Songs you would like to hear on a demo! (1 Viewer)

[Taylor Assen]

As you all know I have a new job at A & B sound!!!! When you all go in to demo a disc, what exact artist and song do you use, and why? Which songs do you hate? Do you like loud music (volume wise), or softer notes..... Do you like to control the volume or have the salesman control it for you?

I ask this because I really want the most out of my audtioners. I want them to feel comfortable and really get a good idea of what our speakers can do! Since all of you have auditioned SEVERAL speakers in your time, what material is a must have for a demo disc! Thanks for all of your advice!
Taylor

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I can't comment on music that has helped me decide on a receiver or speakers. However, I can say that Van Morrison's Greatest Hits CD told me that I needed to buy a pair of Grado SR-60 headphones. That CD sealed the deal ... made the headphones come alive for me.

If I were in the market for a new receiver, speakers or sub, I'd pack the following CDs:

- The Rippingtons
- Russ Freeman (part of the Rippingtons)
- Paul Hardcastle (sythesized jazzy music)
- Country music (Alan Jackson, others)
- Rock (John Cougar, etc.)
- Misc. (Steely Dan, others)

I think if you are going to spend $1,000 or more, you need to be in the driver's seat for closing the deal. You should have the capability to check the receiver settings - crossover points, treble levels, bass levels, etc. so that you can make a proper decision for your new gear.

 

[Luis Cruz]

I think if you are going to spend $1,000 or more, you need to be in the driver's seat for closing the deal. You should have the capability to check the receiver settings - crossover points, treble levels, bass levels, etc. so that you can make a proper decision for your new gear.

I agree with that. I think people generally want to play around with the equipment a bit if they are going to put down alot of hard earned cash on it.

Now for music...that's a tough one as everyone's taste in music is subjective, but I think if you can find some music that is mixed well you'll be able to show off what "speaker X" can do or what "speaker Y" can do.

To add to Wayne's list I would add The Corrs and Sixpence None The Richer. Both use a good variety of instruments which can show off a good pair of speakers I would think. My uncle is a salesman in Home Audio as well and I could tell you that he demo's alot of music with Latin flavor but that could just be a Miami thing as there are a lot of Hispanic's here. I think he also demo's country music as well.

 

[John Garcia]

Patricia Barber - Cafe Blue (SACD if possible) Very well recorded, an excellent example of just how good SACD can be (2ch). Nardis, track 11, ranges from soft and slow to hard and fast; vocals, piano, percussion. Lots of detail and positional presense, good all around demo track.

A few that I like to use to audition:

Dave Mathews Band - Crash
Fiona Apple - Tidal
Tori Amos - Under the Pink
Gypsy Kings - (you pick)
Loreena McKennit - Book of Secrets
Seal - Seal (1991).

 

[Chip Brogden]

Im not sure about the other types of music but from the rock side, trying out my new axioms, Pearl Jam sounded pretty damn good/impressive.

 

[Jason.Soko]

While I am not into a lot of the CD's I use to demo, one that my father and I use a lot is the Kenny G Live album. Track 3 , Silouhette is one of the best recordings I have ever heard. There is absolutely ZERO noise floor behind this recording. Dave Mathews Crash is also a very good album that we use.

 

[Tab Nichols]

I would try:

Sarah McLaughlin - Angel - good for warmth, and clarity
Brooklyn Bounce - Brooklyn Bounce - good for mibass response, and brightness of treble
Eminem - Without Me - for bass response

This is just for music though.. if it were movies, you could find a lot of lists here using the search function.

 

[Scott Oliver]

Give as much control to the buyer as you can to help create a relaxed atmosphere.


-CD's I use are as follow:

Patricia Barber, Cafe Blue, "Nardis", "Ode to Billy Joe"
Dave Matthews Band, Live at Luther College, "Cry Freedom"
Nils Petter Molvaer, Khmer, "Access/ Song of Sand I"
John Rutter, Reqieum, on Reference Recordings
Alisson Krauss w/ Union Station, New Favorite
The Super Extended Resolution Sound of TBM, Fim JVC XRCD

-A local super high end dealer used a selection of four tracks to start off an extended listening session, he used:

Some lady singing acapella, minimally miked
Fairfield Four, I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray, "These Bones"
Patricia Barber - "Ode to Billy Joe"
Minimally miked solo piano recording on MA Recordings

 

[Mitch Stevens]

What about making an MP3 CD-R that contains 10 hours of music to choose from? That way you'll have hundreds of tracks to choose from to play for your customers. Of course, you would have to record the MP3s yourself from your original CDs at 320 kbps to ensure that they hear the highest quality possible, but even at that bitrate, you should easily still be able to fit over 100 tracks on it.

 

[Bryan_P]

I think in addition to DMB's Crash, particularly the first song "So Much to Say," lots of Pink Floyd would be good from the rock side. "Time" or "Money" from Dark Side of the Moon both sound awesome. Also, Aerosmith's album Just Push Play has some good sounding tracks and finally Metallica's Black album is a well recorded, good sounding rock CD.

 

[Paul.Little]

What about making an MP3 CD-R that contains 10 hours of music to choose from? That way you'll have hundreds of tracks to choose from to play for your customers. Of course, you would have to record the MP3s yourself from your original CDs at 320 kbps to ensure that they hear the highest quality possible, but even at that bitrate, you should easily still be able to fit over 100 tracks on it.

Mmmmm. I wouldn't recommend it. Even CD-Rs made as direct copies from CDs without compression on a high end CD recorder don't sound as good as the original.

 

[Anthony*B]

just about anything by Loreena McKennit ...the fact that I think she's the most talented vocalist I've ever heard, hearing portions of"The Visit" at an Ultimate Electronics was what ultimately (no pun intended) made me realize just how much difference speakers can make!

 

[John Garcia]

Mmmmm. I wouldn't recommend it. Even CD-Rs made as direct copies from CDs without compression on a high end CD recorder don't sound as good as the original.

HUH? That is complete BS. With digital copies, the difference between the two is so minimal, I doubt anyone could tell the difference. MP3, particularly low bitrate, is a different story.

 

[KurtW]

I always look for stuff with alot of range, that I know well. I stick with a dozen or so songs, mainly tiered towards my listening habits. I use Seal, Filter, Sarah McLaughlin (spl?) (or any GOOD female vocalist with a ton of range), a little Garth Brooks, an acoustic set (lately it's been John Mayer), some George Benson, and for bass I use some kind of bass CD (I'm still partial to old school Bass Mekanix CDs), but by the time I get there I usually have a good idea of what to expect from my other selections.

I listen for nuances in certain songs (like Seal taking a breath before singing a lyric or the click of a bass drum pedal in a Metallica song, etc.

I haven't tried to come up with a movie selection to demo though - that should probably be my next move.

 

[Doug Brewster]

Meanwhile....

Bob Dylan From "Oh Mercy"- Man In the Long Black Coat

Sheryl Crow...uh... "Sheryl Crow"

Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms"

Linda Ronstadt "Lush Life"

Flim and The BB's "The Big Notes"

Joe Cocker "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Eric Clapton "Unplugged"

 

[ryan_kramer]

Peter Gabriel - Up SACD - Growing Up for the "gimmick demo" and The Drop for the more serious acid test.

And I'll second the Patricia Barber and Lorenna Mckennit cd's. They're also very well recorded.

 

[John-Miles]

Personally I have always found the best thing to do is suggest the customer bring in their own music that theya re very familiar with. that way they will notice things that they never noticed before, but if its all new then its hard to judge.

 

[DarrenAlan]

You could set an excellent tone from the very beginning by simply asking what the customer prefers. "Hello, my name is Taylor, welcome to A&B Sound. I'd like you to get the most from your experience today, so please allow me to ask you a few questions. Would you like me to control the volume, or would you like to do so? Would you like me to play some musical selections, or did you bring your own?" yada yada yada

Then you can get into questions about room, budget, goals for system (HT/2-channel split, background music, etc.) and so forth.

 

[ryan_kramer]

----- HUH? That is complete BS. With digital copies, the difference between the two is so minimal, I doubt anyone could tell the difference. MP3, particularly low bitrate, is a different story. ----

The person may have said what he said because there are indeed some consumer grade CD recorders (standalone) that create a generation loss on purpose.

Maybe a little less zeal would be curtious.

 

[Jerome Grate]

For me, it's Michael Jackson's latest album Invincible. For surround, it's title 4 Break of Dawn, Prologic II or in my case Logic 7m really does a great job on this track as to surround seperation. Voices in some points of the song are placed in a specific surround speaker. For bass I use track 9 2000 watts. Some really good hard bass there and pretty good seperation as well.