Songs to tune by

[AceX]

On another forum we were discussing THIS article in USA today where a GM engineer listed his Top 10 songs to listen to when evaluating a system and while its a fairly decent list, I can't agree with all of his selections and therefore have decided to post the songs that I use on a regular basis (besides Focal Referrence CD's)

GM's list:

Here are Kirsch's "10 Songs for an Audio Test Drive" and what he says to listen for in each track:

"Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones. Listen for Norah's voice to sound natural, and centered in front of you.

"Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez. Listen for strong vocals, and for the instruments to be set across a wide sound stage

"No One" by Alicia Keys. Listen for clarity in Alicia's vocals and spacious background sound.

"Hotel California" by the Eagles. Listen for the clarity and dynamic range during the opening guitar solo, and of course the powerful drum beat.

"Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas. Listen for powerful, accurate bass beats, even at full volume.

"Rock that Body" by the Black Eyed Peas. Listen clear, intelligible lyrics over the powerful, persistent bass beat.

"Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. Listen for the enveloping ambience of the song, building on the openness and dynamic vocals.

"He Mele No Lilo" by Mark Keali'i Ho'omalu from Lilo and Stitch.Listen for the ambience and staging as the children's chorus is offset by powerful bass.

"Bird on a Wire" by Johnny Cash. Listen for the clarity in Johnny's distinctive voice, and his guitar to sound natural and free of any coloration.

"Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box" by Radiohead. Listen for the punch from the percussive bass, and the ring of the steel drums.

My own list varies slightly and includes some really bass heavy tracks, just for fun...

My list:

One thing that they will all have in common is solid dynamics and record quality...

Norah Jones - Don't Know Why
Eric Clapton - Change the World
Eric Clapton - Layla (live)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California
Stone Sour - Through the Glass
Staind - Break the Cycle (Album)
Staind - So Far Away
Escala - Requiem for a Tower
Escala - Palladio
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
Far East Movement - Like a G6
Flo Rida - Low
Baby Bash - Cyclone


There's a couple others I need to add to the list, but these are just off the top of my head... The last 3 songs are obviously more bass geared, but when tuned right, they sound SO good...


For those wanting some real tuning muscle, ordering Focal Referrence CD's is highly recommended (I like Numero Uno myself), but for those with only iTunes or a large CD collection, these are a great colleciton of tracks that I highly recommend for every music library...