'Fix it 'on Black acid soul By Lady Blackbird
'Try to sleep' on duets special by Chrissy Hyde.
Two great vocal tracks to evaluate on a system.
What is the One Test Track That Tells You Almost Everything About A System?
My recent thread comparing Tidal and Qobuz generated a lot of great discussion so I thought I’d try another question for the group.
If you had to choose one track that tells you almost everything about a system, what would it be?
I’m talking about the track you play when:
• evaluating a new component
• setting up a system
• showing someone what your system can do
Ideally it reveals several things at once — imaging, tonal balance, bass control, dynamics, etc.
One of mine is Patricia Barber – “Nardis” from Cafe Blue.
The recording exposes bass articulation, room ambience, and micro-dynamics almost immediately.
I’m always looking for new reference tracks, so I’d love to hear what others use — and what specifically the track reveals about a system.
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I wasn't familiar with "Nardis", so I just gave it a listen. Great track! As a drummer, I enjoyed hearing the drum solo and the presentation of the percussion very much. I also agree with others that a good classical music track will tell a lot about a system's performance. My personal favorite work for evaluating a system is Mahler's 2nd Symphony. As an amateur choral singer, I have experienced this work on the stage, as well as many times from the audience, and I know it well. The recording by Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic is a personal favorite. The ability of a system to convey the most silent sections as well as the monster finale will tell you a lot.
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+1 for "Limehouse Blues" (or just about anything else from Jazz at the Pawnshop). My 3-SACD 30th Anniversary set on the Proprius label includes the liner notes from the 2005 SACD release, written by Stefan Navermyr and detailing the recording process that engineer Gert Palmcrantz followed. They include descriptions of the make/model/directionality of the microphones used, distances from each other, angles of incline, distances above the floor, etc. Incredibly fascinating to read. After JATP, I typically go to either a tried and true standby, a SACD of "Kind of Blue", or Donald Fagen’s solo Kamakiriad release and listen to "Snowbound" (a track, by the way, that was written by Fagen/Becker back in 1985), "Tomorrow’s Girls" and "Springtime". Typical Steely Dan production values (and sardonic, literary lyrics). Happily, as it were, the year Kamakiriad was released (1993) the two set out on Steely Dan’s first tour since 1974 . But I digress. |
@ted_b Great call on Enamoured. I thought I was the only one. The whole album is uniformly well recorded and audiophile quality. I even called up the head man at Neurodisc to compliment him on the recording quality of the disc. |
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