What is the most challenging music to play on a stereo?


If you really wanted to test the ability of a stereo, what type of music would you choose?

cdc

Two channel stereo is an irretrievably broken format limited to the typical music you hear played at hifi shows (lame). A system has to be painstakingly assembled at high cost and will generally sound acceptable in only one spot in a room, the "sweet" spot.

Scrap this sham and start over with an immersive audio system.

Click the link below for more info:

Audio Engineer explains why "Why Dolby Atmos is Definitely Going to Supersede Stereo"

We’ve been waiting for a replacement for stereo for decades,” says Jan ’Stan’ Kybert, the engineer responsible for installing the Dean St. Studios facility. “It’s an ancient technology. With music you want to feel something, like with a Saturday night or Sunday morning record. They make me feel ‘Saturday night’ or ‘Sunday morning’. That feeling has been lost with stereo now, and it’s not stereo’s fault, but with Dolby Atmos that feeling is there. It’s bigger, more exciting and wants to make you move, be more intimate, more relaxed or whatever. Everything it does it does it on a richer level.”

I'd use the type of music that I listen to, which is rock. I don't care about a system's ability to play Diana Krall etc etc etc 

badly recorded music over classical. Classical recordings tend to be well done and so they can sound decent and enjoyable on even cheaper systems. Then there is sound chaos that sounds sweet on a car radio but need a lot of tweaking on a serious home hifi setup to avoid headache and ear-bleed. 

@edcyn

Vocalists. Any genre. Do the male voices suffer from a buzzy midrange distortion? Or do they sound rich, clear and authentically human? Are the sibilants spitty or hashy?

+1

Vocals are the most challenging. We hear human voices every day for a reference. Do they sound natural in your system? (Allowing for a slight touch of reverb.)

For something different, visit a piano dealer. While someone playing, listen from 5 ft away. 15 ft away. 25 ft away. It will be educational.

Getting both vocals and a grand piano right would the ultimate success.

@larsman 

FYI, there is a global listening party for Metallica's new album in movie theaters being played in Dolby Atmos on Thursday April 13th, don't miss it:

https://metallica.film