Might I suggest Willow: The Motion Picture Soundtrack by James Horner. Crimson Tide Soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer. The Forrest Gump Soundtrack by Alan Silvestri. These are amazing sounftracks that are great at testing/pushing the gear, as well as being some of the best music ever composed. Excellent movies too!
Agree! Also "The Thin Red Line", "DaVinci Code" and "Tears Of The Sun" from Hans Zimmer. And there are some great soundtracks from James Newton Howard.
Great video, love The Mission. I would add Road To Perdition and Requiem For A Dream to your list. Also forget Dune & Blade Runner 2049, the best Hans Zimmer score is Inception by a country mile. Great stuff.
As a cd soundtrack Road To Perdition is not an easy listen, it’s a bit all over the place. But within the movie it’s excellent. What a brilliant movie that is.
These are my favorite videos! I'm at a point in my system where I won't be upgrading my headphones or chain for a while, so I mostly get my kicks in discovering new music (On a side note, immediately after hearing it I started arranging Morricone's "Brothers" for solo classical guitar -flute/string/guitar parts combined...it's just so beautiful 😭). I would definitely check out the recent Joe Hisaishi (from the Studio Ghibli films) album "A Symphonic Celebration" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I listen to it through Apple Music with Dolby Atmos, so that's how I would recommend hearing it. The non-Atmos version has a very flat soundstage, clearly more tuned for speakers than for headphones. But with Dolby Atmos, it's a very beautiful and unique take on some classic themes.
Totally get American Beauty soundtrack, very much a perfect experience. I also like Pirates of the Carrabeen, some great bass and dynamics… and music too!
Being a passionate audiophile, music lover, and creator of ambient content on UA-cam, I can't help but notice the underappreciation of soundtracks. In my humble opinion, they deserve more recognition, and I find myself constantly drawn to listen to them
@PassionforSound Yes l have, mate, and the scope of that soundtrack crystallizes even further once you have experienced the moving pictures along with the sound. You get the whole nine yards as it were, then.👍🎧🙂
@PassionforSound great movie and soundtrack. A favourite of mine too. We used it for our wedding song with a string quartet arrangement by my brother.❤
Some great stuff there and glad you enjoyed the Human Soundtrack. That Dam in China track is so good for testing your system; I use it a lot. I now have quite a bit of listening to do with some great suggestions from other subscribers. Many thanks to them as well. I'm enjoying the format of these videos Lachlan.
Ennio Morricone, Angelo Badalamenti, Vangelis, Hans Zimmer, The Sicilian Clan, Twin Peaks & The Beach, Blade Runner (1982), Inception.. I like lesser known soundtracks like Ex Machina by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow. Tristam Village by Matt Uelmen, Valhalla Rising by Peter Peter & Peter Kyed, You can never really go wrong with OST's and headphones, the best reason to me for owning a head-fi system is that intimate immersion of the format. I can listen to The Lion King OST in a private head space without catching odd looks from my wife.
Basil Poledouris' score for the original Conan the Barbarian is a must. That's the definitive epic-score soundtrack for me, the strings and horns are incredible. I also adore and strongly recommend Wojciech Kilar's score of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's ominous, it's driving, it's bittersweet. (edit) Oh geez if you're including video games score.. Bloodborne. Only tricky part is having to include the pieces from The Old Hunters which they never seemed to package together with the OST. But hell, it's worth it 11 times over just to listen to it on UA-cam. Even if you never played the game, that soundtrack is bananas for audiophila.
+1 on both of these STs. I use Conan "The Kitchen" cut quite a lot for reference as well as absolutely love the Dracula Score. Epic, original stuff. IMO
I love these types of videos for one key reason: I now want to listen to music. When I watch the reviews, which I love, I always end up on my phone looking for other reviews and then retail and eBay prices. I know as audiophiles there’s the two sides to the hobby, the music and the gear, but this type of video encourages the original reason of starting the hobby, the joy of hearing great music.
The Misson is a fantastic recording- as are the majority of Morricone recordings. I have quite a few albums I use for reference. Some have been mentioned below including the original Conan by Basil Poledouris and Wojciech Kilar's score for Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. Go to for me are Out to Sea: The Shark Cage Fuge from the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration CD (entire CD is excellent). Not sure if it's in print anymore or if the quality of the recording was transferred to streaming well enough, but the dynamics and quality of brass on this track are fantastic for if a sound system can reproduce the dynamics and brass without sounding edgy. The system excels if the brass just reaches the heavens and gives you goosebumps, while not making you wince. I'll also put in a vote for the first Mission Impossible Soundtrack by Danny Elfman. The bass produced by the opening "Sleeping Beauty" is powerful and excellent for judging if a system has too much bass warmth/bloat. "Zoom B" is also a great track with wide dynamic range and massed instruments. Good for judging separation and imaging. Good percussion can also be found on Carter Burwell's ST for Rob Roy. "Born by Rapids" is an great track. FWIW
Glad you liked the Red Turtle! Funny enough, even though I recommend the score, I’ve never watched the movie😂. The soundtrack was recommended to me by a fellow audiophile.. who need the movie lol. I need to watch it one day though !!
The Theory of Everything soundtrack by Johann Johannsson is a particular favourite. He was such a massive loss to score music as I expected him to stand shoulder to shoulder with Morricone, Williams and others in a decade or so.
I’d also recommend the soundtrack to the movie Phantom Thread, the game Destiny, the soundtrack to the game Pokémon diamond/pearl (specifically the lake theme) and the movie Good Time.
I'd suggest the sound track to the original Blade Runner - personally I think it's Vangelis' best work. 80's electronica at first listen but it's surprisingly layered & complex in many places.
Quite an enjoyable video! Thank you! There is one thing I'd like to ask if you don't mind. I'm quite comfortable with almost all audiophile terminology except for this one that apparently different people mean different things, can you explain and if possible exemplify what you mean by "transients"? Thanks again and happy holidays!
Glad you liked the video! Transients are the leading edges of notes (another jargon term, I know). What that means is that it's the very instant that a sound begins - like the pluck of a string before the resonance of the instrument kicks in, or the strike of a drumstick on a drum. It's about how crisp and controlled these moments are. Our brain also uses the harmonic content of these moments to better understand the timbre of the sounds that follow.
@@PassionforSound Thanks Lachlan, although now I am more confused! What you described, particularly in your example, "the pluck of a string", sounds more like "attack" to me in my audiophile jargon bag... go figure... 😂
I was too late to the party to recommend the score from Peter Weir's "Master and Commander - The Far Side Of The World", released on Decca. Original music composed by Iva Davies ("Icehouse"), Richard Tognetti (Australian Chamber Orchestra director and lead violinist) and Christopher Gordon. Won the 2004 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award - Best Soundtrack Album category. Try track 1: "The Far Side Of The World". Hopefully that will encourage you to listen to the whole score - a mix of brilliant original and well known classical music.
Hello@@PassionforSound Iva Davies has an interesting musical background . He studied oboe and composition at the NSW Conservatorium of Music, leaving at 21 to pursue his pop career. Scored a ballet for Graeme Murphy, scored the mini series "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant" etc. A very interesting musician. Hope you enjoy his work on the Master and Commander movie when you get time to listen to it. Great compositions and a terrific recording.
I use Sennheiser's HD650 for Blu-ray movies and soundtracks, and I have always been disappointed with their bass output. Recommendations for comparably priced headphones with stronger bass output? Thank you. Associated gear: THX AAA 887 SMSL SU9 Panasonic UB9000
I went from similar older Senns (HD580) to Hifiman XS edition on a fairly budget setup. I find it a great alrounder. I listen to all genres and for classical/scores it brings the bass missing from Senns yet stays quite neutral. Nice with strings and great with horns!
Another genre with great recordings are stage musicals. Hamilton is my favourite test album along with Matilda (Broadway version) and Dear Evan Hansen (Broadway)
Wow. Thanks for giving my suggestion a whirl. Phillip Glass is not about grabbing you. It’s a bit like listening to daft punk - tiny progression of the same underlying variations. Minimalist music is about keeping it simple - like a mood for head bobbing. Never wowing.
You should check out music by Joe Hisaishi. He has done most of the orchestral soundtracks for Studio Ghibli movies. He’s underrated and deserves more love in the audio hobby
Regarding Batman Returns I have the La La Lands remastered Batman and Batman Returns, if you get the chance try out that version of Batman Returns, the audio quality on that is outstanding, great soundstage too. I love movie scores I own nearly 300 CDs with some nice very hard to get scores, The Blackhole and Blue Thunder being two of my favorite that took 30 years for me to own :)
hi. if i like hifiman ananda sound and details,but need bit more deeper bass,a bit more warmth ,so,good idea look at fiio fx15 ?-as grapfhs at mids and treble region very similar? i have meze rai penta neutral sound,i like mids and bass on meze,but need to get more highs.
This one is similar to my BTTF3 suggestion, same composer and same time frame for score recording so would have a lot of ambient content as Lachlan pointed out. Great soundtrack though ❤
@@PassionforSound I like soundtracks from 300, Smoking Aces, The Fountain, Cracks, Pan's Labyrinth, Sunshine, RDR2, Sin Nombre, A Hidden Life, The Village and Drive to name a few 🙂
Now I know why pianos can sound so large in physical size that it sounds unnatural and wrong to me. It's done deliberately in the mix. Looking forward to finishing the video but first I need to catch up on work!
Might I suggest Willow: The Motion Picture Soundtrack by James Horner. Crimson Tide Soundtrack, by Hans Zimmer. The Forrest Gump Soundtrack by Alan Silvestri. These are amazing sounftracks that are great at testing/pushing the gear, as well as being some of the best music ever composed. Excellent movies too!
Agree! Also "The Thin Red Line", "DaVinci Code" and "Tears Of The Sun" from Hans Zimmer. And there are some great soundtracks from James Newton Howard.
Great video, love The Mission. I would add Road To Perdition and Requiem For A Dream to your list. Also forget Dune & Blade Runner 2049, the best Hans Zimmer score is Inception by a country mile. Great stuff.
Good point about the Inception soundtrack. I'm surprised no one suggested that
Nice siggestions. Don't forget Gladiator ❤
@@mattcavanough And "Interstellar" and "The Last Samurai".
As a cd soundtrack Road To Perdition is not an easy listen, it’s a bit all over the place. But within the movie it’s excellent. What a brilliant movie that is.
Thank you, especially for the Tidal playlist link! Will enjoy checking these out.
I hope you find some gems
These are my favorite videos! I'm at a point in my system where I won't be upgrading my headphones or chain for a while, so I mostly get my kicks in discovering new music (On a side note, immediately after hearing it I started arranging Morricone's "Brothers" for solo classical guitar -flute/string/guitar parts combined...it's just so beautiful 😭).
I would definitely check out the recent Joe Hisaishi (from the Studio Ghibli films) album "A Symphonic Celebration" with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I listen to it through Apple Music with Dolby Atmos, so that's how I would recommend hearing it. The non-Atmos version has a very flat soundstage, clearly more tuned for speakers than for headphones. But with Dolby Atmos, it's a very beautiful and unique take on some classic themes.
Glad you're liking these videos! I actually tried the regular version of the Studio Ghibli album and was unimpressed like you suggest.
Totally get American Beauty soundtrack, very much a perfect experience. I also like Pirates of the Carrabeen, some great bass and dynamics… and music too!
Thanks for the additional suggestion
Being a passionate audiophile, music lover, and creator of ambient content on UA-cam, I can't help but notice the underappreciation of soundtracks. In my humble opinion, they deserve more recognition, and I find myself constantly drawn to listen to them
Yes. Soundtracks can be amazing. I definitely haven't paid them enough attention previously
Good soundtracks provided the hook that introduced me to the great classical composers that influenced those film composers.
I'm glad you enjoyed The Mission soundtrack Lachlan, it's one of my reference CDs for judging components.👍🎧🙂
Yep. It's brilliant. Have you seen the movie?
@PassionforSound Yes l have, mate, and the scope of that soundtrack crystallizes even further once you have experienced the moving pictures along with the sound. You get the whole nine yards as it were, then.👍🎧🙂
@PassionforSound great movie and soundtrack. A favourite of mine too. We used it for our wedding song with a string quartet arrangement by my brother.❤
Nice!
Some great stuff there and glad you enjoyed the Human Soundtrack. That Dam in China track is so good for testing your system; I use it a lot.
I now have quite a bit of listening to do with some great suggestions from other subscribers. Many thanks to them as well.
I'm enjoying the format of these videos Lachlan.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm glad you're enjoying this format. More to come
Just got to this one recently. Thanks. LOVE the Red Turtle!!
So glad you liked the review and that album
Ennio Morricone, Angelo Badalamenti, Vangelis, Hans Zimmer, The Sicilian Clan, Twin Peaks & The Beach, Blade Runner (1982), Inception.. I like lesser known soundtracks like Ex Machina by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow. Tristam Village by Matt Uelmen, Valhalla Rising by Peter Peter & Peter Kyed, You can never really go wrong with OST's and headphones, the best reason to me for owning a head-fi system is that intimate immersion of the format. I can listen to The Lion King OST in a private head space without catching odd looks from my wife.
Ah yes, the wife odd look 😂
Bombay Theme By A.R.Rahman try this one
anything James Horner. Love Star Trek II and III. Also Hans Zimmer. Inception, Interstellar, so many.
Basil Poledouris' score for the original Conan the Barbarian is a must. That's the definitive epic-score soundtrack for me, the strings and horns are incredible. I also adore and strongly recommend Wojciech Kilar's score of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's ominous, it's driving, it's bittersweet.
(edit) Oh geez if you're including video games score.. Bloodborne. Only tricky part is having to include the pieces from The Old Hunters which they never seemed to package together with the OST. But hell, it's worth it 11 times over just to listen to it on UA-cam. Even if you never played the game, that soundtrack is bananas for audiophila.
Thanks for the extra suggestions!
+1 on both of these STs. I use Conan "The Kitchen" cut quite a lot for reference as well as absolutely love the Dracula Score. Epic, original stuff. IMO
Awesome.
Not gear review.
Awesome Idea, really.
I'm glad you liked it. I'd love to do more like this as the channel grows. 🙂
Geisha and Schindlers List are excellent albums and well recorded. By John Williams
I love these types of videos for one key reason: I now want to listen to music. When I watch the reviews, which I love, I always end up on my phone looking for other reviews and then retail and eBay prices. I know as audiophiles there’s the two sides to the hobby, the music and the gear, but this type of video encourages the original reason of starting the hobby, the joy of hearing great music.
That's great to read! That's exactly why I make these videos too.
Now I need to find 17 hrs to listen to the playlist 😊
I hear you! 😁
The Misson is a fantastic recording- as are the majority of Morricone recordings.
I have quite a few albums I use for reference. Some have been mentioned below including the original Conan by Basil Poledouris and Wojciech Kilar's score for Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula.
Go to for me are Out to Sea: The Shark Cage Fuge from the Spielberg/Williams Collaboration CD (entire CD is excellent). Not sure if it's in print anymore or if the quality of the recording was transferred to streaming well enough, but the dynamics and quality of brass on this track are fantastic for if a sound system can reproduce the dynamics and brass without sounding edgy. The system excels if the brass just reaches the heavens and gives you goosebumps, while not making you wince.
I'll also put in a vote for the first Mission Impossible Soundtrack by Danny Elfman. The bass produced by the opening "Sleeping Beauty" is powerful and excellent for judging if a system has too much bass warmth/bloat. "Zoom B" is also a great track with wide dynamic range and massed instruments. Good for judging separation and imaging.
Good percussion can also be found on Carter Burwell's ST for Rob Roy. "Born by Rapids" is an great track.
FWIW
Thanks for the additional suggestions
Glad you liked the Red Turtle! Funny enough, even though I recommend the score, I’ve never watched the movie😂. The soundtrack was recommended to me by a fellow audiophile.. who need the movie lol.
I need to watch it one day though !!
Me too. That and The Mission have me wanting to know what happens to go with such evocative music. 🙂🙂
The Theory of Everything soundtrack by Johann Johannsson is a particular favourite. He was such a massive loss to score music as I expected him to stand shoulder to shoulder with Morricone, Williams and others in a decade or so.
Always sad to lose amazing artists before their time 😞
I’d also recommend the soundtrack to the movie Phantom Thread, the game Destiny, the soundtrack to the game Pokémon diamond/pearl (specifically the lake theme) and the movie Good Time.
I'd suggest the sound track to the original Blade Runner - personally I think it's Vangelis' best work. 80's electronica at first listen but it's surprisingly layered & complex in many places.
Thank you for posting.
Always a pleasure!
Added all of them to my "Scores" tag. Many Thanks
Hope you enjoy them!
Quite an enjoyable video! Thank you! There is one thing I'd like to ask if you don't mind. I'm quite comfortable with almost all audiophile terminology except for this one that apparently different people mean different things, can you explain and if possible exemplify what you mean by "transients"? Thanks again and happy holidays!
Glad you liked the video!
Transients are the leading edges of notes (another jargon term, I know). What that means is that it's the very instant that a sound begins - like the pluck of a string before the resonance of the instrument kicks in, or the strike of a drumstick on a drum. It's about how crisp and controlled these moments are. Our brain also uses the harmonic content of these moments to better understand the timbre of the sounds that follow.
@@PassionforSound Thanks Lachlan, although now I am more confused! What you described, particularly in your example, "the pluck of a string", sounds more like "attack" to me in my audiophile jargon bag... go figure... 😂
Yes. Attack, transients and leading edges are all the same thing. It's confusing, isn't it!? 😁
@@PassionforSound Ha! Now it finally makes sense! Thank you! 🫡
I was too late to the party to recommend the score from Peter Weir's "Master and Commander - The Far Side Of The World", released on Decca.
Original music composed by Iva Davies ("Icehouse"), Richard Tognetti (Australian Chamber Orchestra director and lead violinist) and Christopher Gordon. Won the 2004 APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award - Best Soundtrack Album category.
Try track 1: "The Far Side Of The World".
Hopefully that will encourage you to listen to the whole score - a mix of brilliant original and well known classical music.
Wow. I never knew that Iva Davies composed music beyond pop.
Hello@@PassionforSound Iva Davies has an interesting musical background . He studied oboe and composition at the NSW Conservatorium of Music, leaving at 21 to pursue his pop career. Scored a ballet for Graeme Murphy, scored the mini series "The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant" etc. A very interesting musician.
Hope you enjoy his work on the Master and Commander movie when you get time to listen to it. Great compositions and a terrific recording.
Mario Galaxy, Octopath Traveler, Transistor, Breath of the Wild are some obvious choices for gaming OSTs.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Another fun one is The 'Burbs. Claasic 80s comedy with unique score by Jerry Goldsmith.
I use Sennheiser's HD650 for Blu-ray movies and soundtracks, and I have always been disappointed with their bass output. Recommendations for comparably priced headphones with stronger bass output? Thank you.
Associated gear:
THX AAA 887
SMSL SU9
Panasonic UB9000
I went from similar older Senns (HD580) to Hifiman XS edition on a fairly budget setup. I find it a great alrounder. I listen to all genres and for classical/scores it brings the bass missing from Senns yet stays quite neutral. Nice with strings and great with horns!
The Edition XS is definitely a good option. The HD560S and Sivga SV023 might also work for you.
Another genre with great recordings are stage musicals. Hamilton is my favourite test album along with Matilda (Broadway version) and Dear Evan Hansen (Broadway)
Thanks for the tip. Maybe I'll do that as another video in the future
@@PassionforSound I’d absolutely love your take on them
Wow. Thanks for giving my suggestion a whirl.
Phillip Glass is not about grabbing you. It’s a bit like listening to daft punk - tiny progression of the same underlying variations.
Minimalist music is about keeping it simple - like a mood for head bobbing. Never wowing.
Thanks for the additional info! I can definitely understand that now that I've heard a fair bit of the album.
You should check out music by Joe Hisaishi. He has done most of the orchestral soundtracks for Studio Ghibli movies. He’s underrated and deserves more love in the audio hobby
Thanks for the suggestion
Legendary Composer and his compositions are so amazing
Regarding Batman Returns I have the La La Lands remastered Batman and Batman Returns, if you get the chance try out that version of Batman Returns, the audio quality on that is outstanding, great soundstage too. I love movie scores I own nearly 300 CDs with some nice very hard to get scores, The Blackhole and Blue Thunder being two of my favorite that took 30 years for me to own :)
Thanks for the suggestions!
hi. if i like hifiman ananda sound and details,but need bit more deeper bass,a bit more warmth ,so,good idea look at fiio fx15 ?-as grapfhs at mids and treble region very similar? i have meze rai penta neutral sound,i like mids and bass on meze,but need to get more highs.
I haven't heard the FiiO so I can't help with that one. Sorry
Hania Rani is the Polish artist you were thinking about. She's pretty amazing 🤩
Yes. She's brilliant. 🙂
@@PassionforSound Also, I really enjoyed your video! Thanks! :)
My pleasure. I'm glad you like them 🙂🙂
Fernando Velázquez: A Monster Calls
Band Of Brothers OST
Kevin Penkin: Made in Abyss
Try predator soundtracks bra.. Peace!
This one is similar to my BTTF3 suggestion, same composer and same time frame for score recording so would have a lot of ambient content as Lachlan pointed out. Great soundtrack though ❤
Halo 3 I listened was good
You forgot Rocky 👊🏼👊🏼
You mean the community forgot Rocky! 😉
I love OST's and have a lot of them but almost none in this video and there are better ones out there.
I can't tell if this is positive or a criticism...
@@PassionforSound I am very picky and did not like many of the music you mentioned but that's me and sure others will like em
I understand. Music preferences are super subjective so that makes sense.
@@PassionforSound I like soundtracks from 300, Smoking Aces, The Fountain, Cracks, Pan's Labyrinth, Sunshine, RDR2, Sin Nombre, A Hidden Life, The Village and Drive to name a few 🙂
No, Tron Legacy by Daft Punk?
No. It's one that I've used before, but wasn't suggested by the community so didn't go in the video.
Now I know why pianos can sound so large in physical size that it sounds unnatural and wrong to me. It's done deliberately in the mix.
Looking forward to finishing the video but first I need to catch up on work!
Hope the work went ok and that you've enjoyed the rest of the video.
I love Titanic, the lion king (original animation), Rhythm of the Pride Lands, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, dark knight, the last of us part 2
The red pill people compelled me to vehemently look down on Titanic and i think they're quite right
How come?