[Mag]

Okay, I mentioned this one before, Metamorphosis by Jean Michel Jarre.
When I first got my 3B SST/2 I was going through my cd collection again to hear what I was missing. When I got to Metamorphosis my jaw dropped on the floor.

Why, because I was hearing this ghostly whisper that is sort of layered in the background on a few of the tracks, that hadn't really stood out before in the manner that I was now hearing. Part of this is because the compressor enhancer I'm using, because without it the image rolls off abit, but it is still apparent. This indicates that the highs are very linear to hear this ghostly image.

What do you use for your reference music & why?

[V]

Jarre has many recordings of great quality.
One of my reference songs is Souvenir of China by Jarre, because I love the tune and it has a great soundpicture played on a good system.
When it comes to testing bass, my favourite is Shabda by Mike Oldfield. This tune has shown me that JBL Everest's bass is superior to many other high-priced speakers like Burmester B100 and B80, Audio Physic Caldera, Tannoy Yorkminster and others. Mbl's and B&W's (800 series) bass is good.

I also like testing speakers with music recordings which are not excellent. Like Michael Jackson's Dirty Diana.

Other music I like to play on new systems is other songs by Jarre, Peter Gabriel and Mike Oldfield. The reason for this is that this is music I like and these artists have some good recordings. I have for instance discovered that Avantgarde Acoustic is a disappointing when it comes to details in the music (resolution) compared to B&W. Infinity IRS Beta is good. Soundlab's mid range is impressive.

It is good to have some reference songs you know well, and which tests the systems in the sense that you discover how the systems performs on bass, mid range, upper range, micro details etc.

This song is also among my reference list:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtgIxU8TCyY
My search for speakers has ended or nearly ended. I love B&W (floorstanding 800-series), JBL (Everest, 1400 and I guess also K2 (will listen to it for the first time soon) and Infinity IRS Beta. There are other good speakers out there, of course. Next year I will audition some speakers new to me (like Focal's top model) in a shop called Audioconcept, www.audioconcept.se

My favourite brand on electronics is Bryston. But I also like electronics by ASR, Cambridge Audio, Sony and others. I find most high-end brands in electronics uninteresting.

Best regards,
V

[1ZIP]

"Shed Your Skin" - Ray Montford.