These are some tracks that can be used as a first-check. These tracks are generally well-recorded and mastered, so they give you a first impression of what problems you might be faced with before digging into other tracks to look for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artist: Jennifer Warnes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Famous Blue Raincoat<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Bird on a Wire<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: BMG International<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: This has been called the best recording\u2026 ever. (Don\u2019t write to tell me that you think that the Beatles are better than Jennifer Warnes \u2013 I\u2019m talking about the recording quality here\u2026) Ask people who work in the pro audio industry (recording engineers and studio people\u2026) and no one will not<\/em> have heard this recording. Personally, I would estimate that I have heard this tune, on average, at least once per day, since about 1990. Of course, some days I don\u2019t hear it at all, other days, I\u2019ll listen to it 20 or 30 times\u2026 (No, I\u2019m not exaggerating\u2026) This track has lots going for it \u2013 great imaging, good timbre on each of the instruments and voices, nothing is overly compressed. And, on top of it all, the tune and its performance are great. If you don\u2019t have this album, go out any buy it. Now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding imaging: I actually keep a \u201cmap\u201d of where the instruments are placed in this recording (update: I\u2019ve drawn the map, if you\u2019d like to take a look. It\u2019s at this posting<\/a>.). The first tomtom is about 10 degrees to the left of centre; the backup vocal is about 15 degrees to the right of centre; there are different triangles \u2013 one about 15 deg to the left, the other about 25 deg to the right; the choir spreads far left and right, but behind everything else in the mix, and with a hole in the centre to make room for the lead vocal; the bongos are on the far right; the sax is just to the right of centre; the shaker is about 10-15 degrees to the left\u2026. etc etc\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding timbre: there are a couple of things to listen for. The first is the crack of the very first tomtom. It should have a very clean attack, which is immediately followed by the low end of the drum blooming behind it. It shouldn\u2019t sound like a kick drum \u2013 it\u2019s got high end on the attack and low end underneath it. The second tomtom, positioned to the right of centre, is similar. Both drums should feel like they\u2019re surrounded by air \u2013 not constricted to a small space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Robert Shaw, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Stravinsky: The Firebird<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Infernal Dance of King Kastchei<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Telarc<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: This, like Bird on a Wire, is one of the historically GREAT recordings. This one is from the early days of digital recording, made using a custom-built recording system that had to be tweaked by hand at the recording sessions. It has been re-released on stereo SACD which sounds much better than the original CD release (both on the SACD and CD layer) due to better sampling rate conversion from the original 50 kHz recording. Lots has been written about this recording by the original recording engineer, Jack Renner \u2013 a \u201cwhat to listen for\u201d guide. Unfortunately, although I have a paper copy of this, I haven\u2019t found it online, and I\u2019m certainly not able to re-distribute it due to copyright issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some things to listen for: the first attack of the orchestra. Stravinsky sometimes used the entire orchestra as a single percussion instrument. This piece is a perfect example of this \u2013 and it should feel like it \u2013 your tweeters should not sound like they\u2019re working hard to reproduce the piccolo. The front desk of violins should sound close, but not grating. Also, the xylophone should sound distant (compared with the front strings) and about 10 \u2013 15 degrees to the left. The brass should also sound distant, but all of the instruments, regardless of distance, sound like they\u2019re in the same room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Lyle Lovett<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Joshua Judges Ruth<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: She\u2019s Already Made Up Her Mind<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Curb \/ MCA<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: This is a good track for two reasons. The bass, when it comes in, sits underneath the whole recording and holds it up like a foundation of a house. It\u2019s never overpowering, but always present. Also, if you have any problem with ringing or resonances in the upper bass \/ low midrange region in your speakers or room, the guitar will make them audible\u2026 This recording was made by the same guy that mixed \u201cBird on a Wire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Bette Midler<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Some People\u2019s Lives<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Miss Otis Regrets<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Atlantic<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why: It\u2019s a bright, but clean big-band recording of a great arrangement of this classic Cole Porter tune<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Various<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Tutti! Orchestral Sampler<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Dance of the Tumblers<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Reference Recordings<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why: Clean recordings with attention paid to the technical details<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Densil Pinnock and Bill Coon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Mona Lisa<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Corcovado<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Verve \/ ERC<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: I use this recording a lot because I recorded it, which means that I know what the intentions of the artists were, because I was one of them\u2026 This was a great CD to work on, because the producer and the duo gave me complete license to try whatever I wanted in terms of microphone technique, recording style, processing\u2026 etc. In the case of this particular track, there were three microphones on the voice (two condenser omni\u2019s and a bidirectional ribbon) which were moved and balanced to get the imaging and timbre (no panning, and no eq!). There were 6 microphones on the guitar (yes, 6\u2026) two on the neck for the squeaky left hand movements, two on the strings near the right hand and two for the body of the guitar. All 6 were condensers of various polar patterns. The feeling you should get with this track is the voice on the left, the guitar on the right (with the guitar neck a little further out than the body and picking), both of them slightly in front of the speakers. Oh, and the speaker locations shouldn\u2019t be easily audible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Les Id\u00e9es heureuses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Christoph Graupner \u2013 Musique instrumentale et vocale, vol.1<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Concerto pour basson, deux violons, alto et basse continue en si b\u00e9mol majeur, GWV 340 (vers 1731) : III. Allegro<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Analekta<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: This is another one of my own recordings. This was done in a church, north of Montreal, with 4 microphones (Sennheiser MKH20\u2019s with a separation of about 2 m as the main pair and B&K (now DPA Microphones) 4006 as the outriggers, each placed about 2 m on either side of the main pair) and no additional processing (no eq, no compression, no reverberation\u2026. nothing) The sound should be spacious and a bit \u201cphasy\u201d, but the bassoon should be reasonably easy to locate in the centre. However, it will move left and right a little bit due to the spaced omni\u2019s technique exaggerating small movements of the performer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Claire Martin (no relation)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Too Darn Hot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Black Coffee<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Linn Records<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: I use this track almost every day to check loudspeakers. It doesn\u2019t have a huge crest factor, but it\u2019s a good recording nonetheless. Tight, deep electric bass, nice job on the vocals, and generally a good recording. One nice thing about this is that, if you buy the SACD, you also get a multichannel version!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Helge Lien Trio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Hello Troll<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Troozee<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: Linn Records<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: None yet\u2026 but BOY is it good!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artist: Octarium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Album: Essentials<\/p>\n\n\n\n Track: Sing Me To Heaven<\/p>\n\n\n\n Label: ??<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments: This is an excellent performance and a great recording of a beautiful piece of music. The interesting thing here is that Octarium is an octet (no surprise there), so you get a recording choral music with the added benefit of imaging, since there are so few voices to identify. The placement of the singers in the stereo sound stage appears to be well-thought out by the engineer with a great perception of distance and therefore depth in the reflections and reverberant tail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n