Dear @simonmoon : Accuracy is only one main MUSIC characteristic and not necesarily must be classical recording scores because the recording process depends too of the mastering process, plating and the like.In evaluation a room/system I think that the main MUSIC characteristic is transient response that develops the MUSIC dynamic power and yes that transient response must be accurated and your first hand experiences with live MUSIC ( any kind of MUSIC ) will tell you if it’s fine or wrong.
For accuracy I prefer the digital alternative over analog one ( everything the same. ) and does not matters if the score is acoustic or electronical or more or less processed. There are a lot of recordings with more processed steps that we can imagine and even that in many of those recordings you body are " moving/dancing " when listen those recordings classical or not..
Classical scores as the Firebird, 1812, Pictures at Exibition, Mahler symponies or other complex scores can’t tell us all about a room/system, can gives us maybe the 85%-90% of its quality level performance.
If we take recordings scores by Hans Zimmer, Vangelis, Jarré and many others we have down there a way wider accurated frequency response range, synthetizers is a way different world that makes we can complete a 99% room/system evaluation.
But exist other kind of MUSIC where normally we are not really accustom to and is the Asian scores where like Paramita recording ( Chinese composer. ) that uses only acoustic instruments ( including female voice. ) where the developed sound of those instruments are almost totally unknow for almost all of us and those kind of sounds are a true test to any room/system. Same happens with the instruments used in the Dafos scores ( Reference Recording label. ) and these kind of recordings an other ones I choosed in my evaluation whole process.
I own several CD’s of original soundtrack films where you can find out several to test any system. Gladiator is only an example but you can listen to the score of Memories of a Geisha and the MUSIC is splendid with yo yo Ma and Itzak Perlman or 3-4 tracks of the film The Thin Red Line and many more.
Other than the digital recorded old Telarc 1812 LP does not exist a classical score to evaluate the bass range of any system but CD’s as the Gladiator and the like.
Why is so important to me the home system bass range quality level? well in a home system as better the system bass range as better the overall quality performance. In a home system the MUSIC " belongs " to that bass range not to the mid range because the bass range and especially the low bass range develops notes/harmonics that modulates the quality level performance of the mid range that at the same time modulates the high frequency range response. So as better the bass range as better the home system. Yes, it has to be accurated.
R.