Great question. I often use Ornette Coleman's "Ramblin'" to get the overall picture. Then I might go to a Schoenberg string quartet, like #4, to get the difficult space as a challenge. Then maybe all out baroque, like a Bach Orchestral suite. If I still like what I am hearing, I go to solo instrument pieces.
"Litmus test" songs
I know, I know, you can't evaluate a component, let alone a whole system based on a single piece of music, or even a half-dozen pieces. That said, are there any songs out there that you use as litmus tests when evaluating a purchase? Some song that you use when you say, "If this gear doesn't sound good with this song, then I don't care what else it does, it's going back"?
For me the Number 1 is "It's For You" by Pat Metheny Group.
For me the Number 1 is "It's For You" by Pat Metheny Group.