Good Music for testing Audio Equipment

Migo

Well-Known Member
Aug 10, 2013
138
14
148
The BB´s is a historically important album:
The group's self-titled debut album was recorded in 1978 at Sound 80 and was ostensibly going to be a direct to disc recording. Nevertheless, 3M placed an experimental 50.4 kHz digital recorder in the control room as a backup to the direct-to-disc lathe. The band was required to play the entire LP side without stopping and without any editing afterward. When the resulting acetate disc was deemed inferior to the digital master tape, the record was pressed from that digital backup tape, making it the second-ever U.S. commercially available digital recording. Since the machine used was an early experimental prototype, built before any digital recording standards were established, and dismantled before 1979, there is currently no way to reissue that first album on either LP or CD.[2]
 

APP

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2014
455
108
273
You can't just load it in your CD player? Actually mine is also not connected to my main system anymore either.
 
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APP

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2014
455
108
273
Macy Gray on Chesky , Binaural. Very special.

Interesting recording. But one wonders how long she can keep on singing like that on some songs her voice does not rise above a mere whisper.
 

daytona600

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2012
724
151
955
scotland
AIMX_6028__121272__01042017092915-1558.jpg

impex 180g version sheer bliss
 

APP

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2014
455
108
273
View attachment 35143

impex 180g version sheer bliss

Now that's a discovery. I did not know of this album!
That is now on the top of my wish list.
Look at the line up;
Conductor, Arranged By – Michel Legrand
Drums – Don Lamond (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B4), Kenny Dennis (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3), Osie Johnson (tracks: A3, A5, B5)
Flute – Herbie Mann (tracks: A1, A2, A4, A6, B1 to B4)
French Horn – James Buffington (tracks: A3, A5, B5)
Guitar – Barry Galbraith (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3)
Harp – Betty Glamann (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3)
Liner Notes – Nat Shapiro
Piano – Bill Evans (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3), Hank Jones (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B4), Nat Pierce (tracks: A3, A5, B5)
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B4), John Coltrane (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3), Seldon Powell (tracks: A3, A5, B5)
Trombone – Billy Byers (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B4), Eddie Bert (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B4), Frank Rehak (tracks: A2 to A5, B2, B4), Jimmy Cleveland (tracks: A2, A3 to A5, B2, B4, B5), Jimmy Cleveland (tracks: A3, A5, B5)
Trumpet – Art Farmer (tracks: A3, A5, B5), Donald Byrd (tracks: A3, A5, B5), Ernie Royal (tracks: A3, A5, B5), Joe Wilder (tracks: A3, A5, B5), Miles Davis (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3)
Vibraphone [Vibraharp] – Don Elliot* (tracks: A3, A5, B5), Eddie Costa (tracks: A1, A6, B1, B3)

Tracks A1, A6, B1, B3 - Recorded June 25, 1958 (New York City)
Tracks A2, A4, B2, B4 - Recorded June 27, 1958 (New York City)
Tracks A3, A5, B5 - Recorded June 30, 1958 (New York City)
 

daytona600

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2012
724
151
955
scotland
mfsl2-430.jpg

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
 

Loheswaran

Well-Known Member
Dec 19, 2014
432
99
258
For the purpose of testing - not necessarily that they are my favourite records:

1. Joe Jackson stepping out - great for timing and co-ordination with Piano tone
2. Nat adderley - work song - great live recording - great for soundstage
3. The Rebirth of Cool too - in particular the track 'I've lost my ignorance'
4. Pink Floyd - Dark Side ... (Cliche I know)
5. Elton John 'Bennie and the Jets' good for live recording image - and stage
6. James Brown Live at the Apollo 2 - voice - good 'air' I the recording
7. Galliano 'in pursuit of the 13th Note' - bass, vibraphone, very varied album
8. Moby 18 - a rare example of scale in a modern recording
9. LEftfield - leftism - the track space shanty is very good for bass tuning a room and bass control - if badly controlled and too lumpy it sounds like one sound - if it is too light the record doesn't come 'alive'
10 Prince Parade - treble can sound harsh in the wrong set up
11 Guru - JAzzmatazz - excellent recording end to end brilliance - just a nice record to demonstrate your system with
12 Koko Taylor - heart of a woman female vocals

That's just a smattering - I don't know enough about classical music to form a useful opinion. I am not into 'audiophile' recordings - I believe a system should try and bring out the best in a recording, but using normal recordings gives you a better idea of what your systems can do in the real world
 

Kefas

Well-Known Member
May 21, 2014
179
25
248
Excellent! Thanks

For the purpose of testing - not necessarily that they are my favourite records:

1. Joe Jackson stepping out - great for timing and co-ordination with Piano tone
2. Nat adderley - work song - great live recording - great for soundstage
3. The Rebirth of Cool too - in particular the track 'I've lost my ignorance'
4. Pink Floyd - Dark Side ... (Cliche I know)
5. Elton John 'Bennie and the Jets' good for live recording image - and stage
6. James Brown Live at the Apollo 2 - voice - good 'air' I the recording
7. Galliano 'in pursuit of the 13th Note' - bass, vibraphone, very varied album
8. Moby 18 - a rare example of scale in a modern recording
9. LEftfield - leftism - the track space shanty is very good for bass tuning a room and bass control - if badly controlled and too lumpy it sounds like one sound - if it is too light the record doesn't come 'alive'
10 Prince Parade - treble can sound harsh in the wrong set up
11 Guru - JAzzmatazz - excellent recording end to end brilliance - just a nice record to demonstrate your system with
12 Koko Taylor - heart of a woman female vocals

That's just a smattering - I don't know enough about classical music to form a useful opinion. I am not into 'audiophile' recordings - I believe a system should try and bring out the best in a recording, but using normal recordings gives you a better idea of what your systems can do in the real world

+2
Good list.
 

MadFloyd

Member Sponsor
May 30, 2010
3,076
774
1,700
Mass
this is one spectacular album with the bonus of minnie riperton's finest performance on vocalization. the instrumentation and assorted outdoor recording within are outstanding.

vinyl preferably (used 1977 recording) and cd is also available from eastquest records

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFQN1Cyebtg

When does Minnie sing in this? Scanning through the album I don't hear her...
 

hifitommy

Well-Known Member
madfloyd-"When does Minnie sing in this? " at about the 16:00 mark. she vocalizes more than sings. she comes in at the 17:00 mark with exquisitely high vocalizing and continues to ascend the scale until you think she has gone as far as she can and then she goes even higher.

her daughter is Maya Rudolph on SNL.

on YOUR system, this should be sine qua non. you will likely appreciate osamu kitajima's other albums. one relatively recent recording is Epitome which i think is right up there with his best but the eponymous one can be had on ebay or discogs. the CDs are available from East Quest Records:

http://www.eastquest.com/music.html

have fun with these.

...regards..tr
 

Empirical Audio

Industry Expert
Oct 12, 2017
1,169
207
150
Great Pacific Northwest
www.empiricalaudio.com
There are few tracks that are essential for testing of audio systems:

1) good percussion tracks, both drums and cymbols, bells
2) non-music tracks: thunder, rain, paddle of a canoe in water (Andreas Vollenwider), tinkling glass

The non-music tracks are especially useful because we all know what they sound like in real life.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
 

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