best songs to test certain "playback attributes"

[RGA]

Hammer, nail, head!
Surely the criteria should be "does the Prodigy make me want to dance like a loon, does Kate Bush's voice make love to my ears, do I want to primal scream along with Bjork". Quick nurse, where's my medication?
All the hifi bollocks like soundstage, frequency response, etc. etc. are (very much) secondary to the emotional response to the music.

Outstanding. I remember asking my dealer about frequency response once and he replied - that's the wrong question to ask. What does your guts tell you. Does it sound "right" - There may be some degrees of right maybe "very right" or "super right" but most stuff isn't quite right. We don't need a test disc to figure it out. We don't need hundreds of hours of listening at home either.

I remember spending about 14 year listening to a whole pile of systems - one of my recordings was Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. (I think from Naxos). Was doing a dealer demo audition to several speakers I requested to audition. I was smart enough to ask him to add another speaker he liked or felt would be best. So he did. within 2 minutes it mopped the floor with the "well reviewed" and "raved" about speakers. And it doesn't need 50 more albums to test. The speaker made the piano sound like a real bloody piano - none of the others did that. If you can't make one instrument sound like a real instrument then how is the fact that it might be a great "soundstaging" speaker going to matter? Yes I can tell that the piano is center and the violin is 3 feet to the left - great - now only if they actually sounded like real instruments would that soundstaging BS actually matter.

The worst dealers are the ones who tell you "The reason the sound is bad is because your rock CD/LP is badly recorded and the greatness of our stereo is telling you how bad it was recorded." Yeah or maybe your stereo sucks and it is ruining my album because of the tipped up treble or lack of driver integration. Many rock/pop albums are compressed - yes - but many systems gut the life and music out of them too - better systems seem to draw the best out of what is there - still tell you it's compressed but doesn't ruin everything.

[ncdrawl]

the chesky ledr test is outstanding..if your system isnt good...that will point out exactly what is deficient

[pgarrish]

Whilst its much more important to try a system with your usual diet of music, a couple of tracks to test certain characteristics/extremes is probably not a bad thing. That track that sounds too harsh at home, the one you always want a bit more bass on, the one that just doesn't time right. Odds are they don't get played that much so they'll be fresh and if the new component/system makes you want to listen to them then that's not a bad thing.

[tommy1]

Anyone got the Chesky Cd they fancy lending me? I could offer a test tones CD in exchange.

http://www.stereophile.com/features/772/

[AlanB]

play anything recent by U2. If it sounds good on your system, your system's shite.

+1 How did the recording engineers get paid? Not just recent either.
Joshua Tree - great music completely ruined.

[ncdrawl]

+1 How did the recording engineers get paid? Not just recent either.
Joshua Tree - great music completely ruined.

Joshua Tree is the only U2 I like. I love Lanois though

[KevinF]

+1 How did the recording engineers get paid? Not just recent either.
Joshua Tree - great music completely ruined.

Nearly. Good music ruined.

Unlike anything by Coldplay which, in my view, is a complete and utter waste of electricity, no matter how well it might have been recorded.

[KevinF]

..to which I might add, lest I be thought of as always grumbling - I still think that one of my benchmark recordings on CD is Solal/Griffin, In&Out. Not to all tastes piano and tenor sax au naturel but, feck me, it is a ripper recording.

[Fatmarley]

I know someone who uses Green Day for testing (and listening) If your system is a little harsh or OTT in the treble, Green day will show it.

I find that Tracy chapman sounds small through small speakers. It need a big midrange driver to make her sound realistic IMO.

If your system sounds muddy when playing Daft Punk - End of line, then you need to get some good acoustic suspension speakers or block up your ports

[pgarrish]

Well my system is FANTASTIC. Just tried to play U2's 18 singles.... Sounded fekkin' awful.

RESULT.

[ncdrawl]

I use porcupine tree, famous blue raincoat, pink floyd, and dire straits.

if they somehow manage to play over 30 seconds without making me vomit and while inspiring me to actually live on this planet, I suspect powerful sorcery and immediately remove the gear and call an exorcist.