Sound Q’ Buffs

Heh.... people still use Steely Dan, and noone mentioned Jennifer Warnes.... oh well. I highly reccomend Tower Of Power (y'know... Huey Lewis's horn section???) The Dream Theatre that was mentioned is a good track. Also try out some Peter Gabriel.... Don't Give Up is a great track with both a stunning female vocal, and a great male vocal. Demo material really depends on who's listening. A well balanced system will accurately reproduce anything you throw at it, and it will reveal a crappy recording, no matter what. When I demo my own car at the store, I'll pick something the customer likes... so if it's really heavy hard rock, then in goes "Testament-The Gathering", and it's off to rock concert levels. Someone that like easy listening or adult contemporary, then I'll do some TOP, or Stevie Wonder. You get the idea. The main thing is to pick something well produced, and that means listening to a lot of music to decide what works for you. As an aside.... when you do find something you like.... make an effort to actually spend money on the actual CD, instead of downloading it. The artists need to be supported, and one way of doing that is to get off yourn wallet, spend the $20, and BUY THE DISC! Sorry for the end rant.... but hey... it's about the only thing I feel strongly about! Gus Wherever I go, that is where I end up......

I agree with the above rant for the reason stated as well as the fact that downloaded music (ESPECIALLY MP3's - yuk!) are very limited fidelity and are FM radio quality at best.  A properly recorded CD is a far superior product.Support the12volt.com

Nowadays it's hard to find a CD that's been mastered properly. Read this to know what I'm talking about. Current Trends in the Recording Format Arena Paul

Thanks everybody for all the help, it's helped me quite a bit. I do agree with the "don't use MP3's to demo with", just wanted to download some different stuff to listen to and give me somewhat of an idea before I go out and buy a CD I'm only gonna use to demo with. I've also noticed that a lot of Earth.Wind,& Fire have all around good SQ, like "September". Thanks again, and if you happen to think of anything else...................POST!!!

gus1 wrote: make an effort to actually spend money on the actual CD, instead of downloading it. The artists need to be supported, and one way of doing that is to get off yourn wallet, spend the $20, and BUY THE DISC! Gus

I'll agree 100% that the original CD is the only way to get top quality sound.  However, $20 per CD is total and complete BS. 

1)  At least 41 States think the RIAA is involved in price fixing in violation of federal antitrust laws.

I happen to agree.  I'm frankly disappointed that the states involved with the suit decided to settle.  http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20020930-1254.html

2)  Walmart, the evil beast it is, undoubtedly helps consumers in some product markets by pushing prices lower through competition.  The music industry is still engaging in what looks like anticompetitive behavior, probably in violation of their settlement, with agreements that limit low cost provider's, like walmart's, promotional ability.  See this:  http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041014-4313.html

3)  The artists need more money?  Give me a break.  If I see another rap star driving a Bentley I think I'll vomit.

New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

Francious70 wrote: Nowadays it's hard to find a CD that's been mastered properly. Read this to know what I'm talking about. Current Trends in the Recording Format Arena Paul

That's why I cringe sometimes when I see some of the recomendations for these topics.  An example of this is when I got a demo of Metalica's DVDA on a high end system (Wilson Audio speakers all around).  Now I really enjoy Metalica's music, but it is by far not a reference recording.  I prefer something that shows a good solid image, a good soundstage, and provides the full audio spectrum.  If the music is already distorted, how can you tell if the distortion is coming from the speakers or not?

Steven Kephart

Adire Audio

Yes, it is unfortunate that most popullar music is "overmastered" so to speak. Too much compression on it to make it "fill" the dynamic range as much as possible. Ugh. I try to enjoy recordings that aren't overly processed (hence the TOP, Stevie Wonder, Gabriel stuff I suggested). It's nice to find a CD that "breathes".... there's an old term for ya. Hell.... nothing sounds better on my B&W Model 70's than the first play of a good chunk of vinyl. Maybe that's why I don't listen to radio anymore.... not only does the latest hit from Britney Agularia make me want to puke, but it sounds like crap to boot! Gus Wherever I go, that is where I end up......

Thanks, Gus! I agree with you... GREAT suggestions. Someone once said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and it is true, but RADIO, AND POP IN GENERAL SUCKS!!! JW is WONDERFUL, and one of my favorite referwnce recordings is Famous Blue Raincoat. Jennifer's voice is sent straight from heaven, and the recording quality (Leonard Cohen had a hand in it, I believe) is simply spectacular. TOP is another excellent place to go. And one more point of agreement - GO BUY THE CD. What's 20 bux today? Hell, I spend that in two days at Starbucks! If you want to keep the art (and I am not referring to Britney "P. Ditty" Aguilera (they suck worse than any of them) - but works from REAL bona fide MUSICIANS) alive, make it worth their while, and go buy their work. While the RIAA *is* a bunch of thieving BASTARDS - they can all rot in hell, AFAIAC, but if they don't get paid, neither do the musicians.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Actually, the Warnes reference dates back... hmm, what 10 years??? It was all you heard in every IASCA SQ judging lane, and demo, and IASCA CD...... it was Warnes mania! Some of the most amazing recordings I have I have done myself. Live off the Alt AB outputs of the Allen and Heath GL4000 that I use for mixing live acts..... yup... "board tapes". Completely live, raw, dynamic... amazing. I run a busines that specializes in live music sound reinforcement, and have witnessed first hand some of the most amazing shows by some of the most amazing artists I have ever heard. Fred Eaglesmith, Loreena McKennit, Jerry Doucette, Jim Whitter, The Wailin' Jennys, Doc Walker, and many many others, most of which no one has ever heard of. Some nights, I bring the mix up, and just let the music happen..... Gus PS: Have 2 back to back shows with Canadian folk legend Valdy next week... I can hardly wait! An amazing voice coupled with an amazing guitar player... wheee!Wherever I go, that is where I end up......

My favorite all-time system show-off recording is Fresh Aire II by Manhiem Steamroller.  I burned my own CD off the vinyl.  Good commercial CDs: 20 year anniversary remaster of Dark Side of the Moon.  Brand New Day by Sting.  90125 by Yes.  Almost any of the Mobile Fidelity OMR disks.Support the12volt.com