Whats your current Reference CD at the moment?

To show off bass and dynamic
Poem Of Chinese Drum - Master Of Chinese Percussion

To show off vocal
Flying Cowboys, Rickie Lee Jones
The Best Of Bonnie Raitt

To show off piano dynamic
Midnight Sugar

To show off violin
Selections from The Miracle Makers

To show off pipe organ
Antiphone Blues

To show off scale and symphony
A Dark Knight - The Dark Knight Soundtrack

To show off a little bit of everything
FIM Audiophile Reference IV

Chesky CD31, Dvorak's "New World Symphony," The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jascha Horenstein (recorded in 1962, which you won't believe if you hear it!).

Sheffield Lab, Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf (I have it on the original direct-to-disk LP, but it is presently available on CD).

Sheffield Lab, "The Sheffield Track Record" (ditto re LP & CD).

Regards,
-- Al

Lou Reed -- Perfect Night in London.

Excellent recording technology that Stereotimes reviewed and gushed over.

I always take some poorly recorded CD's, too. Some essential music isn't available as a good recording and it is nice to know if new equipment makes it unbearable to listen to. It can infuriate salespeople because they of course frequently stack the deck with their own outstanding demo CD's to make their stuff sound great. The real world isn't as peachy as stereo shops and it is nice to know what you're getting into rather than be unpleasantly surprised after plunking down your dollars.

eva cassidy, songbird