RECORDINGS TO SHOW OFF YOUR SYSTEM
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- Опубліковано 12 лис 2023
- Adrian waxes lyrical on his choices for great recordings to showcase your system
Link to the Mahler Video ( Sibling Rivalry; AudioNote iZero vs Cobra - Adrian compares the 2 tube integrated amps) : • Sibling Rivalry; Audio...
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Audio Excellence Inc. is a high-end audio/video store in Markham, Ontario, Canada, a suburb of Toronto. We've been in business since 1991.
Check out our interviews with designers and audio luminaries like Daryl Wilson of Wilson Audio, Paul McGowan of PS Audio, Paolo Tezzon of Sonus Faber, Wendell Diller of Magnepan, John Atkinson of Stereophile, Dan D'Agostino of D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, Nelson Pass of Pass Labs and others.
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Filmed and Edited by: Mike@audioexcellence.ca - Розваги
The more I listen and watch these videos…the more I like this dude👍
Thanks
Tidal playlist would have been nice...
You obviously didn’t hear what I said about donating and receiving my playlist 😊
Thank you so much for reminding us all what this is really all about. The music. I do love the gear, but because it lets me connect with a recording.
My pleasure
GM ☕️
Yup..a good playlist is essential to both show off the system and look for what’s lacking .
One of latest show tunes ..
Cowboy Junkies: What I Lost 🥹
This might be my very favorite video, and I’ve been listening for a couple of years! Thank you so much for this. I’ve listened to your playlist 1 many times, but was familiar with much of the music - i still appreciate the compilation, as my brain forgets so much. But most of what you present in this video is new, and I’m less than half way thru your video, listening to the recommendations while pausing your video. Thank you! I love to be exposed to music that I’m unfamiliar with, particularly from folks i respect, or that have similar tastes. I’d also love future videos to literally walk thru albums that you like, and why. Thanks again!
Many thanks
Love those Revel Studio Salons 2s behind you...And thanks for the playlist keep up the great work.
Love the Yello and the Rodger Waters and I highly recommend Milky Chance too!! They mostly record in Dolby Atmos and are perfect for showing off a stereo. They sound great on ordinary non DA playback too.
I do not know Milky Chance… what album do you suggest?
many new experiences ... thanks!
Cool list, many I have not heard before. Have you heard Sheila Jordan & Harvie Swartz - In A Sentimental Mood on the album Songs From Within? Exquisitely recorded by MA Recordings. It has a bowed double-bass that will move your speaker cones to their limits. Stunning!
Thanks for the recommendations!
GOOD MORNING SIR: Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Even though I've been an audiophile for many years I've always learned though others while being quiet. Louis has turned me on to Diane Krall with his passionate remarks during your regular equipment videos. Yes I'm a lot older know so I make the time to explore/ expand my horizons. I wish you were located here in the US as I'm certain we would become good friends and a valued client. Here in N.J. trying to get things done is like trench warfare + an adversarial relationship instead of a terrific journey. With what all of the costs entail you would think that they would at least put on an act for an hour while relieving you of $$ 50,00.00 dollars 💸. Thank you again & God Bless to you, your family, & your staff. TMP from N.J.
Thanks very much for the kind words
Thank you from Germany!
You have outdone yourself. Thank you so very much for sharing.
Thank you
I've gone through almost all of your huge "Demo" playlist as well as "Demo 3", lots of gems in there I didn't previously know... hearing the stories behind some of the cut is entertaining 👍
Wow, you have a lot of time Paul!
@@adrianlow2114 I wake up early on weekends and listen on my headphones before anyone wakes up 😆
@@PBlaik Haha. Well done!
Thank you for letting us into your music selection. I wrote them all down and will listen this week. I’m always looking for great music. Ty
my pleasure
These are great suggestions, Adrian, thank you very much. I'll go through them all. After all, it's about music. 5 suggestions from my side, which are music-wise and recording-wise amazing:
Simply Red - Sad old red (Picture Book)
Mariza - Tasco Da Mouraria (Terra)
Nik Bärtsch - Modul 45 (Holon)
Dizzy Gillespie - No more Blues (Dizzy on the french Riviera)
Pierre Favre - Snow (Window Steps)
Cheers from Switzerland!
I have some tester tracks that might be new to some folks:
Bozzio Levin Stevens' album Back Light Syndrome - track 3 Duende
Massive Attack's album Heligoland - track 7 Paradise Circus
Darkside's album Psychic - track 8 Metatron
Melanie Doane's album Shakespearean Fish - track 6 Till I Start to Believe
Angele Dubeau's album Alex Baranowski Portrait - track 1 Wionsna
Thanks for sharing
Great List Adrian.
A few addition info..
1. The Album Nina De Fuego by Spanish Singer Buika or María Concepción Balboa Buika or Concha Buika was nominated for the 2008 Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
2. It's Anne Akiko Meyers 'Meditation' from Massenet's Thais
Thanks!
Thanks Adrian for the list. I watched the video and listened to each track as you went through them. Of course there were quite a few that I knew but others that I didn't.
my pleasure
I’m really enjoying your videos. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you
Hey!!! I use that song "Winds across the Barley " to show off my stereo rig to my unsuspecting friends along with Odesza "The last Goodbye" and "My Romance Gene Simmons" and the icing on the cake is " Misty" by the wonderful sound of Three Blind Mice I currently live in South Carolina, but i grew up in Oakville
Winds across the barley? Don't know it. By?
I will try your tracks later. Thanks for sharing. I am at the song Rachets, man that song has been the one for me. I was at the Toronto Audio Fest, I did see you there. When they played it in the Utopia room on the big system. I pretty much fell off my chair. I wish I could have heard it on the Acora system. Everytime I was in that room, it was classical. To me that was a trun off and just walked out. Just the one time as I walked by they were playing something great and I truly got to see what these Acora loudspeakers could do. Then back to classical. Thanks.
Yes Val from Acora shared Ratchets with the boys in the Utopia Room. I think he regretted it as they kept playing it ! lol
Glad to see a sou try artist (Vince gill ) represented in your list. Vince has many other great songs. His These Days box set of 4 cds is excellent and good recordings as well. He does some beautiful music with so many different artists such as Bonnie rhaitt Sheryl crow, and even his own daughter on a track I think as well. Country can get a bad rap but if you explore their is some great music. Appreciate the work put into this ! Thank you Adrian!
my pleasure
Thanks for sharing! Many new tracks for me 😊
my pleasure
Looking forward to listening to this on my system
Enjoy!
HeyAdrian,
Any plans to review the Pearl Acoustics SIBELIUS single driver speakers? Love the work you and the team provide.
Thanks. We generally only review products we own/ carry
The $10 should be given to the music makers
I like to recommend eric bibb & habib koite brothers in bamako. Very well recorded album showcasing the excellent guitar works of both Eric & Habib. The interplay between them is magical. Another of Eric’s album i really like is Pray sing love. This album was done together with his wife Ulrika Bibb & once again, very well recorded. The track show me the way can really stir up your emotions if your system if good. At the other end of the spectrum, try Charly Antolini’s Knockout 2000. This recording can sound harsh & sharp on lesser setups but in the right setup, the punch, dynamics & transparency is simply astounding. Crank it up for max enjoyment. Next track i want to recommend is Steve Smith’s drum stop no good with victor wooten on bass. This track can really stress up your system if its not up to scratch. The drums & bass are very stupendous & substantial on this track. If the system can handle it, then crank it up for a thrilling musical ride.
Yes Eric Bibb is great
Great job and thank you for sharing! Some definitely nice tracks in there. Chopinesque was one of my favs from your recommendations.
I personally use a few key tracks for testing:
When You're Gone - Orchesteral Perfomance, by Verite & Liitle Kruta, from the album Bunker Studio Sessions in Brooklyn, NY
A mixture of string instruments, drums, and modern instruments all recorded and mixed very well provide a complex depth which is useful for testing clarity. The complex combination often overhelms systems creating more of a blur causing her voice to blend in and "fade" into the background.
Vogel im kafig, by Grissini Project
Vocal + orchesteral tests the balance and reproduction ability of the setup.
Blackbird, by Tash Sultana, from the album Flow State
This track contains a lot of fast guitar which can muddle together on systems which do not resolve well or with drivers which do not have fast response. Planara/quasi-ribbon and electrostats really do this track justice with each pluck being exceptionally crisp and clear.
Merry Go Round of Life, by Grissini Project
Again, a high quality orchesteral recording really tests the timbre reproduction and imaging]placement/room treatment for a system. This is one of the few tracks which gets piano timbre 85% right. Like drums, most recordings (to my ear) don't reproduce the resonances of the hammers striking the string and the reverberations quite right. (I played piano for about 2 decades so that tone is pretty much ingrained in my memory)
And for fun/personal listening:
卒業（カバー） [アカペラ ver.], by Sana
I personally like Sana's voice without any instrumenal backing. The edges of her voice, the fall off, and the little sibalant breaths really define the boundaries of a system.
All About You, by Taeyeon, from the Hotel Del Luna OST pt. 3
Another artist of whom I am completely in love with her voice. Most of her recordings are just loud and compressed as per modern pop music but this one is better than most.
Hurt, by Johnny Cash, from the album American IV:The Man Comes Around
No commentary required.
Mountains, by Hans Zimmer, from the Intersellar OST
Another track which tests soundstage and room treatments. The slow build up of the opressing weight in the track makes for a good soundstage and immersion test.
Brand New Day, by BABYMETAL, from Legend - Metal Galaxy concert Day 1
Not particularly well recorded, but it's a fun track and you can hear the crowd's activtiies and their reverberations off the walls of the Makuhari Messe increasingly well defined on more resolving systems.
Listened to on a regular basis with components: Mangepan, Dynaudio, PSB, Sim Audio, Topping, Schiit Audio, Def Tech, Tung-Sol tubes
Nice list! Thanks
I think the first CD I ever bought was Ennio Morricone's soundtrack for Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time In America" -- because of the dynamics and the quiet passages that were always interrupted by surface noise on the LP. Not too long after that (in 1985), I picked up a newly released Buddy Holly "From the Original Master Tapes" CD collection on MCA (not exactly a label known for audiophile-quality recordings) -- and it was just as you describe: like being there!
Great music recommendations thanks a lot I really enjoed them.
Excellent!
A local shop (not the Alberta chain that was part of the Nuance speakers scam) used to use the Roger Waters track to demo Nuance speakers. I believe Madonna's "The Immaculate Collection" was also recorded in Q Sound?
Did I just hear you talk about Cajmere, aka Green Velvet aka Curtis Jones?? 😮 Some great tracks in this list that I have also used.
Thanks for this!
my pleasure
There are 200+ recordings of Mahler Symphony No. 5 on Tidal, including two different ones from Telarc. I haven't listened to any of them yet, but I will start with the Telarc recordings.
As a Rep for many of the Direct to Disc back in the '70's, I agree that most were for sonic purposes. Some good music. But nothing that stands on it's own. Then there is Harry James! Without question he and his band would be a chased after recording on it's own. But one of the most incredible Direct to Discs ever recorded? It is easily my #1 reference album!
Harry James & His Big Band - The King James Version - Sheffield Lab - LAB-3.
Harry and his band in a specifically chosen small chapel with a set of center stereo mics! The image, depth, positioning, realism, natural reverberation, ... Harry's horn will hit you when he swings it towards you if your system is capable! And Cherokee's intensity from it's start ends with just an incredibly well captured drum solo!
Superb album indeed.
Excellent video, I’m always on the lookout for music I haven’t heard!
Let me share one…Between Heaven and Earth by A.R.Rahman. Engaging album, if you want to test a speakers mid-bass and upper speed and precision, I recommend dacoit duel from the album…WOW…turn it up and enjoy!
I really appreciate your videos, I just found you a few weeks ago and I’ve watched and liked a pile of your videos. Thanks and keep it up! You guys are fun! Cheers
Many thanks
Thanks Adrian. Recommendation: East London Street (Drums only), Hidden Orchestra
Thank you!
3:46 who says marketing doesn't sell? :)
Try Jennifer Warnes 'The Hunter'
Yes well recorded
Thanks, terrific. A couple of suggestions for well recorded acoustic bass: Charlie Haden and Jim Hall, Bemsha Swing, from Charlie Haden-Jim Hall. Modern Jazz Quartet, Blues in A Minor from Blues on Bach.
Nice!
A well-recorded live album will always be of interest to me. This one might be a bit hard to find, but may turn up in the bins: Karen Young - Michel Donato, en vol III (Justin Time Records). Voice and double bass, that's it.
Thanks for the recommendation
Interesting video- I’ll have to take a listen to your choices. A good album to consider is Diana Krall- All For You, A Dedication to the NT King Cole Trio. In particular the cut “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. Her singing is impeccable and the recording on Qobuz is good.
Very true
Yello with Shirley Bassey "Rhythm Divine". And a track from Shirley Bassey's "Something Else" album would be the song "It's Impossible".
Agreed
thx for the list!
my pleasure
In my previous incarnation as an amateur audiophile and DIYer, I accumulated my own playlists that included some lesser known artists who spoke to me in ways the mainstream cliched chestnuts never could.
Had the great pleasure of attending a couple of small venue very lightly amplified performances of The Wailin Jennys; I find their vocal harmonies and spare instrumentations a great test of a system’s imaging and soundstage.
Harry Manx - same venue, great showman. “Live at the Glenn Gould Studio” is a decent encapsulation of his range.
At the other end of the spectrum Loreena McKennitt, who I also enjoyed live in support of the album “Nights from the Alhambra”, which covers the range from plaintive intimate vocals (Dante’s Prayer, Penelope’s Song, She Moved Through the Fair) to balls to the walls tests of dynamic range and scale (Caravanersai, Huron ‘Beltane’ Fire Dance)
Jordi Savall: pretty much anything.
Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer, “Skip, Hop and Wobble”
Rodrigo y Gabriela, “Orion”, “Stairway to Heaven” (yup, that one)
Terry Bozzio, Tony Levine & Steve Stevens “Duende”
Jacqui Naylor “Miss You”
Stevie Ray Vaughan “Riviera Paradise”
this could easily become an never ending story😂
Thanks!
@@adrianlow2114 Adrian- gotta say that even though my days of riding the hi-fi carousel searching for the next upgrade are over, and my retirement savings would never allow for the level of gear you so casually discuss 🤭, I’m happy to have discovered your most recent series of videos. No doubt most of us who’ve been spelunking the rabbit warrens of hi-fi - some of us for over half a century 😵💫- have war stories of “greatest regrets” - both in terms of most underwhelming components or combinations, and most missed.
Cheers
@@fonkenfulAgreed! Fun to reminisce, not so much when going through it!
@@adrianlow2114 Well, it seemed like fun at the time, and thankfully I stopped keeping tally of the number and cost of components that rotated through my systems over the years.
You could turn the playlist public on Tidal and Qobuz
Adrian, 'MOSTERING' (the way you pronounce MASTERING), is that typical Canadian pronunciation (not unlike 'OUT vs OAT' ' or is there a bit of North Boston Brahman (think Thurston Howell III) in you upbringing?
thanks Adrian. Somthing mainstream. Try
Madonna - Frozen from Ray of Light (US version)
great choice!
“With all my love” by Melanie de Biasio
Thanks
A couple of albums I’d like to nominate are both Robert Plant & Alison Krause collaborations, and Boz Scaggs’ Dig.
Great albums
If you enjoy electronic music i recommend the track Sol from Solar Fields from the album Movements.(the whole album is amazing). Also Storm 3000 from Leftfield from the album Leftism. (Again the whole album is awesome).
Thank you!
Paco de lucia Album: Seleccion Track: Entre Dos Aguas
I’m 46 seconds into watching this and LMAO. I created a play list named after my speakers that included not my favorite songs but songs that were really good recordings just shined on my system. Now it’s a music dumpster.
I was waiting for you to mention the Shaggs. But I guess not.
On true love ways he says OK Curny not Charlie. It was mastered by Steve Hoffman.
Rock/metal was missing from your list. Check out the album 'Curse and Chapter' from the UK heavy metal band 'Hell'. Sends shivers up and down your spine whilst pinning you up against the back wall.
careful ! audiophiles are too sensitive for rock and metal.
Not Buiko, Buika and i agree, it’s beautiful voice
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Fabulous one.
nice!
Hi - you broadly mentioned some albums/music is "banned" I'd be interested to know what's on your list (if that doesn't sound weird)!
lol, it's an inside joke. When a track gets played too much in the store, I "ban" it. The guys ignore me anyway
Well Cantate Domino is an obvious one.
I like David Benoit - This Side Up. The entire CD is great. Beach Trails and Linus and Lucy.
Alpine Speed of Sound - entire CD. Favorite is My Father’s Shoes by Cliff Eberhardt.
Both are from the 80’s-90’s.
Sheffield Labs James Newton Howard is good too.
Great list. Love Cliff Eberhardt
Take You There - H.E.R. and anything on Urban Flora by Alina Baraz.
Thanks!
At this point Silvia Perez Cruz anything, her duet with Ravid Goldschmidt - Liama OMFG
Mids to highs test. Tiny Tim 😀
IMHO, the version of The Wind That Shakes the Barley by Martin Carthy is much better.
Seeya by Deadmau5…you are welcome 😊
American Beauty OST
Peter Weniger-Legal Paradizer
Marie Boine
Hey why would I want to make another CEO even richer? Can I just feed a kid and take a picture of that?
I've watched loads of videos about audiophile recordings and they ALL say, I'll leave out the obvious ones. I WANT TO KNOW THE OBVIOUS ONES !
A few staples in the store these days: Kashmir by Marcin , Mining For Gold by the Cowboy Junkies, Liberty by Annette Ashvik
All Banned! Banned I say@@AudioExcellenceCanada
Volver Volver is an old Mexican song
Go Rest High was written for his brother's death.
yes, that's why I relate
Are you SURE the songs weren't selected to make me feel Bored with my system so I have to Buy more equipment now?! 😂
haha
Buika is great, you didn’t think she was black??? 🤔 That was a weird statement. I’m not sure what else she could be. The reason why we love music and artist is because of the talent and the diversity in content and I believe it breaks down all color lines and we don’t have to define race, creed or color!
Agreed. I wasn't sure re ethnicity/race as there are many who are very dark toned but not necessarily of black descent
WHY has there NEVER, NEVER been an audiophile recording that is challenging? Not one.
Challenging is a busy program specifically a rock program which can only be reproduced on a system with a special dynamic ability and extreme separation.
"Audio's Toughest Challenge", aka Telarc 1812 - scribed "A11" and "SR" (for Stan Ricker). It has been known to damage stylus and cantilever.
Suggestion Richard Thompson Haul me up.Dream AtticLive!
Thanks
Thank you for that @adrianlow2114
my pleasure