my most punishing bass test track on cd is "poem of chinese drums" (naxos), also available on burmester's vorfuhrungs-cd III. on lp "dafos" (reference recordings) is the clear choice.
Speaker punishing bass
I was wondering if anybody had suggestions for quality recordings with frightening bass. I use several discs for auditioning speakers to see if they can stand up without distorting. My favorites are: Vic Wooten with the Flecktones, Marcus Miller, Copland's "Fanfare for a Common Man", Edgar Meyer's "Uncommon Ritual" and "Passage" by the Empire Brass Quintet. While bass isn't the last word it has made short work of some speaker choices. As always I look forward to any suggestions.