Ask Lemmy

46 and 2

Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God

New speakers? Maurice Ravel, "Bolero". No better music to test an audio system.

If I got new speakers, better quality ones than the ones for my old RCA thing or the ones in my Bria radio CD player thing, or even my beats headphones, I'd have a hard time choosing an album. Would probably go with whatever I'm in love with at the moment. Currently that's a 3 way tie between R.E.M.'s Out of Time, Alice in Chains Jar of Flies, and New Radicals Maybe You've Been Brainwashed. Would struggle to lick between those 3.

As for individual songs, I got a couple I'm currently absolutely in love with that I'd love to play on very high quality speakers:

Deafening - The Nixon Rodeo ( emotionally hard rock, at least I think so )

OR

Someday We'll Know - New Radicals ( for some reason this just became my absolute favorite New Radicals song immediately after hearing it once on CD )

Bear with me on this one.

I like to use the maestoso from Saint-Saëns’s Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, often called the Organ Symphony, for testing speakers. Turn it way up and blast that organ sound. Also reminds me of the movie Babe since they used the theme from this movement for that movie. 😁

(Links below are YouTube Music, but I’m confident you can find the same recordings on Spotify.)

Here’s a good recording, listen to at least the first 1:45, though the full movement isn’t very long (a bit over seven minutes). Again, volume is your friend for this movement. It’s MAJESTIC, and on a good set of speakers it’s incredible.

Another good orchestral work for this type of showing off is Holst’s Jupiter, or the fourth movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony

(There are many more but these are some relatively well-known-without-people-knowing-they-know-them ones.)

DJ Shadow - Endtroducing

I have listened to this album more times than anything else I own. I'm on my third copy of it after wearing out the original pressing I have from the 90's and the repressing from 10 years ago. I know every sample, every soundscape, and it almost brings me to tears every time I drop the needle on it. So many memories of good times where this was the soundtrack. So many friends, now gone, walk next to me again when that album plays.

I miss you, Isaac.

Here's a screenshot of my headphone testing playlist. Songs I like, but also having either deep bass, bright highs, or both. Plus, they're songs I've listened to a million times, so I know how they're supposed to sound.

As for music I'd want to get first when starting over: Dark Side of the Moon.

Voodoo by Godsmack

Overture 1928 - Dream Theater

Jazzmataz vol. 1 by Guru

Dire Straits - Walk of Life.

Even god has a hell

I was in theatre school for a while. We touched on everything related to a theatre production, including sound. Our tech would always test his setup with Paul Simon's Getting Ready For Christmas Day.

I've heard that song used to calibrate audio setups so often that it's become easy to identify any issues when I hear it.

10.8 by Deadmau5 and Mr. Bill

Pure ear candy

AC/DC - "Back in Black"

Opeth - Blackwater Park

"Frank's Wild Years"

Florence + the Machine - June

Just to open it gently

https://music.apple.com/us/album/put-me-under/1693342526?i=1693342534&ls=

Figueroa - Put Me Under

Death Cab for Cutie - Plans

Or

The Black Keys - Brothers

Fever Days by Snowmine. It's what I did when I got my first good set of headphones, and it was pretty magical.

Anything by Yello is good for testing new speakers. Planet Dada is a good one.

Max Cooper - Spike (The best benchmark I've ever heard)

If I want to impress people I play Mountains (Interstellar) by Hans Zimmer.

For testing speakers, Infected Mushroom, Tame Impala and 20syl/AllttA are always good choices. Maybe Tool as well (10000 days). Song depends on what I'm most familiar with atm.

For a new library, I'd probably just choose whatever I listen to the most. Which would be The Fearless Flyers and Aesop Rock rn.

One of the THX Deep Notes

„Rumors“ by Fleetwood Mac.

Herbie Hancock - Chameleon

https://youtu.be/iqomTAiRnVM

Then listen to the whole Head Hunters album tbh

Probably A Night at the Opera by Queen, which was the first album I ever bought with my own money. A ton of classic tracks, lots of tonal range, weirdass spatial effects from early-era screwing around with stereophonic production, and a hell of a good time any day of the week.

Led Zeppelin II in its entirety

Never gonna give you up

Hotel California by Eagles

Guitar mass but infected mushroom.

If the speakers have no problem with that they'll play anything else I listen to

Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine

Dark Side of the Moon and now I feel old.

“A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” by Panic! At the Disco. It’s been my favorite album since it came out. I never get tired of it. Specifically “Camisado” is my favorite track on it.