I often listen to jazz while working; I can't have lyrics playing when I am working on very technical stuff. I remember working while I had a live album on, recorded in a small club (I wish I remember which one). But at one point, I got annoyed at the couple at the table next to me, and wished they would shut up. Of course, that table was on the recording... I get pleasantly surprised now and again at random small things like that.
What to listen for?
This is aside to the obvious ones such as does a piano sound like a piano, the singer's voice sound close to them live, etc.
So, what I am trying to put together a list of songs where there is something specific to listen for. For instance, in the song Guinevere (CS&N) I have read that Crosby should sound as if he's standing in your room, front and center. On the acoustic Hot Tuna Album, they are playing in a bar and a beer bottle breaks landing on the floor - it should be sharp and sound like it's in the room with you. On Babylon Sisters there are some cymbal crashes on the left that should be crisp and not smeared. On a Beatles song (I forget which), a chair squeaks and a door opens and closes in the studio.
A good system will revel these little things. Any other that you have heard of?
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Smoothness. Smooth, not dull; clear, but not etched. Smooth. Like real acoustic music. When I changed to film and foil caps, I heard smoothness. When I changed to nude Vishay resistors, I heard smoothness. When I changed to an air bearing TT, I heard so much smoothness that I suspected that something had been lost - and it was - I lost the need to stop listening after 2 or 3 hours. Improved motor isolation - smoother. Panzerholz wand - smoother. Koetsu - smoother. How do I know that it's really an improvement? I listen to a song in another language, or in dialect, and I can understand it more easily. I disentangle the lines in a symphony more easily. Clarity without compromise. Smoothness. |
One well-known one here in London is the rumbling of the underground (subway) trains under Kingsway Hall that was used extensively by EMI in the 1950s-60s for orchestral recordings. Check out whether that rumble is on the record or comes from your turntable. In fact, when a train passes the rumble is easily heard. |
@mickeyb LOL |
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