Your Top Audiophile Demo Tracks


List five of your top audiophile tracks that you would show off your speakers .Think of it this way.  You go int a shop to demo new speakers.  Within that hour or two what tracks do you use. I have a pair of Golden Ear Triton Two's paired with a SVS SB-3000 sub.

 Yeah, I like Satisfaction from the Stones but I'm talking about pristine recordings that are so good would probably sound good on my old eight track deck. Shows how old I am! I have so many but here are five instrumental tracks that highlight all the frequencies from the lowest notes GE active subwoofers reproduce to those wonderful highs of the folded ribbon tweeter. I am a semi professional drummer so I like to play these types of tracks at near live levels. Probably 90 - 95 dB. I know not good for the ears but my listening sessions at that level are kept short. Plus GE speakers can handle the headroom without distortion.
Not in any particular order:

1. The Golden Dolphin - Marco Minnemann Incredible drum sonics
2. Justice's Groove - Stanley Clarke Beautiful bass tone
3. Alone in the City - Chris Botti That trumpet, so clear from the HVFR tweeter
4. Personal Power - Wolfgang Schmid - Everything here, tight bass, well recorded drums, and that sax!
5. American Tango - Weather Report - Wait for the keyboards to come in
So much music-so little time!
wweiss
Twenty Test Tracks!  Some of my favorites....

Avalon - Roxy Music
Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
That Voice Again - Peter Gabriel
El Macho- Mark Knopfler [ One of my subwoofer test tracks]
Seven Days - Sting
Pearl On The Half Shell - Weather Report
The Gift Of Time - Jean Luc Ponty
Every Word - Sade
Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
African Night - Al Di Meola
Morph The Cat - Donald Fagen [Subwoofer Test Track]
Trellis - Synergy  [If you have a strong enough system, go for it!]
Leather Cats - Oregon
So Long Mickey Mouse - Return To Forever
Alone In The City - Chris Botti
She - James Newton Howard
Spiral - Vangelis  [Favorite Electronica Track]
Espana - Patrick O' Hearn
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
Day Breaks - Live On KCRW - Norah Jones

Can agree with Every Word by Sade and Leather Cats by Oregon, especially the latter.

Glad some of you found some of these Gems. Here's some more:

Hotel California Live -The Eagles Hell Freezes Over [That percussion intro]

School Days - Stanley Clarke

I'll Find My Way Home - Vangelis

Street Talk - Stanley Jordan

Overjoyed - Victor Wooten [Beautiful acoustic bass]

Justice's Groove - Stanley Clarke

Spanish Harlem - Rebeca Pidgeon [My number one test track for female vocals!]

Against Doctor's Orders - Kenny G

Can't Let Go - Joan Armatrading [Another great female vocal but with with crystal clear electronic Keyboard]

She - James Newton Howard

You And Your Friend - Dire Straits

Inch Worm - Patricia Barber

Sleep To Dream - Fiona Apple [Subwoofer Test]

Words Of Wonder -Keith Richards [Subwoofer Test]

Sign O'The Times - Prince

Viola Fora De Moda - Ana Caram


There is a new fabulous recording with Reinier Voet from Pigalle44.

''Each recording starts and ends with the main artist alone in the hall. The only interplay being the acoustics of the hall and his own mind. No audience is present except the ghosts from the past. When the band enters, the music must create an Arch, going from the single instrument performance  to the more complex band performance and back to the last solo performance. The same principle goes for the engineering; each recording starts out with only one microphone (stereo). As the music gains in complexity more microphones may be deployed, the only limit being the imagination and technical skills of the recording engineer. The producer and engineer must make the album feel as one, it should have a unifying 'sound', despite the different recording techniques employed.
 

All Sound Liaison albums have the Frans de Rond Visual Sound  signature; great depth, clear placement and an almost physical presence of the musicians. Especially our One Mic recording series has been noticed in the world of audio recording. When the Josephson C700S microphone is used to its fullest, the result is a completely phase coherent recording with placement depth and superior realism''. 
And indeed the critical acclaim we have received for our One Mic series have been very flattering;

"One microphone straight to DXD recording – and it’s totally enchanting"....Hifi Critic
"Fabulous...challenging the possibilities of current recording technology"....Inner-magazines