CDs for equipment demos

[posfai]

It's all a matter of taste I guess, but I've been playing these a lot:

Lights (The Listening)
The Who (My generation, US compilation: Won't get fooled again, preferably)
Keb' Mo (Keb Mo)
Loudon Wainright III (Strange Weirdos)

All make good demo sessions IMHO. I suppose the danger is that you play your fave tracks and they sound great on any system. But I think a new system should make you want to strut around, or weep depending on track, if you play your faves. Otherwise, stick with what you've got.

[AmDismal]

This is quite a cool album:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mino-Cinelu/...2179362&sr=8-2


It's quite percussion-based, but musically more interesting than most such stuff (i.e. it has other instruments, tunes and singing!), but it has astonishing dynamics and bass. The second track is my favourite for demos

[halvis]

Bebel Gilberto - Tanto Tempo (very textured and layered recording), on Ziriguiboom (great name)
new James Blake album - (for frequency extremes)
White Stripes - Elephant (to see if it rocks)
CC Adcock - Lafayette Marquis (to see if it makes you reach for the volume), especially Stealin All Day
Anything by Serge Gainsborough - to see if it makes you wanna take the wife upstairs

[bencat]

If I could only use a single CD for this then it would be

Cassandra Wilson - Belly of the Sun .

This as well as being a great piece of music and in my opinion one of the great singers it is also well recorded. It has an image that will show you if your equipment can make those speakers dissapear . On Witchita Lineman the feeling of this group and singer being in your room with you is very strong. There is well recorded acoustic guitar and bass on a number of tracks plus piano and that deep resonant voice which is like being covered in dark an luxurious chocolate.
Added to this there are a couple of tracks which were recorded in the baggage truck on a US to Canada Train which will contrast with the other studio recordings and if your equipment is capable of it give you a real sense of the acoustic space.

[AlmaAtaKZ]

I use a small number of discs year in and year out because they do the job for any system.

A Perfect Circle - The noose from Thirteenth step. Its Metal but a different kind than you think.
Very few system can handle the dynamics of this track, the bass (strong 20-30 Hz notes) and reproduce the distorted guitar in the fortissimo with full resolution. I have heard 3 system coping with this track at a proper levels, no more.

Then some famous choir

Cantate Domino - Propius 7762
Track 9 - It starts with a solo voice and if you haven't heard this track before you set the level based on that. Then your whole system brakes apart when the choir joins in. Typical, you´ll hear the solo voice will distort in a very apparent way.
This album is recorded with original dynamics and few system can hadle it in a realistic way. It can go from 50 dB to 120 in just a second.

The four seasons - BIS 275

It is recorded inthe most crystal clear manner with instruments tuned to original tuning. A little lighter than normal. Performance is top level as the sound. Very fast transients, very dynamic and super resolution.
I could feel a wind blowing when the cello played hard, oops! Yes this was a horn system with two horn subwoofers, 1000 liter boxes each!!!

Sometimes I also use The Mapleshade sampler that has a number of great tracks recorded in the best manner ever.

cheers
Michael

Like that approach!

[ncdrawl]

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread...20#post1228220

[bencat]

Having spent a large part of this weekend getting started on ripping all my CD's to Hard Drive for use with my new SBT I have come across a few additional CD's that can help .

Two that can prove very useful are Ry Cooder - Bop Till You Drop (original CD ) and Ry Cooder The UFO has landed - Rhino Records compilation . All of the music on the compilation is excellent and shows off both the different styles that Ry has tackled through his career and many of them recorded very simply and with highly skilled musicians.

However the very useful thing about having both Cd's is that there are some tracks on the compilation that are from Bop Till You Drop and they have been remastered by Ry Cooders son from the original master tapes (as this was the first popular album all digitally recorded and mixed think it was on to video tape)
If your equipment can not tell the difference then there is most certianly something not right . Worth it for the music but helpful in set up as well.

[Ed Howarth]

I tend to use just a handful of tracks:

Led Zep Since I've Been Loving You. Can sound so fast whilst being such a slow song. There are silences and peaks, and the voice is soooo close. When I play it to friends and the Jews harp plays a single "dwaaaang" on the left, I see their eyes open wide.

Santana. First track from Abraxas, Singing Winds, Crying Beasts. Only a short track but it's a real test. The crispness shows through all the complicated stuff in the background. I believe Santana put in a lot on getting the quality of sound right on this album and it really shows. It puts me on the edge of my seat.

Chantel McGregor. (Been a favourite of mine for a couple of years). Daydream (by Robin Trower) and Help Me. Simple, crisp electric blues. Solid sound stage, with vocals so lifelike and in the centre of the room. And there is a miniscule amount of mains hum on the effects pedal (I assume) on Help Me, which I find just right - strangely.

Pink Floyd, Echos. I just know it so well.

Patrick Moraz, Out in the Sun. Or maybe The Story of I. Or both. South American rhythms and layers and layers of prog stuff. Very demanding.

[gingembre]

[QUOTE=Chumpy;969576]Take along something you do not like/play it - apologise. Go home, put on something you like, enjoy until you need to replace CDp.[/

Ha!

[lowendall]

i wonder if this is a very personal thing , but prehaps one you might consider is a test cd , studio spares,uk sell it not sure of the name , any way it has good basic very short recordings of instruments and sections in solo mode, i dont actually think the recordings are all that good, but i would say will give you a quick referance and easy change over for the full range of instruments you might like to test you systems with , .

it also has some test tones etc. and historical performance /train noises ihave just sold a nice dat machine that i had a few basic recordings done on to it just a couple of mics, cheap things at that but recorder at 20 bit 48k samples it to my ears made recordings much better than a lot of commercial cds,

this was also good to get a evauation for a system ,or speakers, .

you might pick one up for about £100 with a mic and maybe a small mixer , .

regards
owendall

[arturo]

Bop till you drop, oh yes, but I picked up an almost new vinyl copy for £1 at a local vintage shop. One of the best for showing off/demoing tts imo. Wonderful, dynamic recording.

[Eric van Spelde]

The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up. A dead cert to show up some supposedly 'transparent' gear as the equivalent of an Iraqi Minister of Information. ;)

[wee tam]

cd has its flaws the black album mettallica , if its bad it sounds like the mike is shoved down his throat and he is screaming , and the guitars mash into one , and you cannot distinguish between kick drum and bass guitar , but when its right

[browellm]

cd has its flaws the black album mettallica , if its bad it sounds like the mike is shoved down his throat and he is screaming , and the guitars mash into one , and you cannot distinguish between kick drum and bass guitar , but when its right

The HDTracks version of that album is very good.

[wee tam]

using the standard cd , now on the pd91 it makes sense and by the way it is an awsome soundstage , enter sandman no fecker falling asleep here

The HDTracks version of that album is very good.

[Zim]

As this thread seems to have come back from the dead I'd like to add some tracks I like to bring along to listening sessions.

In track/artist/album order

Winter/Tori Amos/Little Earthquakes

I love NYE/badly drawn boy/About a Boy soundtrack

Mirrorball/Peter Gabriel/Scratch My Back

Humble Me/Norah Jones/Feels Like Home

Tuesday Wonderland/e.s.t./Tuesday Wonderland

Circling/Four Tet/There is love in you

Dead Already/Thomas Newman/American Beauty Sountrack

Spanish Harlem/Rebecca Pidgeon/The Raven

[ajmjcowan]

Songs I really like which I often use for listening to new kit are:

Nutshell / No Excuses (Unplugged album versions) - Alice in Chains
Sweet Disorder / Drive (remake of The Cars' song)- Strawpeople
Autumn Tactics / No Ordinary Morning - Chicane
The Kingdom - Icehouse
Please Forgive Me - David Gray
Nightshift - The Commodores
Your Latest Trick - Dire Straits
Little Wing - Stevie Ray Vaughan

[ajmjcowan]

cd has its flaws the black album mettallica , if its bad it sounds like the mike is shoved down his throat and he is screaming , and the guitars mash into one , and you cannot distinguish between kick drum and bass guitar , but when its right

Good call - I used to thrash the shit out of that album years ago and really loved it. I haven't listened to it in a long time but have just given it a run through this morning and it is indeed awesome, even through my little Leema Xeros which I've currently got set up - they may not have the deepest bass, but they've plenty of punch and are wickedly fast.

Cheers,
Andy.

[Von Krolock]

Hi,
I've used these at one time or another for demos - some for their good sound & some for less than
good sound to see how the kit copes!

Roger Waters - Amused To Death.
Q sound recording.
The last track has lots of attack & also some very subtley bits - particularly backing vocals.
The very quietly recorded female interviewer's voice near the end gets clearer with
a good upgrade!

A nice classical tune such as the Andante from Elgar's violin concerto (Kennedy/Handley/LPO/EMI)
or the largo from Dvorak's New World Symph. (LSO live)
These are beautiful recordings.

Rush - Hold Your Fire.
Thin eighties recording with limited bass depth.
Hard to listen to on a dry, bright system.

Rush - Moving Pictures.
The Camera Eye 'cos its very familiar & to see how a system deals with drive & attack.
This sounds uninvolving on a 'polite' system.

Oleta Adams - Something from 'Evolution'.
An excellent album very well recorded.

Anita Baker - Rhythm of Love.
The title track has some superb bass playing, particularly towards the end - finishes far too soon.
Turn it up!

Orbital - Know where to run - powerful bass synth.

Something from Sabbath!

[Bushmendous]

Something more modern: Django Django - 'Love's Dart'. It has it all.