Now with more links!
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Thanks. Maybe we can do more or put these kinds of lists in a new location for reference and maintenance. My list is currently in a PC spreadsheet and an Amazon HD playlist. I pasted directly from the spreadsheet into the browser for the format above. I’m also thinking of expanding my explanations, tweaking the order, and tweaking the track selection.
Your contributions and all of this is best maintained in one place…??? Input from @TylersEclectic and @Antdroid as moderators and curators?
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That would be cool ^ and we could have entire album dedications to great audiophile listening as well.
For now I’d like to share a couple of albums to our wonderful community here.
Peter Walsh is one of my favourite Engineers/ producers. The 2 albums that really stand out that he’s done for incredible audiophile grade listening is
SIMPLE MINDS— NEW GOLD DREAM 81,82,83,84
PETER GABRIEL— SECRET WORLD (LIVE)
These are very good recordings. So much dynamics, punch, space and life in these mixes. Hope you all enjoy as much as I do.
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It’s interesting the mix of music taste between listeners and what is utilized to test headphones and their associated equipment… Kinda cool.
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I have been thinking that a headphones.com wiki would be an awesome resource. A place to put all of the reviews, EQ settings, evaluation tracks, etc. That’s a big project though.
I also think it would good to have some basic buying guidelines for people who are new to buying audio, just explaining how to apportion your budget between headphones, amp, DAC, and recommendations for absolute beginners on a budget, e.g. if you have $XYZ, then here are some Schiit/JDS/other combos that people have liked at this price level - read these reviews, go listen to them and come back with what you liked/disliked.
Hopefully newcomers with the “I have $XYZ, what should I buy?” question (and I realize I was that person not too long ago) would look at that first, but if not, someone can point them to the guidelines and reviews.
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That’s probably too big to start. Content is usually only maintained by its creator, so lots of stuff goes stale over time. I’m thinking a small start would be best. It could perhaps be added to one’s profile: (a) equipment and taste, (b) test and evaluation tracks??? Is this possible @TylersEclectic?
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The way I keep my test list updated is by having a playlist shared on my blog, that way it automatically updates whenever I add or change a song. I keep the Tidal and Spotify lists (the only two streaming services I use) as close to each other as possible, but sometimes tracks are not available on both services.
The problem with that is there is no explanation of what each track is used for.
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@generic - could be a collaborative forum playlist on Spotify. That’s a platform everyone should have access to, and contributors’ user names would be listed on the tracks they add. Easy way to both keep a running list of test tracks you can see by user, and have something immediate to listen to.
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Have you done the tidal playslist to use while testing headphones ? you were talking about in 2018 i guess?
No, I never got round to building a separate shareable version of it.
Drums can be very revealing of tuning flaws and oddities, and just overall performance. This YouTube channel from a drum shop has lots of recordings of drums that seen pretty well done. I learned about it from a BGGAR video.
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This turned out to be super useful to me.
I discovered that the simplicity of a single instrument made it much easier for me to absorb the different tonalities and the progression from initial attack to the decay.
I’ll be making a small collection of different solo instruments as I can find them.
Very happy you posted this!
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Check out The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. It’s a classic for many reasons. Often paired with Peter and the Wolf.
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At first I thought you replied to the wrong person (seeing symphony in the title) but then found that the work also presents the different instruments individually. Thanks!
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I think it’s really important to not ruin your favorite music by turning it into test tones! (Been there, done that!)
I try to use a variety of material, but always wish i had access to recordings of live, acoustic instruments, that were made when I was present at the actual performance–seems like that’s the only way to tell whether your gear (along with the recording equipment) is telling the truth or not.
If it’s more about My-Fi, than HI-Fi, than any recording will work, as long as you have a preconception about how you would like it to sound. Like, if everyone is wearing only white clothing, and you are trying on tinted sunglasses…
I try to just enjoy the music, and check in on how I am reacting to the playback - and how much time has dissapeared. I bought some iems recently, and let them burn-in for a few hours during work, then stuck them in my ears at about 6:02 PM (I work til 6). Realized that it was 11:30 PM, and that I should hit the bed, when i finally pulled them out of my ears-- that’s what I mean!
I think it was a Cassandra Wilson album I was listening to when I realzed how late it was. There was no bass, mids, treble and soundstage - there was only CVassandra singing to me, and the musicians playing her accompaniment. yum
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During the last year I’ve used Lucy Railton’s “Forma” a lot for testing headphones and new equipment.
Great mastering, the piece covers everything from sub bass to treble and electronic as cello music.
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Is there any way that you could make the playlists public on Qobuz? Having them available would be great to easily experiment with the sound on different headphones. Thanks for thinking of it.
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Here’s some I’ve utilized for various reasons. Some have subtle things going on in the background you can pick up on, some for bass response, some for spatial representation, some for dynamics, some for tone/timbre, some for toe tap-ability, and some just to see if all the elements come together cohesively. Try 'em out!
-Also Sprach Zarathustra - Berliner Philharmoniker
-Clair de Lune - Menahem Pressler
-The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
-My Home is in the Delta - Muddy Waters
-Good Morning Mr. Blues - Otis Spann
-Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
-Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
-Chances - Jill Barber
-Human Nature - Michael Jackson
-Heroes-Kruder & Dorfmeister
-It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock n’ Roll) - AC/DC
-Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed
-Get Lucky - Daft Punk
-Right Where it Belongs - Nine Inch Nails
-The National Anthem - Radiohead
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My favorite test tracks atm:
- 715 Creeks - Bon Iver (mid-range tonality and sibilants accuracy)
- Maggot Brain - Funkadelic (imaging and electric guitar)
- Unbroken - Gustavo Santaolalla from the Last of Us 2 OST (mid-range tonality and acoustic guitar)
- Limit to Your Love - James Blake (sub-bass extension and natural sounding vocals)
- Hold my Liquor - Kanye West (mid-bass and texture)
- Hotel California - Eagles Hell Freezes Over Live Performance (everything)
- Heat Waves - Glass Animals (bass impact & texture, imaging)
- Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead (low-mid/mid-bass blending/natural presentation)
- Birthday Suit - Cosmo Sheldrake (attack and decay, image separation)
- when the party’s over - Billie Eilish (imaging, vocal tonality, sibilants, bass)
- Writing’s on the Wall - Sam Smith (orchestral backing, vocal tonality, mid-bass accuracy/blending, dynamics)
- BOOM - Tiesto (bass impact)
- Gone - Charli XCX ft Christine and the Queens (bass impact and texture, everything)
- White Room - Cream (kick drum that kicks in at ~4:37, guitars and vocals)
- M.I.A - Avenged Sevenfold (less than ideal rock production, layered guitars, drums)
- Bombtrack - Rage Against the Machine (everything)
Songs that I just love the sound of:
- Spotlight - Jessie Ware
- My Pet Coelacanth - Deadmau5
- Heat Wave - Snail Mail
- Indigo Children & Momma Sed - Puscifer
- Cellophane - Sia
- Fitzpleasure - Alt-J
- Stuck in the Middle - Tai Verdes
- Hoover Street - Schoolboy Q
- Sober - Lorde
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