What music do you use as your "Reference"

Ronm1 · « **Reply #20 on:** 21 Feb 2010, 12:08 pm »

Quote from: es347 on 21 Feb 2010, 12:19 am

The premise of this thread was not music for everyday listening but rather reference recordings. Right?

Yup, your right. It appears I was led astray by the items he listed. Course in a warp twisted way my reply does bode well for your recommendation

Holli82 · « **Reply #21 on:** 1 Mar 2010, 02:23 am »

Quote from: mfsoa on 30 Jan 2010, 01:57 pm

Miles_Gurtu

Just got this CD today. Absolutely stunning. I didn't know my speakers could do that.

Thanks for the recommendation.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #22 on:** 1 Mar 2010, 07:33 am »

Quote

While this recording is topshelf it is certainly not what I use for everyday listening;
To impress friends/colleagues, yes, use to setup/tune, yes. IMHO the worst kind to take on tour for evaluation.

Quote from: es347 on 21 Feb 2010, 12:19 am

The premise of this thread was not music for everyday listening but rather reference recordings. Right?

You can have it both ways....

Ben Harper - "Fight For Your Mind"......have a listen.

StereoNut · « **Reply #23 on:** 2 Mar 2010, 01:30 pm »

Quote from: Holli82 on 1 Mar 2010, 02:23 am

Just got this CD today. Absolutely stunning. I didn't know my speakers could do that.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Where did you find it and if you don't mind answering, how much!?

Thanks!
SN

Holli82 · « **Reply #24 on:** 3 Mar 2010, 03:36 am »

Quote from: StereoNut on 2 Mar 2010, 01:30 pm

Where did you find it and if you don't mind answering, how much!?

Thanks!
SN

Amazon $29.00

rich58b · « **Reply #25 on:** 9 Mar 2010, 08:09 am »

Quote from: Holli82 on 3 Mar 2010, 03:36 am

Amazon $29.00

You apparently got the last one! It's now listed by Amazon as "discontinued" and not even any used available!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #26 on:** 9 Mar 2010, 08:17 am »

http://product.half.ebay.com/Miles-Gurtu_W0QQtgZinfoQQprZ6492388

heilman · « **Reply #27 on:** 12 Apr 2010, 09:30 pm »

While browsing audiophile forums I as a proud owner of VR-2s decided to put in my two cents worth. (OBTW Stan Ricker of MOFI Half Speed Master fame listens on VR-1s) My references are half-track 15IPS master tapes on a Tandberg TD20A-SE and now Ultrabit Platinum Plus treated non-inverted Polarity CDs on an Adcom CD-575 Player. To Paraprase a classic Porky Pig WB cartoon"such musics!! much dancings!! javascript:void(0);javascript:void(0);

eclein · « **Reply #28 on:** 12 Apr 2010, 10:06 pm »

Every time I come on this board I buy stuff...LOL, Dreamland-Robert Miles

Back to reference CD's-I always use music that I know the drum sound is good on, as a former player I know what drums sound like up close and personal like!!, Steely Dan-"Gaucho","Two Against Nature" are both CD's I consider to have awesome drum sounds. Toto's stuff has great drum sounds as does King Crimson's-"THRAK". Pat Metheny's-"Follow Me" on The Imaginary Day CD and Steely Dan's-"Godwhacker" always get spun when listening to anything new or changed. FWIW

htradtk · « **Reply #29 on:** 12 Apr 2010, 10:38 pm »

Greetings,

Just picked up Alan Parsons Project's "I Robot" on SHM-CD. This recording is stunning! This SHM-CD blows away my MFSL copy!These SHM-CD's are worth looking into. Warning, they are a bit pricey and hard to find, I got mine through Amazon at $59, OUCH!

Henry

RUR · « **Reply #30 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 12:36 am »

Quote from: htradtk on 12 Apr 2010, 10:38 pm

Just picked up Alan Parsons Project's "I Robot" on SHM-CD. This recording is stunning! This SHM-CD blows away my MFSL copy!

Have you compared to the HDAD, Henry?

http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/13394/The_Alan_Parsons_Project-I_Robot-HDAD_2496_24192

ceedee · « **Reply #31 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 06:23 am »

Hello All,

A few days ago our daughter discovered a very nice piece of music from the 70's. It is in our collection for years, long before I worked with Albert's VR's. (The 17 -18 year generation here is discovering our lovely music from the 60'& 70's these days.)

We sat down and listened together and noticed the soundquality of this recording is very good. The story of Jonathan Livingstone Seagull 'told' by Neil's music is very moving.

I knew the CD very well but I never heard the music through a set of Unifield III.
This was realy impressive. We listened to this CD several times and every time it stil 'goosebumps' me.

http://www.amazon.com/Jonathan-Livingston-Seagull-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B00000251N

Now you guess what happens when you sit next to your daugther listening to "Dear Father" at Easter?

Enjoy.

Cor

foghorn · « **Reply #32 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 04:53 pm »

I use the "Alone & Acoustic" CD by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells.

Not only is this CD a great listen which I enjoy very much. It is also the CD I use to show my non-audiophile friends how a good system can sound. This CD will demonstrate Soundstaging like no others in my collection. The placement of these two gentlemen along with the guitar and harp is perfect.

ctviggen · « **Reply #33 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 05:05 pm »

Quote from: es347 on 21 Feb 2010, 12:19 am

The premise of this thread was not music for everyday listening but rather reference recordings. Right?

Why would you have a "reference recording" that you wouldn't listen to every day? Why test a system with recordings you typically don't listen to? This doesn't make sense to me.

JackD201 · « **Reply #34 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 05:32 pm »

Reference recordings, at least to me are essential for tuning a system or to put it another way as a means for making everything else sound as good as I can make it without having to reposition, change or swap things out all the time. First and foremost, these are made up of pieces I know by heart and secondly have attributes that most commercially available music lack. When I can get a system set up well enough to play the selection of reference recordings made up of many genres and artists then generally the system does everything else as well as that particular recording allows. So, as they say...we can commence with the regular programming.

It only doesn't make sense if one were to confine the reference list to too small a sample where the net effect is to make only those few sound good to the detriment of the rest of the collection.

Having said that, my list is made up of music I would listen to at the drop of a hat. Otherwise, having to listen to the same tracks over and over would be sheer agony regardless of their attributes. I have a bunch of great sounding LPs and CDs that I own only because customers always request to hear them like Jazz at the Pawnshop, Piramita, Famous Blue Raincoat or most Carol Kidd albums. I hardly ever play these much less tune a system by 'em just because I don't want to.

es347 · « **Reply #35 on:** 13 Apr 2010, 06:58 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen on 13 Apr 2010, 05:05 pm

Why would you have a "reference recording" that you wouldn't listen to every day? Why test a system with recordings you typically don't listen to? This doesn't make sense to me.

For example, I have a very well recorded cd of percussive sounds...bells with a ton of very low acoustic bass. It's a great way to see what a system is capable of reproducing but do I sit and listen to it daily? Nope...you can't even dance to it. I do have several cds that I tend to listen to a lot and those are the ones that I drag out right after the "reference" cd I mentioned earlier is retired to it's jewel box.

JackD201 · « **Reply #36 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 01:25 am »

Quote from: es347 on 13 Apr 2010, 06:58 pm

......... do I sit and listen to it daily? Nope...you can't even dance to it.

I bet you could if you tried Gavin. Do post it on youtube if ever you do!

es347 · « **Reply #37 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 01:23 pm »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtdj0Jfm_1w

That could be me except for the pants. I wear mine a bit higher.

ceedee · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 08:58 pm »

We call this dance 'the quickstep'

jab · « **Reply #39 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 03:19 pm »

JackD,, your mention of ref recordings/Carol Kidd had me searching my CD library.. A friend turned me on to her music 20 yrs ago or so.. Another gem you may want to include is Roberta Gambarini and her CD "Easy to Love" (has the resolution of SACD on this redbook recording).. Wonderful vocal range ala Ella.. Saw her live at the Telluride Jazz fest a couple of years ago and last at the Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC w/Roy Hargrove..
A few of my other reference recordings on CD include;
on dvda-"Love" The Beatles and "The Nightfly" Donald Fagen & the New Frontier cut
SACD/Hybrid-"Soul Survivor" Mighty Sam Mclain and "when the hurt is over" cut
SACD-"Here's to Life" Shirley Horn
SACD/Hybrid-"Cafe Blue" Patricia Barber
SACD/Hybrid-"Sunday at the Village Vanguard" Bill Evans
SACD-"Straight No Chaser" Monk
Redbook-"Wonderful World" Eva Cassidylugged" just to name a few
Redbook-"Brothers in Arms" 20th Anniversary Edition Dire Straits
Alice and Chains and Stone Temple Pilots on DVDA
Nirvana "Unp

R