Then I go for something complex. Call me odd but I tend to like 'killed by death' by Motorhead. If you can pull that mix apart at a decent level then things are going in the right direction.
Then I finish off with some organ music will some deep pedal notes.
If all good on the above then I just randomly bung something on.
My wife thinks I am a little odd...
Then I go for something complex. Call me odd but I tend to like 'killed by death' by Motorhead. If you can pull that mix apart at a decent level then things are going in the right direction.
Then I finish off with some organ music will some deep pedal notes.
If all good on the above then I just randomly bung something on.
My wife thinks I am a little odd...