Recommended Listening & Viewing
I queried a bunch of folks I know in the industry to find out what they use as source material for selecting and evaluating gear. Really, this isn't an original thought by any means - in fact, I'd been toying with the idea for ages. However, a customer told me that it was sorely lacking on our page, and that's incentive enough for me to get my butt in gear. So here ya go, Garrett!
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Chris Smith McIntosh Labs Eastern Region Director of Sales |
Musical Tasting – The Idea: This idea was developed and track listing created as a tool for use during dealer events. I wanted to allow listeners to focus on music rather than the electronics. The music was chosen to show differences in recording techniques and how that impacts imaging, dynamics, and the recreation of the recording environment. The process is to play all of the tracks as a script to help sleuth out the performance capability of a given system. Starting with the first track each subsequent track will sound more realistic, open, and dynamic – especially on a McIntosh system!
Musical Tasting – The Menu: Artist: Jamie Lidell; Album: Multiply; Track: Multiply (#2) – This is a really interesting story about a soul singer who developed a process to record all of the backing accompaniment in to a computer program where the “band” could be assembled and controlled by a single individual in a live setting. The name “Multiply” is a play on the fact that any given performance is effectively just multiple tracks of Jamie Lidell. When listening to Multiply it is easy to hear the cleanliness and accuracy of the recordings. With that said, all of the tracks are a bit clinical or dry and despite hearing the emotion in the singing, that feeling is lacking in the instruments. Artist: Gomez; Album: How We Operate; Track: How We Operate (#3) – Gomez is a British rock band that has been making and releasing albums since 1998 with over a dozen releases to their credit. This track starts off with simple parts that begin to layer and build. Through the first 90 seconds the sound remains clean and uncompressed. At roughly the 1:40 mark the remainder of the band joins in and the immediate issue is the compression that has been applied to the recording. The dynamic range is very limited as most of the levels for the tracks seem to have been pushed to the limit. This is a great way to hear what compression can do to an otherwise great recording. Up to that point there is a “life” to the instruments not found in the Jamie Lidell album. Artist: Beck; Album: Sea Change; Track: Lonesome Tears (#4) – Possibly the best Beck album! The CD is great, the SACD is better, the vinyl is amazing. The music is very somber but the emotional connection cannot be ignored. Unlike the Gomez track where the layering eventually becomes compressed, most tracks on Sea Change do a great job of creating a very diverse and textured soundscape that doesn’t fall apart under pressure. While a studio album through and through there has been attention paid to the presentation and placement of each instrument and effect. While “spatial” there is no sense of the recording environment. Artist: Buena Vista Social Club; Album: Buena Vista Social Club; Track: Chan Chan (#1) – In 1996 Ry Cooder was invited to Cuba to perform and record with a variety of local musicians. The band was named after a famous members club in Havana from the 1940’s. The recording space was EGREM studios in Havana which has remained unchanged since 1950 and the quality of the recording conveys the sonic character of the space. There is palpable air around each instrument and it is easily appreciated when listening to the percussion. The sound stage is wide and deep with a trumpet solo shortly after 2:30 that seems to be off to the right about three to six feet back. While the singing is in Spanish this album proves that music is a universal language as the connection and tone are beautiful. Artist: Various Artists; Album: Isomike 2005b; Track: Male Quintet Test B (#9) – Isomike is a recording product and technique developed by Ray Kimber of Kimber Kable. The Isomike device resembles a large heart-shaped (or egg-shaped) piece of foam that separates each of four microphones. The rig is then hoisted in to the rafters of a performance hall. These recordings were made in the Austad Auditorium at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. All recordings are left untouched, unlimited, and then direct to disc (CD & SACD) and have an amazing dynamic range (the ability to switch from a whisper to a shout). Listen to Tminus5 (Male Quintet) as they are standing on the stage and the overall range of their volume as they return from each refrain.
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Jonathan Derda Peachtree Audio Ambassador of Awesome |
Great HiFi is a time machine, a transporter, and the ultimate legal mood enhancer. The goal is to forget,at least for a moment, that you're just listening to two speakers and some electronics cobbled together with some wire. If you're not getting lost in your music then your system probably needs a tune up. These are some of the tracks I use to evaluate if a system is up to snuff.
Artist / Album / Song Title
Air / Talkie Walkie / Run
The track opens with a challenging low bass note that can cause weak speakers and subs to chuff and distort.
About a minute fifteen, an ambient sounding chorus should envelop you, the sound extends well beyond the speakers.
You should have this kind of reaction: "I hear the needle drop on Air's "Run" from Talkie Walkie. It's a song I've never heard (kind of fell off Air after overusing Moon Safari considerably), but one that I'm now listening to all the time. Because, with all honesty, I have never heard anything like that song played on that stereo system at that moment. Ever." gizmodo.com "Why We Need Audiophiles"
The Beatles / Love / While My Guitar Gently Weeps
George Harrison. An acoustic guitar. The LSO symphony.
This is a remaster for the Cirque show Love, done by George Martin and his son Giles at Abbey Road studios.
George's voice and guitar should sound vintage and warm. You should be able to hear the guitar's body resonate.
The very best systems make George sound like he is in the room.
James Blake / James Blake / The Wilhelm Scream
A young twenty something artist from England that loves soul music but is known for producing club worthy dub step. On his debut album he merges these two very different genres into that rare "I've never heard anything like this before" sound. The Wilhelm scream has really punchy bass, a killer soundstage, and just enough going on to keep you from realizing the whole song is a repeated chorus. If you want to test the low end response of your system play "Limit To Your Love".
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole / Alone in IZ World / Over the Rainbow
A poorly tuned system destroys the magical qualities of this track. IZ's voice should be ethereal, breathy, not bright. This song is going to make your wife / gf / etc. either really happy or make her choke up. Don't be surprised if you end up getting "the better speakers" after playing this song.
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Chuck Hinton McIntosh Labs Tech Support |
Stockfisch Records - Chris Jones " No Sanctuary Here" First 7 minutes of Disney's BOLT Monkeys Typing - "Intelligent Design" |
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Ron Lilley AudioQuest Regional Sales Manager |
Herbie Hancock "Possibilities" from 2006. Its herbie and a bunch of other artists (ie, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, Sting) who work with him on one track each. Very well recorded, I believe grammy nominated as well. David Gray "white Ladder" from 2000. Simple singer songwriter stuff, excellent bottom end The Who "Endless Wire" from 2006. Several real "Who-like" classic rockers but much better recorded than yesteryear, plus a couple nice acoustic duets as well. |
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Kevin Zarow Marantz VP of Sales & Marketing |
"Transformers" on Blu-ray Rush "R30" on Blu-ray Junior Wells "Come on in this House" on SACD Jennifer Warnes "The Hunter" on CD Megadeath "Countdown to Extinction" on 180gram Vinyl Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" on 180gram Vinyl or SACD |
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Michael Sheehan B&W Group Support Tech |
"Not much of a video guy myself, I do like the Digital Video Essentials discs though for video calibration. If you knew what prescription my contacts were for, you'd know why I'm not much for video! For movies, I used to use the first scene in "Gladiator" because it had quite a bit of surround effects in the center back channels, so when 6.1/7.1 was the new fad that disc was a good one to really hear your surround channels." |
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Joe Skubinski JPS Labs El Presidente
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"Honestly, in evaluating any audio playback gear, I like to use a mix of my favorite tracks. I have burned 4 CD's with around 50 tunes total, each has specific characteristics that over time you get know very well coming from many different angles if played on various systems and designs. The music is a constant, the gear a variable. Say you've been listing to this one Ricky Lee Jones track for twenty-some years-- you kinda get to know it well. If there is a component or system that allows you any greater insight into this track, it would be novel. If less insight, then not so novel.
For example, if a certain track tends to cause tweeters to sympathetically ring, where you can hear the material it's dome is made from, then finding an excellent tweeter subjectively becomes a function not only of resolution but also smoothness throughout it's band, so a mix of tracks must be used to hear all possible break-up modes from a given tweeter. Certain guitar or piano tracks can rip a poorly designed loudspeaker apart in the highs, while others play through them no problem with all the natural string cues and harmonics intact in proper proportion.
The same could be said of any new music or format that allows you to realize a specific detail in something that you could not subjectively evaluate with any other source.
Some music is very good at bringing out loudspeaker limitations, some amplifier, etc. Once those limitations are 'fully understood' within a given system, which takes years, it becomes easy to evaluate any component or cable change.
So, to answer your question, "give me three things you like using when evaluating components"...
- My ear/brian combo which has been conditioned over many years,
- My ability to subjectively and objectively deduce the source and cause of subtle change,
- The highest resolution source material available with known flaws, which invoke the same from the device under test."
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Def Tech Sales Manager |
"Generally for my own personal use I find myself going back to a couple of Dianna Krall tracks, some of the subtle nuances in "I'm through with love" can be very telling. Also, I have a Taiko track featuring Eitetsu Hayashi that I have become very familiar with and often times find myself going back to for speaker evaluation.....great for speed and dynamics. Another personal favorite is Oscar Peterson: Have you met Miss Jones.....You can hear him ever so subtly whispering the track under his breath as he plays....very subtle and on a good system it is like he's right in front of you. OK, and Fairfield Four: These Bones." |
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Rob Robinson Channel D Mastermind |
"Hmmm... if you mean recommended listening. A few might be hard to find. All of this is from the vinyl issue, I don't know if the CD remasters (if available) are the same...
Perfect Disaster / Heaven Scent (Father, Where WIll You Go With Me, Little Sister) |
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Eric McBride B&W Group Custom Theater Specialist & Service Supervisor |
Below are some Blue Ray tracks that I use when calibrating our Theaters (CT-800 Theater, Diamond Theater, etc….) Harts War- Track 14 (Plane Crash) – This track truly tests how dynamic your theater is. The scene is only a couple minutes so it makes a great demo. Kung Fu Panda- Track 10 (Prison Escape) – This track is a bit long but at least you can use it as a family friendly demo. Great track to test envelopment and whether your rear channels are calibrated correctly. Behind Enemy Lines- Track 16 (Minefield) – Another great track to test how dynamic your Theater is. The beginning of the track is quiet with various background noises and then all of a sudden Boom!!!!!! RUSH (LIVE) “Snakes and Arrows”- De Slagwerker – Neil Peart drum solo… Enough said…. Chris Botti (Live at Boston Symphony Hall) - Track 8 – Katharine McPhee…. Enough said…. |
