What is the One Test Track That Tells You Almost Everything About A System?

Here is the same list, organize by primary test function:

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BASS — Extension, Weight, Articulation

• Patricia Barber, "Nardis" (Cafe Blue) — bass articulation and control
• Tracy Chapman, "Mountain of Things" — deep bass extension
• Brian Bromberg, "The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers" — acoustic wood resonance, bass texture
• Beck, "Paper Tiger" (Sea Change) — bass performance and clarity
• Ray Brown Trio, "Take the A Train" (AP 45rpm) — bowed vs. plucked bass, pace and rhythm
• Oscar Peterson Trio, "You Look Good to Me" — bowed-to-plucked transition, rhythmic bass
• Gidge, "Perimeter" (New Light) — powerful low-end, immersive bass for large systems
• Yello, "Kiss in Blue" (Touch) — full-range with strong bass component
• Goose, "Slow Ready" — bass, midrange, horns integration

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DYNAMICS — Macro and Micro

• Mahler, Symphony No. 5 (1st mvt.), Simon Rattle — dynamic power and control
• Mahler, Symphony No. 2, Mehta / Vienna Philharmonic — silence-to-monster-climax range
• Shostakovich, Symphony No. 10 (2nd mvt.), Nelsons / Boston Symphony — large dynamic swings in live hi-res recording
• Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet excerpts, Leinsdorf / LA Symphony — whisper-to-full-assault dynamics
• Haydn, Symphony No. 94, Audiophile Reference 1 Track 13 — low-level detail leading to sudden crescendo
• Tom Petty, "Shadow People" — faint percussion in sparse sections revealing micro-dynamic resolution
• KALEO, "Way Down We Go" — detail emerging late in the track
• Cincinnati Pops, "Danse Macabre" (Chiller) — high-octave detail, dynamic slam and weight
• Kansas, "The Pinnacle" (Masque) — speed and dynamic energy

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SOUNDSTAGE — Width, Depth, and Dimensionality

• Kurt Weill, Threepenny Opera, Lotte Lenya — singers moving in space, immersive 360° depth
• Malia, "Celestial Echo" (Convergence) — soundstage extending beyond room walls without diffusion
• Weather Report, "Birdland" (ORG 45rpm) — soundstage size
• Yuri Honing Trio, "Walking on the Moon" — spatial relationships at volume
• Shostakovich, Symphony No. 10 (2nd mvt.), Nelsons / BSO — wide stage, string extension beyond speakers
• John Lee Hooker, "The Healer" — drums sweeping across the full soundstage
• Beck, "Golden Age" (Sea Change) — center image solidity
• Pink Floyd, "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1" — ambience and spatial effects
• Various Artists, "Istanbul" (Divan) — wall-to-wall percussive spatial pop

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IMAGING — Precise Placement and Layering

• Gillian Welch, "Time's a Revelator" — separation of two guitars occupying distinct space
• Peter Bernstein & Guido Di Leone, "St. Thomas" — delineated depth layers, percussive imaging
• Art Pepper, "Nature Boy" — organic soundstage layering, timbral placement
• Keb' Mo', "Muddy Water" (Slow Down) — instruments dispersed front-to-back and left-to-right in 3D space
• "Limehouse Blues" / "High Life" (Jazz at the Pawnshop) — live acoustic space, instrument placement
• Bach Orchestral Suites, Jordi Savall — timbral variety with precise instrumental location
• Yarlung Records, circling tones — room acoustics and speaker placement (tones should float above and behind)

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RESOLUTION AND RETRIEVAL OF DETAIL

• Wilco, "Art of Almost" — resolving power (sounds like noise on lesser systems)
• Nine Inch Nails, "Ruiner" (The Downward Spiral) — complex layered separation, phasing effects
• Radiohead, "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" — textural resolution
• Michael Hedges, "Aerial Boundaries" — harmonic overtones, neck resonance, micro-detail
• Nils Lofgren, "Keith Don't Go" (Acoustic Live) — guitar in natural space, reverb decay
• Mahler, Symphony No. 10, Nelsons / BSO — instrument separation in complex orchestral texture
• Ted B, "From a Standstill" — Bella Sonus (Enamoured) — sub-bass transient clarity amid wide frequency spectrum

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TONAL ACCURACY AND TIMBRE

• Art Pepper, "Nature Boy" — organic timbral accuracy
• Brad Mehldau, "Since I Fell For You" — real piano timbre
• David Benoit, "The Key to You" — acoustic piano without forward coloration, musical cymbal bells
• Stravinsky, Petrushka / The Firebird — full orchestral tonal accuracy
• Neil Young, "Such a Woman" (Harvest Moon) — piano, voice, and delicate cymbal decay together
• Muddy Waters, "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" (Folk Singer) — vintage timbre benchmark, 1964 stereo

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VOICE — Human Vocal Reproduction

• Dominique Fils-Aimé, "Birds" — spatial cues and the human voice
• Diana Krall, "No Moon at All" — voice, bass, piano integration
• Diana Krall, "The Look of Love" (Live in Paris, ORG 45rpm) — vocal presence and bloom
• Catalani, "La Wally" aria, Wilhelmina Fernandez (Diva soundtrack) — operatic voice and emotional rendering
• Lady Blackbird, "Fix It" (Black Acid Soul) — raw vocal character
• Chrissie Hynde, "Try to Sleep" (Duets Special) — intimate vocal texture
• Malia, "Celestial Echo" — female voice amid expansive electronic backdrop

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SIBILANCE AND HIGH-FREQUENCY ACCURACY

• Keb' Mo', "Muddy Water" — sibilance in vocal, snare crack, cymbal tone vs. hash
• Diana Krall, "No Moon at All" — mild sibilance present, useful as calibration
• Shostakovich No. 10, Nelsons / BSO — silky strings extending into high register

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NOISE FLOOR AND LOW-LEVEL RESOLUTION

• Haydn, Symphony No. 94, Audiophile Reference 1 Track 13 — quiet background revealing delicate percussion overtones
• Tom Petty, "Shadow People" — faint percussion in near-silence distinguishes better systems
• Mahler No. 2, Mehta / Vienna — most silent passages as a system discriminator

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COMPLEX MIX SEPARATION

• Nine Inch Nails, "Ruiner" — phasing tricks, layered complexity, studio effects
• Wilco, "Art of Almost" — dense mix requiring resolution to disentangle
• Pink Floyd, "Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 1" — layered production, spatial effects
• Kansas, "The Pinnacle" — speed and energy under complex arrangement
• Gidge, "Perimeter" — immersive electronic complexity at scale

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ROOM ACOUSTICS AND SPEAKER PLACEMENT

• Yarlung Records, circling tones — definitive test: tones should appear above and behind the listening position
• Kurt Weill, Threepenny Opera, Lotte Lenya — singers should rotate convincingly around the room
• Mahgister's note: any track with live spatial cues will expose acoustic deficiencies no price tag can fix

In general classical is the hardest to reproduce... and I would say and interpret what is good and bad about a component if you are thinking analytically. Because of its complexity. 

I concur regarding classical in general. 

As far as compression/congestion is concerned, symphonic finales/crescendos give one a quick clue as to what a system can and can’t do. The better the symphonic soft passages are reproduced along with the crescendos (sans congestion), without having to increase the volume for the soft passages and decrease for the crescendos, the better the system.

I’ve seen some mention of sibilance (herein & elsewhere) as something to ameliorate.  But I’ve never encountered sibilance either as a negative or a positive.  I’m unsure why not.

Use whatever vocal and instrumental recordings are well recorded and you’re familiar with; to make sure frequency response, harmonics and timber are as close to reproducing the live instrument as possible.

Frequency response, harmonics, timber etc., plus objective measurements are great to get one in the ballpark.  But, in a 2-channel system, they don’t display or measure what’s to me the vitally important 3D illusion of:  you-are-there.  Moving from mid-high-end, to high-end was a move to get the timber and harmonics of instruments correct, but then also to increase/improve the all-important instrument separation/imaging and soundstage.

In general, I’ve found numerous recordings from:

Reference Recordings, Sheffield and Chesky to provide audiophile performances. 

In no particular order, some favorites follow:

• Chesky’s Ultimate Demonstration Disc
• Burmester’s CD III, particularly Hugh Masekela’s (Live): “Stimela”. 
• As others have mentioned, Patrica Barber, Diana Krall provide good demos. 
• Alison Krauss + Union Live, especially Jerry Douglas’ Dobro on: “A Tribute to Peador O’Donnell/Monkey Let the Hogs Out” and “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn”.
• Dr. John’s:  Perdido (from: Duke Elegant) 
• Nils Lofgran’s:  Keith Don’t Go (from: Acoustic Live)
• Diana Krall’s:  Live in Paris album (The Look of Love & ‘S Wonderful)
• The Peter Malick Group (featuring Norah Jones) on:  New York City (from: New York City)
• The Who’s: New York (1971) Record Plant Session
• Audiogon’s Presents the Wake-Up Your Ears Sampler:  Stank & Get Behind the Mule
• 1812 Festival Overature, op. 49 Antal Dorati, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (not only for how great a 1958 recording can be, but also for its historic use of West Point cannons and the Rockefeller Memorial Carillon as described is the commentary following the performance.).
• Wynton Marsalis, The Magic Hour:  Feeling of Jazz (when the trumpet kicks-in,wow).  Speaking of a trumpet, Hugh Masekela’s trumpet on the aforementioned Stimela is also a good one.)
• Keb Mo’s:  Every Morning (from Keb’ Mo’) and A Better Man (from Slow Down)
• Erykah Badu’s:  Rimshot (intro) on Baduizm
• John Lee Hooker’s: Healer on the Healer album
• Lyle Lovett’s:  North Dakota (from Joshua Judges Ruth)
• With 100's more....

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ulcerdoc

2nd- Patricia Barber "Nardis".  

Mine is "Frontin'" Jamie Cullum -Twentysomething CD or SACD Verve 2004.

 

Happy Listening!

I use several different tracks, depending on the age and musical tastes of a person I'm demoing my system to, especially my Audio Concepts ACI,  Sapphire III LE speakers. If they are familiar with Fleetwood Mac I'll put on Go Your Own Way  for their instrument and vocal presentation and any others they know, as these Audio Concepts speakers are very clear and accurate with both, even at higher volumes. Nearly any songs by the Eagles work nicely too.

For more modern country-rock style music I'll select some Midland, like Drinkin' Problem, Mr. Lonely, Playboys and Longneck Way To Go. Also in this style or genre is Brothers Osborne with It Ain't My Fault, All Night, Skeletons and Might As Well Be Me. Some Toby Keith, George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Old Dominion work well too.

 

If anyone is familiar with Latin music, I'll put on some Diego Verdaguer Mala, Tonta and others from Organico album, because of the style of music with so many different vocals and instruments used just come alive.  I'll also select some Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull for mixing up Latin style music. 

If someone likes Reggae, then of course it's Bob Marley, Shaggy, Inner Circle, or some Big Mountain songs to demo.  If it's different types of rock or hard then it's some U2, INXS, ACDC, Ozzy, Nirvana, Aerosmith,  Eric Clapton, etc.

We are regular people, so we have our stereo with my home theater in our open concept living room that is open to our kitchen and dining room, so no special room treatment or positioning away from the wall, just 5.2 surround positioning as best as as we could. We use an older Yamaha AVR with 2 separate older Marantz 5 channel amplifiers to bi-amping our Audio Concepts Sapphire III LE's, so nothing hi-end or very expensive, but nice. Two subwoofers, not matched brand for now, but nicely integrated.

I just enjoy sharing my love of music along with my passion for the smaller, independent speaker manufacturer of Audio Concepts,  Inc ACI speakers, as I grew up with one of their builders, as he was my dad's best friend growing up. 

If you ever have the chance to listen to them, please do so, as they are a great hidden secret in hi-fi speakers. Very hard to find since they retired as a company in 2007 or so, but once in a while they will show up on Ebay, Audiogon, Reverb or US Audio Mart, and if you are very lucky maybe on Facebook Marketplace. 

I hope this will open your mind towards smaller, independently built speakers, as their are some amazing ones out there at different price points for nearly everyone. If you are a handy person who can do some cabinet building, there are some great DIY kits or plans out there to match or even exceed some of the more manufactured high volume speakers. 

 

Enjoy the music for what ever system you may have.

 

 

 

 

Some very good suggestions here. I’ve heard most of them. A really good, dynamic old classic rock tune is one by Elton John called Mad Man across the water. The original 8:52 version, not the short version, its not very good. Give it 75-80 db, amazing!