Test Tracks
Here a few (but not all) tracks I use for evaluating earphones – with explanations:
The Housemartins — Build (remastered; from the album “Soup”): bass extension in the first 20 seconds and cymbals timbre all through the track.
The Beautiful South — Everybody’s Talkin’ (remastered; from the album “Soup”): timbre/warmth, richness, definition, depth, and intimacy of the female voice.
Matt Bianco — Matteo (from “Joyride”): bass extension in the first 10 seconds and vocals reproduction thereafter.
Sade — Smooth Operator (from “Diamond Life”): bass quantity and speed, and cymbals timbre.
Diana Krall — Boy From Ipanema (from “Quiet Nights”): vocals timbre, imaging, and (after 1:50 for 30 seconds) cymbals timbre, treble resolution, and transients.
Sons of Kemet — My Queen is Ada Eastman (from “Your Queen Is A Reptile”): transients, depth of soundstage, clarity, timbre of brass instruments.
Fleetwood Mac — Dreams (from “Rumours”): bass quantity/attack/decay, vocals timbre/definition/intimacy, depth of soundstage.
Jethro Tull — Hunting Girl (from “Songs From The Wood): flute timbre and treble resolution.
Queen — Another One Bites The Dust (remastered; from “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Soundtrack): bass dynamics/attack/decay, firmness and shape of vocals.
Queen — Bohemian Rhapsody, Live At Wembley (from “Bohemian Rhapsody” Soundtrack): depth of soundstage/sense of space, instrument separation.
They Might Be Giants — The Communists Have The Music (from “My Murdered Remains”): bass quantity and attack/decay.
Cowboy Junkies — Sweet Jane (from “The Trinity Sessions, remastered”): three-dimensionality of soundstage, vocals.
Toto — Africa (from: Greatest Hits — 40 Trips Around The Sun): drums at the beginning to test bass quantity and speed. Refrain after a good minute for identifying shouty 3kHz peaks that may congest the image and artificially inflate vocals.
Toto — 99 (from: Greatest Hits — 40 Trips Around The Sun): bass dosage and balance between bass, mids, and treble after bass-reduction modding…it reveals shouty/screamy higher vocals.
Joy Division — Atmosphere (from: The Best of Joy Division): bass, depth of stage, three-dimensionality, clarity.
The Smiths — Frankly, Mr. Shankly (from: The Queen is Dead, 2017 Remaster): bass attack and decay, transients, vocals.
Peter Fij & Terry Bickers — We Are Millionaires (from: ” We Are Millionaires”): three-dimensionality, intimacy of voices.
David Byrne — I Zimbra/Every Day Is A Miracle (Live from Kings Theatre, September 2018; from “American Utopia – Deluxe Edition”): soundstage, congestion at busy instrumentations from upper midrange peak(s).
Patricia Petibon — Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen (W.A. Mozart, “Die Zauberflöte”; from “Amoureuses”): orchestral and vocal timbre, treble extension of coloratura soprano.
Louis Spohr — Nonet in F, Op.31 – 1. Allegro (from “Spohr: Octet and Nonet” by the Gaudier Ensemble): timbre of orchestral instruments, layering and instrument separation, (micro) detail, treble extension, instrument placement and soundstage.
Albrecht Mayer & King’s Singers — Abends wenn ich schlafen geh (Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel; from “Vocalise”): treble resolution of oboe, timbre, vocal separation, detail resolution, layering.
Steven Isserlis, Dénes Várjon — Chopin Cello Sonata in G minor, Op 65 – 4: Finale: Allegro (from “Chopin: Cello Sonata; Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata”): timbre, bass realism, transients, separation, layering.
London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Prévin — Symphony in F sharp, Op.40 – II. Scherzo: Allegro molto – Trio (from “Korngold – Symphony; Much Ado About Nothing”): orchestral dynamics, timbre, layering, separation, transients.
Johnny Strauss I — Radetzky-Marsch Op. 228 (Wiener Philharmoniker & Christian Thielemann; from “New Year’s Concert 2019”): soundstage, orchestral timbre, instrument separation, layering.
Heinz Rudolf Kunze & Herman van Veen — In aller Herren Länder (from “Ich bin”): separation of the two voices.
Hildegard Knef — Herr Kalecke an der Ecke (from “17 Millimeter”): (bass) temperature, vocal intimacy and definition, timbre.
Konstantin Wecker — Anna R. Chie (from “Sage Nein!”): drums attack, male voice definition and intimacy.
Götz Alsmann — Carina (from “In Rom”): bass dosage, voice definition and intimacy.