My go-to reference album for demonstrating the nuances of my soundsystem is a vinyl copy of Ry Cooder's Jazz album. It literally sounds like a live performance of acoustic guitar and voice in my listening room.

The Crystal Method - Starting Over is always my 1st demo track. (I have the DVD Audio disc with DTS). Absolutely immersed in sound when it is on.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/RxUMCpm4bBg

1812 Overture. Flight of the Valkerie. Star Wars theme of Darth Vader. You have to listen for solid bass, good mid range and treble without crackling or popping.

To show off a system’s true high fidelity the music source should be a quality classical or jazz recording from a label like Telarc (now Concord). Pop music is produced and mixed to sound good on anything.

Ever see pictures of a studio? Next to the state-of-the-art monitors and soundboard you’ll notice small cheap speakers. That’s so the final mix of a pop/rock/rap recording will sound good on cheap home stereos, cars, and boom boxes.

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Originally posted by SIGGUY (THE 1ST):
1812 Overture. Flight of the Valkerie. Star Wars theme of Darth Vader. You have to listen for solid bass, good mid range and treble without crackling or popping.

These are also excellent suggestions.

the 1812 with real cannons (I have a vinyl version with a warning about possible speaker damage due to the real cannons being recorded.)

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Symphony Number Three in C Sharp Minor (the “Organ Symphony”) by Camille Saint-Sans. Especially the last part where the organ comes in.

This is what I was going to recommend as a single piece.

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I usually use one vocalist, one guitar, one piano and one quartet or symphony.

I like to test for dynamics, accuracy and sound stage. Pick something that was recorded well that is very familiar to you.

This is also a good idea. Voice is one of the hardest things to reproduce accurately, I believe; as is piano. If you know exactly what the original sounds like, you will be able to determine nuances that shade toward or away from accuracy to the original sound.

Now that age has dampened my high-frequency response which is so much a part of hearing the harmonics that make up a complex tone, I can no longer hear the "sheen" of violins as I used to.

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Ever see pictures of a studio? Next to the state-of-the-art monitors and soundboard you’ll notice small cheap speakers. That’s so the final mix of a pop/rock/rap recording will sound good on cheap home stereos, cars, and boom boxes

Perhaps. But true "studio monitors" at least from the time I was following this were usually extremely accurate, neutral speakers, and to standardize from one studio to the next--at least in the UK--the BBC had a speaker called the LS3/5A, made by Rogers, Goodman, Chartwell (IIRC) and others, built to exacting specifications so it would sound exactly the same from one studio to another.
I have an old pair of those from the 80's, and in demo'ing it to my (amateur musician) wife she and I thought it blew away the speakers we had been using (Dynaco's).

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

quote:

Ever see pictures of a studio? Next to the state-of-the-art monitors and soundboard you’ll notice small cheap speakers. That’s so the final mix of a pop/rock/rap recording will sound good on cheap home stereos, cars, and boom boxes

Perhaps. But true "studio monitors" at least from the time I was following this were usually extremely accurate, neutral speakers, and to standardize from one studio to the next--at least in the UK--the BBC had a speaker called the LS3/5A, made by Rogers, Goodman, Chartwell (IIRC) and others, built to exacting specifications so it would sound exactly the same from one studio to another.
I have an old pair of those from the 80's, and in demo'ing it to my (amateur musician) wife she and I thought it blew away the speakers we had been using (Dynaco's).

A former boss had a pair of the Rogers and they were excellent speakers.

And you're correct, the world class studios used expensive studio monitors, that minimized "coloring" the sound. Accurate, unforgiving studio monitors made by companies like Quested are pricey, extremely durable, and really nothing like home consumer speakers. Abbey Road used B&W 801 monitors for years, I would love a pair.

^^^^^
The point I was trying to make is in ADDITION to the studio monitors you will also see the cheap speakers. The cheapies are there to monitor or hear what a pop song will sound like on low-end consumer speakers. Love 801s.

Lots of good suggestions so far. While it won't cover the audio spectrum, Pink Floyd's 'Welcome to the Machine' will give your bass a good workout.

First tune I thought of that would work is Also sprach
Zarathustra (2001 Space Odyssey)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VxLacN2Dp6A

What about Edgar Winter: Frankenstein

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Originally posted by akwalker:
What about Edgar Winter: Frankenstein

Page 2, 2/3 of the way down.

Love threads like this. Always gives me great ideas for new music.

My go to list is:

MFSL album - Crime of the Century -Supertramp
MFSL album - Dark Side of the Mood - Pink Floyd
Super audio CD -Dark Side of the Moon.
Album - Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
Album - Hell freezes over - Eagles

Any song on any of these recordings works.

Three Lock Box - Sammy Hagar
The title song.
I've used this album to sell high-end audio equipment for years.