What's the best jazz cd to test sound equipment?

[medjuck]

I know there's a word for this but I forget it (like many things). Anyway what's a good cd to use when testing audio equipment? Something on Contemporary maybe?

[Jay]

I know there's a word for this but I forget it (like many things). Anyway what's a good cd to use when testing audio equipment? Something on Contemporary maybe?

Whatever you love and enjoy (and know very, very well). No magic disc will guide you. Trust your ears.

[PHILLYQ]

maybe a good, dynamic big band?

[Chuck Nessa]

I'd suggest a few (3 or 4) discs with varying densities.

[Stefan Wood]

Peter Brotzmann - Machine Gun

Any Art Pepper on COntemporary

[mikelz777]

Dark Side Of The Moon

[Free For All]

[rostasi]

Some folks swear by these Chesky's.

Volume 1:

1. Tico Tico - Paquito D'Rivera

2. Stompin' At The Savoy - Johnny Frigo/Bucky/John Pizzarelli

3. Viola Fora De Moda - Ana Caram

4. Club De Sol - David Chesky

5. Charles Christopher - Luiz Bonfa

6. Meditation - Johnny Frigo/Bucky/John Pizzarelli

7. Pennies From Heaven - Clark Terry

8. Samba De Orfeo - Luiz Bonfa

9. The Song Is You - Johnny Frigo/Bucky/John Pizzarelli

10. Introduction And Left-Right Imaging Test - ing & Technical Tests

11. Ledr Test - ing & Technical Tests

12. Acoustic Soundstage Test - ing & Technical Tests

13. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #1

14. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #1

15. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #1

16. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #2

17. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #2

18. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #2

19. Acoustic Soundstage Test - Polarity Test #2

20. Acoustic Soundstage Test - David Chesky Band

21. Multiple-Generation And Low-Level Linearity Test - Announcment

22. Multiple-Generation And Low-Level Linearity Test - David Chesky Band

23. Multiple-Generation And Low-Level Linearity Test - Announcment

24. Multiple-Generation And Low-Level Linearity Test - David Chesky Band

25. Bonger Tests - Bonger Test

26. Bonger Tests - Bonger Test

27. Announcement And Technical Tests - Warning Announcment

28. Announcement And Technical Tests - Audio Percision

29. Announcement And Technical Tests - 128x Oversampled A to D

30. Announcement And Technical Tests - Standard Successive Approximation

Volume 2:

1. Miles Away - Sara K

2. Heartsong - Fred Hersch

3. Miss Bea - McCoy Tyner

4. Always - Kenny Rankin

5. Tesuque - Bruce Dunlap

6. Havana Cafe - Paquito D'Rivera

7. Wapango - Orquesta Nova

8. Brushes & Brass - Clark Terry

9. Chorinho No.1 - David Chesky

10. How's Your Mama? - Phil Woods

11. Solidado - Ana Caram

12. Touch The Sky - Tom Harrell

13. Test Introduction

14. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 3 Feet, Dry Studio: Announcement

15. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 3 Feet, Dry Studio: Test

16. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 6 Feet, Dry Studio: Announcement

17. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 6 Feet, Dry Studio: Test

18. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 9 Feet, Dry Studio: Announcement

19. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 9 Feet, Dry Studio: Test

20. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 3 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

21. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 3 Feet, Live Studio: Test

22. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 6 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

23. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 6 Feet, Live Studio: Test

24. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 9 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

25. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 9 Feet, Live Studio: Index 2 Test

26. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 12 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

27. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 12 Feet, Live Studio: Test

28. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 15 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

29. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 15 Feet, Live Studio: Test

30. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 30 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

31. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 30 Feet, Live Studio: Test

32. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 70 Feet, Live Studio: Announcement

33. Percussion Imaging Tests: Drum 70 Feet, Live Studio: Test

34. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 5 Feet

35. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 10 Feet

36. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 20 Feet

37. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 30 Feet

38. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 40 Feet

39. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 50 Feet

40. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 60 Feet

41. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 70 Feet

42. Depth Of Image: Acoustic Clicker: 80 Feet

43. Dynamic Drum Test

44. Bass Resonance Test

45. Height Test: Announcement

46. Height Test: Test

47. General Image And Resolution Test

48. Digital Cable Test: An Ordinary Audio Interconnect

49. Digital Cable Test: A Premium 75 Ohm Digital Cable

50. Digital Cable Test: An Audiophile Ultra-Low Jitter Digital Cable

51. Sound Effect: Woods/Day

52. Sound Effect: Barnyard

53. Sound Effect: Children In The Park

54. Sound Effect: Police Riot

55. Sound Effect: Supermarktet

56. Sound Effect: Drinking Beer

57. Sound Effect: Freight Train Crossing

58. Sound Effect: Inside Subway Car

59. Sound Effect: Rain/Outside

60. Converter Resolution Test: 0db No Dither

61. Converter Resolution Test: 0db Dither

62. Converter Resolution Test: 0db Sony

63. Converter Resolution Test: -20db No Dither

64. Converter Resolution Test: -20db Dither

65. Converter Resolution Test: -20db Sony

66. Converter Resolution Test: -40db No Dither

67. Converter Resolution Test: -40db Dither

68. Converter Resolution Test: -40db Sony

69. Converter Resolution Test: -60db Dither

70. Converter Resolution Test: -60db Sony

71. Volume Level Warning

Volume 3:

1. Part One: The Music: Africando - Ana Caram

2. Part One: The Music: Out Of This World - Livingston Taylor

3. Part One: The Music: Wave - Leny Andrade

4. Part One: The Music: Winter (The Four Seasons) - Connecticut Early Music Festival Ensemble

5. Part One: The Music: Grandmother - Rebecca Pidgeon

6. Part One: The Music: Battery Park - Orquesta Nova

7. Part One: The Music: I Cover The Waterfront - LaVerne Butler

8. Part One: The Music: Horse I Used To Ride - Sara K.

9. Part One: The Music: Con Alma - Fred Hersch Trio

10. Part One: The Music: Num Pagode Em Planaltina - Badi Assad

11. Part One: The Music: Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart) - Westminister Choir

12. Announcement/Artificial Stereo Demo - Microphone Technique

13. Mono Mike - Microphone Technique

14. Artificial Stereo - Microphone Technique

15. XY Cardioid Technique - Microphone Technique

16. XY And Added Ambience - Microphone Technique

17. XY With Increased Ambience - Microphone Technique

18. Crossed Fiqure 8's - Microphone Technique

19. Spaced Pair Of Omnis - Microphone Technique

20. Three Spaced Omnis - Microphone Technique

21. Announcement - Instrument Placement

22. Piano Against The Wall Of The Studio - Instrument Placement

23. Piano In The Middle Of The Studio - Instrs. Placement

24. Announcement - Natual Vs. Artificial Space

25. Drum Set Recorded In A Dry Studio - Natual Vs. Artificial Space

26. Drum Set In A Live Studio - Natual Vs. Artificial Space

27. Drum Set With Artificial Reverberation - Natual Vs. Artificial Space

28. Natural Stereo Imaging - Natural Vs. Artificial Imaging

29. Artificial Stereo Imaging - Natural Vs. Artificial Imaging

30. Intro. To Compressors - Natural Vs. Compressed Dynamics

31. Jazz Group With Compression - Natural Vs. Compressed Dynamics

32. Jazz Group Without Compression - Natural Vs. Compressed Dynamics

33. New 20-bit High-Resolution Tech - New 20-bit High-Resolution Tech

34. Dirty Vs. Clean Power: Violin Recorded With Dirty Power - Tech. Tests/Demos

35. Dirty Vs. Clean Power: Violin Recorded With Clean Power - Tech. Tests/Demos

36. Digital Vs. Analog Tape: 20-bit, All Digital Recording - Tech. Tests/Demos

37. Digital Vs. Analog Tape: 20-bit Recording Made From Analog Tape - Tech. Tests/Demos

38. Equipment And Cable Burn-in Signal - Tech. Tests/Demos

39. Volume Level Warning - Tech. Tests/Demos

40. 16 Bit Vs. 20 Bit A/D: Music At -30 DB into 16 Bit System - Tech. Tests/Demos

41. 16 Bit Vs. 20 Bit A/D: Music At -30 DB Into 20 Bit With High Resolution Dither - Tech. Tests/Demos

42. Fade To Noise (Low Level Resolution) Tests: Fade To Noise, No Dither - Tech. Tests/Demos

43. Fade To Noise (Low Level Resolution) Tests: Fade To Noise, Flat Dither - Tech. Tests/Demos

44. Fade To Noise (Low Level Resolution) Tests: Fade To Noise, High Resolution Dither - Tech. Tests/Demos

45. Volume Level Warning - Tech. Tests/Demos

[Free For All]

Bonger Tests

I was excellent at these in college.

[Van Basten II]

Not jazz but Felt Mountain by Goldfrapp was among the few CDs I brought when I shopped for my sound syste.

Bsides that ECM records seems natural to test them.

Edited November 9, 2010 by Van Basten II

[Dave James]

Agree with those who recommend listening to a piece of music with which you're very familiar. If you know what to expect musically, you can concentrate on the quality of the reproduction.

A couple of other thoughts:

Don't fall into the trap of believing that a system will sound the same in your house as it does in the store. Stereo shops have rooms that are specifically designed to reproduce the best possible sound. To compensate for this, some places will actually let you take a system home with you with the right to return it if it doesn't measure up.

Also, take note of where in the showroom the speakers are positioned. The closer to a corner, the better they will sound.

Lastly, be careful about the sales guy pushing one brand over another. Retailers strike different deals with different manufacturers so their profit margins can vary.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

steely dan- gaucho mca japan-for-usa

felt mtn is amazing but im always afriad to listen to it cause its a cd made after 1990. is it very compressed? goldfrapp are the only modern band i love....

gaucho is great, but the next cd i talk about next post, is incredible.....

Edited November 9, 2010 by chewy

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

wait, theres a miles at the blackhawk MOSAIC?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?? never knew that!

scractch that. scratch that.

best jazz audio test cd:

DON GRUSIN- 10K LA

the cd:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/323744943_17d9289546_m.jpg

the cover:

http://i43.tower.com/images/ss106612797/10k-la-don-grusin-cd-cover-art.jpg

how many people have actually heard this cd. if you havent, and dont mind contemporary jazz, i strongly, strongly suggest you purchase this

[sidewinder]

Something like Pat Metheny Group 'Imaginary Day' is a good test for a system, I find. Or 'Secret Story'.

Edited November 9, 2010 by sidewinder

[mikeweil]

I would use only a recording made with a minimalistic approach, as far as microphones are concerned, and a natural room ambiance - if this sounds great, everything else will, or simply reveal the limitations of other recording procedures.

Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section was the first to come to my mind, too - those guys sound like they are right in front of you. 

Cliffors Jordan's live CD on Mapleshade is good for testing. 

The SACD of the Cal Tjader with Stan Getz on Fantasy - vibes are good, if they sound crystal clear, it's all right.

I'd never use an ECM CD - too much digital trickery involved, they never sound natural. 

For classical I would take a good harpsichord recording - those overtones are the ultimate sound test!

[BeBop]

The idealized answer is a good recording of someone that you've heard live. Better yet, as Mr. Nessa suggests, a few recordings of varying density (solo piano, quartet, big band...) One recording that has always sounded "natural" to me is Getz/Gilberto. I know it well only in its LP form, so I can't speak for the CD.

[jostber]

Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder

[Ted O'Reilly]

I've always loved Vic Dickenson Septet on Vanguard for real, true, natural acoustic (mono) sound. John Hammond was the producer, and reported in the original 1954 release "Instead of the over-engineering and hectic atmosphere of the customary recording session, a single full-range microphone was set up to capture the sound of a live performance and the acoustics of jazz in a real hall. The engineers were in another room, out of sight." I think it was the ballroom of a NYC hotel, and Vanguard made a lot of sessions there.

[marcello]

Ted, I believe it was a church in Brooklyn...

[paul secor]

Ted, I believe it was a church in Brooklyn...

Brooklyn is correct. The liner notes for Vic Dickenson's Nice Work CD state: "Almost all of Hammond's recordings were done in a small Masonic Hall in Brooklyn, at the corner of Lafayette and Clermont Avenues."

[kh1958]

For small groups, perhaps Shelly Manne at the Blackhawk.

For large groups, Duke Ellington, All Star Road Band, or Ellington Indigoes.

[Leeway]

I agree with using music with which you are very familiar. I distrust "audiophile" productions. Too often they are aiming for sonic effects that "wow" but are not natural over extended listening. If you want a completely unfiltered recording, try something like Trio X from CIMP, or pretty much anything from their label. About as transparent a CD yyou ar elikely to find.

I would add: don't compare systems to systems or discs to discs. Compare each system to what you have heard "live." The more you go to live shows, the better you will be able to identify those audio components that come closest to how musical instruments actually sound.

[AllenLowe]

I don't like those Vanguards - too reverberant for me.

[jazzbo]

Use a disc that you know very well and have heard on several systems over the years. That's a good way to sort of help you make educated guesses of what the system may sound like in your home if you can't preview it there.

I'm lucky in that I have recordings of two bands I was in, recorded by me in my then garage apartment to two track (analog). I know the room, the players, the instruments, the nature of the mikes and the tape deck, and have listened to these recordings on many systems. These really help me evaluate the sound of a system.

Edited November 12, 2010 by jazzbo

[JSngry]

FWIW, a "Masonic Hall" is not a church, it's a lodge hall.