Bruins;
I use a CD or record that I have listened to many times and has very clear sound quality. When I listen to such a disc, I can tell very quickly if certain parts of the sound are as I remember them from previous listening.
For example, on "JAZZ" by Ry Cooder, on track 2 there is a tuba that is played in its low register repeatedly. On 99 of 100 sound systems this will sound dull and poorly defined, but on a really top-quality system which is working well, the sound of that tuba will be as real-sounding as if it were right in your listening area. There are several tracks I use on this disc.
On the disc "Balalaika Favorites", the individual plucks of strings will not be lifelike but rather dull on most sound systems. They will sound realistic and lifelike when it is reproduced right. Another thing that is quite distinguishing is the sound of massed bass strings strummed together in certain passages. This will be very "muddy-sounding" on almost all systems, but a great system can reproduce it so the strings are not so much a 'mass" of sound but a rich resonant sound of individual instruments played together, including the body sound of the bass balalaikas. I will bet that most people who play this disc don't like it because it doesn't sound good at all, and dismiss it as poor recording quality; nothing could be further from the truth! It takes a really good system to hear what is really there, and hearing it on a good system is a breathtaking and spectacular sonic experience.
Another disc I use to evaluate a system is the "Hands Across the Sea" disc by the Eastman Winds. The first 8 tracks have exceptional sound quality; the other 12 were recorded 2 years earlier (in 1956) and do not sound as good. Track 2 and 3 are so good that if you play it on a good system you can close your eyes and think you are in the front row on Colorado Boulevard on Jan. 1 as the Michigan band plays right in front of you. The bass drums are absolutely powerful and resonant and the flutes and other instruments sound perfect to those of us who have heard live band music a lot.
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken; part 2", is another one with excellent lifelike recorded sound that is a reference for me. Another reference disc is Beethoven's "Mass in C" by the Monteverdi Choir. There is an old recording by Vladimir Horowitz on a Columbia/Sony SACD that is excellent as a reference.
The OPUS 3 test discs (3 of them) have some of the best recorded sound you will ever hear, and it covers, vocal, organ, piano, jazz band, and other sounds and those discs are a valuable reference. OPUS 3 is the best recording company that ever existed, in my opinion; I value their LPs and CDs like gold! You can get them online at May Audio.
One thing that gives me a strong indication that a person's sound system has problems is if they dismiss quite a few discs as having bad sound or being poorly recorded. I used to be that way. Now those discs, with VERY few exceptions, all sound very good.
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Originally Posted by Bruins29 /forum/post/21450936
commsysman, you have mentioned the same thing about amps sounding different in several threads. Can you share with us the method you use in order to do these amp comparisons?