What tracks do you use to audition gear?

[jinp6301]

I dont know if this has been done already but I think its always interesting to see what music people use to audition gear.

So mine are:

The Beach Boys - Sloop John B (a capella version and the regular stereo version)

Wilco - Jesus Etc

Ryan Adams - Winding Wheel (MFSL)

Justice - Let There Be Light

Daft Punk - Around The World

Jedi Mind Tricks - Genghis Kahn

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus and Lucy

Mozart - Requiem

Mendelsohn - Violin Concerto in E minor

Chopin - Piano Concertos 1 and 2

Probably some I'm missing but what do you guys like to use?

[postjack]

Winding Wheel is a great audition track, but if I had to choose one from HB MFSL it would be:

Ryan Adams - Oh My Sweet Carolina

Also:

Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights (entire first half of album, CD and LP. its just so exquisitely recorded, so alive and clear but raw)

Genesis - Squonk (both album version and "Seconds Out" version)

Genesis - Afterglow

Bob Marley - Natural Mystic (MFSL)

Phish - Punch You In The Eye / The Sloth (NYE 2005, SB commercial release)

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - A Night In Tunisia/Sincerely Dian (MFSL)

George Kawaguchi's "Big 4" (XRCD 20bit K2) - whole album (this is actually a brand new audition cd for me, thanks reks)

Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks 5 CD 2 - Estimated Prophet

Joy Division - Closer (whole album)

Medeski Martin & Wood - I Wanna Ride You (and other tracks off Uninvisible)

Pink Floyd - Meddle (silver harvest OR mfsl, whole album)

Soft Machine - 5th (recent japanese DSD remaster, first few tracks)

And slowly some of these new Widespread Panic SBs are making their way into the audition tracks list.

[jinp6301]

George Kawaguchi's "Big 4" (XRCD 20bit K2) - whole album (this is actually a brand new audition cd for me, thanks reks)

completely forgot about that one. I just got it like a week ago. Its a fantastic recording

[jinp6301]

i listen to recordings of LOLcats doing the nasty to audition my gear. and you're welcome, Jack

so thats why lolcats are so happy all the time. They spend the whole day doing it

[Dusty Chalk]

Einstuerzende Neubauten, "Sabrina" -- for bass and bass "gank" (prat)

Stabbing Westward, "Darkest Days" (and the rest of the album) -- dynamics, resolution

Nine Inch Nails, "Wish" (and the rest of Broken) -- dynamics, resolution

Camille, "P?le Septembre", "Ta Douleur", "Au Port" -- correctness of female vocals

Jenifer Smith/Code Mesa, "When The World Began" -- electronic production, femme vocals

Rob Dougan, "Furious Angels" -- electronic production, male vocals

Pink, "Hell Wit Ya (Treat Me Right)" -- bass prat, synthesized

Alan Parsons Project, "I, Robot"/"I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You" -- synthesized production, wicked good production

Talk Talk, "The Rainbow", "Desire" -- sparse production, dense production, modern production (distortion, etc.)

[aerius]

The Tea Party, "Winter Solstice" - If the speaker or headphone has a midrange colouration, the acoustic guitars from this track will nail it

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, "Red Right Hand" - Bass groove, texture, and dynamics

Sarah Slean, "Sweet Ones" - resolution test, along with midrange issues

Tori Amos, "Mother" - Sibilance test, also resolution

The Tea Party, "Sun Going Down" - Dynamics and freedom from congestion. Also soundstage depth.

Blue Rodeo, "What is this love" - Cymbal decays, male & female vocals test

Cowboy Junkies, "Trinity Sessions" album - resolution, low level details, soundstaging

SRV & Albert King, "Pride & Joy" - Groove & soul test

Cowboy Junkies, "He Will Call You Baby" - soul & emotion, does it make me feel?

The Tea Party, "Psychopomp" - dense production test, sees if things turn to mush or stays clean

[ph0rk]

The Tea Party, "Winter Solstice" - If the speaker or headphone has a midrange colouration, the acoustic guitars from this track will nail it

The Tea Party, "Psychopomp" - dense production test, sees if things turn to mush or stays clean

Another Tea Party fan. I like using "Pulse" and "Temptation", as well as propellorhead's "bigger?" and portishead's "wandering star" for bass happiness before switching to something like the white stripes for head-bopping happiness. "cath hell blues" and "Seven nation army" work great.

I've also used juno reactor's "insects" for the deep low bass sweep and deep bass pulse.

I guess I switch it up often though, as I hate to wear out a song.

[postjack]

Genesis - Squonk (both album version and "Seconds Out" version)

I should point out the version I use is from the atco/japan 38101-2, which is the diament master. simply superb.

[Salt Peanuts]

I dont know if this has been done already but I think its always interesting to see what music people use to audition gear.

Here's the other one, though the wording is "torture" and not "audition."

http://www.head-case.org/index.php/topic,1475.0.html

[jinp6301]

I knew I read something like that before

[Knuckledragger]

For soundstage: Global Communication - Epsilon Phase (last track on Pentamerous Metamorphosis EP)

Biosphere - Caboose, En-Trance (the last two tracks on Patashnik)

For bass response: Bandulu - Come Forward (on the Macro Dub Infection compilation)

General tracks:

Bisophere - Endurium, the whole Substrata album

The Knife - Off to On, Heartbeats

Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up

Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues