Reference Tracks

[Love This Stuff]

Greetings to all,

I'm new to Audioshark and this is my first post. I'm wondering what your go-to tracks are when evaluating a new component or a change to your system, including acoustic treatments. Along these same lines, I would guess these tracks are the same ones you might play when someone stops by and wants to listen to music on an audiophile quality system. In other words, you are trying your best to impress them.

Thanks much!

 

[JCS123]

Greetings to all,

I'm new to Audioshark and this is my first post. I'm wondering what your go-to tracks are when evaluating a new component or a change to your system, including acoustic treatments. Along these same lines, I would guess these tracks are the same ones you might play when someone stops by and wants to listen to music on an audiophile quality system. In other words, you are trying your best to impress them.

Thanks much!

Welcome to the forum!

This is absolutely NOT based on any "audiophile" criteria, it is just what works for me. When I swap anything in or out, including cables and tweaks, I put on tracks 3-6 from The Wall:

Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1
The Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2
Mother

This is music that I know and love, and that I have been very familiar with for over four decades now. So I know when it sounds right (to me).

May I ask - what are some of your favorite tracks for the purpose of evaluating equipment?

 

[slowgeezr]

Birds - Dominique Fils-Aimé
When the Party's Over-Billie Eilish
Any Place-Bahamas
Dark Day-Blues Company
Take Five-Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band
Dupree Blues-Andreas Sobczyk & Peter Mueller
The Daily Growl-Lambchop
The Things We Did Last Summer-Freddie Hubbard
The Banaity Of Evil-Nine Horses
Celestial Echo-Malia
Raleigh and Spencer-Tony Furtado
Summer Time-Kenichi Tsunoda Big Band
For No Reason-Jake Isaac
On The Beach-Boz Scaggs
North Dakota-Lyle Lovett
Bang Bang-Nancy Sinatra
Hey, Hey, Hey-Chris Smither
Fine And Mellow-José James
Hey, Mr. Glider (Tarantino Mix)-Gare du Nord
Find Your Right Mind-Doug MacLeod
Defiant-Charles Lloyd
Liberty-Anette Askvik
Blown Away-Sivert Høyem
Barley-Liz Wright
Harlem Nocturne-Illinois Jacquet

 

[slowgeezr]

Some more...
On The Beach-Boz Scaggs
A Thousand Kisses Deep-Till Bronner
Gypsy in My Soul-Connie Evingson
What A Little Moonlight Can Do-José James
Take Five-Adrian Stern
Ain't No Sunshine-Adrian Stern
Restoration-Monty Alexander
Mose Allison Played Here-Greg Brown
Artificial Paradise-J.J. Cale
Gypsy Nocturne-Lara St.John
Kamala's Danz-Okvsho
Unbroken-Gustavo Santaolalla
Chocolate Chip Trip-TOOL
Why Can't We Live Together (feat. Iggy Pop)-Dr. Lonnie Smith
Kintsugi-Lana Del Rey
Midnight Sugar-Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio
I Don't Know (reprise)-Kat Edmonson
Lost Without You-Freya Ridings
Bells Of Gethsemane-Bruce Cockburn
The Bridge of Tears (2004 Remaster)-Clannad
Queen Mary-Francine Thirteen
Mary Saw Angels-Patrick Leonard
St. James Infirmary-Baba Blues

 

[crwilli]

Here is my complete go to list of demo music. It’s a combination of great music and great recordings which are also great music.

 

[crwilli]

To test your low end

 

[Mike]

Check out QoBuz Playlists: Florida Audio Expo 2025. That’s my playlist.

 

[Mikado463]

Chuck Mangione - 'Children of Sanchez'

 

[crwilli]

Chuck Mangione - 'Children of Sanchez'

Great example of reference music but not a reference recording. Did hear that static? Very annoying.

 

[Mikado463]

Great example of reference music but not a reference recording. Did hear that static? Very annoying.

Craig, yeah, a lousy YouTube example. My 46 year old Lp still sounds superb !

I can still remember the day back in '78 when I first heard that Lp at a buds house, playing on his monster Infinity speakers driven by Ampzilla amplification, amazing !!

 

[Cincy2]

Any disk from Chesky or Mapleshade labels.

Cincy