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Reference cd's/tracks

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marvda1

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Reference cd's/tracks
« on: 13 May 2005, 02:58 pm »
What cd's and track number do you use as reference sources for your system and what area(bass, soundstage,imaging,etc) do they reveal?
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Kim S.

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Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #1 on: 14 May 2005, 10:32 am »
I use several which I will not bore everyone with but I do have a great bass reference thats worth mentioning.  Its the song Have a Cigar on the EP Miscellaneous Debris by Primus.  Primus uses the bass guitar as their lead instrument.  When I first played this CD years ago the bass had some distortion which I then thought was on purpose.  I have since refined my system and the there is no distortion.  I realize guitar bass is not the lowest octave, but this is still a great track for the music listener. (versus home theater)
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ted_b

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Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #2 on: 14 May 2005, 01:22 pm »
here's a thread at AVS that talks about reference quality bass
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5621205#post5621205


And here's a 200-post thread about nothing but reference-quality cd's
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428349&perpage=20&pagenumber=1



Ted
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konut

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Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #3 on: 15 May 2005, 06:18 pm »
En Vogue- Funky Divas, track 6- Giving Him Something He Can Feel. The intro consists of a kick drum and electric bass. The kick should be well defined with no doubling or overhang. The bass should be smooth with no volume change of any note. At a decent volume this will reveal any rattles or loose parts of the cabinet or resonant faults. Always the first cut I play. Any speaker that doesnt perform well with this does not make it to any subsequent listening. There are a surprising number of well regarded speakers that dont sound good with this. Also good for testing sub integration.

Eric Clapton- From The Cradle, track 2- Third Degree.  I saw the video of the making of this live, direct to digital, disc. At 1:19 Eric pulls back from the mic, and thats what it should sound like, not just a lessening in volume of the vocal. A great disc with definitive versions of classic blues tunes.

Leila Josefowicz-Tchaikovsky and Sibelius violin concertos. track 5-Right at the beginning, one of the musicians inhales before the music starts playing. This is only detectable on the finest gear at fairly loud volume. The better gear allows one to hear this at a lower volume level. This is a very well recorded disc with fine playing and balance.

Looking forward to others recommendations.
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LordCloud

Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #4 on: 16 May 2005, 05:53 pm »
Harry Connick Jr. 20: All tracks have very well recorded piano that is a nice amount behind Harry. I use this cd to set up speakers( I think the ultimate test of speaker set up is puting a piano together properly) and for depth and three dimensionality.
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Russtafarian

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2005 Demmy Award finalists
« Reply #5 on: 16 May 2005, 07:19 pm »
Speaking of demos, here are the finalists for the CEA 2005 demmy awards.  I have no comment on the movies, but can attest to the excellence of some of the music choices here.  The listed tracks from Holly Cole, Hugh Masekala, Diana Krall, Big Phat Band and Blue Man Group are all a lot of fun to spin through the Russtafarian Rig.

The one here that really surprised me is the track from the Floristan Trio SACD, probably my favorite hi-rez disc.  A phenomenal combination of stunning sonics and emotive musicianship.  But not something you'd associate with a Circuit City boom-room demo.


The 2005 Demmy Award finalists are:

Best CD Track
* "Jersey Girl" - Holly Cole, Temptation (Blue Note Records)
* "Seven Bridges Road" - The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over (Digital Sound)
* "Narrow Daylight" - Diana Krall, The Girl in the Other Room (Verve)
* "Stimela (The Coal Train)" - Hugh Masekela, Hope (Triloka)
* "Come Fly with Me" - Frank Sinatra, Sinatra at the Sands (Warner Brothers)


Best High Resolution Two-Channel Track
* "Serenade for Winds, 3rd Movement" - The Academy of St. Martin-in- the-Fields, Amadeus - Original Soundtrack (Fantasy Records)
* "A Love Supreme" - John Coltrane, A Love Supreme (Impulse!)
* "Piano Trio in G Minor: Scherzo; Intermezzo: Moderato con allegro" - The Florestan Trio, French Piano Trios (Hyperion)
* "Narrow Daylight" - Diana Krall, The Girl in the Other Room (Verve)
* "Good Morning Little School Girl" - Muddy Waters, Folk Singer (Chess)


Best High Resolution Multi-Channel Track
* "Breathe" - Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (Capitol)
* "Hunting Wabbits" - Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band, XXL (Silverline Records)
* "Ripple" - Grateful Dead, American Beauty (Rhino Records)
* "Mosaic" - Laurence Juber, Guitar Noir (AIX) * "Temptation" - Diana Krall, The Girl in the Other Room (Verve)

Best Segment of a DVD as a Movie
* "Chapter 15: Viva Santa Anna" - Sound Editors: Charles Maynes, Keith Bilderbeck,Ben Wilkins, Brian Jennings, Bruce Stubblefield/ Music by: Carter Burwell, The Alamo (Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
* "Chapter 17: Remember the Alamo" - Sound Editors: Charles Maynes, Keith Bilderbeck,Ben Wilkins, Brian Jennings, Bruce Stubblefield/ Music by: Carter Burwell, The Alamo (Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
* "Chapter 8: Sandstorm" - Supervising Sound Editor: Howell Gibbens /Music: James Newton Howard, Hidalgo (Buena Vista Home Video) * "Chapter 8: Freedom" - Sound Editor: Iain Eyer, Music by: Hans Zimmer, King Arthur (Buena Vista Home Video)
* "Chapter 14: The Gunfight Begins" - Production Sound: Glen Gauthier/ Music: Michael Kamen, Open Range (Buena Vista Home Video)

Best Segment of a DVD as a Music Video or Concert
* "Sing Along" - Blue Man Group, The Complex Rock Tour Live (Lava)
* "High and Dry/Singing in the Rain" - Jamie Cullum, Live at Blenheim Palace (Verve)
* "Dark Star" - Grateful Dead, The Closing of Winterland, December 31, 1978 (Monterey Video)
* "Narrow Daylight" - Diana Krall, Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival (Universal Music Video)
* "Lido" - Boz Scaggs, Boz Scaggs - Greatest Hits Live (Coming Home Studios)

The 2005 Demmy Awards winners will be announced during the final dinner at CEA's PARA Management Conference, May 14, 2005 at the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California. The PARA Management Conference brings together specialty audio-video retailers from across the country to help grow the industry through education, networking and keynote addresses tailored to the needs of the audio-video retail community. For more information about the 2005 PARA Management Conference and the Demmy Awards, please visit www.ce.org/paraconf.
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ted_b

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Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #6 on: 16 May 2005, 08:30 pm »
I have the "Stimela" track (Hugh Masekela) on the Burmester CD3 sampler.  The sampler is ungodly well-done.  They take 10 tracks from various catalogs and remaster them for demoing their stuff.  The disc is avilable via places like Music Direct and ElusiveDisc.  Stunning....and great music (8 of 10 tracks, for me).  Includes the famous "Poem of Chinese Drums" track to end the disc....amazing dynamics.

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=CBURM3

Ted
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zybar

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Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #7 on: 16 May 2005, 08:47 pm »
Quote from: ted_b
I have the "Stimela" track (Hugh Masekela) on the Burmester CD3 sampler.  The sampler is ungodly well-done.  They take 10 tracks from various catalogs and remaster them for demoing their stuff.  The disc is avilable via places like Music Direct and ElusiveDisc.  Stunning....and great music (8 of 10 tracks, for me).  Includes the famous "Poem of Chinese Drums" track to end the disc....amazing dynamics.

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=CBURM3

Ted


Ted,

I heard this cd sampler and it was indeed AWESOME!!   :drums:

It was this sampler that introduced me to Hugh Masekela and now I can't get enough of his music.

The disc is expensive, but worth every penny in my book.

George
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John Casler

Reference cd's/tracks
« Reply #8 on: 16 May 2005, 08:58 pm »
Quote from: zybar
Ted,

I heard this cd sampler and it was indeed AWESOME!!   :drums:

It was this sampler that introduced me to Hugh Masekela and now I can't get enough of his music.

The disc is expensive, but worth every penny in my book.

George


Strangely enough, I have had that Sampler CD (#3) for quite sometime and actually began listening to STIMELA after I heard it at CES on the TRI-RM40 - Trinaural - TRIZILLA set up.

After getting back, I lusted after that cut and discovered it on Burmeister #3 by accident. (what a happy guy I was :mrgreen: )

I have since, purchased "HOPE" which is the full live album and am just begining to explore it.

As a CAUTION, please know that there is a version of STIMELA (coal train) on Masekela's Greatest Hits and it IS NOT THE SAME CUT!!!
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