Best way to test your system?


One of the best ways I've found to test my system is to hook up my dvd player to my DAC and watch a movie for a short time. Since so much music is hyper-produced in the studio, I think many people don't really know what an instrument actually sounds like in native sound. Unless of course they're around a musical instrument in the home or go to acoustic concerts. Yet, nearly everyone is interacting with people, hearing the everyday noises that occur in movies on a daily basis. The reference is fresh.

I find that to hear regular conversations/dialog over some of the systems I've owned really told me how accurate and realistic my system was in reproducing sounds. I've heard people say that music sounds great on their system but film sounds poor. They should both sound good if the system's good. Yes, movies use compression on the soundtrack but still I've had the same exact experience - music sounded great but normal dialog didn't.
wireless200
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For me, I test a system with piano solo's playing the frequency spectrum. The piano should sound more like there is a piano in the room during soft and loud passages alike, and much less like there is piano music coming through a set of speakers in the room. It's a really tough test, but if your system can do that, it's really well put together. Comparison testing will make it cleary evident what I mean by the above statements. Happy listening,

I disagree, I believe music is mixed more accurately than movies and if you get the music to sound right then the movies will sound good too.
Second the solo piano test. It has the frequency range and strong percussive attacks that will challenge a system from playback component through to speakers. Also modern symphony orchestra, the complex textures and wide dynamic range can quickly reveal weaknesses.
Have you tried putting an OTA broadcast or a dvd through your main system? I don't have a HT. Just thought it was an interesting test.