Is this the best test CD out there?

95bcwh · « **on:** 3 Mar 2006, 03:36 pm »

All,
I stumbled across this CD in amazon. It has 74 tracks! I wonder if any member had owned this before and what do you think about it?

Best Of Chesky Classics & Jazz & Audiophile Test Disc, Vol. 2

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000003GFM/qid=1141399962/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/102-4323969-5659352?s=music&v=glance&n=5174

Any better alternative?

cheers

lcrim · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Mar 2006, 06:19 pm »

The thing about a test CD if it has any value, IMO, is that you have listened to this music quite often and have become very familiar with it so that you know what it "should" or "can" sound like. Then you can sort of get a read on what the new "whatever" is doing to the stuff you know well.
Did I qualify that enough?

michaelv · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Mar 2006, 10:29 pm »

Chesky record is prettly. I have CDs from Badi Assad. They are recorded in 24bits/96Mhz. Give it a try.

95bcwh · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Mar 2006, 10:39 pm »

Quote from: lcrim

The thing about a test CD if it has any value, IMO, is that you have listened to this music quite often and have become very familiar with it so that you know what it "should" or "can" sound like. Then you can sort of get a read on what the new "whatever" is doing to the stuff you know well.
Did I qualify that enough?

Lcrim,
Can't fault your logic, I just need to know a good place to start - i.e. a CD recorded with the highest quality + good music.

Rgds
RV

Halfdeaf · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Mar 2006, 11:40 pm »

The Chesky stuff is well recorded (coincident miking and tube electronics, generally) and they pride themselves on their products.

I haven't heard Vol. 2 yet, but I've used Vol. 1 for testing a variety of setup options with my systems.

95bcwh · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 12:03 am »

Thank you all! That's all I need..will order vol. 2 for a start since the review on Amazon.com says it's better than vol. 1

unityaudio.ca · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 10:39 pm »

Another GREAT test cd is the one by XLO and Reference Recordings.

OTL · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 May 2006, 01:44 am »

No matter what test CD you play, your exposure to the music on a variety of systems is what makes the difference. It's kinda like porn. It's a "I know it when I see it" kinda thing. The wider your exposure, the more certain you are of what you are hearing.

My pesonal judgements below are based on a couple of decades of listening through all differenet types of gear. Tubes, ribbons, OTL amps, Stax headphones, MC/MM carts, solid and stranded wire, big rooms, small rooms, etc, etc.....

The following (and many more) recordings have nuance that when done properly comes across immediately and unmistakably. As stated before, you know it when you see it!

Here's a couple of my favorites. All choosen for their ability to "connect" when reproduced correctly.

Rickie Lee Jones - 1st album on vinyl and Pirates on vinyl. (CD's no too bad)
Mighty Sam McClaine on Audioquest both CD and vinyl.
Sarah Vaughn - "How long has this been going on" on Pablo CD.
Lyle Lovett - "Joshua judges Ruth" on CD. (If your not there, you're dead)
Holly Cole - "Don't smoke in bed" on CD. How 'cliche, but when this one's done right you'll be moved to tears.

There's many more but my fingers are tired.

Listen, share and enjoy.

OTL

mtodde · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 May 2006, 04:25 am »

Best is so subjective that it is difficult to define. Chesky is an oustanding label and that is a good test disc. Volume 1 is also good and has some different tests. The music is pretty darn good too! The only knock on Chesky discs is that you have to crank up the volume a bit...soncially they are tops.

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 May 2006, 04:35 am »

I have used test disc 1 from Chesky and found one track very interesting - the LEDR imaging. There is an up and over track that some speakers do well at and others flunk miserably. Seems to correlate with how well the speakers are set up for imaging in general.
When everything's working as it should, the sound goes up from the left and over in an arc and down into the right speaker.
Frankly, I don't know what it's testing and what aspect of a speaker's performance contributes to effectiveness in this test, but it is an impressive display of unexpected capabilities within the two channel configuration.

Double Ugly · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 May 2006, 07:14 am »

I received a new pair of speakers last week, and Gianluigi Trovesi's Round About A Midsummer's Dream promptly went into heavy rotation.

In addition to being extremely well-recorded, it will push your speakers - and your system - to the limit. It can be difficult to find, but I purchased it from Fusion III in Montreal, Canada. They took about a month to get it to me, and at one point even sent an email offering to cancel the order after apologizing for losing it.

But it did finally arrive, and in my experience it is among the best for testing speed, dynamics (both visceral and aural), accuracy, imaging and soundstage.

As always, YMMV...

gitarretyp · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 May 2006, 03:12 pm »

A friend brought this over the other day. It makes for an excellent test disc

http://www.fimpression.com/detail.aspx?ID=117.