[Niteshade]

I would like some listening suggestions. My music library is good, but could use a little expansion.

I am looking for good music without the following idiosyncrasies:

1. Known stridency issues
2. Narrow bandwidth or most frequencies centering around one part of the audio band (too much bass, treble, midrange, etc...)
3. Brittle, crispy sounding vocals or fiddles, etc...
4. Lots of compression
5. Reverbs w/ vocals

I get the impression that many vocalists stand too far away from their mics and it gives them a high-pitched, grainy edge.  Sometimes fiddles are too whiney & raspy. While I love pop-rock (80's), much of it seems very flat & compressed to me.

Any & all are welcome to answer! 

(I wasn't certain of where to post this- so here it is.)

[Niteshade]

Hmmm....No suggestions?

I know everyone has different tastes.

Think about what you would choose to listen to while picking out a new audio component.

What would test it well that is within your collection?

[ted_b]

Probably light traffic because there are quite a few threads about demo cd's already.  Such as:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=63936.0

Personally, when i'm eval'ing equipment i make sure i mix in a few obstacle course cuts too (those with difficult passages or just plain strident to hear what the equipment does with poor-to-average masterings).  IMO, it doesn't tell me as much about equipment if all I throw it are soft balls.

[Niteshade]

I agree- it is very important to test things with difficult passages. But it is important that the more difficult, complex music is recorded properly.  Would you really call well produced music 'softballs' relative to testing?

There's plenty of garbage in my collection- good songs, but poorly mastered. These do not tell me anything while I'm testing a new amp or preamp. Actually, they can be confusing. I might think there is something wrong when there isn't. (This is exactly what I want to avoid.)

Something else I want to avoid: I do not want my gear to make the junk sound good.  It has to be garbage in garbage out.  Variable feedback can alleviate stridency and make highly compressed songs more acceptable, but ultimately, I want my amps & preamps to work well without many adjustments.

The difficult tests need to be complex music that's very well recorded. I am happy if known junk still sounds like junk at the output.  If it sounded better, that means the amp/preamp is changing the good music as well and that you do not want.

(I started this thread here since it mainly pertains to me testing my equipment. I have to keep my business stuff in the Industry talk areas...)