Dispatches, thoughts, and miscellanea from writer Jon Konrath

CD test list

I’m thinking of sinking an insane amount of money into some new stereo hardware. I really want a pair of Magnepan speakers, and I really want a Crown amp. I don’t think panel speakers will sound too good with Entombed, but they’d sound great with this new Pat Metheny CD, or some Shadowfax or something. So I’m coming up with a list of all-purpose test CDs I could use while auditioning new gear. They all have to be familiar, but exhibit some weird quality I’d need to test. I think the list is something like this:

  • Motorhead – 1916
  • Chick Corea Electric Band – Under the Mask
  • Pat Metheny Group – Imaginary Day
  • Peter Gabriel – Us
  • Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey
  • Death is Just the Beginning II comp.
  • Dismember – Indecent and Obscene
  • Brahms – Piano Concertos (complete) (Philips)
  • Frank Zappa – Civilization Phaze Three
  • Frank Zappa – The Yellow Shark
  • Frank Zappa – One Size Fits All (Au20)
  • Joe Satriani – Crystal Planet
  • Shadowfax – Folksongs for a Nuclear Village
  • the digital domain test disc
  • the Holophonics test disc

I think with those CDs, I could find new speakers that didn’t suck, or at least piss off the sales clerks.

It’s a beautiful day out, I’ve got a twenty in my pocket – what the fuck am I doing writing on here?