A friend of mine asked for this recently, so I thought I\u2019d provide it on the blog. When I want to audition or evaluate audio equipment or settings, I use a playlist that I burn specifically for that purpose. Here\u2019s what\u2019s on that playlist and what I listen for. (Note that I have all these on CD, and so these are uncompressed when testing or listening at home\u2014links are for convenience, I don\u2019t recommend testing with compressed music.)<\/p>\n
1. Art of Noise, \u201cIl Pleure (At the Turn of the Century)\u201d<\/strong> This is a slightly weird track, in that it mixes spoken word, acoustic piano, drum machines, opera, and of course AON synth. Looking for clear differentiation of instruments, but mostly for how the the female opera vocals are handled. Unnatural mids make this sound poor.<\/p>\n 2. Nine Inch Nails, \u201cInto the Void\u201d<\/strong> I actually stopped in an audio shop one day on a whim, and didn\u2019t have the older version of my test mix with me, and the sales guy demo\u2019d with this track. The important part is the intro, which starts with a high-end, well, I\u2019m not sure what it is\u2014almost a squeak, then something xylophone-sounding, then adds cello, then acoustic guitar, then some light percussion, then the full force kicks in. I\u2019m listening for the clarity of the instruments in the early stuff, which is quiet, and the force when more stuff kicks in.<\/p>\n 3. Tool, \u201cStinkfist\u201d<\/strong> 4. The Cult, \u201cWild Flower\u201d<\/strong> A good audio setup needs to sound good when the electric guitars attack. The Tool recording is an excellent recording, The Cult recording is less so and is useful for seeing how things handle slightly less clean-sounding guitars. On a bad setup this will just devolve into distortion and little else. (Sorry no link on the Tool track. Come on, Tool, get it together and get on Amazon or iTunes.)<\/p>\n 5. Tears for Fears, \u201cStart of the Breakdown\u201d<\/strong> There\u2019s a lot of left-right panning in this track, so anything that impacts channel separation shows up immediately here. Obviously, this is not so much an issue with headphones, but if you don\u2019t get the sense of something moving back and forth in space, something is definitely amiss.<\/p>\n 6. Michael Hedges, \u201cBreakfast in the Field\u201d<\/strong> This is acoustic guitar originally recorded live on digital equipment. Different guitar strings should be distinct, and some ambient sounds (e.g., foot taps) are evident on better equipment.<\/p>\n 7. Rodrigo y Gabriela, \u201cHanuman\u201d<\/strong> The latest addition. This is acoustic guitar as well as the last track, but sounds almost nothing at all like it. Not only are RyG absolutely fabulous and this album especially excellent, but it\u2019s also a terrific recording. (Yes, I\u2019m running out of superlatives.) You should be able to separate the two guitars very distinctly, and the percussion should not sound like drums when you listen carefully, because of course it isn\u2019t, it\u2019s Gabriela drumming with her hand on the guitar\u2014and that\u2019s what it should sound like.<\/p>\n 8. George Winston, \u201cSpring Creek\u201d<\/strong> This is an acoustic piano piece which runs through a pretty thorough range of the 88 keys. Keys should sound distinct and be identifiable in chords when not struck perfectly in synch, which of course real human players do. Bass keys should sound natural, high keys shouldn\u2019t sound harsh, mids should not get lost.<\/p>\n 9. Vivaldi, \u201cSummer (presto)\u201d<\/strong> Classical makes different demands than the rock\/techno\/acoustic on the rest of this list, and this is a good piece, heavy on different strings. Viola should be distinct from both violin and cello, the cello bits should be moving without being overwhelming. Setups that are too bass-heavy (equalized for rock\/techno) don\u2019t sound right here. Setups which are too bright can make the violins sound screechy. This is a pristine recording and flaws are quickly evident.<\/p>\n 10. Bach, \u201cConcerto for 2 Violins, Strings and Continuo in D minor, BWV. 1043: I. Vivace\u201d<\/strong> I\u2019m a sucker for violins, particularly in testing audio. Bad setups make it sound screechy, particularly Miss Hahn\u2019s particular style. (Some might say her poor fingering, but I think on good equipment it sounds just fine.) Violins here should sound like, well, violins. This is another outstanding recording and can sound very close to lifelike on good equipment.<\/p>\n 11. The Power Station, \u201cSome Like It Hot\u201d<\/strong> Listening almost entirely to Tony Thompson\u2019s slamming drum intro to this song. If it doesn\u2019t slam, the bass needs work. This is not a particularly great recording, but it doesn\u2019t need to be for what it\u2019s trying to deliver. Big toms and bass drums, that\u2019s what you\u2019re after here. (Please ignore the Duran Duran lineage here. This is about Tony Thompson\u2019s drum work, OK?)<\/p>\n 12. Underworld, \u201cLittle Speaker\u201d<\/strong> Very bass-heavy electronica. Weak bass really shows here, should get that dance-club \u201dthump\u201c in full force. This is synthesized bass, so it will and should sound different from the slams in the previous track.<\/p>\n 13. Thomas Newman, \u201cRoot Beer\u201d<\/strong> If you\u2019ve seen the movie, the is from the bit where Kevin Spacey has one of his waking dreams about Mena Suvari, this one while he\u2019s getting her a root beer from the fridge. Lots of cymbal transients to test the treble response, and well as some really low bass rumbling; this gets down around 20-25 Hz, so if whatever equipment you\u2019re listening to doesn\u2019t really rumble, your bass extension isn\u2019t good enough. (Sorry no link. Amazon has the CD version<\/a>…)<\/p>\n 14. Shadowfax, \u201cOasis\u201d<\/strong> This is also a fully-digital recording with a mix of strange instruments and traditional rock instruments. I find Paiste cymbals to have slightly different timbre (don\u2019t ask me to describe it) from other cymbals (not better, just different), and that should be evident as they are mixed very prominently here. The high whistle (or whatever it is) should also not be shrill. There\u2019s a lot going on here\u2014be sure all instruments sound distinct.<\/p>\n 15. Tori Amos, \u201cPrecious Things\u201d<\/strong> I find Tori\u2019s voice is sometimes difficult to reproduce well, and this is a good test for it. Good mix of acoustic piano, drum, and electric guitar. When the guitar kicks in on the line \u201dI want to smash the faces\u201c right around 1:50 into the track, it should be very involving but not overwhelming. If the setup is too forward, the guitar there will overwhelm the vocals, which is bad.<\/p>\n 16. The Police, \u201cEvery Little Thing She Does Is Magic\u201d<\/strong> You wouldn\u2019t think a Police track would ask much of your setup, but this one does because Stewart Copeland does some really great cymbal work here which isn\u2019t mixed super prominently (not like the Shadowfax track). If the setup has much mid- or bass-push, they tend to get lost, which is bad. I have yet to hear this sound right through MP3 compression, either. (In general, that\u2019s where MP3-style compression bothers me the most\u2014cymbals never sound natural.)<\/p>\n 17. Propaganda, \u201cStrength to Dream\u201d<\/strong> This is a fully-digital recording which has a thunderstorm in it. If you\u2019re in a an audio shop and turn this way up, people should start looking out the windows for rain. Seriously.<\/p>\n 18. Pink Floyd, \u201cThe Happiest Days of Our Lives\u201d<\/strong> This is in here just for fun. The first time I heard this track after I had put in new speakers and an amp in my car, I had The Wall in and had really stopped paying attention to it, then suddenly I found myself looking for a helicopter. Took me a second to realize it wasn\u2019t really a helicopter, it was my stereo. Always trying to reproduce that.<\/p>\n Yes, this is a pretty wide range of stuff. If you can find something on which everything here sounds really good… buy it! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A friend of mine asked for this recently, so I thought I\u2019d provide it on the blog. When I want to audition or evaluate audio equipment or settings, I use a playlist that I burn specifically for that purpose. Here\u2019s what\u2019s on that playlist and what I listen for. (Note that I have all these … Continue reading Audio Test Mix<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[13],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/byrneweb.com\/sunburn\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nfrom The Seduction of Claude Debussy<\/a>, 1999<\/p>\n
\nfrom The Fragile<\/a> (disc 2), 1999<\/p>\n
\nfrom \u00c6nima, 1996<\/p>\n
\nfrom Electric<\/a>, 1987<\/p>\n
\nfrom The Hurting<\/a>, 1983<\/p>\n
\nfrom Live on the Double Planet<\/a>, 1987<\/p>\n
\nfrom 11:11<\/a>, 2009<\/p>\n
\nfrom Summer<\/a>, 1991<\/p>\n
\nfrom Janine Jansen\u2019s The Four Seasons<\/a>, 2004 (CD layer from SACD mastering)<\/p>\n
\nfrom Hilary Hahn & the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, Bach Concertos<\/a>, 2002 (CD layer from SACD mastering)<\/p>\n
\nfrom The Power Station<\/a>, 1985<\/p>\n
\nfrom A Hundred Days Off<\/a>, 2002<\/p>\n
\nfrom American Beauty Score, 2000<\/p>\n
\nfrom The Odd Get Even, 1990 (track also appears on Pure Shadowfax<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\nfrom Little Earthquakes<\/a>, 1991<\/p>\n
\nfrom Ghost in the Machine<\/a>, 1981<\/p>\n
\nfrom A Secret Wish<\/a>, 1985 (CD layer from SACD mastering)<\/p>\n
\nfrom The Wall<\/a>, 1977<\/p>\n