Particular parts of songs you listen to when testing speakers/headphones?

[Blake Klondike]

The best way I have found to test speakers or headphones is to listen to a series of songs and paying attention to certain moments or aspects. For instance:

Floor tom roll at the beginning of "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot
Reverb tail on Miles' finger snaps at the beginning of "If I Were a Bell"
Separate space for backing vocal overdubs on "Cary" by Joni Mitchell
Sound effects from intro to "Nobody Home" from The Wall (car passing, TV, kid crying, etc.)
Chimes right before vocals come in on "Gaucho" by Steely Dan

I find it a really helpful method-- for instance, I have four different pair of IEMs and the wind chimes on "Gaucho" are really quiet on some pairs, and almost completely absent on one! Then on HD800s, not only are they present and audible, but you can hear the reverb space around the chimes in relation to the other instruments, and they move in the stereo field.

It's led me to look for an upgrade/alternative to the HD800s to see how much better phones can get, and for IEMs and speakers that compare, and don't cost a million dollars.

Anybody else have litmus test moments like this? Or any thoughts about IEMs or speakers that are worth considering for that kind of performance?

 

[BusDriver]

I only listen to headphones, and I don't really "test listen" as much as I should... I end up just enjoying myself and forgetting about comparisons in the end. However, I like Yosi Horikawa's work for testing if you can call it that. His music is a blend of binaural natural sounds and the 3D space he creates is always a treat.

 

[Blake Klondike]

I only listen to headphones, and I don't really "test listen" as much as I should... I end up just enjoying myself and forgetting about comparisons in the end. However, I like Yosi Horikawa's work for testing if you can call it that. His music is a blend of binaural natural sounds and the 3D space he creates is always a treat.

Thanks for this-- really looking forward to checking it out! Are there other artists you listen to who make use of space like that?

 

[BusDriver]

Not off the top of my head. I found Horikawa after watching a Joshua Valour video talking about test tracks. I don't like everything on the video and I'm not trying to promote his channel, but at least I like this recommendation.

Edit: Oh, and for big, expansive, electronic sound, I like listening to Nolan film soundtracks (or similar like old/new Blade Runner).

 

[theJman]

I have a blu-ray of Hans Zimmer: Live in Prague that has a spectacular soundtrack so I'll use that sometimes.

 

[andreasmaaan]

@theJman off-topic, sorry, but what's that very interesting-looking woofer in your pic there?

 

[theJman]

I'm not sure what that's from actually. Over the years I've downloaded pic's of various audio things to use as avatars and rotate through them. It's probably a competition driver but I can't say for certain. Looks pretty stout though, doesn't it?

 

[andreasmaaan]

I'm not sure what that's from actually. Over the years I've downloaded pic's of various audio things to use as avatars and rotate through them. It's probably a competition driver but I can't say for certain. Looks pretty stout though, doesn't it?

Very Amazing how deep the cone is on it. Looks almost to be an exponential curvature.