Big agree on two points here. 1. Use music you're familiar with. A technical song you're not familiar with can make almost any headphone sound impressive. That said... it's worth having some technically-impressive music that you're familiar with. If all your familiar music is recorded in mono between 300 and 8,000 Hz, it's not gonna be very useful for evaluating headphones. To be honest, I really don't have room in my life for music that isn't technically competent, which means I don't listen to a lot of music I used to like before getting into audio. Dunno if that's a good thing most audiophiles should aspire to, but the quality of your music is definitely a limiting factor in the quality you extract from gear. But again, it only matters if it's music you're familiar with. 2. Genre-based recommendations are not that useful. The multitude of sub-genres is a good point, but I'll go one further and say that even within a specific artist, from album to album the mastering might differ significantly that if you're trying to optimize your equipment to the music, I'd pick different headphones. That said, I listen to a lot of genres and generally find that -- outside of poorly-produced albums -- my favorite headphones bring out the best of what I like in all genres so it's a bit of a moot point. Kinda comes back to point #1, if your music is well-produced you probably don't need to worry about finding headphones specialized for your particular music.
Genre based can have its uses. I know so many seta that suck with Metal. I mean really bad. But sets that are seen as merely okay are great for Metal. Metal is just harder to reproduce well.
@@DEFKNIGHT My library has Moonspell, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, Metallica, Deftones, Somali Yacht Club, Iron Maiden... The well-produced albums sound good on good-sounding headphones (Nightwish, Somali Yacht Club, some Metallica), the poorly-produced (Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden) don't sound great on anything. I don't know what people mean by these "headphones for metal" declarations.
there are many genres of music that aren't sub-bass heavy. if you only listen to these genres, then you can put much less weight on subbass performance and only optimize the frequency response elsewhere.
I usually use the DOOM soundtrack to test headphones. It is harmonically dense, covers the whole frequency range, and it's punchy AF so you can really tell how well the headphones slam. But also I just really like it so it's quick and easy to pick out differences when swapping headphones. I can also pick out differences in the mids with heavily distorted guitars way better than with any other source.
I always test on Paranoid Android - Radiohead. I like the song + it has great production/panning/layering/range, goes through various styles + it's a 6 minute song, so it lets you get used to the sound of the headphones.
Crinacle, you've earned yourself a sub. I'm nowhere near an audiophile, but I do love anime girls, and I see that all of your packaging is riddled with them. Thank you for understanding us.
Nina Simone - sinnerman is my go to song when trying out a new set of headphones, speakers, or iems. I’m listening for the hand claps, her vocal placement, the timbre of her piano. The snap of the percussion and the power of the standup bass.
Of course it has to be HOTEL CALIFORNIA, but my usual go to is the 1976 vinyl version. But of course, you're favourite song will always be the best benchmark.
7:19 rather than the range of the fundamental frequency on an instrument it actually is the range of the harmonics of the instrument that gives its character. I play bass for example and the highest fundamental note is something 400-ish but when setting my tone I try to dial some 0.7-2khz in while also trying to control the boominess at 100-300hz and harsh nasal sounds at 500-700hz and it goes all the way to 5k which gives the instrument its character with bass.
btw 1. when the resigntion came? I forgot I watched this channel 2. Peter Gabriel's So, RHCP's BSSM and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours are my favourites 3. You can also try to hear the white noise, literally noise of the mixing console, with older tracks at quieter parts to check the higher register
@@Cake_Doge Yeah, what I think Crin meant to say is, a refence song should have acoustic/analogue instruments, especially if you are really familiar with one or a few instruments and how they should sound. From a track that has clean piano you can possibly judge the main range of the equipment. I generally hate horns, but some trumpet doesn't hurt to make sure I don't get too annoyed by the honk or sibilance. That's not technical listening, it's shopping for myself.
I'm not an Audiophile, but whenever I get new earbuds, IEM's, Headphones or speakers, I have a set of songs I ALWAYS listen to. It's usually Metallica, Michael Jackson, A few video game songs. Because I know the songs so well, I know how it sounds to a crazy degree, allowing me to more easily compare the speaker/headphone...etc.
september is personally also one of my choices, the way you can hear all instruments seperately if you focus on them is crazy my other two choices are: bohemian rhapsody by queen, different styles, very fun to listen to new slaves by kanye west, its just my favorite song
For me personally, The BEST tracks that I used to test my Headphone, IEM or even Speakers, I always use Billie Jean - Michael Jackson, Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen, The Nights - Avicii, and also Sweet Child O Mine - Gun N Roses...
The absolute best test recording la 1:26 are records you are on, meaning you were on the session. But not afforded that opportunity I’d reach for recordings that always moved me, even on inferior gear, and see how they fare.
Nightwish's Poet and the Pendulum (either the Decades release or the Wembley live version that was later compiled in an album), for several years now, has been my one-stop demo song. After that, I throw in random EDM, and I've more or less covered most of my collection.
I’m new to audiophile headphones and testing so I don’t really know what I am looking out for but so far this is what I personally use: hallelujah- Jeff Buckley, it has an intense close vocal. Headphones- bjork, I feel this song was designed to explore headphones which is so cool. Nude- Radiohead, good production with a wide range and svefn-g-englar by sigur rós, dynamic range is high with a brilliant full atmosphere,
One of the songs I'm most familiar with is Atlas Air by Massive Attack-I know very specific nuances in the distortion and texture and can instantly tell when they aren't coming through
I really like to test headphones with "Esa Noche" by Cafe Tacuba. Well separated and layered instruments, really pleasant listen on wide headphones. That whole album, Re, is a masterful display of instruments.
I would like to dig deeper into the mastering aspect. Some songs that I am very familiar with are mastered quite poorly, so it makes them hard to use as a test because the flaws are limiting the potential testing range. For example, I absolutely love "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones and it is my most played (read: most familiar) track, BUT I can't use it for testing because I hear the compression issues in her voice (aspects sound crushed like 00:10 to 00:12, "I waited til I saw the sun" especially on "waited", or 00:21 to 00:23, "I left you by the house of fun" especially on "left"). So I'd like to open this up to the crowd here. What popular songs (for the sake of argument, should appear frequently on Top 100 lists) are generally considered well mastered AND are popular enough that they would be generally accessible on demo units (as Crin mentioned in the video, a higher likelihood of appearing on an exhibition set up)?
I love anything from Billie Eilish. She's got so many styles and her brother, who I think does all of the producing and mixing for her, is imo a genius.
I use quite a few from massive attack's discography (mainly protection and unfinished sympathy) and then a slew of older DnB tracks (ni-ten-ichi-ryu my beloved) There's some other indie stuff mixed in, but it's basically just that. I've gotten to the point where all I need is the first 20sec of protection to tell if something is "good" or "bad"
As much as I love massive attack and think they always did great on the mix, it's just too artificial to judge equipment by it. They're pretty bright though, kind of like billie jean.
Natalie Cole - Mona Lisa (for testing vocal and see if the vocal can appear in eye-level) Dvorak no.9 (for testing soundstage (test the depth of soundstage and width of soundstage, and off course the bass of the headphone)
Great advice I think. For me, it's about how the music you would normally listen to sounds - what's the point in Earth Wind & Fire sounding amazing if you mostly listen to death metal, grime or K-pop for example? I second the whole point about working out how certain instruments sound too. I think this is why knowing the artists people listen to as opposed to the genres they listen to are useful to know for gear recommendations. I think another way to conceptualise it is to look at the strengths/capabilities of different types of gear/drivers too - if I know somebody listens to metal with really complex bass drum patterns and is after detail then I think planars are often the way to go for example.
Etched Headplate by Burial is really good for imaging, bass, and transient definition. Aja by Steely Dan is good for overall balance, and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes is excellent for mids. I use these to test monitors as well. Sine sweep and pink noise are also on the table when available, but they dont really tell you a lot about the transient response which i care about almost more than anything else as an engineer because it cant be corrected and i need to know what im feeding my compressors
I'm most familiar with the voices in my head. It's not very technical but I use them to test every headphone. They are the reason why I had to buy everything I test.
To sum up the first part of the vid from a science point of view: - You need to isolate variables - You can only test one variable at a time - Listening to unfamiliar music introduces a second variable, therefore muddying your results in an already subjective hobby.
My test song for audio equipment is Post Mortem by God Is an Astronaut. If headphones/IEMs make drums at 0:35 sound like mush then it's bad headphones.
I've always used violin songs. Because I used to play and that's what I listen to. Eternal eclipse cloak and dagger is my benchmark of choice. I actually find your 7Hz Diokos perfect for listening to it. Thank you for the excellent video as always
September is actually my go to as well! I haven't ever used the December recording, though; I'm not very familiar with it. I feel like the small differences might trip me up lol.
my favourite songs for comparing headphones are: Lovers in Abyss by Release Hallucination Mother by Dessiderium Goku by ICDD The Sun, The Moon, The Star by Aether Realm those AFUL boxes in the bg 👀
I've always felt the best music to test IEM's with are the music you enjoy listening too, if the music you love sounds good with said IEM then the IEM passes my tests
My favorite tester track is Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman. I played this song live for 4 years in Jazz Band and have listened to the same recording for 10+ years. On really good IEM's like DUSK, the trumpets should never be so blaring it hurts and the timpani in the background should be clean. Micro details include the pads of the keys on the instruments clacking after the clarinet solo. The hi-hat will be a little spicy at times. The sousaphones during the muted trumpet section should sound fat with clear attacks. You should get good clarity throughout because the players are using good instruments with a lot of expression in the overtone series. Other shout outs I use include; -Star Wars - Duel of Fates: just a great track that tests soundstage because the song should sound big and epic -Britney Spears - Toxic: Very produced song with a lot of clean and interesting instruments used here, but also tests how sibilant a set might be. "With the taSte of your lipS I'm on a ride, your toXiC ComeS Slippin' under, with the taSte of a poiSon paradiSe" can all run a tad sharp. You should hear Cathy Dennis' vocals and be able to tell her apart from Spears pretty easily. I'll never get tired of this song what can I say. - Blackpink - Boombayah: It's popular AF and K-pop is easy to find, and it's incredibly well produced. That subbass should be pushing air into your ear canals. - Literally any Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree track. I listen to him religiously and the recordings are phenomenal.
Pink noise + sine sweep gang, let's gooooo! You can't call yourself a true audiofile, if you are listening to anything else! On a serious note - I have a Tidal playlist (so don't care where or from what to play, every showroom has Tidal, if I can't hook up my laptop) with songs of different genres I listen to and different mixing/mastering quality - from a shitty underground-ish to mind-blowing usage of space and perfect instruments balance. And I add new tracks from time to time, if I discover something with interesting feature (and not necessarily songs I like a lot). Like, ambient section which feels more real than reality, quirky tonal balance, deep bass drop, interesting drum filling with wide pan, insane dynamic range, subtle details, which easily disappear on a gear without certain traits.
I remember in the late 90's, and Bose, with their insanely curated little listening stations in big box stores. There's no telling how many dissatisfied customers took those little 2-inch speakers home and set them up as a home theater.
When I was young, my go-to song to play first with any new earphones or headphones was Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz because of that one "but it's all in your head" line. I only had access to the cheapest of the cheap, so my main concern was if the thing was even capable of stereo sound. I've found many horrible pairs over the years that either were locked to mono audio or, bizarrely, did have stereo but had two right or two left channels for some reason. To this day, I have no idea how manufacturers accomplished the latter.
"I Am The Doctor" from the Doctor Who soundtrack is what I always use. It has multiple sections that emphasize different ranges. Of course it also helps that I've played the song 1000 times before.
system check songs is what I was hoping to see pop up in the comments somewhere. crashtest dummies - god shuffled his feet John mayer - shot in the dark Dominic Miller - do you want me northlane - carbonized (if it's something heavier)
I know this sounds unlikely, but hear me out. *Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers - Prairie Dog Town* (Levitate 2009) It's a bright excelent recording and production. Mixes country, rock and massive drums. Very dynamic song in respect to loud and quiet sections. There's also some tasteful hiss from the mic. To judge bass response, I use *Diesel Power by The Prodigy*. The steady bass should tickle your left ear on beat 1 - it's mixed loud and panned left-ish, the snare hits harder on the right. It sort of physically tries to move your head left and right as the track motors on. Pun intended. Excelent breakbeat track, and now you know why the name fits it beautifully.
"Earth, Wind and Fire", is Fantastic to test... because of the multiple instruments and vocals, all playing at the same time. A lower grade Driver, cant maintain enough cone control... and will experience micro-distortions. This will cause the instruments and vocals to blend (muddy) into each other, rather than remaining Separate and well defined. Michael Jacksons early releases, such as Thriller, also have many instruments, and a high dynamic range. Dont fall for the Single (or very few) instrument demos... such as a single Acoustic Guitar playing. Soft, Slow, and Airy music like this, can sound Fantastic on almost Any speakers / headphones... because there isnt enough musical details to be able to Stress the drivers, and potentially distort, the music. Also, certain demos use special effects, to create an Artificial 3d effect... that only really works with that specific Track, and is specially tuned to their speakers. I believe Bose was famous for using specially optimized demo tracks, like that. Soft, Airy, not particularly detailed... and tuned to a specific range... likely with some added rapid 3d panning effects. Furthermore... you also want to test the speaker / headphones at all volume levels. Sometimes, a headphone / speaker can sound great at low to mid volume levels... but does not handle higher volume levels, anywhere near as well. The type of bass heard, can also be effected... depending on the volume levels. Ported speaker, for example... often sound "OK" at lower volume levels... but when you push them to loud levels... you really notice the Artificial sounding Bass, that is "Droning" and "Over-Exaggerated"... and might also even have "Port Noise" issues to boot (I prefer fully Sealed Speakers, or Passive Radiators. Ive yet to hear Open Baffle speakers, other than the mini satallite prototype speakers that I had made.. which sounded good for a quick "parts and pieces" experimental build). I do feel, like certain Audiophiles are a bit too stubborn, about not using any EQ in their systems. Ive found that every speaker Ive gotten my hands on... can sound MUCH better, with a little tweaking.. via EQ. I can boost the Bass levels to more Exciting and Dynamic levels. I can bring out some otherwise potentially Subdued highs. I can reduce some harsh mid-range. Sometimes, its the fault of the recording itself. Sometimes, you are compensating for the room absorptions. Sometimes, you are dialing in the sound tastes, specific to you Ear Shape + Sensitivities. And sometimes, you are pushing the drivers... on the very edge of potentially blowing them... getting the complete maximum potentials out of them.
Okay this might sound weird but I legit listen to the Tron: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk. Expertly mixed, insane dynamic range, with both the acoustics of a full-on symphony orchestra and the laser-like accuracy of fully digital music being crafted both together and separately throughout the entire soundtrack by two musical geniuses. Obviously preference is a huge factor and the soundtrack lacks certain things, I'm not saying it's perfect - but I've personally found it to be quite helpful in weeding out headphones that generally don't match my preferences Most importantly, I love the movie and love the soundtrack possibly even more so I've heard it soooo many times: familiarity is the final piece
Agree mostly although I do think some equipment will lend itself to certain genres in a very general sense eg. most electronic music will sound good on a system with strong sub bass because most electronic will have a kick drum with it's fundamental frequency in that area. Of course you can rebuke this but is generally true. Totally agree about your favourite songs being good references because even if a song sounds imperfect or flawed they are great things. Hell if one day you find out a song had a way bigger sense of depth than you ever thought because of a new system thats an awesome learning experience.
"Redrum" by Rise to Fall is probably still one of my gotos cuz the intro synth is just so, sharp (it has this sharp peak and deep base trough. idk how to describe. feels like your ears are getting scratched inside in a good way on good cans), that if it has the hint of muddiness in any headphone/iem (lack of distinction between the bass and highs) i know its just not resolving.
I have found that jazz songs in general just sound spectacular on god audio equipment and I always use jazz tracks to test new audio equipment. My go-to is The edge by David McCallum, it’s a stellar classic that just sounds amazing
I once got told that to do a comparison you need to make everything consistent and switch one thing. If you swap both the gear and song you basically will not be able to compare anything. So here's a pro tip: if you can't bring your song to the gear, bring your own gear instead to listen to the song they give you 😂
'Familiarity'? I FULLY AGREE! When trying out headphones & such, I try tracks ranging from:- - Lemon Jelly: 'In the Bath', 'King Ra'am', 'Ramblin' Man' - Dire Straights: 'Brothers in arms' (ORIGINAL '85 CD' & 'Private Investigations'/ (ORIGINAL 1982 CD), through to - Worakls: 'Porto'/'Nikki'/'Nocturne'/and more - Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major - Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 - 2nd Mvt These tracks I know VERY WELL, and so, playing this kind of selection helps me get a grasp of the full range of what the tested 'Listening gear' can really do for me... THAT'S the VITAL part... "What the gear can do for, ME", not what someone else poo poos or lauds over, as you've always said, it's mostly subjective... 😎🇬🇧
Best music is the one which you love and know dearly. I always start with a playlist tailor-made for that covering all my genres i listen to. Anyone want a new song to add to their list, check out this song that is a vocal, imaging and aoundstage marvel. It is called "In the Clouds" by Adomaa
My usual gear test songs and also my favorites songs are ,, 1. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal ( 2012 remaster ) 2. Gabriela Robin (yoko kanno) - Cats on Mars 3. Ruth Sahanaya - Keliru
Almost every Remaster Ive heard, has been highly compressed.. and sounds FAR inferior to the originals. If I were you, Id run the original song and the remaster, through a audio comparison program, to check and compare the dynamic ranges between the two. Id just about bet money, that the old version, is like double the dynamic range. Unfortunately, the Studios have been Infected by Eco-Radicals, and so they started compressing everything that came out of the Studios, since the 90s. Each passing year, they Upped the compression levels.. thinking that nobody would notice. I noticed it instantly, and stopped buying any CDs from that point forwards. I cant Stand "Flat" sounding compressed music.
@@johndough8115 had only that bad 25th anniversary cd album in rack , don't had the original .. i buy that because the discount are to much for original CD, 10$ in 2019 .. Had tried listening through Spotify back to back makes no big difference.. so i stick with what i had ..
I always use the same tracks to listen to new headphones, DSD256 versions of classical music that goes really loud to almost a whisper and has a lot of difficult sections. I find that pop and rock and rap is just too compressed these days. I also like testing with binaural audio tracks.
My testing songs are : The Pot - Tool Paint I, Black - The Rolling Stones California Love - 2PAC and, coincidentally... September - Earth Wind and Fire. Lol I know each of these songs like the back of my own hand and can pick up on the smallest differences between gear.
I would like to add, SubtractiveLAD The Deep & Lovely Quiet. Until I found this channel I would play that song, and every previous pair would peak out. Thanks you.
listen to kawaikutte gomen... if u can hear the lead guitar on entire song mean its good... if u can notice it from left or right mean ur audio equipment is mfking good....
Guys, I have a question: Is the size of the driver important in producing BASS, and why is there an IEM and headphones that can raise the BASS from the EQ, and you will feel a noticeable difference, and for some it does not make any difference and just becomes a muffled sound? Is it due to the quality of the driver or what?
E.g. in some smaller, simpler closed back headphones you can try putting some sponge inside the can in order to cancel any resonances in your plastic can so there will be less bass out of the box, but it will be lower when you boost it.
just recently pad rolled my TH900mk2's again with some "new" ZMF Pads and the Yaxi Alcantara's. And i've found a song for hardcore testing sibilance :D it's "weapon" from "Against the Current", i really enjoy their instrumental rhythms and especially chrissys voice in some of their recordings. but holy hell, those alcantara pads took her voice inside the chorus into the sharpest ssssibilance i've ever heard from my TH900's
The songs I test with Key Largo - Sarah Vaugh Staff Roll - Tekken Tag Tournament Liquid Love - Roy Ayers What the hell have I - Alice in Chains Anything - J Dilla Stretching - Art Blakey Remind me - Patrice Rushen Battlecry - Nujabes
I think the best way to test headphones is to listen to a lot of songs in different genres. For example my KEFINE KLANAR are perfect sounding in "Rammstein Sonne", but horrible (high frequency's in vocal hurt my ears) in "Rammstein Feuer frei!". Sonne is very technical and shows all the strength of kefine klanar, but it didn't show 8k peak wich destroys ears in feuer frei, so it's all relative. That's why you should test headphones in multiple different genres, especially more heavy one's.
I am not qualified to speak on audio quality, but one thing that I have realised is that GONE by NF might not work on everything. I don’t know the cause, but I think it might be because of the immediate switch in sound and instrument. It’s very distorted and you might think there’s something wrong with the streaming platform. It might go silent before it brings out the chaotic sound which actually has a very short slide into the high/rough part, but you’ll not hear the gradual shift if your choice of headphones are bad. Idk if that makes sense, but I have ADHD and autism with sensory overload 2.0 when it comes to sound, so I am still somewhat a good reviewer.
I just need something that makes the bassoon sound amazing all the time. 58hz-1200ish hz, plus prominent harmonics up to 4000+hz. So I just need something that plays, ya know, most of the perceptible frequencies
Agree with everything you said BUT since we're talking about picking out the tiniest of details and differences, I don't know how to ignore the importance of a particular (final) mastering of a song, I thought you'd mention it in the mixing/mastering section but you didn't. Just the big three you used - Hotel California, Billie Jean and September - have had DOZENS of different masterings and EQ curves applied to them. Granted, it appears you're referring to the Spotify version of all the songs, which just means the latest big-label remaster, but there's literally dozens of different sounding versions of those songs and I personally can even get obsessive enough to track down the best specific release of an album for a particular mastering that was done and most of the time it sounds wholly different than the Spotify version on any piece of gear.
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I my self, a extreme metalhead, usualy go to Queen - Live at wembly station - Radio ga ga. Then anything realy basey and heavy, your death metal for example. Something light, classical music is good for that. Some piano och closing with chip-tunes. This gives me the perspective I like.
I've always enjoyed listening to Kenji Kawai - Kugutsuuta Ura Mite Chiru... It's from the Ghost in The Shell: Innocence OST, to test any of my new equipment.
Downloaded tons of flac for "testing" purposes and I could say is they sound louder and can hear other instruments with my speakers , Saving money for a senny headphones at the moment
The song I know the most, is frgt/10 from the Reanimation album by Linkin Park. The sounds in the background are like soothing waves, it is the song I use to judge if the equipment I use will have the sound I want.
The best songs to test audio with will always be the ones you love most because you'll be able to pick up on the small differences.
fr
Agreed
Agreed.
the problem is you will focus on vibing with the song rather than actually listen to the sound lol (jk)
Good point
Brown note 10 hour loop
More like 10 hour poop
if you don't shit yourself then the iems are bad
@@ConfusedGeriatric and then a 10 hour scoop
Big agree on two points here.
1. Use music you're familiar with. A technical song you're not familiar with can make almost any headphone sound impressive. That said... it's worth having some technically-impressive music that you're familiar with. If all your familiar music is recorded in mono between 300 and 8,000 Hz, it's not gonna be very useful for evaluating headphones. To be honest, I really don't have room in my life for music that isn't technically competent, which means I don't listen to a lot of music I used to like before getting into audio. Dunno if that's a good thing most audiophiles should aspire to, but the quality of your music is definitely a limiting factor in the quality you extract from gear. But again, it only matters if it's music you're familiar with.
2. Genre-based recommendations are not that useful. The multitude of sub-genres is a good point, but I'll go one further and say that even within a specific artist, from album to album the mastering might differ significantly that if you're trying to optimize your equipment to the music, I'd pick different headphones. That said, I listen to a lot of genres and generally find that -- outside of poorly-produced albums -- my favorite headphones bring out the best of what I like in all genres so it's a bit of a moot point. Kinda comes back to point #1, if your music is well-produced you probably don't need to worry about finding headphones specialized for your particular music.
Genre based can have its uses. I know so many seta that suck with Metal. I mean really bad. But sets that are seen as merely okay are great for Metal. Metal is just harder to reproduce well.
@@DEFKNIGHT My library has Moonspell, Blind Guardian, Nightwish, Metallica, Deftones, Somali Yacht Club, Iron Maiden... The well-produced albums sound good on good-sounding headphones (Nightwish, Somali Yacht Club, some Metallica), the poorly-produced (Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden) don't sound great on anything. I don't know what people mean by these "headphones for metal" declarations.
@@SuperReviewwhat do you think of Chocolate chip trip as a test track?
@@SuperReviewheadphones for metal need to have lots of punch and slam.
there are many genres of music that aren't sub-bass heavy. if you only listen to these genres, then you can put much less weight on subbass performance and only optimize the frequency response elsewhere.
Perhaps the best music for testing headphones is the friends we made along the way
Just ask a friend to humm from 20hz over to 20k hz so you can test your headphone 10/10
I usually use the DOOM soundtrack to test headphones. It is harmonically dense, covers the whole frequency range, and it's punchy AF so you can really tell how well the headphones slam. But also I just really like it so it's quick and easy to pick out differences when swapping headphones. I can also pick out differences in the mids with heavily distorted guitars way better than with any other source.
Yeah.
"The Only Going They Fear is You"
in particular
@@---pp7tq the only one*
I just tried to find the doom soundtrack and multiple ones popped up. Which one do you recommend?
I can't believe the audio quality of September improved a lot over 3 months.
Now, the best song to test speakers with, especially in a shop with lots of people in it, is Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'.
It 100% has to be Scarlet Fire.
It's the only song that provides better results with worse earphones.
OOOOOOOOOH THEY'RE GETTING WARM
Otis McDonald ?
SCARLET! FIRE!
Maraca Cracker 4000 incoming
the music you usually listen to
he said that in the video. come back when you have an original thought
@@opus64kbps i commented before even watching the video because thats how obvious it is
I always test on Paranoid Android - Radiohead. I like the song + it has great production/panning/layering/range, goes through various styles + it's a 6 minute song, so it lets you get used to the sound of the headphones.
Well that’s good, i choose how dissapear completely
Crinacle, you've earned yourself a sub. I'm nowhere near an audiophile, but I do love anime girls, and I see that all of your packaging is riddled with them. Thank you for understanding us.
The best song is sine wave from tone generator. You can easily hear frequency response, channel unbalance, even distortions in some cases
Nina Simone - sinnerman is my go to song when trying out a new set of headphones, speakers, or iems. I’m listening for the hand claps, her vocal placement, the timbre of her piano. The snap of the percussion and the power of the standup bass.
NINA SIMONE, YES! I don’t use her music to test songs though, because I love it so much and only listen to it when enjoying. Great pick!
I had the opportunity to listen to my own tracks from my phone on Sen HE-1s at LTX last year.
Absolutely once in a lifetime experience.
as far as sennheiser goes, i bet it was a once in a lifetime dissapointment. their sound signatures is everything but good.
Of course it has to be HOTEL CALIFORNIA, but my usual go to is the 1976 vinyl version.
But of course, you're favourite song will always be the best benchmark.
unless your favorite song is from someone with the same quality as mayhem. if it was recorded with two tin cans and a string, it doesn't work
Lmao Crinacle just named 3 of the top 5 tracks I use to test speakers and headphones. Gotta love it.
7:19 rather than the range of the fundamental frequency on an instrument it actually is the range of the harmonics of the instrument that gives its character. I play bass for example and the highest fundamental note is something 400-ish but when setting my tone I try to dial some 0.7-2khz in while also trying to control the boominess at 100-300hz and harsh nasal sounds at 500-700hz and it goes all the way to 5k which gives the instrument its character with bass.
btw
1. when the resigntion came? I forgot I watched this channel
2. Peter Gabriel's So, RHCP's BSSM and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours are my favourites
3. You can also try to hear the white noise, literally noise of the mixing console, with older tracks at quieter parts to check the higher register
@@Cake_Doge Yeah, what I think Crin meant to say is, a refence song should have acoustic/analogue instruments, especially if you are really familiar with one or a few instruments and how they should sound. From a track that has clean piano you can possibly judge the main range of the equipment.
I generally hate horns, but some trumpet doesn't hurt to make sure I don't get too annoyed by the honk or sibilance. That's not technical listening, it's shopping for myself.
I always used something from Barry White. His low voice and the arrangements he used (strings brass drums) covered most of what you need for audio.
I'm not an Audiophile, but whenever I get new earbuds, IEM's, Headphones or speakers, I have a set of songs I ALWAYS listen to. It's usually Metallica, Michael Jackson, A few video game songs. Because I know the songs so well, I know how it sounds to a crazy degree, allowing me to more easily compare the speaker/headphone...etc.
We've been waiting for a video o' great Crin
No we don’t gay
crab rave ofc
fr
Also good to test speakers!
Darude Sandstorm
september is personally also one of my choices, the way you can hear all instruments seperately if you focus on them is crazy
my other two choices are:
bohemian rhapsody by queen, different styles, very fun to listen to
new slaves by kanye west, its just my favorite song
Nice video thanks.
Don't retire from reviews I need AFUL performers 5 & 8
For me personally, The BEST tracks that I used to test my Headphone, IEM or even Speakers, I always use Billie Jean - Michael Jackson, Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen, The Nights - Avicii, and also Sweet Child O Mine - Gun N Roses...
The absolute best test recording la 1:26 are records you are on, meaning you were on the session. But not afforded that opportunity I’d reach for recordings that always moved me, even on inferior gear, and see how they fare.
I am a simple man: I see crin post a video means I must watch the video.
Hope your future ventures will be great
Now that you wont doing iem reviews, I am curious as to what content your channel will focus on
Nightwish's Poet and the Pendulum (either the Decades release or the Wembley live version that was later compiled in an album), for several years now, has been my one-stop demo song. After that, I throw in random EDM, and I've more or less covered most of my collection.
September... Crin can't unhear the Bongoman!
he's in the kitchen to the right in the meze's
Do you remember.... XD
I always find the best test 'tracks' are youtube videos reviewing the product I just purchased so I can feel good about spending money I dont have.
I’m new to audiophile headphones and testing so I don’t really know what I am looking out for but so far this is what I personally use:
hallelujah- Jeff Buckley, it has an intense close vocal.
Headphones- bjork, I feel this song was designed to explore headphones which is so cool.
Nude- Radiohead, good production with a wide range
and svefn-g-englar by sigur rós, dynamic range is high with a brilliant full atmosphere,
One of the songs I'm most familiar with is Atlas Air by Massive Attack-I know very specific nuances in the distortion and texture and can instantly tell when they aren't coming through
I really like to test headphones with "Esa Noche" by Cafe Tacuba. Well separated and layered instruments, really pleasant listen on wide headphones. That whole album, Re, is a masterful display of instruments.
I would like to dig deeper into the mastering aspect. Some songs that I am very familiar with are mastered quite poorly, so it makes them hard to use as a test because the flaws are limiting the potential testing range. For example, I absolutely love "Don't Know Why" by Norah Jones and it is my most played (read: most familiar) track, BUT I can't use it for testing because I hear the compression issues in her voice (aspects sound crushed like 00:10 to 00:12, "I waited til I saw the sun" especially on "waited", or 00:21 to 00:23, "I left you by the house of fun" especially on "left").
So I'd like to open this up to the crowd here. What popular songs (for the sake of argument, should appear frequently on Top 100 lists) are generally considered well mastered AND are popular enough that they would be generally accessible on demo units (as Crin mentioned in the video, a higher likelihood of appearing on an exhibition set up)?
Anything from Steely Dan
I love anything from Billie Eilish. She's got so many styles and her brother, who I think does all of the producing and mixing for her, is imo a genius.
get the analogue productions remaster of that norah jones album, that should fix your major issue with it
Eminem - Without Me
Dr Dre - What's The Difference
I use quite a few from massive attack's discography (mainly protection and unfinished sympathy) and then a slew of older DnB tracks (ni-ten-ichi-ryu my beloved)
There's some other indie stuff mixed in, but it's basically just that. I've gotten to the point where all I need is the first 20sec of protection to tell if something is "good" or "bad"
As much as I love massive attack and think they always did great on the mix, it's just too artificial to judge equipment by it. They're pretty bright though, kind of like billie jean.
Natalie Cole - Mona Lisa (for testing vocal and see if the vocal can appear in eye-level)
Dvorak no.9 (for testing soundstage (test the depth of soundstage and width of soundstage, and off course the bass of the headphone)
Great advice I think. For me, it's about how the music you would normally listen to sounds - what's the point in Earth Wind & Fire sounding amazing if you mostly listen to death metal, grime or K-pop for example?
I second the whole point about working out how certain instruments sound too. I think this is why knowing the artists people listen to as opposed to the genres they listen to are useful to know for gear recommendations. I think another way to conceptualise it is to look at the strengths/capabilities of different types of gear/drivers too - if I know somebody listens to metal with really complex bass drum patterns and is after detail then I think planars are often the way to go for example.
Etched Headplate by Burial is really good for imaging, bass, and transient definition. Aja by Steely Dan is good for overall balance, and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes is excellent for mids. I use these to test monitors as well. Sine sweep and pink noise are also on the table when available, but they dont really tell you a lot about the transient response which i care about almost more than anything else as an engineer because it cant be corrected and i need to know what im feeding my compressors
I'm most familiar with the voices in my head. It's not very technical but I use them to test every headphone. They are the reason why I had to buy everything I test.
To sum up the first part of the vid from a science point of view:
- You need to isolate variables
- You can only test one variable at a time
- Listening to unfamiliar music introduces a second variable, therefore muddying your results in an already subjective hobby.
My test song for audio equipment is Post Mortem by God Is an Astronaut.
If headphones/IEMs make drums at 0:35 sound like mush then it's bad headphones.
10:15 I was always under the impression that Steely Dan's Aja held this role. Was surprised it didn't even get mentioned here.
I've always used violin songs. Because I used to play and that's what I listen to. Eternal eclipse cloak and dagger is my benchmark of choice. I actually find your 7Hz Diokos perfect for listening to it. Thank you for the excellent video as always
Great pick of songs, Hotel California is my go to song too and sometimes combined with Toto - I Will Remember
September is actually my go to as well! I haven't ever used the December recording, though; I'm not very familiar with it. I feel like the small differences might trip me up lol.
my favourite songs for comparing headphones are:
Lovers in Abyss by Release Hallucination
Mother by Dessiderium
Goku by ICDD
The Sun, The Moon, The Star by Aether Realm
those AFUL boxes in the bg 👀
This guy rhythm games
Classical referece: Tim Stoney Wood Carving partita, it is an arrangement from Castlevania SOTN - you're welcome.
I was so feeling not nice with what you said in the first 4 seconds... And still, thank you 😆
I've always felt the best music to test IEM's with are the music you enjoy listening too, if the music you love sounds good with said IEM then the IEM passes my tests
My favorite tester track is Sing Sing Sing by Benny Goodman. I played this song live for 4 years in Jazz Band and have listened to the same recording for 10+ years. On really good IEM's like DUSK, the trumpets should never be so blaring it hurts and the timpani in the background should be clean. Micro details include the pads of the keys on the instruments clacking after the clarinet solo. The hi-hat will be a little spicy at times. The sousaphones during the muted trumpet section should sound fat with clear attacks. You should get good clarity throughout because the players are using good instruments with a lot of expression in the overtone series.
Other shout outs I use include;
-Star Wars - Duel of Fates: just a great track that tests soundstage because the song should sound big and epic
-Britney Spears - Toxic: Very produced song with a lot of clean and interesting instruments used here, but also tests how sibilant a set might be. "With the taSte of your lipS I'm on a ride, your toXiC ComeS Slippin' under, with the taSte of a poiSon paradiSe" can all run a tad sharp. You should hear Cathy Dennis' vocals and be able to tell her apart from Spears pretty easily. I'll never get tired of this song what can I say.
- Blackpink - Boombayah: It's popular AF and K-pop is easy to find, and it's incredibly well produced. That subbass should be pushing air into your ear canals.
- Literally any Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree track. I listen to him religiously and the recordings are phenomenal.
I like using Take Five, Africa, Can You Hear The Music, He's A Pirate, Davy Jones, No Time To Die, and Hotel California
Pink noise + sine sweep gang, let's gooooo! You can't call yourself a true audiofile, if you are listening to anything else!
On a serious note - I have a Tidal playlist (so don't care where or from what to play, every showroom has Tidal, if I can't hook up my laptop) with songs of different genres I listen to and different mixing/mastering quality - from a shitty underground-ish to mind-blowing usage of space and perfect instruments balance.
And I add new tracks from time to time, if I discover something with interesting feature (and not necessarily songs I like a lot). Like, ambient section which feels more real than reality, quirky tonal balance, deep bass drop, interesting drum filling with wide pan, insane dynamic range, subtle details, which easily disappear on a gear without certain traits.
My top 3 songs for demoing any sound systems: Hotel California (Live); Dreams by Fleetwood Mac; I’m on fire by Bruce Springsteen.
I remember in the late 90's, and Bose, with their insanely curated little listening stations in big box stores. There's no telling how many dissatisfied customers took those little 2-inch speakers home and set them up as a home theater.
When I was young, my go-to song to play first with any new earphones or headphones was Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz because of that one "but it's all in your head" line. I only had access to the cheapest of the cheap, so my main concern was if the thing was even capable of stereo sound. I've found many horrible pairs over the years that either were locked to mono audio or, bizarrely, did have stereo but had two right or two left channels for some reason. To this day, I have no idea how manufacturers accomplished the latter.
"I Am The Doctor" from the Doctor Who soundtrack is what I always use. It has multiple sections that emphasize different ranges. Of course it also helps that I've played the song 1000 times before.
Would love your old mandarin playlist
I have retired from IEM reviews 😐😐😐
Wait what
Why
When
The first line is a shocker 😔
That's very sad... I always looked for the best IEM reviews here
Crin also refers to technical evaluation as what he does in the video--like in the present. So maybe his retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be.
I mean, why stick to reviews, if he now works with a couple of companies to actually make them better?
Great video! Can't help but notice the stack of Aful's on the counter. Maybe a... down the road?
As a touring audio tech, I use:
The Game Of Love - Daft Punk
Besame Mucho - Andrea Bocelli
Herald Of The Change - Hans Zimmer
Jambi - Tool
system check songs is what I was hoping to see pop up in the comments somewhere.
crashtest dummies - god shuffled his feet
John mayer - shot in the dark
Dominic Miller - do you want me
northlane - carbonized (if it's something heavier)
I know this sounds unlikely, but hear me out. *Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers - Prairie Dog Town* (Levitate 2009)
It's a bright excelent recording and production. Mixes country, rock and massive drums. Very dynamic song in respect to loud and quiet sections. There's also some tasteful hiss from the mic.
To judge bass response, I use *Diesel Power by The Prodigy*. The steady bass should tickle your left ear on beat 1 - it's mixed loud and panned left-ish, the snare hits harder on the right. It sort of physically tries to move your head left and right as the track motors on. Pun intended. Excelent breakbeat track, and now you know why the name fits it beautifully.
Agree, Diesel Power is so good👌
When did u retire??
EXACTLY MY QUESTION TOO?!?!?!
You retired from iem reviews? :' (
"Earth, Wind and Fire", is Fantastic to test... because of the multiple instruments and vocals, all playing at the same time. A lower grade Driver, cant maintain enough cone control... and will experience micro-distortions. This will cause the instruments and vocals to blend (muddy) into each other, rather than remaining Separate and well defined.
Michael Jacksons early releases, such as Thriller, also have many instruments, and a high dynamic range.
Dont fall for the Single (or very few) instrument demos... such as a single Acoustic Guitar playing. Soft, Slow, and Airy music like this, can sound Fantastic on almost Any speakers / headphones... because there isnt enough musical details to be able to Stress the drivers, and potentially distort, the music.
Also, certain demos use special effects, to create an Artificial 3d effect... that only really works with that specific Track, and is specially tuned to their speakers. I believe Bose was famous for using specially optimized demo tracks, like that. Soft, Airy, not particularly detailed... and tuned to a specific range... likely with some added rapid 3d panning effects.
Furthermore... you also want to test the speaker / headphones at all volume levels. Sometimes, a headphone / speaker can sound great at low to mid volume levels... but does not handle higher volume levels, anywhere near as well. The type of bass heard, can also be effected... depending on the volume levels. Ported speaker, for example... often sound "OK" at lower volume levels... but when you push them to loud levels... you really notice the Artificial sounding Bass, that is "Droning" and "Over-Exaggerated"... and might also even have "Port Noise" issues to boot (I prefer fully Sealed Speakers, or Passive Radiators. Ive yet to hear Open Baffle speakers, other than the mini satallite prototype speakers that I had made.. which sounded good for a quick "parts and pieces" experimental build).
I do feel, like certain Audiophiles are a bit too stubborn, about not using any EQ in their systems. Ive found that every speaker Ive gotten my hands on... can sound MUCH better, with a little tweaking.. via EQ. I can boost the Bass levels to more Exciting and Dynamic levels. I can bring out some otherwise potentially Subdued highs. I can reduce some harsh mid-range. Sometimes, its the fault of the recording itself. Sometimes, you are compensating for the room absorptions. Sometimes, you are dialing in the sound tastes, specific to you Ear Shape + Sensitivities. And sometimes, you are pushing the drivers... on the very edge of potentially blowing them... getting the complete maximum potentials out of them.
This is the first time i am hearing of your retirement X_X ohhnoe
Okay this might sound weird but I legit listen to the Tron: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk. Expertly mixed, insane dynamic range, with both the acoustics of a full-on symphony orchestra and the laser-like accuracy of fully digital music being crafted both together and separately throughout the entire soundtrack by two musical geniuses. Obviously preference is a huge factor and the soundtrack lacks certain things, I'm not saying it's perfect - but I've personally found it to be quite helpful in weeding out headphones that generally don't match my preferences
Most importantly, I love the movie and love the soundtrack possibly even more so I've heard it soooo many times: familiarity is the final piece
I also like Tron legacy OST for testing my speakers and Headphones. Try out Blade Runner 2049😉👌
For me its the Cardas Sweep LP.
Love that tune.
Agree mostly although I do think some equipment will lend itself to certain genres in a very general sense eg. most electronic music will sound good on a system with strong sub bass because most electronic will have a kick drum with it's fundamental frequency in that area. Of course you can rebuke this but is generally true. Totally agree about your favourite songs being good references because even if a song sounds imperfect or flawed they are great things. Hell if one day you find out a song had a way bigger sense of depth than you ever thought because of a new system thats an awesome learning experience.
"Redrum" by Rise to Fall is probably still one of my gotos cuz the intro synth is just so, sharp (it has this sharp peak and deep base trough. idk how to describe. feels like your ears are getting scratched inside in a good way on good cans), that if it has the hint of muddiness in any headphone/iem (lack of distinction between the bass and highs) i know its just not resolving.
melodeath is such a layered genre in general that i find it really good for evaluating how good headphones are at separation.
I have found that jazz songs in general just sound spectacular on god audio equipment and I always use jazz tracks to test new audio equipment. My go-to is The edge by David McCallum, it’s a stellar classic that just sounds amazing
I use Morcheeba “gimme your love” for tonality and Amon Tobin “foley room” for technicality. Because i know every millisecond of them
I find the whole Foley Room album too bright at times, but I love it so much...
bro i know it's too much to ask, but, can you please share the lighting setup of your room? the video looks warm and aesthetic.
"old mandarin chinese songs" ahh, time to relieve that scene from Internal Affairs
I once got told that to do a comparison you need to make everything consistent and switch one thing. If you swap both the gear and song you basically will not be able to compare anything. So here's a pro tip: if you can't bring your song to the gear, bring your own gear instead to listen to the song they give you 😂
'Familiarity'? I FULLY AGREE! When trying out headphones & such, I try tracks ranging from:-
- Lemon Jelly: 'In the Bath', 'King Ra'am', 'Ramblin' Man'
- Dire Straights: 'Brothers in arms' (ORIGINAL '85 CD' & 'Private Investigations'/ (ORIGINAL 1982 CD),
through to
- Worakls: 'Porto'/'Nikki'/'Nocturne'/and more
- Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
- Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 - 2nd Mvt
These tracks I know VERY WELL, and so, playing this kind of selection helps me get a grasp of the full range of what the tested 'Listening gear' can really do for me... THAT'S the VITAL part... "What the gear can do for, ME", not what someone else poo poos or lauds over, as you've always said, it's mostly subjective...
😎🇬🇧
Worakls: 'Porto'/'Nikki'/'Nocturne'/and more
great suggestion
Best music is the one which you love and know dearly.
I always start with a playlist tailor-made for that covering all my genres i listen to.
Anyone want a new song to add to their list, check out this song that is a vocal, imaging and aoundstage marvel.
It is called "In the Clouds" by Adomaa
My usual gear test songs and also my favorites songs are ,,
1. Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal ( 2012 remaster )
2. Gabriela Robin (yoko kanno) - Cats on Mars
3. Ruth Sahanaya - Keliru
Almost every Remaster Ive heard, has been highly compressed.. and sounds FAR inferior to the originals. If I were you, Id run the original song and the remaster, through a audio comparison program, to check and compare the dynamic ranges between the two. Id just about bet money, that the old version, is like double the dynamic range.
Unfortunately, the Studios have been Infected by Eco-Radicals, and so they started compressing everything that came out of the Studios, since the 90s. Each passing year, they Upped the compression levels.. thinking that nobody would notice. I noticed it instantly, and stopped buying any CDs from that point forwards. I cant Stand "Flat" sounding compressed music.
@@johndough8115 had only that bad 25th anniversary cd album in rack , don't had the original .. i buy that because the discount are to much for original CD, 10$ in 2019 ..
Had tried listening through Spotify back to back makes no big difference.. so i stick with what i had ..
I always use the same tracks to listen to new headphones, DSD256 versions of classical music that goes really loud to almost a whisper and has a lot of difficult sections.
I find that pop and rock and rap is just too compressed these days.
I also like testing with binaural audio tracks.
Pink noise and sine sweep, got you!
in my opinion, Angel by Massive Attack is great for testing. Very dynamic, high highs and low lows.
YES, such great points. We ARE learning ( at least). Probably the BEST advice bar none. Just superior information.
My testing songs are :
The Pot - Tool
Paint I, Black - The Rolling Stones
California Love - 2PAC
and, coincidentally...
September - Earth Wind and Fire. Lol
I know each of these songs like the back of my own hand and can pick up on the smallest differences between gear.
I would like to add, SubtractiveLAD The Deep & Lovely Quiet. Until I found this channel I would play that song, and every previous pair would peak out. Thanks you.
My song for testing audio equipment is Elysium and Now we are free by Hans Zimmerman, the theme song of the best movie ever made - Gladiator
listen to kawaikutte gomen... if u can hear the lead guitar on entire song mean its good... if u can notice it from left or right mean ur audio equipment is mfking good....
Guys, I have a question: Is the size of the driver important in producing BASS, and why is there an IEM and headphones that can raise the BASS from the EQ, and you will feel a noticeable difference, and for some it does not make any difference and just becomes a muffled sound? Is it due to the quality of the driver or what?
Yes
E.g. in some smaller, simpler closed back headphones you can try putting some sponge inside the can in order to cancel any resonances in your plastic can so there will be less bass out of the box, but it will be lower when you boost it.
just recently pad rolled my TH900mk2's again with some "new" ZMF Pads and the Yaxi Alcantara's. And i've found a song for hardcore testing sibilance :D it's "weapon" from "Against the Current", i really enjoy their instrumental rhythms and especially chrissys voice in some of their recordings. but holy hell, those alcantara pads took her voice inside the chorus into the sharpest ssssibilance i've ever heard from my TH900's
The songs I test with
Key Largo - Sarah Vaugh
Staff Roll - Tekken Tag Tournament
Liquid Love - Roy Ayers
What the hell have I - Alice in Chains
Anything - J Dilla
Stretching - Art Blakey
Remind me - Patrice Rushen
Battlecry - Nujabes
You had me at nujabes
I'm stealing that Crin and making a TShirt out of it: FAMILIARITY > TECHNICALITY
You retired from IEM reviews? I was looking forward to more...
I think the best way to test headphones is to listen to a lot of songs in different genres. For example my KEFINE KLANAR are perfect sounding in "Rammstein Sonne", but horrible (high frequency's in vocal hurt my ears) in "Rammstein Feuer frei!". Sonne is very technical and shows all the strength of kefine klanar, but it didn't show 8k peak wich destroys ears in feuer frei, so it's all relative.
That's why you should test headphones in multiple different genres, especially more heavy one's.
I am not qualified to speak on audio quality, but one thing that I have realised is that GONE by NF might not work on everything. I don’t know the cause, but I think it might be because of the immediate switch in sound and instrument. It’s very distorted and you might think there’s something wrong with the streaming platform. It might go silent before it brings out the chaotic sound which actually has a very short slide into the high/rough part, but you’ll not hear the gradual shift if your choice of headphones are bad. Idk if that makes sense, but I have ADHD and autism with sensory overload 2.0 when it comes to sound, so I am still somewhat a good reviewer.
I just need something that makes the bassoon sound amazing all the time. 58hz-1200ish hz, plus prominent harmonics up to 4000+hz. So I just need something that plays, ya know, most of the perceptible frequencies
Agree with everything you said BUT since we're talking about picking out the tiniest of details and differences, I don't know how to ignore the importance of a particular (final) mastering of a song, I thought you'd mention it in the mixing/mastering section but you didn't. Just the big three you used - Hotel California, Billie Jean and September - have had DOZENS of different masterings and EQ curves applied to them. Granted, it appears you're referring to the Spotify version of all the songs, which just means the latest big-label remaster, but there's literally dozens of different sounding versions of those songs and I personally can even get obsessive enough to track down the best specific release of an album for a particular mastering that was done and most of the time it sounds wholly different than the Spotify version on any piece of gear.
I my self, a extreme metalhead, usualy go to Queen - Live at wembly station - Radio ga ga. Then anything realy basey and heavy, your death metal for example. Something light, classical music is good for that. Some piano och closing with chip-tunes. This gives me the perspective I like.
I've always enjoyed listening to Kenji Kawai - Kugutsuuta Ura Mite Chiru... It's from the Ghost in The Shell: Innocence OST, to test any of my new equipment.
Surprising I never thought of using "Hotel California" for testing.
My go-to songs are usually "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Billie Jean".
Downloaded tons of flac for "testing" purposes and I could say is they sound louder and can hear other instruments with my speakers , Saving money for a senny headphones at the moment
The song I know the most, is frgt/10 from the Reanimation album by Linkin Park. The sounds in the background are like soothing waves, it is the song I use to judge if the equipment I use will have the sound I want.
Funnily enough your thumbnail strikes true for me because whenever I wanna test any audio equipment I use Billie Jean and Beat It