OK... what music does everyone use for auditioning speakers, and for what purpose?
Diana Krall (vocals, and instrumental timbre) James Taylor (male vocals, nasality) Sarah Brightman (siblance) Sade (vocals, soundstaging, midrange colorations bass depth and tightness, transient response) Keiko Matsui (soundstaging and ultimate bass handling) Cher (vocals, midrange colorations, decent portreyal of commercial CD's)
I have found that if you can tolerate her voice (I myself love it), that Cher, because of her unique voice, can make cabinet resonences in the midrange stand out.
Dennis T
Unregistered guest
Posted on
They are some excellent recordings you picked, However, I think you should bring discs that you listen too. If you listen to crappy sounding CD's you should bring them on an audition. After listening to music you like and your accustomed to, you should then listen to the better recordings, so you get an idea of how the speakers sound with all different types of recordings.
If I am in a good listening room, it doesnt matter what is on, that's just not the same as mine. If I were going to build a room, well yes, that,s a diffeent story.
Van Halen'amsterdam' for volume and mid-highs(rider, mostly) Van Halen "unchained' for Bass James Taylor dvd, played for stereo. Eagles'Hell freezes over' sacd for surround(and stereo) Looney tunes vol1 and 2 for tv type sound.
I bring some over produced pop CD's with me as well, such as Destiny's Child, just to be sure that the music is tolerable on the equipment just for that reason. But, due to my musical taste when I want to listen to seriously, most of my CD's (but not all) are produced well.
I am a HUGE fan of Keiko Matsui, Sade, DK, Elaine Elias, James Taylor, etc. and they all are produced outstanding. Even Cher's later albums are produced pretty well considering what they are.
That is why I didn't mention use of overproduced commercial CD's, because as a general rule of thumb, I don't listen to them, and it is primarilly that I don't listen to a ton of modern pop or rock music, although I DO have some.
Dennis makes an excellent point. I think whatever music you choose you should be intimately familiar with it and have listened to it on different systems.
Diana Krall - acoustic piano, bass and percussion for timbre and treble for her voice; Norah Jones - just cuz she's incredibly sexy and if it doesn't sound right, it's not coming home; Out of Africa CD - couple of tracks for instrumentation and drums - bass timbre and to determine whether the resonance of the drums is accurate; Holst's "The Planets" - orchestral timbre, integrity of different instruments, especially oboes, horns and kettle drums; and Any Mozart - if it can't capture the soul of his music or the soul in Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite", I've got to keep looking at other things.
There are certain pieces that I've heard live and listened to so often that they inspire a certain mood and feel and either the speakers and components can reproduce that or they can't. If they can't do it an ideal situation, such as in a listening room, they won't work at home or work for me either.
1. Holly Cole- It happened One Night 2. Ricki Lee Jones- Naked Songs Live and Acoustic 3.Bjork- Homogenic-- ( sub separator tester) 4. Buena Vista Social Club 5.Holst -The Planets- Karajan version 6. James Horner soundtrack from Willow 7. Tracy Bonham Blink The Brightest 8. Tierney Sutton Dancin in the Dark 9. Marc Cohn ( self titled) 10. El Cant de la Sibil/ Catalunya Montserrat Figueras 11.Jesse Cook- Vertigo
This list should mow the lawn-except for Pipe Organ stuff as far as sub extension ( i have the stuff I just dont listen to it very often)
Anonymouss
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Anything from the greatest following "Artists"
Brittney Spears NSync Justin Timberlake Dixie Chicks Spice Girls Michael Jackson Backstreet Boys
Mozart, Requiem ... Karajan Mahler, Sympphony No 2 ...Zubin Mehta Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Pink Floyd....DSOTM Hybrid SACD and Yes, Diana Krall
What's the point of using music that you're not going to listen to when you own the equipment? Take your personal favorite selections and forget the rest.
1.Nora Jones(soundstaging,vocal clarity,microdynamics,truth of timbre) 2.Jennifer Warnes(bass,macrodynamics,truth of timbre,sounstaging,percussion) 3.Carol Duboc(timing,imaging,synths,vocal clarity) 4.Heather Headley(macrodynamics,vocal clarity,) 5.Joss Stone(the best female voice on this earth her or either heather headley,everything) 6.Joanne Rosario(Fred Hammond is a musical genius,and she has a great voice,macrodynamics 7.Destiny Child(Byonce has a great voice,and its a great didital recording) 8.Bob James/Playin Hookey(great talents,clarity,bass snyth,imaging,and sounstaging,and micro and macrodynamics,timing,what can i say he is one of the greatest of alltime) 9.Fourplay(Carity,soundstaging,imaging,macro and microdynamics,timing,bass,Bob James is founder and leader along with Larry Carlton what does that tell you synth,percussion,piano,guitar,some of the best recorded cds ever made 10.Brian Culbertson(my favorite musician alive,everything its hard to beleive he is so young he covers music like knowonelse) 11.Rick Braun(my other favorite Musician,he does it all,a real living legend) 12.Jeff Lorber(another living legend yep you guessed it he does it all in a rae funky style) 13.David Benoit(one of the greatest pianist in the world) 14.Keiko Matsui(another one of the great pianist and she is by far the most hottest,and her cds have tremendous,dynamics,and bass power) 15.Ramsey Lewis and the Urban Knights( What can I say another great legend with great crossover apeal oh and the Knights are great to) 16.Jeff Golub( a great gautarist with some funky groves and nice swing) 17.Paul Taylor( the man is the most unique Sax player out there,with tremendous beats,and dynamics he is the one guy in jazz who utilizes electronic music to a impressive degree) 18. Steve Cole( A Brian Culbertson product on the sax the guy has really blossomed into a great mucisian the best is yet to come from him)19.Waymon Tisdale(great basketball player,yep gret gautarist to and a very good finder of talent) 20.David Sanborn(hey he is legend if knowonelse is the best saxiaphonist of all time and one of the founders of smooth jazz) 21.Mike Phillips(a product of Tisdale,and he is a young Sanborn,of all the guys on the sax I've heard this is the only guy who can play the 22.Sanborn swing and he only has one album out he will be great) 23. Pamela Williams(she is a great saxaphonist and she is hot,I wish she was my wife,like Paul Taylor she uses electronic music to gret effect) 24.Richard Elliot( he is a wizard with a alto sax not quite Sanborn,but he has his own style) 25.George Benson(another legend a gret gautarist,and pretty good singer to,I grew up on breezin) 26.Larry Carlton(antoher gret legend he is grand master on the electric guitar) 27.Paul Hardcastle(The originator of electronic jazz,all his cds are riots,his stuff will be bright with a unbalanced system) 28.Chris Botti( this guy is increadible on the trumpet he plays a trumpet from the 1940s guess what kind and guess what legend play this particular trumpet,Ill let you answer that) 29.Norman Brown(a lot like George Benson,but Ive come apreciate his style and music now) 30.Andre Ward(anothe r talented young saxiaphonist a very good use of electronic music and accoustic music) 31.Mindi Abair( she is hot and she can sing to,but she is a gret saxaphonist,she has a great cut in the Sanborn Mold on her first album(it just happens that way track #12) 32.Boney James (another living legend he is known for his slow grooves and great seductive bass) 33.Joyce Cooling(who would love to watch Sandra Bullock play the guitar,well thats what she looks like so know shes hot,and shes good to) 34.Jeff Bradshaw(another Tisdale product,this guy is amazing on the Trombone) 35.Euge Groove (another great young Saxaphonist,but its twist with him,he plays the alto,soprano,and get this the rare sax that not many people can play the ruthless Tenor Sax,with groves like Boney James) 36.Marcus Houston(another great pianoiast in the mold of Ramsey Lewis) 37.Kenny G.( you know I never though he was real Jazz until I seen him live this guy increadible knowone has pipes like him) 38.Dave Kozz( another living legend very versitle with the Sax and he has some of the best recordings you can buy) 39.Prince 40.Micheal Jackson 41.Creed 42.Dave Mathews Band 42.Ciline Dion 43.Tamia 44.Debra Cox 45.Lianne Rimes 46 .Faith Hill 47.Clint Black 48.Comadores. 49.Earth Wind & Fire 50.Rick James 51.Anita baker 52.R. Kelley 53.Boyz to Men 54.Trinity 55. Ruben Studard 56.Vivian Grenn 57.Sade 58.Sos Band 59.Heatwave 60.Paul Brown 61.Nas 62.Big L. 63. 64.M.C.Eight 65.O.C. 66.Freddy Fox 67.ZAPP/Roger Trautman(they are from my home town 68.Joe 69.Melvin Riley and Ready for the world 70.Backsteetboys 71.Amarie 72.Tral Hicks 73.Mariah Carey 74.Stevie Ray Vaughn 75.Beaver Brown Band 76.Q&Mailika the guy plays the guitar like Stevie Ray Vaughn the group is in town(Dayton and he is best Ive ever heard live they are the best band I've heard live 77.Tina Marie 78.Whitney Houston 79.Toni Braxton 80.JS (a girls group from cincinnati produced by R.Kelley and Ron Isley they can blow)81.Christopher Cross 82.The Time 83.the Nevel Brothers 84.Tamar Braxton 85.Incognito 86.spur of the Moment(a jazz band out of Clevelend they are Whicked 87.Luther Vandross( RIP)88.Garbage 89.The Isleys 90.JK 91.Impromp 2 92.Ke Ke Whyat 93.Faith 94.Hall& Oats 95.Eric B. & Rakim 96.Marc Nelson 97.Tyrese 98.Aerosmith 99.Adina Howard 99.I have to many more favorites so i will stop there,sorry it was so long I was bored.