Here's the list of CDs I always take to my listening sessions. I usually add 2 or 3 more as wildcards if I am in the mood or if I want to dig in some specific aspect of the sound.
Folia, Rodrigo Martinez
from La Folia 1490-1701, Jordi Savall
I usually open every audition with this track. It has a great soundstage with instruments with a good timbral variety (a few violas da gamba, percussion, wood organ). It's good to judge airiness, venue acoustics, and the viola da gamba timbral accuracy.
Gloria Tibi Domine, Anonymous
from El Cant de la Sibil-la, Mallorca & Valencia, 1400-1560, Jordi Savall
Glorious vocal sound, good for male vocal timbre accuracy, and to gauge whether the system allows you to discern each distinct voice.
Requiem/Kyrie
from Jean Gilles, Requiem, conductor Philippe Herreweghe
Baroque in period instruments, good for string section timbral accuracy, plus the various vocal soloists.
Uaxuctum, 1st Movement
from Giacinto Scelsi, Orchestral Works, conductor Jurg Wyttenbach
Epic orchestral and mixed choir work. The sheer massive scale of the orchestra and choir, with all the hissing and exhaling sounds make it tremendously ominous. Add to that the ondes martenot, the big oil drum percussion and it's one that will extract all the power from the amps.
Klavierstuck I
Klavierstuck VII
from Karlheinz Stockhausen, Klavierstucke, piano Aloys Kontarsky
Fantastic set of pieces. No. I is good for straight piano timbral accuracy, as the angular surface of the music showcases the piano sound in a very raw form. No. VII is filled with sympathetic vibrations from silently depressed keys excited by short burts from other keys. A very delicate sound rich in decays and beating frequencies. Dealers usually run to turn off the a/c when this piece comes up.
Neophilia 2006
Walter Bishop Jr
from Bennie Maupin, Penumbra
Exceedingly good recent jazz recording, good for bass clarinet timbre, along with saxes and a diverse palette of percussion. The double-bass in the first track is surprisingly difficult to render correctly and more often than not immediately reveals shortcomings in the room.
Saturday's Child
Voyage of Bran
from Brendan Perry, Eye of the Hunter
Awesome vocal work. Brendan Perry has one of my favourite voices. Add to that the guitar and other background instrumentation, and the fact that he recorded the album in the old church he lives in, endowing the music with its acoustics, and this is an overall good example for how the whole system puts everything together.
Microscopic
from Download, Microscopic
Wonderful experimental track. This is wild, hard, digital stuff that will have most amps gasping for breath. The density and richness of the sounds, plus processed vocals, will show whether a system is harsh, muddles things up, or lacks the ability to scour the depths and rise to the skies.
