Best sounding hi-res downloads to use at a high-end audio salon

[audiophile65]

If you were to bring your computer to your favorite audio dealer and have it hooked up to a fancy audio system (for example, if you wanted to audition some speakers and/or a good amplifier or a good DAC), what particular hi-res downloads would you want to have in your computer to wow your audio consultant?

What would be considered THE best sounding albums you would download off of Linn, L2, Naim, HDTracks, and other hi-res download sites? Please indicate album name, artist...anything else you want to share.

 

Thanks!

 

[ted_b]

You shouldn't bring things there to wow your audio salon, you should bring things there that are so familiar to you that they feel like your own skin. Without that intimate familiarity you will have a most difficult time evaluating new equipment. It's tough enough being that the room, environment and most/all of the equipment will be foreign to you...don;t bring songs that are also!

 

I usually bring a cd or USB thumb drive compilation of stuff that I know inside and out, and that each challenge a part of the system (dynamics, vocal rendering, small ambient cues, soundstage depth, bass extension, bass control, timbre, etc). Cassandra Wilson, Radiohead, Miles-Gurtu, Cowboy Junkies, Mercan Dede, Daniel Lanois, Rickie lee Jones, Bill Frisell...those are the ones I love to bring. YMWV.

 

P.S. A great sounding hirez Naim label member of that compilation is something off of Charlie Haden -Heartplay (24/96) with Antonio Forcione. Sublime!

 

[James1776]

Christie Winn - C'est Magnifique - 02 - Angel Eyes - 96kHz 2:36

 

Barb Jungr - Witchata Lineman 24/48 WAV file

 

[Gobbledigook]

First of all I totally agree with the comment made before that any reference recording for auditioning gear should be totally ingrained, with all its quirks and dynamics, into your ears. Even some 'badly' recorded tracks can give you insight into the characteristics of any gear you audition, like scale and forgiveness. Nevertheless it's nice to have some tracks which can blow your mind at what's possible. Here's a few I like

 

Jen Chapin - ReVisions: Songs of Stevie Wonder (incredible album and recording)

Christy Baron on the Chasky Label sounds amazing

Yoichi Murata Orchestra - Standards

Tord Gustavsen - Restored, Returned

Larry Coryell, Badi Assad and John Abercrombie - Three Guitars

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra - Up Close

Chie Ayado - Good Life

 

All of them High-rez. List of 44.1 would be too long.

 

[James1776]

Good call...where did you find the HD??

 

[Gobbledigook]

Is your friend in this case.

 

[Teresa]

I would like to second the Christy Baron Chesky 24/96 downloads Gobbledigook recommended. Most Chesky recordings made after 1995 are native 24/96, before that they were analog. I don't believe they ever made any 16/44.1 masters. All Chesky recordings I have tried have been great sonically, musically there are many that are not my style, so listen to the samples first.

 

In addition to Chesky, I would also recommend Reference Recordings and AIX as these will also provide true high resolution.

 

The Reference Recordings are the best from HRx 24/176.4 DVD data discs with WAV files, however the 24/88.2 and 24/96 downloads from HDTracks are excellent. The masters will usually be from 176.4, 88.2 PCM or Prof. Johnson's soaped-up "focused-gap" analog reel to reel recorder.

 

All AIX recordings are native 24/96.

 

[crisnee]

Removed, not applicable

 

[Kevin_O]

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra - Up Close

 

is a binaural recording for listening with headphones!

 

[Gobbledigook]

Imagine how it sounds on a properly set up and positioned system! It's amazing.

I always go for recordings which manage to instill the locale/scale/ambience of the recording venue. For me this demonstrates the quality of a good system: the ability to transport the listener to the original place of recording. As far as demonstrating a good system, I have some recordings of classical music done in a cathedral with all its airiness and scale, which I like to contrast with very intimate recordings, such as Jazz @ the Pawnshop and others. The Ottmar Liebert album is one of those striking recordings which lets you hear the room/locale, etc.

It makes for a very gratifying journey in music to listen to those albums in ones own home, and reaffirms the joy of having this hobby.

Just my 2¢.

 

[audiozorro]

Here are a few selections you can bring to a high-end audio salon:

 

1. Chesky - Various Artists – The Super Audio Collection & Professional Test Disc

 

2. Chesky - Various Artists - Ultimate DVD Surround Sampler & 5.1 Set-Up Disc

 

3. Chesky - Various Artists - Audiophile Vocal Recordings

 

4. Chesky - Various Artists - The Ultimate Demonstration Disc

 

5. Chesky - Various Artists - Jazz Sampler & Test Volume

 

6. Reference Recordings – HRx Sampler - A Classical & Jazz High Resolution SPECTACULAR!

 

7. Reference Recordings – HRx - Exotic Dances from the Opera

 

8. Reference Recordings – HRx - Britten's Orchestra

 

9. Reference Recordings – HRx - Crown Imperial

 

10. Reference Recordings – HRx - Symphonic Dances Rachmaninoff

 

11. Reference Recordings – HRx - Stravinsky

 

12. AIX Records – Sampler - A High-Resolution Audio Experience

 

13. AIX Records – Ernest Ranglin - Order of Distinction

 

14. AIX Records – The Latin Jazz Trio

 

15. AIX Records – Frédéric Chopin Selected Piano Works

 

16. AIX Records – Patrice Rushen, Oleszkiewicz & Chancler - Piano/Bass/Drums - Jazz Piano

 

17. Soundkeeper Recordings – Equinox

 

18. Acousence Records – Wagner- The Symphonic Ring

 

19. Kent Poon – Audiophile Jazz Prologue III

 

20. HD Tracks – Jen Chapin – reVisions: Songs of Stevie Wonder

 

Of course you can also rip or digitize several SACDs such as some of the better ones from Telarc or you can digitize some excellent LPs.

 

 

[ted_b]

pickings to sell to you folks!! This stuff will sound great on a boombox!! And because the OP doesn't know the music, it will be a simple case of selling her whatever my best margins are!!

 

 

 

[Gobbledigook]

You cynical man, you.

 

[audiozorro]

Great music will sound great on a boombox, just like a great movie will be great on a B&W television with a mono speaker.

 

Of course improve your hardware such as the speakers, amps, or display and note the improvements.

 

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but it's been a long time since I visited a high-end audio salon and was bedazzled by something I thought sounded fantastic.

 

Perhaps my visit to Lyric HiFi in NYC over a decade ago was the last time I was really impressed with something I couldn't afford. Nowadays my visits to high-end audio salons and audio shows often leaves me unimpressed regardless of the cost of audio components.

 

[ted_b]

I love hirez, created and moderate the hirez circle at Audio Circle, and own several hundred albums in hirez. I helped Chris create the document on ripping DVD-Audio here. I also rip SACD's and helped start that craze in the US, thanks to MR Wicked. I also introduced the idea of HDMi de-embedders for those folks who have a BluRay or SACD player and want to get 24 bit music to their hi-end DACS. I love hirez!!!

 

The OP wants to evaluate new speakers and equipment. She is thinking of bringing completely new unfamiliar music to the salon, music that is so well recorded and presented that it will sound great on anything! Anything! My comment was that if this will be her critical listening playlist I wish I was the audio salon sales rep....it would be a piece of cake.

 

I commented earlier that I would bring somewhat the opposite...music I was so darn familiar with that any nuance from the new equipment could be easily discerned. And maybe even music that is a sonic obstacle course. Like taking a car for a test drive on a difficult highway, not a smooth easy one.

 

And if she just wanted a list of good hirez, then that would have been her only question. My $.02...but hardly cynical.

 

 

[audiozorro]

I got the impression from your post that you were looking for the best sounding hi-res albums to impress your audio consultant.

 

I assumed your favorite audio dealer/consultant is not an expert in computer audio and you wish to impress him with just how good computer audio can sound.

 

I also assumed that your music library of hi-res albums is nonexistent or limited and you were looking for some of the best hi-res albums that you could get familiar with before showing computer audio to your dealer.

 

I also got the impression that you wanted to use hi-res albums to audition audio components at your dealer’s audio salon.

 

My only purpose in replying to your post was to help you in what I thought you wanted to do. Please clarify what you’re looking for so that this thread addresses what you want.

 

 

 

[wgscott]

I do have one other small suggestion: Bring something bad.

 

I mean, really bad.

 

For example, a highly compressed audiobook.

 

This is the one thing that really helps me hear differences. For example, on my $150 Sony car stereo, I can hear a nasty ringing sound from the audiobook. If I play the same thing on a good DAC, the difference is striking. I can toggle a tube circuit on and off on my pre-amp. It is very clear when listening to this highly compressed voice whether the tube is on or off.

 

[ted_b]

I guess I'm not sure why she said: "if you wanted to audition some speakers and/or a good amplifier or a good DAC"

 

If this is just an exercise in bringing a local shop up to speed on whats new in hirez, then I beg off...not sure why the question wasn't simply "what are good hirez recordings" then.

 

[audiozorro]

hi-res music. I thought one of the first replies was something like "good luck because hardly anyone will reply".

 

I think someone else has started a post titled "Your 5 best demo tracks" with zero replies.

 

And the OP had another post titled "Best sounding Keith Jarrett HDTracks downloads" with zero replies.

 

I believe some people avoid audiophile (hi-res) albums since they are often uninteresting. I also believe that some people are looking for albums that may best show off the superior sonics of hi-res vs the same album at 16/44.1 resolution.

 

I have no disagreement with you for I believe that for private/personal audio evaluations, people should bring music that they are familiar with. I might draw a different line with public audio evaluations like at an audio show. I do not want to be in a room listening to some horrible music just because it's what somebody is familiar with and brought.

 

[Gobbledigook]

dear Ted_b,

 

In no way would I dare to impugn you on your commitment to the furtherment of Hi-Rez Audio, and in no way would I question your integrity.

What I did question from your post is your faith in people. You assumed that it would be used for evil/selling. I challenged that assumption by asserting that consumers are informed. (visitors to an audio salon either are or have too much money Hence the cynical remark.

 

[Gobbledigook]

The prime poster might have created some confusion here, which he or she might be able to solve rather easily; Are you selling or buying/impressing?

My take on your post is that you are on the buying/impressing side, as can be evidenced from my initial post.

 

[ted_b]

make a joke that you guys were easy targets for an audio salon. I guess it didn't come across.

 

[bdiament]

I think it depends on whether one seeks to wow the audio consultant or to see what some given equipment can do.

 

When I'm evaluating a component, I find it critical to have recordings I know extremely well. I would add that I want to these to be great sounding recordings too but alas, great recordings are (in my view) the minority of what is available.

 

Still, personally, I see no point in bringing any bad recordings since, like very good recordings, they will be identifiable as such regardless of what they're played on.

 

Again, for me, the key is familiarity and I prefer to use references that range from the best sounding I'm aware of (to see what the gear can really do) to above average sounding (to see what the gear does with those).

 

If, on the other hand, the goal is to impress someone else, I'd go for the very best sounding recordings I know of.

 

Just my perspective of course.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

[crisnee]

This stuff will sound great on a boombox!! And, Poor recordings will sound better the better the system (I para-phrase something I've heard over the years).

 

I never got either of these statements. I think the Movie looks great on a Black and White TV by @audiozorro? was an appropriate response to part one.

 

Here's my take on part 2.

 

First off, I've been disappointed by poor recordings (particularly hit songs that were meant for radio) and how doubly bad they sound on my system. (My systems through the years have been on the mid to low end of the audiophile scale, so I can't speak for the really hi-end sound).

 

I don't see in general how a quality system would improve the sound of poor recordings, with some exceptions. Two of the most common faults of poor recordings are lack of low end and/or lack of high end. Most boom boxes and the like lack the same, so on the boombox, that type of poor recording will sound very similar to a recording not lacking in said dept. Play it on a hi-end system and you hear everything you lack and the recording will tend to sound worse for that, because you're expecting lows and highs (not so on the boombox).

 

Hi-end systems show everything which includes faults, while the low-end does just the opposite, they gloss over details, including faults. So what does a hi-end system do with a faulty recording (let's say dropouts, pre-echo, hiss, and random over-load distortion)? It details them very nicely and distinctly. On a boombox OTOH, you might not notice much unless you listen very carefully, and even then, the faults will be much less conspicuous.

 

So what might some of the exceptions be? Well if the recordings faults coincide with the boomboxes weaknesses, the boombox will worsen the sound versus a hi-end system. Example boomy sound/over emphasized mid bass, and a boomy boom box (redundant, I know), and you end up with a boomboombox (some might actually like this, but that's another story). Obviously a hi-end system wouldn't add to the boom, hardly much consolation but...

 

So other than the typical high-end cover-all, "It's just so much more musical sounding," I don't see how "the better the system, the better the crummy recording sounds," works. I've managed to make music heard on basic radios sound pretty good to myself but when I hear crummy recordings on good systems I can't seem to overlook the glaring imperfections (which I'm not so aware of over the radio). It may be that my systems just haven't been hi-end enough to make bad recordings sound good, so...

 

In any case I would like someone who espouses part 2 of the initial statement to explain how this does work, if they could.

 

-Chris

 

 

 

[ted_b]

and it was about the 24 bit hirez recordings listed here. They are recorded and mastered wonderfully, with kidd gloves. They will sound good on most anything (and best on great resolving systems), cuz they are good recordings!

 

Your "part two" is a huge thread hijack ("poor recordings will sound good on better systems"). No one on this thread said that, and this thread is about hifi salon equipment evaluations, and what one takes to said evaluations (or it might be simply about good hirez recordings, dunno cuz the OP has yet to clarify).

 

If I were you I'd start a new thread called "why does anyone believe poor recordings will sound better on better systems?".