Two Against Nature-What is your reference recording?
I have a number of different recordings that really seem to highlight the strengths and SQ of my system. This week I purchased a used CD ($3, free shipping) of Steely Dan's Two Against Nature and I'm just blown away. To me, it seems better produced (maybe overproduced) than Aja. (A copy of Gaucho is still on the way so we'll see how I feel about it.) It rises above the three or four other 'reference' recordings that I use as a benchmark for my system and so Two Against Nature is probably now my single 'reference' recording.
But here's the thing, I do not like any song on Two Against Nature as much as any given song on Aja. So what seems to carry Two Against Nature (for me) is its production value. It is just a sonic joy to listen to even if the songs are not as catchy as those from Aja and Gaucho.
So that got me to wondering: First, what is your reference recording (any format/medium) for your system? Second, is it also your favorite recording to listen to? In other words, is it the best recording/production AND your favorite music?
I guess it all depends on what you mean by "the best ever". To me, the old blues recordings sound as good on my low end college-years system as they do on my good system. There just isn’t much you can do with that level of recording. 1 person, 1 ancient mic, 1 guitar, 1 open studio room, 1 take, 1 low end wax cutter. Having said that...I guess that is sort of what those recordings are supposed to sound like.....but if so, that is just a fetish....because it certainly isn’t what it sounds like live.
No they all sound different from the exceptional to the more mundane to the highly flawed but almost all are listenable which means the sound reproduction is working well for a music lover like me.
I even have a few old 78s from the 30s and 40s that I have converted to digital in my music library and those sound the best ever as well.
I have tweaked all my source devices in my setup to sound their best, digital streaming, phono and even cassette tape.
When I audition new gear I always endeavor to hear a similar variety of recordings. I want to get the best out of all of them.
Mapman, are you saying that every album in your collection is as good as the next? Not a single standout? Not a single tinny blues recording from the 1940s? Not a single poorly produced but otherwise marvelously recorded song?
I’m not even sure that sounds good or interesting.
hifiman5, that recommendation alone makes me want to get a SACD player but this new hobby has already taken a chunk out of my wallet....that is hurting my other hobbie...;-)
Thanks for all the replies. Like mental said above, I think this is going to set off a spree of music spending, the Knopfler album as well as the two Fagan albums are now on the list as well as a copy of Meddle.
On the dynamic range database, Meddle is a real standout. It doesn't look like there is a bad recording of it out there in terms of DR.
Love DSOTM especially the 180 gram LP, but...the Analogue Productions SACD of "Wish You Were Here" is the best sounding recording and needless to say transcendent music. Costly disc but worth every blessed penny.
Honestly if there is not an instrument played on here that tests your system aspects in one way or another its time to sit in a corner....lol Imho of course!
my reference disc is Jamie Cullum "Twentysomething" CD or SACD (2004). This disc flies way under the radar of most. Miles Davis- "Kind of Blue" my favorite listen. Excellent suggestions above. Happy Listening!
Just an opinion but I believe many of the high ratings are attributable to special effects i.e. voices, VCS3 synthesizer, tape loops, clocks, etc. but that’s me.
I believe The Wall, WYWH, Obscured By Couds, in addition to Meddle are all better than Dark Side. However, the 5.1 mix is really cool. YMMV
For a long time on CD I've used the album 'Blue Moon' by Ahmad Jamal. Specifically the song Morning Mist. The better my system became, the more depth and clarity I would hear -- lots of things to discover in this song, especially the percussion.
I've got DSOTM on CD, don't remember which but rated highly on various sites. It is one of my reference CDs but Two Against Nature seems to be better at highlighting my system's strengths...........but I enjoy DSOTM better as a piece of music.
I have not had a copy of Meddle since college and that was on cassette tape. I need to pick up a copy. I'm not into vinyl so it will be on CD. I'll do some research for the best CD.
Funny, I just got a new subwoofer a couple of days ago and Two Against Nature was one of the albums I played to evaluate. I was entranced. I didn't love this album when it was first released but over time I came to enjoy it immensely. I also listened to Gaucho, Mark Knopfler's Tracker, Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron Night and the City, and Sonny Rollins Way Out West, among others.
There are also two of Donald Fagen's solo albums, Kamakiriad (actually a Steely Dan album in disguise) and Sunken Condos, that have excellent sonics and music (at least I think so).
One of my reference recordings is Count Basie - Chairman Of The Board as reissued on Classic Records. Others are my original EMI imports of Abbey Road, Meddle and Atom Heart Mother.
For CD, Hybrid - Wide Angle has always been one I can count on to deliver the goods.
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