Top 3 songs to evaluate a system


Hi everyone,

So here is the question: what are your Top 3 music pieces to evaluate a system?

The songs should be complementary to cover a wider range of features, but not necessary. If you only listen to one type of music, it would make sense to only evaluate with this type.

Bonus: identify one good part of the piece where you pay extra attention because this is where the difference between systems is more visible.

I'll start:

Holly Cole Trio - Girl Talk - My Baby Just Cares For Me
Highlight: The vibrating cord at 1:59

MaMuse - All The Way - Glorious
Highlight - The clean guitar and the high drum beat that rythm the whole piece

Metallica - ... And Justice for All (Remastered) - One
Highlight - The first drums at 0:53, but the whole guitar as well


Doing this myself, I realize it's very hard to only pick 3!!

papyneau
A lot of GREAT SONGS and choices: not necessarily in this order:
Elton John: Funeral for a friendMetallica; Nothing else matters/Fade to BlackAC/DC  Thunderstruck
1.  Nasty by Vincent Ingala
2.  Choolate by The 1975
3,  Maybe You're The Reason by The Japanese House ( extremely high 
     quality recording)
4.  Little Person by Michael Wollny


Exile on Main Street. Any system that can make that awful recording sound decent wins.
Rick Wakeman - Jane Seymour from The Six Wives of Henry VIII.
The pipe organ at St. Giles takes you right into the church and the Moog piece takes it to another dimension.

Jeff Beck Group - Goin Down from the S/T Orange album.
The separation of the instruments in the left and right channels and right out of the center. The beautiful tone and resonance of Max Middleton’s piano. And of course Jeff Beck squeezes just about every note that you could get out of a guitar. Close your eyes and you can feel the strings bending. The whole album is just fantastic.

Santana - Waiting from the S/T first album.
The soundstage and spaciousness comes at you from every direction in the room. The music just floats.

And one more.
Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris - Why Worry from Real Live Roadrunning. Emmylou sounds like an angel. Oh wait, she is an angel.




1.  Concordia Viols - Crye by Concordia Viols (2001-10-02) - Amazon.com Music  The gorgeous sound of the consort of viols will tell you everything you need to know about a speaker's midrange.

2.  John O'Conor - Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 (Moonlight, Pathetique, Appassionata) - Amazon.com Music  Well-recorded piano music tells you a lot about a speaker.

3.  Samuel Barber, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, André Previn, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn, Gil Shaham - Barber: Concerto for Violin & Orchestra, Op. 14 / Korngold: Much Ado about Nothing Suite, Op. 11 - Amazon.com Music  Here's a real litmus test.  On speakers that are tipped up or otherwise too bright, the violin tone will be edgy or astringent.  On good speakers it will be just right.  As for bass extension, there are bass figures here that are not loud but should be audible; listen to hear how clear they are.