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Audiophile songs you're sick of

The problem with so called audiophile discs is that they are often dull affairs and there are relatively limited occasions when the recording matches the performance.When I used to listen to equipment in hifi shops I always took my own music just to avoid Lambchop and Tracey Chapman which was enough to put me off any new equipment.
 
I really like a few of Youn Sun Nah’s output and the recording quality is usually excellent. The cover of Song of No Regrets is a particular favourite.
 
Mr Pig said:
When I reluctantly bought my first CD player I took the Hanson album Middle of nowhere, I think it's called. Guy just looked at me and I said 'I don't want a CD player that can only play your nice demo crap. I want a player that can work on stuff like this'.
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Exactly.
 
Del monaco said:
The problem with so called audiophile discs is that they are often dull affairs and there are relatively limited occasions when the recording matches the performance.When I used to listen to equipment in hifi shops I always took my own music just to avoid Lambchop and Tracey Chapman which was enough to put me off any new equipment.
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What's wrong with Lambchop?! I'd never put them in the category of audiophile discs! ;)

I walked out of an LP12 demo at a dealer in Leeds because he wanted to play Fairground Attraction instead of the Henry Rollins Band and Fall albums I'd taken. My perception, based on going to shows recently-ish is it's got worse with DK, Norah Jones et-al.
 
Eugene said:
What's wrong with Lambchop?! I'd never put them in the category of audiophile discs! ;)

I walked out of an LP12 demo at a dealer in Leeds because he wanted to play Fairground Attraction instead of the Henry Rollins Band and Fall albums I'd taken. My perception, based on going to shows recently-ish is it's got worse with DK, Norah Jones et-al.
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There was a time when Is a Woman was always lying around in hifi shops.
 
My wife bought me Jim Smith’s set up book a few years ago. He had a more varied list of test discs at the back and some were quite nice.
 
Just shows you how relatively few of the well-known records were actually produced to high standards that shops always had the Dire Straits albums or DSotM that became so cliched. The word audophile is horrible because it suggests that there's an excuse for much of the substandard output that was so common.
 
There is a definite few that will have me heading away when at a show - the inevitable "Keith Dont go' 'Hotel California' and The Coal Train (Stimela).
I get that are well recorded (well, two of them are) but hearing them so, so many times has just worn off any desire to sit through them once again.
London grammar are pretty much there as well now for me.
It's not like there is a dearth of stuff to show off kit, just a little imagination is needed at times.
 
I find Steely Dan's "Black Cow" to be a great test track. My audiophile buddy asked me to stop using it when he was with me, because he didn't want it to become an instinctive microscope piece. He wanted to save it to just enjoy, without falling into a state of analytical paroxysm. :D

Yes, there are some tracks (like Diana Krall's "All or Nothing at All") that have become tropes, but I actually find these useful. They are benchmarks that I know very well, so that I can retain a modicum of objectivity during my auditions.
 
Del monaco said:
There was a time when Is a Woman was always lying around in hifi shops.
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Fair enough - well-produced but quite dreary so understand why it'd fit in.

Darko is quite vocal on the subject of hifi demo music as he likes a bit of techno/electro. He posted a "Darko Bingo" pic on Instagram with a load of the usual suspects to avoid on it (DK/NJ/Davis/Coltrane/Dire Straits, etc.) that's a good starting point!
 
The very worst one I heard was £100K plus Dartzeel system playing some plinky plonky japanese xylaphone music, it was the legend (in his own mind) Branko in charge of the room, he refused to play requests. When he left the room we asked his number 2 to play some Mercury Rev. Branko came back and nearly blew a gasket, he took the bloke to the side of the room and bollacked him. I'd rather listen to a Crossley than buy anything from him.

There's also that drum track by Yello that people use to show off the bass of their speakers, it nearly made me physically sick through a pair of Tannoy Westminsters.

Cheers BB
 
Eugene said:
Fair enough - well-produced but quite dreary so understand why it'd fit in.

Darko is quite vocal on the subject of hifi demo music as he likes a bit of techno/electro. He posted a "Darko Bingo" pic on Instagram with a load of the usual suspects to avoid on it (DK/NJ/Davis/Coltrane/Dire Straits, etc.) that's a good starting point!
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Not a big electro fan though I do like some Depeche Mode and James Blake on occasion. I find Darko quite sensible.
 
Eugene said:
Fair enough - well-produced but quite dreary so understand why it'd fit in.

Darko is quite vocal on the subject of hifi demo music as he likes a bit of techno/electro. He posted a "Darko Bingo" pic on Instagram with a load of the usual suspects to avoid on it (DK/NJ/Davis/Coltrane/Dire Straits, etc.) that's a good starting point!
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Yep, I saw the bingo poster yesterday and thought it quite humorous .
I assume most of this stuff is played at shows and demo's? That would explain why I've never heard the most of it.
 
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