Music tracks to test a HiFi

Last time I used:

Pixies- Debaser
Portishead- Roads (Roseland NYC)
Handel- Part of the Messiah
Aphex Twin Polynominal C

I was going to say Dead Prez too. Bigger than hip hop. It rattles the dead awake that one…

Something very, very simple to start.
Solo voice, classical guitar, violin etc.

If it can’t get that right, it’s not going to be any good with anything else.

Kristin Hersh (ft. M. Stipe) – Your Ghost

It’s got everything solo vocals, duet, acoustic guitar, cello and a then out of nowhere some really low bass thumps.

Also for rock Pearl Jam – Alive

So will you reject the car if the stereo sounds bad ???

Personally my test tracks for proper hifi are

If it sounds good on all 3 tracks it is very likely going to sound good on everything I listen to.

Otherwise Evanescance My Immortal is a pretty good track :

And I noticed that this track is hard for a system to make sound good :

although the seller might give you funny looks if you play it…

Man, nearly 50 posts in and no Cocker

he’d be turning in his grave – if he was dead, that is

and for rinsin’ it rude bwoy style

Lots of top and mid range, maximalist goodness in this too.

Tubular bells and Chris Isaac’s Wicked Game

This one for me. Very smooth bass and crisp highs

Selecting a car based on the sound from the factory stereo. I like, it, but…

…Surely they’re all going to be the same? Mid-market units from a handful of manufacturers who all use the same components anyway, connected with any old wires, with speakers fitted into wobbly plastic panels in your doors?

…so if you cared about high-end sound you’d upgrade anyway?

…but then you’re playing compressed MP3s, so it wouldn’t matter how “good” your stereo is…

…so what is it you’re listening for? Do you want faithful, detailed and transparent sound reproduction? Because you won’t get it with a factory car stereo playing MP3s.

Have just reread my post. It sounds grumpy. Sorry. **** it I’m pressing send.

Try this

If it doesn’t give you goosebumps the hi-fi isn’t as good as my Passat’s! 🙂
(It may have been just cos i was feelin good coming back from the beach)

.but then you’re playing compressed MP3s, so it wouldn’t matter how “good” your stereo is

in a BBC dbt listeners were unable to distinguish between 256Kb MP3 and CDs…

FM radio is only 14 bit I think, def chops off at 15KHz

and DAB is even worse as it is lower bit rate and MP2, but that can actually sound fairly decent above 96Kb.

If you’re comparing sound systems..be it car stereos or anything else..why use a known compromised source?

Use and album you know is well produced on an original cd or if you must a 320 mp3 or flac file that you know has been ripped properly.

Fm and dab radio both sound terrible to my ear..I suppose you’d have to EQ the hell out of it and it would be ok..But it’s no basis for comparing the performance of a sound system.

For a test, any tune that you know very,very well. For me, that’s be ‘pacific’ by 808 State. That was always my reference tune when doing anything music related.

I notice there’s a few bassline rippers on the thread. If I may direct you in the direction of Milanese, especially ‘Barry Dub’ & ‘Mr Bad News’ :).

Prodigy – Spitfire.

Will easily find any and all trim rattles.

squirrelking – Member
Prodigy – Spitfire.
Will easily find any and all trim rattles

I’ve got a useful song for that. Godnose by Braintax

Wow, some great suggestions. I won’t buy a car/not buy a car because of a certain stereo, but I want to have a test CD so that I can see whether (for example) it’s worth paying extra on a BMW i3 for the upgraded sound system. Keep you tracks coming as this could be a in car play list!!

15 Steps by Radiohead will give a hifi a good workout

What rusty said, brass is always very telling re the midband.

I’d have to say tho just buy the car you want and upgrade it’s system. It’s not difficult or expensive, esp via eBay.

Journeyman from Amon Tobin’s ISAM album. Then the rest of the album.

Suntoucher by Groove Armada is a good deep bass tester.

I’d have to say tho just buy the car you want and upgrade it’s system. It’s not difficult or expensive, esp via eBay.

A lot harder nowadays with everyone using custom units in cars, rather than the old unified form factor.

As long as the head unit is of decent quality though you should be able to upgrade the speakers/power amps.

Some awesome tracks on here. Am spending part of the morning listening to them on my monitors.
My suggestion would be something like nothing else matters by Metallica but the orchestra version, or the goldie timeless with the heritage Orchestra as it has all the bass and treble plus the detail of an orchestra.
Am happy my mazda came with a bose system it’s not high end but does sound good

Surely…

Though I like this one better…

Bought some new speakers recently and the tracks we listened to were;

Nightcall – London Grammar
Telephone – Lady Gaga
Rape Me – Nirvanna
22 – Taylor Swift

Seemed to be a good mix of the type of music we listen to, although probably never in that order!

I used this one to sort the wheat from the chaff:

I’m gonna say Tosca – Suzuki in Dub, full album (on vinyl natch)

The Blue Nile – Tinsletown in the Rain

Take music you listen to in the format you intend to use.

This should also rattle trim and windows. All the way to 11.

And this. Good dynamic range and some low frequencies that are not always audible unless you have a good setup.

Edited for slightly better quality video

It’s not much good taking music that you are unfamiliar with and that you don’t know how it should sound – you may come away impressed that the system played loads of bass, but the music might not actually have all that bass.

I have seen so mamy comments of people complaining about their bassy bose systems, which they probably thought sounded OK when they first heard it.