Test track

Mikey081057

What's your favorite track to test a pair of speakers or rig with???

I like Monsoon from Spyro Gyra from the "The Deep End" SACD

Really covers just about everything deep bass, female vocals. sax guitar, exquisite highs and from a production standpoint.... maybe as close to a perfect recording there is IMO..

nooshinjohn

Patricia Barber's "Too Rich For My Blood".... Bob Carver tipped me off to that one.

gce

I like to use "Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat" Original LP or "Dave Brubeck Time Out" reissue 45rpm LP.

xsmi

I have two.

1. Bali Run Four Play dynamics and some serious bass thumping by Nathan East.
2. Peel Me A Grape Diana Krall Female vocals and huge space on the recording.

seabeerob213

Radar Love- Golden Earring good range from some smooth low bass to some soaring highs, lots of instruments, which i can hear becoming more apparent and discernible as my system warms up, and much better when i make upgrades.

gimpod

Bob James - Ludwig from the 1983 Foxie album.

If you can get a good analog recording IMHO it might blow your mind but if not be careful with the eviction control knob it will blow tweeters.

This YouTube video doesn't even come close to showing how dynamic this recording is.

voltz

gce wrote: »

I like to use "Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat" Original LP or "Dave Brubeck Time Out" reissue 45rpm LP.

Hey I have both of them

gce

voltz wrote: »

gce wrote: »

I like to use "Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat" Original LP or "Dave Brubeck Time Out" reissue 45rpm LP.

Hey I have both of them

Again, thanks voltz for recommending "Time Out". The wife had to go to a 1year old BD party last night so I put on "Time Out" and up went the volume. With the 703's it sounds sooooooo good at a high volume.

mhardy6647

If I would have to use one track to pressure test a pair of loudspeakers, it'd be Jennifer Warnes' Way Down Deep from her album The Hunter. Not a very original choice, but it does a good job of shakin' down a pair of loudspeakers.

1Locoweed

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AXMRRrd8hxk

steveinaz

Donald Fagen "Nightfly" without a doubt.

PSOVLSK

Not my "go-to" test track because I just found it, but "Rock On" from Def Leppard's "Yeah". The old David Essex tune redone by Def Leppard sounds fantastic. Separation is great, sound is enveloping. When I play it in two channel you'd swear the surround speakers were involved.

It's recorded a bit hot, but I still think it sounds great. I'll be taking it to Skip's this weekend to get the opinions of some real audiophiles.

Irrenhaus

DSkip wrote: »

Here are some that I like that I almost guarantee nobody else uses:

Tool - 10,000 Days - the thunderstorm in this song has the ability to play all around you. On a good system, its quite engrossing and spooky to listen to. At some points, it actually sound like the rain is pelting all around you, like you truly are in the middle of a storm.

Across The Universe - Let It Be - From the breath the singers take, to the full chorus, to the boy's voice and female's voice, as well as to the soundstage depth between the piano, chorus, and female, this is turning out to be a really good test track for me. On a good rig, there is a massive amount of depth from the lead singer to the chorus, and the piano is back and to the left. I don't hear that space on many systems.

Blue October - Into the Ocean - there is the lead singer, then there is the background singer. A good system will separate these voices well.

Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight - same as the last song - at almost 2 minutes into the song, a second voice can be heard stage left. I always thought it was just him with reverb or some other trickery, but its actually a legitimate second singer, almost talking the lyrics.

Lorde - I use a handful of her tracks to see how well you can identify the layering of tracks. On poor systems, it sounds rather cohesive. That begins to break up on better systems.

Gotye - he has several good songs to use as well. His songs generally test soundstage width and dynamic range. My favorite is "State of the Art" on his Making Mirrors album. This track can tell you a lot about a rig. In addition to the above, it also gives you an idea of any congestion the system might have due to multiple 'instruments' playing at a single time. It also tests the bottom end authority of your rig.

Tool fan here. Love Schism, Eulogy. Check out Puscifer and Perfect Circle you may like them.

Also favorite tracks Patricia Barber Touch of Trash and Marquise Knox Here I am...

nooshinjohn

Just discovered another... "The Road to He!!" by Chris Rea...
http://youtu.be/ToQhVV7WpLk

tonyb

Many good choices here. For certain things I use different music. Soundstage I use Dire Straights Brothers in arms....for bass anything by Mellencamp for sharpness of those lower and mids. Female voices like Patricia Barber or Diana krall for higher notes and air. Occasionally I use Mapleshades Art of the Ballad too. Just some, I use many others too.

cfrizz

I made a speaker testing cd of some of my favorite songs

Carly Simon, Martha Vineyard Live concert
It Happens Every Day
The Right Thing To Do
Anticipation

Celine Dion
The Power Of The Dream

Bee Gees
I've Got To Get A Message To You

Eric Clapton, Unplugged
Tears In Heaven
Layla

The Eagles, Farewell Tour
Life In The Fast Lane
Hotel California

Virgil Fox
Fugue In G Major - Gigue Fugue (Organ)
-
The allows me to give speakers a good wide range work out to see if they suit my ears.

Derm

Some great choices listed.

I'll add some Robert Plant
Remastered versions of Big Log and Ship of Fools are great tracks.

WLDock

Below are some cuts that I've used for years to evaluate or tune a system. Listened to these on many home, car, and pro audio systems so they are familiar. There's a ton of other stuff out there or at least ten other tracks I could throw in...but after listening to these I pretty much have a good idea about a system.

The Quincy Jones track is one that I think is a cool piece of music and I've taken to it over the years. It starts with simple L-R syth sounds and by the end get louder with a huge choir. There are many layers and so many ways a bad system can destroy the track. Yeah there are better recordings out there but I love the cut for many reasons. Got to listen to it on the $230K Focal Stella Utopia EM, Aesthetix, Clearaudi system at AXPONA. At first things were not so nice as I was up front and too close. WAAAY too much detail and out of the sweet spot made things sound fuzzy. However, I went toward the back of the HUGE room and things began to get get fun. One of the reps there knew the track and had tear in his eyes afterwards...said the song was moving and had not heard it in awhile. To his defense...he was a serious emotional music lover.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/WLDock/media/AXPONA Chicago 2014/P1040028.jpg.html
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/WLDock/media/AXPONA Chicago 2014/P1040029.jpg.html

QUINCY JONES – Back On The Block
Track 7 – “The Places You Find Love”
(Use this cut to see how well a system deals with the fine detail at the beginning and the layers, low syth bass, and large choir at the end. There are things going on front to back and side to side.)

FOURPLAY – Between The Sheets
Track 1 – “Chant”
(The intro floor tom hit says it all about this track. IMPACT yet attention to Detail!)

JOSHUA REDMAN QUARTET – Spirit of the Moment, Live at the Village Vanguard
Disc One, Track-7 – “St. Thomas”
(Long Tenor sax solo at the beginning. Use to see if the system makes one feel like your are sitting in the room, the legendary Vanguard!)

MANHATTAN JAZZ QUINTET – Funky Strut
All Tracks are great! - especially Track 6 Song for My Father
(IMO, this is a well recorded album. I like to use it to see how detailed a system is and how well it makes the instruments sound as well as placement and staging.)

westmassguy

Gladiator Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. It will put your speakers through the mill. From the softest passages to ear shattering crescendos.
I never seem to make it through the whole thing though, because it makes me want to watch the movie.

ukcolin99

Thanks for starting this thread Mikey, you guys are all over this subject, I'm gonna try some new tunes.
Is the source vital to the song as a speaker/rig test, if the song is played on regular CD is it still a good test? 'Have no vinyl or sacd. Thank you.
I like: Summer Breeze-Isley Brothers, River Deep Mountain High-Ike & Tina Turner (Phil Spector version), Dark Star-Polica, I'm Not Dead Yet-For All Those Sleeping, Front Row Seats To The End Of The World-Funeral For A Friend. (last 2 are metal).

voltz

now I like to use Natalie Merchants - San Andreas Fault 45rpm vinyl - Dave Brubeck - Take Five 45rpm vinyl- Supertramps -School - new 180 gram vinyl.
- and "The Doors" - The End on 45rpm vinyl.

mhardy6647

"Miss Merchant's" album Tigerlily is a guilty pleasure here, I guess. Great sounding recording. Another fine track on there, IMO, is Carnival.

polk500

Thanks guys, I've listen to most of the tracks listed some great ones for sure. And like a few have noted already Dire Straits is also a fav of mine to check out a system.

Cheers
Roger

ken brydson

No one has mentioned Steely Dan's 2 Against Nature. That's one of my "go to's"...

mhardy6647

ken brydson wrote: »

No one has mentioned Steely Dan's 2 Against Nature. That's one of my "go to's"...

It does sound good - a little "dry" artistically, though, from my perspective. As is said, "You can't go home again".

That said, I liked Janie Runaway. I literally haven't listened to that album for years. Ought to pull it out again.

deronb1

"Hey 19" for sure. Norah's debut album. Telarc recording "Star Tracks" Movie themes by John Williams. James Taylor's Greatest vol 2 is put together very well.

Mikey081057

Donald Fagen "What I do" off Morph the Cat is a fav of mine.

ukcolin99

Just noticed my cd: EPIPHANY: Best of Chaka Khan is in HDCD format. Read a little on Wiki. Sounds pretty good. First cd I own, 'noticed is an HDCD..

ukcolin99

Michael Haaga's The Plus and Minus Show, at least the first 4 tracks will give your front pair a great work out. Not well known, excellent rock album from 2005.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

I mainly use the following tracks by Fourplay: Esprit de Four, Chant, Max-O-Man, 101 Eastbound, Fields of Gold, and Amoroso.