What is your goto reference recording


What record CD or down load is the music that you use to judge your system by or shop with ?
128x128tomstruck
An assortment of superior quality XRCDs or quality mastered redbook CDs, depending on the genre preference of the guest listener. These include any and all of the following:

XRCD

- Female vocalists in "Best Audiophile Voices" in the various discs in that XRCD whole series;
- Grand piano in XRCD with "Steinway the Beautiful";
- Classical masters in XRCD with "The Best of the Audiophile Classics" ( Bach, Brahms, Schubert, Chopin, and Beethoven;
- Rock in DIRE STRAITS in XRCD with "Brothers in Arms".

In standard redbook CDs , for rock / guitar instrumentals / jazz : all of the following three :

+1 for DIRE STRAITS "Love Over Gold";

Guitar instrumental: CHESTER & LESTER ..... Chet Atkins and Les Paul on their chosen electric guitars together as a duo, backed by the cream of Music City’s studio musicians circa 1975 in Nashville - a great 14 track offering .

Jazz in BILL EVANS "Riverside Profiles"... remastered in 2006.

I have a few songs:

Stevie Ray Vaugh - Tin Pan Alley

Ginger Baker - Cyril Davies

Gary Clarke Jr.- Down to Ride

Cassandra Wilson - Strange Fruit

Miles Davis - All Blues

Al Di Meola - The Embrace

George Duke - The Black Messiah Pt 2

Les McCann - Forever Gone

Jimmy Smith - Got my Mojo Working

Christian McBride - Getting to It/ Little Sunflower

Charlie Hunter - Rendezvous Avec La Verite

Dave Brubeck - Time Out

Dizzy Gillespie - Night in Tunisia

Rickie Lee Jones - Dat Dere

Marcus Miller - Slippin into Darkness

Nina Simone - Four Women

Hugh Masekela - Stimela

Rachelle Ferrell - I Can Explain & My Funny Valentine

Sonny Rollins - Sais

Ahmad Jamal - Night Has A Thousand Eyes

I play these tunes whenever I audition speakers or components. My local dealer loves me. I also use this material when I'm doing any tweaks at home.

Cheers

Stevie Ray Vaugh - Tin Pan Alley

Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy and Sara

Donald Fagen - Mary Shut The Garden Door and New Frontier

Dire Straits - So Far Away and Fade to Black

Dave Brubeck - Take Five

Rickie Lee Jones - Last Chance Texaco



Andy Gravish - New York / Rome hookup

No compression, no EQ, as organic as it gets. Primo jazz to boot.