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So aside from test tone sweeps, what do you people listen to?
Don't try to impress with your Hannah Montana Collection; I'm just curious what CD's you think are good enough to make critical speaker tweaks on.
I mean, how can you ever really know how something is supposed to sound?
Sometimes its about knowing what the faults of a recording are too, not just "it sounds great".
While tweaking my Zaph SR-71 crossover I've gone thru hundreds of CDs, but everytime I evaluated a change I try to jump through the same handful. I tend to listen to a lot of different styles, so I'll keep my list to more mainstream stuff
Here's whats on the top of my pile (that there's a reasonable chance you've heard):
In Rainbows (Radiohead) - this is a very modern recording but not overly squashed like so many contemporary rock recordings. Great depth and layering. There's a couple of tracks where you can tell they put a little extra edge on the vocals (a good speaker should reveal the sins too!)
Springsteen Greatest Hits - the early stuff, like most pre-CD era recordings, are a little bass shy. The classic "Born to Run" is a very complex mix and a good test for the midrange detail and harshness. After all these years I've noticed something in the last chorus where you can hear the vocal tone changing in the last few lines (maybe a punch in?).
Robert Plant /Allison Krauss - With 2 great singers the vocals are understandably a little forward here. You can hear how they are panned ever so slightly apart.
Sia (Some people..) This recording is a bit of an enigma - its infamous for being mastered at too low a level, but it is one of the most natural recordings I've heard in a while. The drum sound is exemplary
Brazilian Girls Admittedly they are little off the beaten path, but this is an excellent recording : fantastic imaging and depth and ubeleivably solid, deep bass. The sexy, multilingual vocals just float in the air in front of you .
I welcome your comments on my list so we might compare notes.
What's on your list (hopefully not anything too obscure or out of print
?
Don't try to impress with your Hannah Montana Collection; I'm just curious what CD's you think are good enough to make critical speaker tweaks on.
I mean, how can you ever really know how something is supposed to sound?
Sometimes its about knowing what the faults of a recording are too, not just "it sounds great".
While tweaking my Zaph SR-71 crossover I've gone thru hundreds of CDs, but everytime I evaluated a change I try to jump through the same handful. I tend to listen to a lot of different styles, so I'll keep my list to more mainstream stuff
Here's whats on the top of my pile (that there's a reasonable chance you've heard):
In Rainbows (Radiohead) - this is a very modern recording but not overly squashed like so many contemporary rock recordings. Great depth and layering. There's a couple of tracks where you can tell they put a little extra edge on the vocals (a good speaker should reveal the sins too!)
Springsteen Greatest Hits - the early stuff, like most pre-CD era recordings, are a little bass shy. The classic "Born to Run" is a very complex mix and a good test for the midrange detail and harshness. After all these years I've noticed something in the last chorus where you can hear the vocal tone changing in the last few lines (maybe a punch in?).
Robert Plant /Allison Krauss - With 2 great singers the vocals are understandably a little forward here. You can hear how they are panned ever so slightly apart.
Sia (Some people..) This recording is a bit of an enigma - its infamous for being mastered at too low a level, but it is one of the most natural recordings I've heard in a while. The drum sound is exemplary
Brazilian Girls Admittedly they are little off the beaten path, but this is an excellent recording : fantastic imaging and depth and ubeleivably solid, deep bass. The sexy, multilingual vocals just float in the air in front of you .
I welcome your comments on my list so we might compare notes.
What's on your list (hopefully not anything too obscure or out of print
?
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