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Try a track called "Sad Old Red" from Simply Red's first album. Excellent for most purposes.
I don't know whether to yell, "stone him, stone him!" Or to wish the committee for musical abuse targets you with a predator drone. You can only push us so far before expecting a response.Anything by Fourplay.
I have seen Bohemian Rhapsody on a few lists, I believe that would check most of your boxes. In addition, Steely Dan, Mark Knopfler, Fleetwood Mac, Alan Parsons are know to be very good in studio. Hope that helpsWhat is the track that you folks feel is the best to showcase a system's capability? A track that has to highlight dynamics, subtlety, imaging, soundstage, low, mid and high frequency? In short, what track do you use to impress a fellow audiophile? Dont need multiple answers, just one will do.
Telarc 1812. Get back to me when your system is good enough or just label yourself with a big C.Its really sad to see some people here cant answer a simple question and rather take it a few steps further by acting like smartasses. It was a simple question, and if you do not have the answer to it or feel differently, keep scrolling. Dont have to be Cs and act all smart here. The hifi community is small enough as it is, dont have to be a bunch of Cs to make it smaller.
Funny how you feel superior to others, must be giving you a great sense of security right there. Seen many people like you, all talk no action. You can keep standing in your corner all day long and go pound sand.Telarc 1812. Get back to me when your system is good enough or just label yourself with a big C.
Dead can dance? Or Flight of the Cosmic Hippo?And to other members that actually gave an answer to this simple question, I thank you from the bottom of heart. Ill definitely check out those tracks as its very interesting to compare how people around the world interprete what makes a good sounding track. Its isnt hard to be not an ass, is it?
Ok: Its not a simple question. It's a wrong question. There isn't one single track, all by itself, that will tell you all you need to know about your system.Its really sad to see some people here cant answer a simple question and rather take it a few steps further by acting like smartasses. It was a simple question, and if you do not have the answer to it or feel differently, keep scrolling. Dont have to be Cs and act all smart here. The hifi community is small enough as it is, dont have to be a bunch of Cs to make it smaller.
That's the only recording where I'm scared to play it loud.Telarc 1812. Get back to me when your system is good enough or just label yourself with a big C.
Sure - straight to the main event.Anything by Fourplay.
Some people do like to listen to something new, to something they have not heard before but still want to be impressed. This is not a point of using anything you know as a reference but rather discover new dynamic tracks that can showcase a system's capability. If you want to be stuck to those few songs you know, so be it. I would rather discover amazing tracks that Ive not heard before, hence this post.Ok: Its not a simple question. It's a wrong question. There isn't one single track, all by itself, that will tell you all you need to know about your system.
My serious answer is that the music used for checking out audio gear should be music you already know you want to hear again, music you've already heard more times than you can recall. I'd recommend something like the Ricardo Chailly/RCO recording of Mahler's Third Symphony. It's got all sorts of different instrumental sounds, all sorts of differing dynamics. But the odds are excellent that you haven't heard Mahler's Third Symphony, so you would have no frame of reference. Just bring by the tunes you already know. The point isn't hearing a specialized "test track", it's hearing the kind of music you intend to play anyway. Something unfamiliar will give you no frame of reference.
I don't know whether to yell, "stone him, stone him!" Or to wish the committee for musical abuse targets you with a predator drone. You can only push us so far before expecting a response.
There's no one song... But here are a few, that some smart folks thought would make for good test songs:
https://artoflistening.harman.com/professional-reference-songs
I will add that many Sting recordings are quite worthy (Frigile, Desert Rose, etc.) Englishman in New York might be that one song except for that one ungodly annoying sound that makes me want to claw my ears off my head in the refrain (woop, woop, woop, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUaaarrrgggghhhh!)
The recordings people raved about in 1992 were good for the time, but there are literally millions of better recorded tracks out there to a) demonstate gear in a glowing way and b) hear what a system is capable of.
I had moment of extended dyslexia. When I saw Fourplay for some reason I read Coldplay. OopsYou cannot be remotely serious.
Four of the greatest producers, instrumentalists, artists and luminaries in the field ever? In an ever evolving supergroup, the likes of which the jazz world has never experienced.
So, we have Bob James- his skillset speaks for itself. From the 1960s to now. Always at the bleeding edge of technology and arguably one of the finest composers and jazz pianists in the world. He always embraced the absolute best that technology has to offer. His 1990 Album Grand Piano Canyon was essentially an audition for what was to become Fourplay.
On that album, there was a coterie of the finest session jazz musicians you'd ever see:
James himself
Nathan East
Lee Ritenour
Harvey Mason
Andy Snitzer
Randy Brecker
Dean Brown
Leonard Gibbs
Paulinho Da Costa
Kirk Whalum
All recorded and mixed by Max Risenhoover in pure digital, end to end.
Then came Fourplay the album in 1991, and the rest is smooth jazz history. The most successful jazz group in the history of the world. And why? Because they are perfect. Their music, their production, their musicality and skills and their recordings. Go look at some actual live performances of those guys. Go revel in their incredible skills.
Then we got Larry Carlton on Guitar
And Chuck Loeb (R.I.P.)
Bob James is a living American legend. Look at the utter revere Fourplay is held in in Japan, where they know good music when they hear it. No fake, autotune etc.
Listen and look at this, absolutely incredible. The tightest group on the face of the planet:
I was thinking this was more about "test tracks" for gear. I wouldn't be stuck with only a few tracks myself, I've been a disc jockey for a radio station that didn't require playing from a limited playlist, have worked in stores that sell pre-recorded music for most of my adult years, have been exposed to a lot more music than most people. This also means that a lot of what I'd recommend is older.Some people do like to listen to something new, to something they have not heard before but still want to be impressed. This is not a point of using anything you know as a reference but rather discover new dynamic tracks that can showcase a system's capability. If you want to be stuck to those few songs you know, so be it. I would rather discover amazing tracks that Ive not heard before, hence this post.
Janis Ian's "Breaking Silence" is notable for clear, unprocessed capture of instrumental sounds, mostly acoustic instruments. This track, "Ride Me Like A Wave" has the bass line as a prominent aspect of the mix, the notes go down to the bottom of an electric bass. It's a track that I've found useful for setting up subwoofers, as the bass line should be at pretty much the same level from note to note, and lumpy bass due to the anomalies of room acoustics can have part of the bass line drop out: