Reference CD's (1 Viewer)

[mike_decock]

A few of my favorite references:

Fiona Apple - When The Pawn:

"Limp" has a really wide soundstage and has really well recorded drums and vocals.

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo

"Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo" is an excellent bass torture test. Not only does it have to be deep, but tight and tuneful as well. At the same time, it has to keep the other instruments light and airy.

I always bring along a few old favorites that aren't particularly well-produced. Sometimes a system will sound really good when fed the reference recordings but when listening to the rest of the stuff, all it does is reveal the flaws. I wouldn't want any system that discouraged me from listening to the music I love (poorly produced or not).


-Mike...

 

[Angelo.M]

Allow me to second Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth, which is a beautiful recording (and a damn great record to boot).

Opera is also a great way to test your system. Try Puccini's Turandot, with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, Zubin Mehta conducting (Polygram #414274). Recorded in the early 1970s, it's one of Pavarotti's most treasured performances. And Sutherland's voice is to die for.

--AM

 

[Lee Scoggins]

The new Mahler recordings from the San Francisco Symphony are quite good. They are also available in Super Audio.

 

[Greg_R]

Lee, which label are they on?

 

[Dalton]

Robert Plant - Now and Zen

I have found it to be a very clean sounding and well recorded disc.

 

[RichardH]

Steely Dan: Two Against Nature
hyper clean recording, almost to a fault

Alice in Chains: MTV Unplugged
Very live feel

Radiohead: Kid A
also very clean recording; good sense of space

Diana Krall: The Look of Love
Won a TEC award for record production, and Al Schmitt is a master engineer