N.Y. Audio Rave "Reference Tracks 2007" CD. An Insight look.

SET Man · « **on:** 29 Jan 2008, 06:23 am »

Hey!

Reading and replying to one of the member, martyo in the "What are you listening right now?" thread about cuts on this CD gave me an idea.

As we all know that NY Rave group now have 2 Ref. CDs that most of NY Ravers have and this is extended to other members here around the country thanks to Chris/lonewolfny42

This is a good idea since everyone in the group will have the same CD and use it as a reference of how each system sound.

So, first I have to thanks Chris/lonewolfny42 for taking his time putting this together

What is the point of this Insight look of this CD? Well, first we have to understand that all the tracks on the CD actually came from indviual members of NY Rave, not all of course but most of us.

Here is the list of tracks, album of which the track came from and which member the track is from...

1. Rimsky-Korsakov "Dance Of The Tumblers" , Eiji Oue/Minnesota Orch.(tmij/lonewolfny42)
2. "Sing Sang Sung" Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band (PhilNYC)
3. "Indulge Me" Olive (SET Man)
4. "Domino" Roland Kirk (zybar)
5. "Born Upon A Lotus" Hamid Drake & Bindu (mjosef)
6. "Julsang" Cantate Domino (Hogg)
7. "Teknochek Collision" Slavic Soul Party! (Occam/Levi)
8. "Old Town" Tommy Emmanuel (lonewolfny42)
9. " The Children's Hour" Mephista (tmij)
10. "The Pink Panther Theme" Henry Mancini (BobM)
11. "Down By The River" Dave Matthew (tvyankee)
12. "The Guns Of Brixton" The Clash (mcrespo71)
13. "Mary, Don't You Weep" Aretha Franklin (lonewolfny42)
14. "Remember" Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska (JoshK)
15. "Too Happy" Ben Vaughn (lonewolfny42)
16. The Only OTHER Reference Track You'll Ever Need

So, for those of you who have a copy of this CD. Have you ever wonder why that member use and chose that track? Because it dynamic or have deep bass or good sound stage and etc? And who is singer/artist? Now with that in mind. I will tell you why I have my track on this CD.

My track of which is track #3 is by Olive and the song is "Indulge Me" This is from their second album called "Trickle" Came out in 2000-2001 "Olive" is a duo team of one DJ and a female lead singer from the UK. It was the remake of the song "I'm Not In Love" originally by 10cc that got me to buy this album.... I don't remember when I first this track.

To label what type of music this fit in I would say trip-hop, electronic, and pop

I picked up this album not long after it came out. Long before I joined the Audio Circle and NY Rave group.

And it eventually became one of my all time favorite album for this type of music, even today. I really enjoy this album a lot for the music itself.

How did it ended up in the Ref. CD? Well, rewind back to around the time I was building my current Single Driver Speaker in mid 2002. I needed something that have a good bass and vocal to tune my new TQWT Single Drive Speaker. Since I like this track and know it well I ended up using it quite a bit. Now fast forward to December 2004 and after I joined the NY Rave group. I starting to go to the Raves and since this is of course one of my all time favorite album I usually... or should I say always carry this album with me.

So much so that people will know that I'm there from other room once their hear this song playing... they will be like "Oh! Buddy's here"

As for the sound of this track and the album. Well, it is by no mean an audiophile quality recording. But it doesn't suffer with overly compression. The bass is good with some deep one on some track and the mid is pretty good. The high is a bit on the zippy side on what I consider a neutral system (or at least on system with similar tonality to my own system) but not so much to the point that you can't listen to it. I would say the if your system is very hot in the top this track will likely sound way too hot on it. Of course if this track sound dark on top than you know that the system is way too soft and very dark on top. But please take this with a bucket of salt. This is my personal feel about the sound of this track and with my own system.

But I really did not chose this track for the Ref. CD. Chris just put it in since I always play this track when I'm at the Rave. But the bottom line about this track of mine is that I like it because the music itself and not because it is a reference quality recording.

So, there you have it an insight on my track.

Of course there are other tracks on this CD from other members. And yes I sometime wonder why that member like that track. Maybe they could chip in and give us some insight on this.

Well, I would love to hear from Paul/Occam about his track... that funky one by Slavic Soul Party!

Take care,
Buddy

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 07:02 am »

Hey.....Good idea Buddy....

8. "Old Town" Tommy Emmanuel (lonewolfny42)

Tommy Emmanuel is an excellent guitarist...his playing is first class, and his recording are all done well. "Old Town" is from his "Endless Road" Cd....2005.

Samples.....

I picked this track because of the tone of his acoustic guitar, and his playing....and this track has a very "live" sound to it.
I'm listening to his picking style and his dynamics when he plays (since I play guitar). Its also a short piece.....and to the point....a recommended Cd.

All Music Tommy Emmanuel Link....

JoshK · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 06:43 pm »

14. "Remember" Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska (JoshK)

I first heard this track on the movie Troy at the credits. My wife and I sat and listened to it and were moved. We even backed it up and rewatched the credits to hear the song again. This was my introduction to Josh Groban which wouldn't naturally be a staple in my music collection.

I can only say that I find this song quite moving and "it speaks to me" as my wife would say. Everytime I play this song I sit and listen attently right in front of my speakers in the sweet spot. Not too many songs make me do that.

The track itself is very dynamic, I am not sure its a 20db swing but its easily over 10db nearing 15db by my guesstimation. There isn't a great deal of compression. The sole complaint might be that it is on the verge of being a bit close mic'd (for Josh, not for Tanya).

I picked the track for the reference disk, not just because it is a moving song, but more for the powerful male vocals. In my view, many "audiophile" speakers, especially 6.5" two ways do a pretty good job on upper mids but fail to really bring it with the lower male vocals. Josh has a range, but he is what I'd call a baritone and has a moderately deep voice. This is perfect for what I wished to test. The duet with Tanya in the background is icing on the cake as there is a good test of lower mid and upper mid simultaneously. This may shed light on an intermodulation problems in a speaker.

The track as I see it is biased towards large speakers that can deliver the lower midrange with authority which is necessary for me to be happy with a system. However, my modula MTM's do a fair job on this track and they do not have the lowest registers. So it isn't about the lowest bass regions but the power region nearing the midbass and whether the speaker can keep composure while delivering some power.

Occam · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 07:29 pm »

7. "Teknochek Collision" Slavic Soul Party!

Slavic Soul Party is a local Brooklyn band. They play every Wed. night at Barbesh on 9th Street in Park Slope. They also make appearances at Music in the Park in the Park Slope Bandshell every summer. Last year they played as a brass marching band prior to Phillip Glass conducting the Kronos Quartet accompanying the film Dracula.

Their music is basically Yugoslavian (Croation, Serbian, Bosnian-Hertzogovenian are all the same music, even though they have an unfortunate predilection to....), much of it straightforward, and much with their 'Tecknochek' take on it. I've heard them numerous time, often unamplified; if you're close, you don't need no steeek'n amplifiers.

Its got a great beat and you can dance to it..... is the reason I picked it. Moreover, their brass is recorded extremely well, as are their bass drum, snare, and especially accordion. If a system can't produce this cut at proper volume (really loud) is ain't a full range system. Anyone who has heard a wailing brass section, up close and personal, knows how difficult it is to reproduce this. Its not a delicate cut.

I've made tentative arrangements with them to play at my funeral, but for some odd reason, my wife objects.....

martyo · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Jan 2008, 07:56 pm »

GREAT idea Buddy, and thanks to the rest of you guys.

Marty

SET Man · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 Jan 2008, 04:49 am »

Quote from: JoshK on 29 Jan 2008, 06:43 pm

14. "Remember" Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska (JoshK)

I first heard this track on the movie Troy at the credits.......... This was my introduction to Josh Groban which wouldn't naturally be a staple in my music collection.

Hey!

Yes, that surprised me when Chris play your track for me at one of the Rave before he gave me a copy. I was like.... What? This is from Josh? Really?

Quote from: Occam on 29 Jan 2008, 07:29 pm