2. tech-talk
  3. 1294520207

Most Challenging CD

What is the CD that most puts your system to task in your collection?

My best is, Tchaikovsky "The Nutcracker," by the Kirov Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev. This CD has it all, huge bass passages, giant crescendos, sharp horns and interwoven dynamics.

Yes, I know, there are lots of CDs that show all these attributes. There is one thing on this CD that I have never heard on any other, a real loud gun shot.

Sure, some 1812 Overture discs have real cannon fire. They just aren't as powerful as the gun shot on this Nutcracker disc. This report is a CRACKPOW!!!!!!!!

Ok, what do you have that tests your system like no other? I am not really interested in test discs. I have those and they aren't as good, besides being boring.
muralman1
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,559 posts
 
How about the tune "Oh Yeah" by Yello? I forget the CD name.

Lurch from the Adams Family doing his best Macho Man Randy Savage imitation.
montejay
285 posts
 
Master of Chinese Percussion -Yim Hok Man K2HD Lim
The drums rattle my windows and ducts using 8 watts
Great demo disc

Regards,
muralman1 OP
1,527 posts
 
Montejay, getting all those percussion instruments right would be a good trick for a system.

I have another along similar vein, Kodo Heartbeat Drummers of Japan - Sheffield Lab. This one begins with with player calling to each other. The disc makes use of the full dynamic range given by CDs. The voices are faint compared to what follows. In fact, at Amazon, if you look at comments, lots of people complain about the 4 minutes of silence before drumming starts. This CD separates boy toys from real music makers. Bringing the voices in clearly requires a comparatively high setting of the volume knob.

When the drumming starts, it pushes all big drivers full go. Also, the tweeter and midrange will get a good workout creating the pitch, strike, and reverb. A later time in the CD the drums are silent. Somewhere way back there a whisper of a clatter. It steadily comes closer until it becomes a din of crashing drum sticks.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
Audiofeil,
With All Due Respect, the thread is about challenging for your stereo to play back not a challenge to LISTEN to! Good answer, though!

I had a lunatic neighbor a LONG time ago who would stay up late talking to himself and listening to recordings of TRAINS. I moved ASAP and didn't look back.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>02-17-11: Magfan
Audiofeil,
With All Due Respect, the thread is about challenging for your stereo to play back not a challenge to LISTEN to..<<

Really?

Damn, how could I have missed that?
More to discover