and i don't mean fancy-pants digitally remastered series blah blah etc etc. when you're looking to get a sense of how a system/room combo that you've never heard before is actually performing, and all you have with you are your ears and choice of discs, what songs or albums do you like to use? ("discs" meaning 44.1kHz stereo audio cd).

and, wholly unrelated, but i've wanted to know for too long and feel like i'm starting too many threads for a newbie- so i'll just cram it in here : anybody know what kind of snare drum was used on the untitled slint single, specifically on the first track? thank you so much to anyone who knows. and tells.

A few I use to get to know a room:

AC/DC: Back In Black (the original as far as I know)
The Who: Live at Leeds (the remaster)
Shellac: 1000 Hurts (really, I'm not just trying to blow smoke up Steve's ass, it's a great sounding record)
The Mix Reference CD: (tones and noise, and stuff....)
Oasis: What's the Story (Morning Glory)?: (some good things, some lessons on what not to do)
Dr. Dre: The Chronic (classic)
Hank Mobley/Lee Morgan: Peckin' Time
Big Train Sound: (sounds of trains, really...)
The Round Sound, Vol 1: (sounds of radial airplane engines)


There's a few others I'm sure, but I'm forgetting.....

[quote="goosman"]
The Round Sound, Vol 1: (sounds of radial airplane engines)


This sounds cool, especially to cut up and overlap and just generally fuck around with. As for good references I think there is already a thread on this but I don't think it was very extensive, I remember people mentioning Nina Nastasia's "Blackened Air". It doesn't really seem to me that you would really want to use distorted rock music that much. I think there's a Bobby Brown record with the lowest recorded bass note on it.

The Round Sound is a cool disc, I love aviation and aviation sounds. They were able to do a pretty good job capturing some great sounding engines.

I get my discs at http://www.oldplanes.com

There is also a pass by of a plane called "Rare Bear" at the Reno Air Races.
In this pass it's breaking the air speed record by a propeller driven aircraft, 528 m.p.h.! Loads of low end and fun to scare the neighbors with.

'nobody knew her,' track 10 on nina nastasia's _dogs_ album

i have used this song many many times to audition stereo equipment

it has everything you need to accomplish this task, in terms of freq range, clarity, stereo separation, and dynamics

the guy at the stereo place asked me for contact info so he could buy some to carry in his store, that's how good it sounds

i used to use _back in black_ as well, but i realized that it actually sounds great on pretty much anything, which kind of defeated my purpose

that never even occurred to me, to use aviation recordings to evaluate systems. i usually have always stuck to music, just because that's what i generally am dealing with when recording, mixing, mastering, listening... i actually have recordings ::edit:: of some aviation stuff.

Even though it spawned the worst music style ever, EVER, -smooth jazz, Steely Dan's "Aja" is my litmus test.

Another good gauge is an album you are extremly aware of that you have heard in a milion different situations, for me Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" or some classic rock song like "Sultans Of Swing" i've heard a zillion times.

Also, a rap album with sick fat bass, and quality string quartet recording so you can hear the clarity of pure even tone.

Good thread.

I like:

Television - Marquee Moon
Sex Pistols - Nevermind the Bollocks (one of my favorite rock mixes)
Neil Young - Zuma
any Steely Dan
The Auteurs - After Murder Park (Steve did this one at Abbey Rd.)
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Oh yeah, Steely Dan. It seems 95% or more of the audio product sales reps I meet demo their products with "Aja" or "Best of...". Not my cup of tea, but certainly a warhorse of "what will make my products sound stunning" when the demo truck comes to town.

Some of my choice selections include:

Respighi - Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome: on RCA "Living Stereo" LSC-2436; Reiner, CSO. One of the finest recordings ever made in any genre, period. The soundstage and sonics are incredible, performance is flawless, and it will definately put your components to the test.

Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheharazade: on RCA "Living Stereo" LSC-2446; Reiner, CSO. Same commentary as the first. Whether or not you've tired of the music the sonics will again knock you on your ass.

John Coltrane/Milt Jackson - Bags & Trane. By far one of his less notable recordings, the sonics are such as to make this a fine "reference"

Led Zeppelin I or III

Debussy - Works for Two Pianos: on Helios. Piano recordings are good for putting a system though the paces. I have another disc of Chopin on Naxos that works well for this.

Esquivel - Infinity In Sound. Great dynamics; a good one for testing turntable/cartridge trackability. Other good ones for that purpose include Henri Rene's - "Compulsion to Swing" and the Teldec "Omnidisc" set from the mid/early 80's.

BTW - I'm not referring to any of those expensive Chesky or Classic reissues in reference to the vinyl. The original pressings work fine for my taste.

tmidgett wrote:'nobody knew her,' track 10 on nina nastasia's _dogs_ album

i have used this song many many times to audition stereo equipment

it has everything you need to accomplish this task, in terms of freq range, clarity, stereo separation, and dynamics

the guy at the stereo place asked me for contact info so he could buy some to carry in his store, that's how good it sounds

i used to use _back in black_ as well, but i realized that it actually sounds great on pretty much anything, which kind of defeated my purpose

Tim,
I've noticed you mention this before. I agree that this record sounds amazing, however I find The Blackened Air to be slightly better in sound quality. I think this is particulary noticeable in the low-end,. I also find the CD lends itself well to referencing baecuase of the more elaborate arrangements and various musical instruments. Dogs always seemed a tad bit boomy to me. Interestingly enough, Dogs spends more time in my CD player than TBA. I have used both albums as reference discs. Together they make a good referencing tool when looking for something "in-between". I have not heard the new one yet, any comments? I hear it was recorded in a black box.

mike