Vote

Usually, I just play whatever I have in the car at the time I stop in at the audio store. Caution: Touchy Subject Follows. My ambition is to take the time to burn a CD with all the music I feel would be good to audition equipment with. You know, a little rock, jazz, blues, classical, eclectic, and so on—sorry no country. I can't beleive that one CD or LP would be sufficient for any purchase.

Dennis DeYoung: 10 on Broadway. This disc sounds great if the balance is right and terrible if the balance is off. This makes it quick and easy to judge a system.

Gee, I just use my ears to listen.

My reference CD lineup: Karrin Alysson: Ballads, Pat Metheny: Jim Hall and …, and Telarc's great fantasy adventure album, The Ultimate Test CD. These discs all help me establish a sense of how good a system is. Generally, I can tell within five minutes whether I like or dislike a system when I use these discs. It is sad how many systems I hear have tonality, transparency, or depth and width issues. These discs help me every trip.

My evaluation disc is Rebecca Pidgeon's The Raven.

The Hunter by Jennifer Warnes (01005-82089-2) & Amanda by Amanada McBroom (Sheffield 10066-2-G) are my favorites. They're musical & sound good. When I evaluate hi-fu gear, I always use them.

Growing up in Hollywood Town, Sheffield Labs Direct to Disc (vinyl, of course).

It's a CD ONLY because it is so easily transported and I can count on at least a "reasonable" piece of hardware wherever I'm "evaluating". If you are asking if I have LPs that kick the crap out of my best CDs, that is true - just not as convenient and, these days, not as "universal".

I would start using SACD, but a majority, or most hi-end and for that matter mass market stereo dealers don't have the equipment set-up. And if they do they don't have the ability to readily utilize it for demonstartion purposes.

Beck's Mutations by a long, long mile. Great question!

It's a new one purchase, Oscar Peterson & Count Basie Satch and Josh…Again. If you play they and don't drop dead with pleasure, your system's not running right. (-"

Anything from Mapleshade. These are the best recordings I have ever heard!

I'm unaware of any single piece of media that provides the wherewithall to conduct a full product evaluation. If there is such a wonderful tool, I'd like to know. From what I read in the "Headlines" and "Soapbox" sections, this may be a moot issue in the very near future.

Willie Nelson's Stardust. We have it in several versions, vinyl and CD, but the best is a half speed master vinyl. Been listening to it for years.

I use CDs because they are easy to throw into a dealers player. My problem is that I can't find a CD that is accurate enough not to reveal more problems with the CD than the components.

One? But my CD carrier holds 32! My favorite evaluation disc is a collection of whale sounds called Deep Voices. One of the tracks has blue whale song, which is an excellent way to test bass extension (my friend calls it a "woofer duster").

Band: Garbage. Album: Version 2.0 Track: "Temptation Waits." I have about a thousand CDs and records. Pop, rock, symphonic, techno, grundge, country and whatever the hell this is. Of all of them, I've not found a single other cut that is as DIFFICULT TO REPRODUCE CORRECTLY as this is. In fact, it wasn't until I got my Sennheiser HD600 headphones that I even knew what this track was supposed to sound like. I'd always enjoyed listening to it, but once I heard it on the phones, I realized I'd never, ever heard it before with anything close to accuracy. This track is soooo dense, with so many different instruments, both real and synthetic, with so many layers, and so many different rythms and counterpoints going on all at the same time, with Shirley Manson's voice alternating from sultry low moans to ripping longing bar singer—just try to find a pair of speakers that can capture everything that's going on here without masking at least part of it. And if you do, please e-mail ray@freshnex.com with the brand, model number and where I can go hear them. Thanks.

Daft Punk's new album Discovery. It has everything you need to evaluate a system

I have many CDs and a few LPs that I use to audition hardware for my home system. Included are Kid A (Radiohead)—LP and CD, Joshua Tree (U2)—LP and Mobile Fidelity CD, Night Club and Modern Cool (Patricia Barber), Boy with the Arab Strap (Belle & Sebastian)—CD, Reference Recordings' Moonlight Sonata, the list goes on and on. Each of these recordings offers insight into various forms of sound, and without each and every one, I would not be able to make decisions regarding audio equipment.

I try both

It's nearly impossible to pick one, of course, but if I had to, it would be Beyond the Missouri Sky by Charlie Haden (double bass) and Pat Metheney (guitar). If a system cannot reproduce Haden's bass with convincing tonal accuracy, it will probably be lacking in other respects.

Flim and the BBs Tricycle. This CD will make you completly jump out of your seat when played on any system of substance. The transients that come at you from a dead silence are like shock therapy. My close second and on more of a jazz scale would be James Newton Howard & Friends. I have seen these two CDs in many a demo room.

Oscar Peterson Trio's Night Train. I've listened to this for 38 years on mono and stereo vinyl, eight track, cassette, regular CD and Master Edition. I've listened to this disc more than any other and I am intimately familiar with it.

That's Me in the Bar, A. J. Croce. An excellent recording.

One must use several disc's and or formats if possible to decide if the playback chain is to your satisfaction. Room placement is going to be the biggest hurdle however..after 4years and several system changes, I am still learning my way around my listening room!

eagles hell freezes over dts dvd.

Santana Abraxas, "Black Magic Woman." The entrance of the congas should be on the left. They must be a few feet behind the left speaker or it's a no go!

Iona's The Book Of Kells—what Enya wished she sounded like—the first two cuts generally separate the wheat from the chaff. Then try either the last cut of Cecilia Bartoli's Mozart Arias—the "Exsultate Jubilate" for voice, midrange and treble, or "Polka & Fugue from Schwanda" on Reference Recordings' "Pomp and Pipes" CD for more orchestral and LOTSA bass. Happy hunting and good listening!

Ricky Lee Jones: Ricky Lee Jones It has (almost) everything.

I use a CS from Naim called Meet Me in London with Sabina Sciubba and Antonio Forcione. What a beautiful voice and magnificent guitar playing!