Good Sample Tracks to Test a Set of Speakers

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.high-end (More info?)

I am currently in the market of finding a new set of speakers to accompany a
Receiver to get a system. (as one of my other posts showed)

I went through my whole cd collection and made a summary cd of tracks to
take to the different shops to test the speakers with music i liked....

The speakers will be about 50 50 when it comes to music and home theatre...

I am a complete novice when it comes to this but i thought i wanted to get a
well rounded speaker that sounds good for most of what i listen to...

The Categories i put on it were;
1. Live (Pink FLoyd - Learning to Fly, George Michael - DOnt let the sun go
down on me)
2. Pop (G. Michael - Freedom 90)
3. Accoustic Pop (Maroon 5 - She will be loved)
4. Rock (Queen - Princes of the Universe, Van Halen - Dreams)
5. Percussion (Safridio - The Bongo Drums, uno that one when you hear it)
5. Classical/Theatre - (Charlotte Church - Ave Maria and Amazing Grace, Stig
Rossen - The Impossible Dream)
7. SOundtrack (Immortal Beloved - Fur Elis, Jurassic Park - Opening Credits,
Back Draft - Here comes the Fire Engines).
And lastly my favourite......John Williams Star Wars soundtracks....the two
tracks i sampled from this was DUel of the Fates (Phantom Menace), and
Across teh Stars (Attack of the clones love theme)..

Hope this helps.....

Could people please provide feedback to if this is how they would do it or
are there better pieces to try out some of these music styles.....

and also what speakers should i be looking to , and which ones avoid...My
speaker budget is going to be around the 2,500 AUD.....and in around a year
to 18 months will invest in about a 1,000 sub.

but when i was trying music i have to say the sub difference was so minimal
i can easily go without it for a while.....

Any feedback will be very much appreciated,

Regards,
Anthony

 

[Bear]

Archived from groups: rec.audio.high-end (More info?)

Weichert O'Donohoe Family wrote:
> I am currently in the market of finding a new set of speakers to accompany a
> Receiver to get a system. (as one of my other posts showed)
>
> I went through my whole cd collection and made a summary cd of tracks to
> take to the different shops to test the speakers with music i liked....
>
> The speakers will be about 50 50 when it comes to music and home theatre...
>
> I am a complete novice when it comes to this but i thought i wanted to get a
> well rounded speaker that sounds good for most of what i listen to...
>
> The Categories i put on it were;
> 1. Live (Pink FLoyd - Learning to Fly, George Michael - DOnt let the sun go
> down on me)
> 2. Pop (G. Michael - Freedom 90)
> 3. Accoustic Pop (Maroon 5 - She will be loved)
> 4. Rock (Queen - Princes of the Universe, Van Halen - Dreams)
> 5. Percussion (Safridio - The Bongo Drums, uno that one when you hear it)
> 5. Classical/Theatre - (Charlotte Church - Ave Maria and Amazing Grace, Stig
> Rossen - The Impossible Dream)
> 7. SOundtrack (Immortal Beloved - Fur Elis, Jurassic Park - Opening Credits,
> Back Draft - Here comes the Fire Engines).
> And lastly my favourite......John Williams Star Wars soundtracks....the two
> tracks i sampled from this was DUel of the Fates (Phantom Menace), and
> Across teh Stars (Attack of the clones love theme)..
>
> Hope this helps.....
>
> Could people please provide feedback to if this is how they would do it or
> are there better pieces to try out some of these music styles.....
>
> and also what speakers should i be looking to , and which ones avoid...My
> speaker budget is going to be around the 2,500 AUD.....and in around a year
> to 18 months will invest in about a 1,000 sub.
>
> but when i was trying music i have to say the sub difference was so minimal
> i can easily go without it for a while.....
>
> Any feedback will be very much appreciated,
>
> Regards,
> Anthony
>
>
Obviously, you need to have tracks along that are the sorts of things
you like to listen to. I also like to have along other things that are
distinctly "audiophile" in terms of recording, even if I wouldn't
otherwise listen to them. Things exceptionally well recording using
minimalist technique, including but not limited to large choral works,
pieces with exceptional ambience, percussion of wide range and impact,
and importantly male and femal vocals without things to mask (if
possible) the essential vocal quality are essential. The key being
unamplified, acoustic source, and very well recorded. Pink Noise too.

I'd try to find a way to experience a very high quality system or two -
preferably in a hobbyists home, but a showroom will do, if it really is
well set up - as a reference point. Preferably, in my mind, an ESL or
large ribbon as they are quite likely to provide the sort of
reproduction that will not have major flaws... in most cases. Again,
they still can sound like ca-ca when set up incorrectly. But getting a
very high quality reference point can help considerably when selecting
the best of lesser speakers.

Having said all that - listening in most showrooms is a virtual waste of
time and energy since the set up & room bears little resemblance to your
home situation. I am not one of those who finds that things like amps or
cables make little or no difference in the presentation of sound - and
have found through years of experience that speakers that sound awful in
some showrooms *may* actually be just fine, and the converse.

You can get *some idea* of what speakers are doing what in a showroom,
but ultimately you want the dealer to lend you the speaker for home
audition.

Imho, you can maximize your selection to your personal preferences by
constructing DIY speakers, even if they are nominal clones of a "famous"
speaker, and save money to boot. Plus you can then feel comfortable
dorking things one way or the other (especially in the high freqs) to
suit yourself and your room. DIY has its benefits even for first time
builders. There are many specific projects online and in mags and books
that you can copy exactly as a first time DIY speaker builder, and get
very excellent results. This opens up a wide range of possibilities
which are not available to basic buyers of commercial speakers.



_-_-bear