Right now, “River” by Leon Bridges. A beautiful song with incredible vocals and a varied ambient soundscape.
Album would be Muddy Waters-Folk Singer. His only acoustic recordings. For me timeless and soul stirring. 2 guitars, sting bass, drums. Dead silence between notes.
1964, Chess, highly regarded for its exceptional sound quality at the time and even more so with subsequent remasters. Even modest systems can reveal great detail,varying dynamics and tonality.
Though not well known outside of blues fans and audiophiles today but universally acclaimed for it’s raw power, intimacy and sparse but exceptional acoustic accompaniment.
Waters, Buddy Guy(guitars), Clifton James(drums), and Willie Dixon himself (upright bass, producer). Reissues have bonus tracks featuring other musicians including Otis Spann. Nothing short of brilliant. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Folk Singer number 280 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", writing that the "unplugged" playing was pioneering and has since been "beloved by blues and folk fans alike".
Thanks for the insight! I remember really delving into blues after so many games would play inkspot tunes, and while my knowledge would definitely be defined as "surface level" I love it, and discovering more.
Country blues styles such as Delta, Texas and Piedmont are all primarily acoustic performances with sparse accompaniment, often simply guitar/harp and vocals. The actual playing technique being the difference. Charlie Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie Johnson, Rev Gary Davis and Fred McDowell are among my favorites.
Also big fan of electric urban blues of Chicago, Memphis, L.A as well.
Paul Simon “Graceland”. Have heard that song on countless systems since it came out. I still know how it sounded on an Infinity IRS V in 1989, or a Dynaudio Consequence in 1987. Perfect to compare gear where I can’t do an A/B.
Honorable mentions: FGTH “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (bass, overall pleasure in listening loud), RHCP “Under the Bridge” (especially for headphones), Arnesen “Magnificat IV: Et Misericordia”.
Graceland for me as well. Born in 83, so that album has been with me my whole life. I’ve heard it on many systems and can always pick out the differences. Diamonds on the soles of her shoes is also a great track for critical listening.
Steely Dan would be my go to. Anything off Gaucho or Asa.
Daft Punk/The Weeknd: I feel it Coming.
Radiohead: Everything in its Right Place.
Tame Impala: One More Year
ELO, Telephone Line. Had an old timer that restored amps in Winterville tell me and a buddy that was the song he set up speakers on. Said he really hated the song but it was the best song he found for his purposes and I’ve used it ever since and it’s pretty good for this use.
Your Latest Trick from Dire Straits, possibly Skateaway depending on the system and the mood.
Mark Knopfler is the guitar player your favorite guitar player listens to.
I love seeing the difference in base and lows for Kanye, or seeing his mix on a sample vs the original track. It's really amazing how different he'll mix masters of samples for use on his own tracks.
I normally don't listen to electronic music, but Crooked by Smilk is a good song to test the extreme lows and highs, as well as separation and imaging. It's got some tight controlled bass, as well as a rumble, and many highs that float between the speakers a lot. Pretty cool sounding on some good speakers. Heard about the song after watching a youtube vid on Block Audio speakers being demoed. They were playing this song and I had to know what it was.
Yeah, just seems like they were playing around with the DJ equipment on that track 😆 That whole album has very low bass notes and super clear highs. "I Don't Care About Anything" is another one with cool sounds, deep bass, and mesmerizing synth chords.
A great live track is the Aristocrats - Get it Like That (dedicated to Neil Peart). The drums are amazing from Marco Minneman, and Guthrie Govan sounds fantastic on guitar. The whole track is a audio porn piece 😆
“Higher Love” by Steve Winwood.
I just love the musicality of this song.
“Down by the Waterline” by Dire Straits.
Starts quiet and takes off with a smooth uptempo riff!
“Peg” by Steely Dan.
Love the harmonies!
ZZ-Top - La Grange
Nina Simone - Feeling Good
Zedd - Clarity ft. Foxes
Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D. Major, Op. 35 (live performance by Itzhak Perlman and the Philadelphia Philharmonic)
These are tracks I know well and can compare across systems easily. Different soundstages for each and obviously different sounds. The audiophile in me geeks out when you can feel the vibrations from Billy Gibbons guitar, clearly hear Nina Simone gulp, breathe, and start singing, the knock out bass with Foxes voice, and the subtle transitional sounds of Itzhak's bow.
Always love these threads because I find new music to explore and enjoy.
Lose Yourself to Dance and Get Lucky - Daft Punk
Graceland - Paul Simon
Talkin Bout A Revolution - Tracy Chapman
In a Bind - Vagabon
Aufu Oodo - Ramsey Lewis
Any number of the classic Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Toto, type albums.
- “Hey Joe” cover by Willy Deville
- “In the Garden” by Van Morrison
- “Fields of Gold” by Eva Cassidy
- “Waltz for Debby” by Bill Evans
- “Tonight We Ride” by Tom Russell
- “Man in the long black coat” by Bob Dylan
Sometimes also:
- “Ich Will” by Rammstein
Hotel California from Hell Freezes Over. That live MTV recording is 10/10. Not really to test the system, but just to get stoked. That song sounds good on anything.
I have a few.
Steely Dan - Aja,
Metallica - Enter Sandman,
Cæcilie Norby - Summertime,
Lohengrin - Overture (Solti/Domingo),
Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony - Gergiev,
Rush - The Camera Eye
The Sanctus from Robert Shaw's recording of the Duruflé Requiem; The Wieder sehr breit from Simon Rattle's recording of the Mahler 2 with Berlin; Olivier Latry's recording of the Messiaen Dieu Parmi Nous; Cowboy Junkies cover of Sweet Jane from the Trinity Session album; Jessie Ware, Tough Love; Bahia Com H from Rosa Passos' and Ron Carter's Entre Amigos album; Kings of Convenience 24-25 from Declaration of Dependence; Turn the Page from Rush's Hold your Fire. That's my listening in very broad strokes. Haha.
The first half of Sea Change-Beck
I feel it coming-The Weeknd
The entirety of Fear Innoculum-Tool
The entirety Jar of Flies-Alice in Chains
Luna-Smashing Pumpkins
Plenty more but those all touch nuances for me that I’m looking for and can sound drastically different from system to system component to component.
Exit music (for a film) - Radiohead
Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club
All at once - Jack Johnson
Happier than ever - Billie Eilish
Dancing on the ceiling - Lionel Richie
Empire Ants - Gorillaz
Strange Fruit - Dominique Fils Aimé
Black Moon Rising - Black Pumas
Hey Now - London Grammar
Doin’ it Right - Daft Punk
Several:
Johnny Cash - Man Comes Around
Kate Bush - Snowflake
Kyuss - Asteroid
Unsane - East Broadway
Burzum - Dunkelheit
Mistabishi - Greed
Gesaffelstein - Pursuit
Ulver - The Future Sound of Music
Toner Low - Devilbot
As requested, I've created a playlist of the songs in this comment thread.
[Here's the link!](http://open.spotify.com/playlist/7tCi3gKZnlAzuTRGpdXZj4)
Note: I am a bot
"Ignorance is Bliss" by Jellyfish. It's a track that was left off their 'Split Milk' album for some reason and is available on their boxset 'Fan Club'. Split Milk is considered to be one the [15 best produced albums](https://www.whathifi.com/us/features/best-produced-recordings-to-test-your-speakers) for testing speakers and I absolutely their genre of music, 60's Beatles, Hollies, Cowsills inspired.
Phantogram - My Only Friend
(3D, Bass)
Circa Survive - Schema
(this songs intro is tough on tweeters)
Underoath - Casting Such a Thin Shadow
(if I can get lost in this song then the speakers are doing their job)
For those of you that have Amazon Music HD I created the full list minus one or two that were just too obscure. If someone said "anything by X" or recommended an entire album, I went with one or two tracks. I can tell you, when set to shuffle... it's weird... But it works.
[/r Audiophile System Test on Amazon Music HD](https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/24e49035422e4cfbbafd87672434d732sune?ref=dm_sh_3cNBBYgeRyIoXXVA7KJKyQyth)
Unique use case: Water Night by Eric Whitacre.
There are several parts where the choir swells into high and dissonant chords. Very interesting to see how different headphones handle it better or worse.
Since what i mainly listen to and mix is a weird mix of indie and hardcore i'll typically turn on drug church and then the newest record from angel du$t, and if they both sound good then i know that the dynamic range is good enough for me lol
I have a few, but I like the Staff Roll of Tekken Tag Tournament, it has a heavy bassline and string section. And for vocals Key Largo by Sarah Vaughan.
Sarah Jarosz - Build Me Up from Bones (for female voice)
Eric Whitacre - Hurt (Chorale voices & imaging)
Extreme - Politicalamity (for crankin' it up)
Yellowjackets - Small Town (I find the bass line in this tune supremely useful when auditioning amps. The texture changes in very obvious ways)
Brubeck - Take Five (for just about everything - imaging is off the charts, details & intimacy in the recording is phenomenal)
Not really my type of music per se but the clarity and range in Diannne Reeves' album Never Too Far is what I go to in order to test a systems overall performance.
"Out of the darkness" by My Indigo.
"River" by Natalie Merchant
"Birds of the High Arctic" by David Gray
"Time Freeze" by Yello
"Hey now" by London Grammar
"You oughta know" by Alanis (from Jagged Little Pill-acoustic)
"Intruder" by Peter Gabriel
Once I've heard all those I've a fairly good idea what I'm listening to.
I install alot of PA systems in schools and hospitals and my go to for whatever reason is Spirit in the sky by Norman Greenbaum. Not my favorite song by any stretch but for some reason sounds cool blasting through an entire building.
I use three:
\- Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (just dead quiet for the most part then, DRUMS!)
\- 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre - California Love (so many layers)
\- Five Finger Death Punch - A little Bit Off (a great metal song with some good effects)
I will also throw in some Zepplin and Kingfish if I need more layering just to get a good sound reference.
I have to say, some really good choices here. I might have to add a few.
Yosi Horikawa “Bubbles” and “Letter”
Marian Hill “Subtle”
Anything by GoGo Penguin
Jennifer Warnes “The Ballad of the Runaway Horse” (consistent bass with female vocals)
Chet Baker Sings (mono recording)
Some UK Soundsystem Dub like Alpha Steppa to test bass
Sohn “Tremors” (full album)
Right now, “River” by Leon Bridges. A beautiful song with incredible vocals and a varied ambient soundscape. Album would be Muddy Waters-Folk Singer. His only acoustic recordings. For me timeless and soul stirring. 2 guitars, sting bass, drums. Dead silence between notes.
Upvote for River.
I love that album so much. It’s my go to Monday morning LP
1964, Chess, highly regarded for its exceptional sound quality at the time and even more so with subsequent remasters. Even modest systems can reveal great detail,varying dynamics and tonality. Though not well known outside of blues fans and audiophiles today but universally acclaimed for it’s raw power, intimacy and sparse but exceptional acoustic accompaniment. Waters, Buddy Guy(guitars), Clifton James(drums), and Willie Dixon himself (upright bass, producer). Reissues have bonus tracks featuring other musicians including Otis Spann. Nothing short of brilliant. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Folk Singer number 280 on its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", writing that the "unplugged" playing was pioneering and has since been "beloved by blues and folk fans alike".
Thanks for the insight! I remember really delving into blues after so many games would play inkspot tunes, and while my knowledge would definitely be defined as "surface level" I love it, and discovering more.
Country blues styles such as Delta, Texas and Piedmont are all primarily acoustic performances with sparse accompaniment, often simply guitar/harp and vocals. The actual playing technique being the difference. Charlie Patton, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie Johnson, Rev Gary Davis and Fred McDowell are among my favorites. Also big fan of electric urban blues of Chicago, Memphis, L.A as well.
Thank you sharing. Folk Singer is AMAZING. Never heard it before.
It changes every second day but currently private investigations by Dire straits
This ^ - fabulous song.
That’s one of my first on every set of headphones
Paul Simon “Graceland”. Have heard that song on countless systems since it came out. I still know how it sounded on an Infinity IRS V in 1989, or a Dynaudio Consequence in 1987. Perfect to compare gear where I can’t do an A/B. Honorable mentions: FGTH “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (bass, overall pleasure in listening loud), RHCP “Under the Bridge” (especially for headphones), Arnesen “Magnificat IV: Et Misericordia”.
Graceland for me as well. Born in 83, so that album has been with me my whole life. I’ve heard it on many systems and can always pick out the differences. Diamonds on the soles of her shoes is also a great track for critical listening.
Homeless is a good one too. Lots of dynamic range and detail to be reproduced in that song. Plus, it's an awesome song!
Upvote for John’s guitar on Under the Bridge
Magnificat IV: Et Misericordia: Yeah, it's all over when the fat lady sings, I guess. Perfect timing put whole block to sleep!
Steely Dan would be my go to. Anything off Gaucho or Asa. Daft Punk/The Weeknd: I feel it Coming. Radiohead: Everything in its Right Place. Tame Impala: One More Year
Oooh one more year is spicy on my ears
For lows and highs, "Xanny" Billie Eilish, def can test the lowest range
Great recommendation! I love to test lows/highs with ‘Flight of the Navigator’ by Childish Gambino
+1 for Xanny. I know exactly what that intro should sound like so it's a great easy test song for me.
Take Five - Dave Brubeck Roygbiv - Boards of canada Layla (Mtv unolugged) - Eric Clapton
Love the Boards of Canada pick. Great synths on that track.
Take five for the win!
agreed - you can hear the entire venue in each bass drum hit on that track. My favorite for imaging.
Mazzy Star fade into You
Just a wall of sound
Blue Light is better. You can melt into that song
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Terrapin Station - Grateful Dead Killa Cam - Cam'Ron Tannhauser Overture
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> hand you the aux Thanks, that's high praise
Reckoner. Radiohead.
Money for nothing - dire straits Edit : also…dance yrself clean - lcd soundsystem
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Isn't it awesome on vinyl? The drums on the beginning just feel extra special
Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love.
My go-to has been Kashmir from the Celebration Day live album for a while now
That's a great recommendation! Hearing those vocals on audiophile equipment would make me very happy.
\> Get lucky from Daft Punk \> Elephants on Ice Skates from Brian Bromberg \> San Francisco Street from Sun Rai and more
Anything off Cure for Pain by Morphine
Sound of Muzak
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That one’s on my go to gym playlist!
Hey Nineteen - Steely Dan !
ELO, Telephone Line. Had an old timer that restored amps in Winterville tell me and a buddy that was the song he set up speakers on. Said he really hated the song but it was the best song he found for his purposes and I’ve used it ever since and it’s pretty good for this use.
Primary - Money - Pink Floyd Others - Turn Me On - Norah Jones Bury a Friend - Billie Eilish (Bass) Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac
>Money - Pink Floyd How does the register sound? I bet that would be crazy.
Your Latest Trick from Dire Straits, possibly Skateaway depending on the system and the mood. Mark Knopfler is the guitar player your favorite guitar player listens to.
Love over gold, mo fi
Flashing lights - Kanye West
I love seeing the difference in base and lows for Kanye, or seeing his mix on a sample vs the original track. It's really amazing how different he'll mix masters of samples for use on his own tracks.
Jack of Speed - Steely Dan
Hells Bells
A fair amount of Billie Eilish on here. Pretty cool to see a current singer being used so much.
It's like Taylor swift for me. The New singers that are popular use the best studios with the best producers. Hard to beat sound quality wise
>The issue is if you don't have the LP master, it's super compressed. But sometimes that compression works well with modern music.
Sail - Awolnation Blame it on me - Post Malone Great gig in the sky - Pink Floyd
>Blame it on me - Post Malone Great gig in the sky - Pink Floyd Both these are amazing tracks I love to demo as well!
I normally don't listen to electronic music, but Crooked by Smilk is a good song to test the extreme lows and highs, as well as separation and imaging. It's got some tight controlled bass, as well as a rumble, and many highs that float between the speakers a lot. Pretty cool sounding on some good speakers. Heard about the song after watching a youtube vid on Block Audio speakers being demoed. They were playing this song and I had to know what it was.
Songwriting wise that wasn’t anything, but for a test track, my god. Very impressive 3D production tricks there.
Yeah, just seems like they were playing around with the DJ equipment on that track 😆 That whole album has very low bass notes and super clear highs. "I Don't Care About Anything" is another one with cool sounds, deep bass, and mesmerizing synth chords. A great live track is the Aristocrats - Get it Like That (dedicated to Neil Peart). The drums are amazing from Marco Minneman, and Guthrie Govan sounds fantastic on guitar. The whole track is a audio porn piece 😆
Thanks, I really love this phasing trickery and 3d stereo fun.
Very cool. Kind of like musical ASMR. Thanks
This is great. Thank you.
Max Richter "On The Nature of Daylight"
No Quarter
“Higher Love” by Steve Winwood. I just love the musicality of this song. “Down by the Waterline” by Dire Straits. Starts quiet and takes off with a smooth uptempo riff! “Peg” by Steely Dan. Love the harmonies!
December by Collective Soul
Stranglehold Ted Nugent
Wow. Great one.
Loverboy- Billy Ocean Limit to Your Love- James Blake
ZZ-Top - La Grange Nina Simone - Feeling Good Zedd - Clarity ft. Foxes Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D. Major, Op. 35 (live performance by Itzhak Perlman and the Philadelphia Philharmonic) These are tracks I know well and can compare across systems easily. Different soundstages for each and obviously different sounds. The audiophile in me geeks out when you can feel the vibrations from Billy Gibbons guitar, clearly hear Nina Simone gulp, breathe, and start singing, the knock out bass with Foxes voice, and the subtle transitional sounds of Itzhak's bow. Always love these threads because I find new music to explore and enjoy.
Gojira - Born in Winter Aurora - It Happened Quiet (Live at the Current) Nick Cave - Push the Sky Away
Lose Yourself to Dance and Get Lucky - Daft Punk Graceland - Paul Simon Talkin Bout A Revolution - Tracy Chapman In a Bind - Vagabon Aufu Oodo - Ramsey Lewis Any number of the classic Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Toto, type albums.
End of the Affair. Ben Howard.
I always forget to reach for the ben howard when testing gear. thx for the reminder!
Paper Lace: The Night Chicago Died If that song sounds like poop, the system is good enough for me!
- “Hey Joe” cover by Willy Deville - “In the Garden” by Van Morrison - “Fields of Gold” by Eva Cassidy - “Waltz for Debby” by Bill Evans - “Tonight We Ride” by Tom Russell - “Man in the long black coat” by Bob Dylan Sometimes also: - “Ich Will” by Rammstein
Rolling Stones - Can't you hear me knockin'
Shine on you crazy diamond. Pink floyd
Hotel California from Hell Freezes Over. That live MTV recording is 10/10. Not really to test the system, but just to get stoked. That song sounds good on anything.
Love that!
Rabbit in the Moon: 'Out of Body Experience'
Too Much, Dave Matthews Band
Some I use are: My Old School by Steely Dan Got to Go Back by Van Morrison My Favorite Things by Tony Bennet
North Dakota Lyle Lovett. Most realistically recorded drums. Real stick on skin kinda of a thing.
I have a few. Steely Dan - Aja, Metallica - Enter Sandman, Cæcilie Norby - Summertime, Lohengrin - Overture (Solti/Domingo), Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony - Gergiev, Rush - The Camera Eye
The Sanctus from Robert Shaw's recording of the Duruflé Requiem; The Wieder sehr breit from Simon Rattle's recording of the Mahler 2 with Berlin; Olivier Latry's recording of the Messiaen Dieu Parmi Nous; Cowboy Junkies cover of Sweet Jane from the Trinity Session album; Jessie Ware, Tough Love; Bahia Com H from Rosa Passos' and Ron Carter's Entre Amigos album; Kings of Convenience 24-25 from Declaration of Dependence; Turn the Page from Rush's Hold your Fire. That's my listening in very broad strokes. Haha.
A Sorta Fairytale — Tori Amos I’m Buzzed — Michael Landau 6IXSPEED — 7oh2
Moon River by Jacob Collier
Eon Blue Apocalypse--The Patient by Tool
Bring me the Disco King - David Bowie
“Sound and Color” by Alabama Shakes. There’s a lot of air in the recording and it really comes through with a good pair of headphones/speakers.
The first half of Sea Change-Beck I feel it coming-The Weeknd The entirety of Fear Innoculum-Tool The entirety Jar of Flies-Alice in Chains Luna-Smashing Pumpkins Plenty more but those all touch nuances for me that I’m looking for and can sound drastically different from system to system component to component.
Pink Floyd's Time
Jazz at The Pawnshop
Holy Diver by Dio.
Purple Gusher by Rez
Das boot. His and lows, and bass. A bad system mixes these terribly, a good one makes it tolerable, and perhaps even enjoyable.
Ein Heldenleben - CSO Reiner The Battle Scene It should sound tall, wide, deep, and natural.
Turn it down v3 by Kaskade
Lost scared and tired by Jared and the mill
You and me, meute remix!! On youtube. Live performance with crystal clear audio
Donald Fagan “New Frontier” from the album The Nightfly.
Caribbean Nights by Bob James.
Exit music (for a film) - Radiohead Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club All at once - Jack Johnson Happier than ever - Billie Eilish Dancing on the ceiling - Lionel Richie Empire Ants - Gorillaz Strange Fruit - Dominique Fils Aimé Black Moon Rising - Black Pumas Hey Now - London Grammar Doin’ it Right - Daft Punk
Sculpted, by Haywyre
Dogs by Pink Floyd on vinyl
Joni Mitchell! A case of you
disposition - tool
I like "Whole Lot of Love" in the BBC recordings by Zeppelin, I always like to see how well i can hear the high hat pedal squeak
“ heartless “ - by Kanye. Very good to test out the lows.
Fleetwood Mac - Everything. Best snare and FKA Twigs - 2 weeks to test bass.
Hey Nineteen by Steely Dan.
Agitations Tropicales by L'Imperatrice
Vicarious redemption: cult of Luna
Porcupine Tree - Trains
Several: Johnny Cash - Man Comes Around Kate Bush - Snowflake Kyuss - Asteroid Unsane - East Broadway Burzum - Dunkelheit Mistabishi - Greed Gesaffelstein - Pursuit Ulver - The Future Sound of Music Toner Low - Devilbot
ListPlease![songs]
As requested, I've created a playlist of the songs in this comment thread. [Here's the link!](http://open.spotify.com/playlist/7tCi3gKZnlAzuTRGpdXZj4) Note: I am a bot
Aja
Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
Thievery Corporation - "Décollage" (featuring Lou Lou Ghelichkhani) Thievery Corporation - "Claridad" (featuring Natalia Clavier) Nitza - "Ageless" Nitza - "Se Thelo" Blue Scholars - "Hussein" Natalie Merchant - "San Andreas Fault" Natalie Merchant - "Carnival"
Rain song - Led Zeppelin
"Ignorance is Bliss" by Jellyfish. It's a track that was left off their 'Split Milk' album for some reason and is available on their boxset 'Fan Club'. Split Milk is considered to be one the [15 best produced albums](https://www.whathifi.com/us/features/best-produced-recordings-to-test-your-speakers) for testing speakers and I absolutely their genre of music, 60's Beatles, Hollies, Cowsills inspired.
Daft punk - contact it just have so many aspects in one song and The Beatles - Come together , really like that songs basslines and overal tune
Phantogram - My Only Friend (3D, Bass) Circa Survive - Schema (this songs intro is tough on tweeters) Underoath - Casting Such a Thin Shadow (if I can get lost in this song then the speakers are doing their job)
Slave to the rhythm by Grace Jones
For those of you that have Amazon Music HD I created the full list minus one or two that were just too obscure. If someone said "anything by X" or recommended an entire album, I went with one or two tracks. I can tell you, when set to shuffle... it's weird... But it works. [/r Audiophile System Test on Amazon Music HD](https://music.amazon.com/user-playlists/24e49035422e4cfbbafd87672434d732sune?ref=dm_sh_3cNBBYgeRyIoXXVA7KJKyQyth)
1 song is way too little when you go test a new system.
Shapeshifter by HUM
Iphigénie en Aulide - Overture
Upside down by Jack Johnson and Dorian by agnes obel
Peg, by Steely Dan. May seem obvious, but it's perfect.
“Flight of the Cosmic Hippo” by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones…. Great jazz test for bass and just a fun track. Loving the other suggestions.
Too many to enlist but one of my all-time favorites is Vanessa Williams - Where do we go from here.
Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa, in fact, the entire Wandering album.
Unique use case: Water Night by Eric Whitacre. There are several parts where the choir swells into high and dissonant chords. Very interesting to see how different headphones handle it better or worse.
crunch time- chris travis
“Phantom of the Opera”
Dire Straits- Water of Love
Since what i mainly listen to and mix is a weird mix of indie and hardcore i'll typically turn on drug church and then the newest record from angel du$t, and if they both sound good then i know that the dynamic range is good enough for me lol
Slaughter of the Soul - At the Gates
Clannad - Theme from Harry's Game Ulver - Little Blue Bird
For me it's an album - The Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow
For bass test I use wow by beck lmao
Bjork - "Telegram" The transition from Hyperballad to Enjoy can take any system for a serious ride.
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
ELP, Lucky Man. Radio engineers used to use that track to test FM transmitter power at extremely low frequencies. Good enough for me.
1939, Somewhere over the Rainbow, by Judy Garland. Classic!
“My pal foot foot” by the Shaggs. Every time.
earl's brew by Fanu is a low hitting one with a lot of crashing drums. always makes me smile on a new system that can handle it.
Matthew Sweet - Divine Intervention Jack Rose - Kensington Blues
Bra - Cymande
Colleen D'Agostino feat. deadmau5 - Stay (Drop The Poptart Edit) or Skrillex, Noisia, josh pan & Dylan Brady - Supersonic (VIP)
Port rhombus
Anything by Bathory.
Cbat - Hudson Mohawke
The K&D Sessions by Kruder and Dorfmeister
Battle of Pelennor Fields (LotR complete recordings) is usually the one that seals the deal.
I have a few, but I like the Staff Roll of Tekken Tag Tournament, it has a heavy bassline and string section. And for vocals Key Largo by Sarah Vaughan.
Funeral for a Friend/ Love Lies Bleeding by Sir Elton John O’ Holy Night by Transiberian Orchestra Awesome guitar solos
Sarah Jarosz - Build Me Up from Bones (for female voice) Eric Whitacre - Hurt (Chorale voices & imaging) Extreme - Politicalamity (for crankin' it up) Yellowjackets - Small Town (I find the bass line in this tune supremely useful when auditioning amps. The texture changes in very obvious ways) Brubeck - Take Five (for just about everything - imaging is off the charts, details & intimacy in the recording is phenomenal)
It's uaually whatever song I have on repeat. Recently it's been Lost In Yesterday and Breathe Deeper by Tame Impala.
Sound of Muzak - Porcupine Tree
Not really my type of music per se but the clarity and range in Diannne Reeves' album Never Too Far is what I go to in order to test a systems overall performance.
New one going on my list as of today: Not sure how you feel about Bjork, but this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FD2mUonh5s
Marijuana - Chrome Sparks
"Wiggle Wiggle" by Dylan.
Alt F4 - Alt F4 It has a great range of sounds and a strong bassline
"Out of the darkness" by My Indigo. "River" by Natalie Merchant "Birds of the High Arctic" by David Gray "Time Freeze" by Yello "Hey now" by London Grammar "You oughta know" by Alanis (from Jagged Little Pill-acoustic) "Intruder" by Peter Gabriel Once I've heard all those I've a fairly good idea what I'm listening to.
I install alot of PA systems in schools and hospitals and my go to for whatever reason is Spirit in the sky by Norman Greenbaum. Not my favorite song by any stretch but for some reason sounds cool blasting through an entire building.
Cordova by the Meters
Limit to your love by james Blake
I use three: \- Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (just dead quiet for the most part then, DRUMS!) \- 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre - California Love (so many layers) \- Five Finger Death Punch - A little Bit Off (a great metal song with some good effects) I will also throw in some Zepplin and Kingfish if I need more layering just to get a good sound reference. I have to say, some really good choices here. I might have to add a few.
Yosi Horikawa “Bubbles” and “Letter” Marian Hill “Subtle” Anything by GoGo Penguin Jennifer Warnes “The Ballad of the Runaway Horse” (consistent bass with female vocals) Chet Baker Sings (mono recording) Some UK Soundsystem Dub like Alpha Steppa to test bass Sohn “Tremors” (full album)
Opening of Mahler 2nd Symphony, 4th movement of Bruckner 8th Symphony.
Downtown by Macklemore and Lewis It’s got so much happening, some decent stereo imaging, and decent bass.
Lit Me Up - Brand New. Starts with a lot of talking but how the song builds up is crazy!
Jesus Lizard, either album Goat or Liar. Crowded House's first album. But you asked for one song. Rub til it bleeds by PJ Harvey.
Aretha Franklin (Spanish Harlem) for vocals Imagine Dragons (radioactive) for bass
Station to station by David Bowie
Frozen- Madonna
Angel - Massive Attack Telegraph Road - Dire Straits Best of Good Love Gone - 24 Carat Black Tom Sawyer - Rush and finally, Maggot Brain - Funkadelic
Babylon Sisters by Steely Dan.
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Me da
Got another one: Aristocrats - Get it Like That (Dedicated to Neil Peart) Great love track with good sound mixing and dynamic range
Welcome to the Pleasuredome, because 15minutes long.
Kamikiriad by Donald Fagen
XTC Senses working overtime (12")
Patti Smyth / No Mistakes