Music for testing Audio Equipment

[fas42]

Why it works on a conventional quality rig is that the recording is so simple in what makes it up that human hearing can still hear past the usual problems of the playback chain, and discover the delights within, . All the microphone has to do is capture the sound field at one point, a trivial exercise, and the music making all makes sense - and sounds good.

 

A car with shockingly badly designed suspension will still feel smooth on a road that has been engineered, and laid down with a laser precison of flatness and accuracy - it's how the bumps are handled, the car's responsibility, that really are what matter ....

 

Not many people want to create 'baby food' recordings - it's up to the rig to do its side of the process correctly.

[cambridgehank]

On 4/25/2015 at 8:40 PM, PAP said:

we use these recordings to check for spill between left and right channel.

The Miles recording was done on a 3 track tape machine and therefore there is this very wide sound stage and separation between the instruments; piano complete left, horns and bass dead center, drums completely right.

drummer Tony Williams sometimes does not play at all and on those moments all one should hear on the right channel of the piano is a faint echo.

I have always liked how my set up sounds.  I listened to Stella by Starlight this morning, with your comments, it made a lot of sense and helped me enjoy Miles even more.  Thanks

[PAP]

On 2/27/2019 at 8:29 PM, oso said:

I just commented on another thread about how good the bass and drum sound is on this recording.

Unbelievable that you can achieve that with only one microphone. I wonder why that kind of recordings are so rare.

 

 

 

I agree but check their latest release. A good old fashioned multi-track recording, but those drums sounds pretty good to me😊.

[video]

[/video]

and it is on special 5$ reduction offer here; Witmer Trio; Soulful piano reflections

On 2/27/2019 at 8:29 PM, oso said:

I just commented on another thread about how good the bass and drum sound is on this recording.

Unbelievable that you can achieve that with only one microphone. I wonder why that kind of recordings are so rare.

 

 

 

[PAP]

On 3/1/2019 at 3:53 PM, cambridgehank said:

I have always liked how my set up sounds.  I listened to Stella by Starlight this morning, with your comments, it made a lot of sense and helped me enjoy Miles even more.  Thanks

Glad to hear. I keep discovering new details when I listen to that band. So inventive. Miles was a true genius. 

[cambridgehank]

3 hours ago, PAP said:

Glad to hear. I keep discovering new details when I listen to that band. So inventive. Miles was a true genius. 

A crazy, dangerous, genius according to those in the industry at the time.  This is the 60th anniversary of Kind of Blue, one of his greatest accomplishments.

[fas42]

Can't go past the brilliance of what's on this album, to test a rig in so many ways ...

 

 

This is an album that shows no limits to how overwhelming music making can present, if people decide to push things ...

[fas42]

From a completely different angle, Brazilian latin lounge music ... I have CD of compilation of efforts from the early 60's to 80's, a freebie by a coffee producing mob from the area; so obscure I couldn't even find it on a Google search - this is meant to be layback music, but the recording technique is very, very 'aggressive', on every track ... if your rig has sibilance issues, then this disk will be a nightmare; the  microphones are jammed up hard against everything, and huge artificial reverb is added. Every tiny, tiny irritating aspect in playback is magnified greatly - this is a tough one  ...

[oso]

On 3/3/2019 at 7:48 PM, PAP said:

 

I agree but check their latest release. A good old fashioned multi-track recording, but those drums sounds pretty good to me😊.

 

 

and it is on special 5$ reduction offer here; Witmer Trio; Soulful piano reflections

 

Yes very very impressive indeed.

Good old multi channel sound quality😊

 

Quote

e believe a high-resolution recording starts with craftsmanship. Creating this recording was all about carefully adapting the equipment to the hall, the musicians and the compositions. The close collaboration between artists, sound engineer and producer has culminated in a download that pays homage to the artistry of high resolution recordings. 
https://www.soundliaison.com/

 

[PAP]

On 2/27/2019 at 8:29 PM, oso said:

I just commented on another thread about how good the bass and drum sound is on this recording.

Unbelievable that you can achieve that with only one microphone. I wonder why that kind of recordings are so rare.

 

 

There is more of that kind to be found. Search for ''one mic recording''on YouTube.

 

[blue2]

13 hours ago, PAP said:

There is more of that kind to be found. Search for ''one mic recording''on YouTube.

 

Hi Pap, I only found one recording with this search but a lot of 'how to' videos? However this is definitely worth a listen "One mic recording / AEA R88 Ribbon "Hear the Sound" by San Geronimo".

 

As for multi-track recordings if you're having a lazy Sunday morning you might want to check these out:

• An article by iZoTope "5 Songs That Are Brilliantly Mixed and mastered". My pick from these is The Derek Trucks song Chevrolet from Songlines which has interestingly detailed recording notes.
• What Hifi magazine has an article "12 Great Jazz Recordings to Test Your Hifi System". An eclectic selection!

[cambridgehank]

I found that What Hifi Magazine article to be awesome.  I created a playlist from it and using it in the house, car and desktop computer.  Thanks

[mav52]

On 2/16/2019 at 6:36 AM, PAP said:

It looks like a pretty big little bastard that microphone🙂

 

And what an approach, mixing on the spot: 

"Multi track recording has advantages and disadvantages. The good is that you can make an instrument louder or softer as you please. The bad thing when the recording is done in one room is phase. Maybe, the most time consuming aspect of our way of recording is getting the phase between the mics right. Frans de Rond is a true genius in that field and his expertise is one of the secrets to our well defined sound stage. Now with only one mic the challenge lay elsewhere. Mixing was no longer possible. We would have to make the complete sound stage right there by carefully moving each instrument closer or further away as well as left and right in relationship to the microphone. Carmen was given a headphone so she could hear exactly what the mic was hearing. She could then direct the musicians and with hand gestures let each band member play louder or softer." source: https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/408-carmen-gomes-inc-dont-you-cry

 

 

The mic looks like a Josephson C700 series

 

[PAP]

6 hours ago, mav52 said:

The mic looks like a Josephson C700 series

 

it is.

Quote

Used equipment:

Microphones:
Main system - Josephson C700S
Micpre's: Merging Horus
Microphone cables by AudioQuest

Speakers: TAD Compact Evolution
Poweramp: Moon 760A
Mixing headphones: Sennheiser HD800 / AKG 702

All power cables and power conditioners by AudioQuest.
 source;https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/408-carmen-gomes-inc-dont-you-cry

 

[PAP]

On 2/27/2019 at 8:29 PM, oso said:

I just commented on another thread about how good the bass and drum sound is on this recording.

Unbelievable that you can achieve that with only one microphone. I wonder why that kind of recordings are so rare.

 

They just gave notice there is 24 hours left of the introduction offer.

 

[blue2]

Here is San Geronimo's web site where they have 2 more one microphone recording videos.

 

And pay dirt  lots of one microphone recordings made by John Cuniberti + free remix of Joe Satriani Shockwave Supernova Remix EP

[PAP]

Here you have all the video's from that series; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQDixBKOy2ZqIXABrAD__g

 

I like that song from San Geronimo. They definitely deserves wider recognition. 

[oso]

Very nice indeed. One mic is getting a trend. Those Cuniberti recordings are most welcome.

 

And forum member ''HIFI'' just reminded everybody on the DXD recording thread, that Sound Liaison asks for feedback on the Carmen Gomes one mic recording. So everybody lets encourage them to continue: https://www.soundliaison.com/index.php/contact-us

[oso]

 

strange this is on you tube but it is not on the S.L. site...

 

[blue2]

Another excellent recording. Maybe Sound Liaison haven't recorded enough material for an album yet. Paul van der Feen seems to be a very highly regarded sax player in NL.

[oso]

11 hours ago, blue2 said:

Another excellent recording. Maybe Sound Liaison haven't recorded enough material for an album yet. Paul van der Feen seems to be a very highly regarded sax player in NL.

I think they probably will release it in the near future. The youtube film is only just released on their youtube channel.

Quote

This is our second One mic recording. It was not planned as such. The Brubeck concert was scheduled long before we had even thought about recording only using the Josephson 700s. But what happened is kind of a follow up to the story behind our first one mic recording; Carmen Gomes Inc. “ Don’t you Cry”.

check the notes when you press ''show more'' underneath the video;

 

[PAP]

They released it this weekend.

It's a fantastic live recording. I'll go as far after the first listen to say that audiophile live recordings does not get better than this.

This could be an instant classic. 

Blows away "Jazz at the Pawn Shop".

 https://www.soundliaison.com/

[christian u]

On 3/24/2019 at 10:56 AM, PAP said:

They released it this weekend.

It's a fantastic live recording. I'll go as far after the first listen to say that audiophile live recordings does not get better than this.

This could be an instant classic. 

Blows away "Jazz at the Pawn Shop".

 https://www.soundliaison.com/

 

 

 

On 3/20/2019 at 8:55 PM, oso said:

I think they probably will release it in the near future. The youtube film is only just released on their youtube channel.

check the notes when you press ''show more'' underneath the video;

 

 

One word; Superb.

Best live recording I've heard in a long time.

 

[PAP]

And that very much live feel has to do with the audience being so close they say on the S.L. site;  https://www.soundliaison.com/

Quote

On this recording the audience is rather more present than on our other live recordings from Studio 2. We prefer not to have more than 80 people present in the studio.
That number leaves us room to move around, change a cable or a microphone if needed, reposition the musicians if needed and so forth.
But as fate would have it, the computer system keeping count of the tickets sold  for the concert, had some kind of a breakdown so instead of 80 tickets, 110 were sold.
Extra seats were brought in, so the audience ended up being very close to the band, creating a very lively atmosphere.
And as Frans noticed during the extended applause following the end of the concert; "Look at the phase meter, it's practically straight in the middle, a phase coherent applaus!". 

 

[John Dyson]

I know that this will sound odd -- and I am speaking of SIGNAL PROCESSING and not really 'listening equipment' per se.  ABBA is a terror to process (wall of sound, mixed female vocals, plethora/all kinds of processing/etc.)  If done correctly, many of their recordings are of moderately high quality -- sometimes very pretty  -- but as soon as that DolbyA hardware decode hit it -- splat city/lack of distinct sound/etc.   Karen Carpenters vocals are also tricky to process -- they used an ill fitting enhancement scheme and chorus effect that makes following her vocals -- 'interesting.'   I am SO VERY TIRED of listening to those groups, but because of the folly from the 1970's signal processing, these recordings might as well be for testing as much as listening.  The 'Masquerade' from Benson is h*ll wrt dynamics -- good to listen, very hard to process and maintain quality.

 

When it comes to super-high-quality listening -- I was just waken up to the Dire Straits album (the original, pristine digital form) with 'money for nothing.'   Pretty intense if one has a proper copy of it.  (Such copies are probably few and far between.)   I tend to make my own listening copies :-).

[stuck limo]

"Miracles" by Jefferson Starship is a great test track. It will allow you to test your depth and instrument/vocals separation very well since there's a LOT going on in the song throughout the runtime. A buddy and I used it to test a generic cable vs an AQ Carbon and the difference was astounding.