Demo Disc....

Jeff Buckley's 'Grace'.

Or Miles Davis' 'Sketches Of Spain'.

These, plus a few others, helped me to choose my Naim system seven years ago (and, shortly afterwards, Grahams HiFi started touting 'Grace' as a hi-fi classic, which may just have been a coincidence).

Graham

I change them regularly, but can always go back to a previous "demo disc" which is fun if there have been changes since the last one.

At the moment I'm using "Separate Ways" by Teddy Thompson, "Aerial" (disc 2) by Kate Bush, the remastered "Late for the Sky" by Jackson Browne and Sir Thomas Beecham's Scherazade.

Regards,

Steve.

A disc I've always given a spin when weighing up a potential buy is "California" by Mr.Bungle.
Never fails to put a smile on my face with good equipment. Never fails to put a smile on the face of the salesman sitting in on the demo, either. (Or maybe that was the chime of the cash register that followed shortly after?)

Power Windows by Rush. Not only is it tuned in with how my brain likes it's (rock) music dished up, it's a complex recording which sounds like a dog's breakfast unless the system can get a good grip on it. It’s remarkable how this recording can swing from harsh and splashy to spacious, natural sounding and well staged, depending on what it’s being played on. It’s a bit weird really. There are about 12 disks that we use for demo/audition. In the real world one wouldn't be enough to fully appreciate the strengths of weaknesses of a system or component.

Cheers

Harry

quote:

Originally posted by graham55:
Jeff Buckley's 'Grace'.

Or Miles Davis' 'Sketches Of Spain'.

These, plus a few others, helped me to choose my Naim system seven years ago (and, shortly afterwards, Grahams HiFi started touting 'Grace' as a hi-fi classic, which may just have been a coincidence).

Graham

'Grace' was one of the albums I brought with me on my first Naim-demo, and one of the records that convinced me to go forward with a purchase. Naim really managed to show the feeling of the record. Didn't know it was considered as a hi-fi classic.

I have a problem with the whole 'demo disc' thing, really, because I think it encourages aduio nervosa tendencies; ie, you 'expect' to hear certain things, and are straining to catch them instead of getting a holistic view of the music.

When auditioning, I tend to take along the CDs nearest the top of the pile, and mix in whatever listenable the shop has (ie not noodling jazz-rock). So last time, it was Nick Drake, Hendrix, and Haydn, plenty varied enough to give an idea of how the kit in question would cope with (most of) what was likely to be thrown at it.

quote:

Nearly used it on saturday to listen to 555PS on a CDX2!!

Surely, a CDX2/555PS doesn't really need a special demo disc.

I've been using a CDX/555PS and it plays wonderful on anything I put on!

Anyway..

I used to have a set of demo discs.
But these days, I just grab the one on a heavy rotation if I have to pick just one which varies.

quote:

Originally posted by JoeH:
I have a problem with the whole 'demo disc' thing, really, because I think it encourages aduio nervosa tendencies; ie, you 'expect' to hear certain things, and are straining to catch them instead of getting a holistic view of the music.

There’s a danger of that but I think I’ve managed to keep an open mind about how my favourites are portrayed – or should that be an open ear? Over the years the sound balance of some of my favourites has tipped over with each click of the upgrade ratchet – sometimes subtly, sometimes not. If I don’t hear something I’m expecting to hear or hear something I wasn’t expecting the question’s is this an improvement? Stuff I loved in the 70s and 80s which I thought was well recorded has in some cases turned out to be rather rough, whereas other “difficult” recordings have just been waiting for the opportunity of showing me what they’re really about. Power Windows is a case in point. I can remember sitting politely through hours and hours of dealer’s favourites of disks picked at random off a shelf in the shop which turned out, to be blunt, essentially a waste of time.

The system that now lurks in the lounge has taken it a stage further. Whilst it can tick most of the Hi Fi boxes and show detail and separation where there was previously none, something’s happened to the music. It’s emerged. Come out of hiding. The last year has been a real ear opener and for my preferences, I could not have made the jumps without relying heavily on “standard” favourites which I knew (or at least thought I knew) backwards.

Insert subjectivity disclaimer here.

Cheers

Harry

Surely it pays to take recordings you are familiar with? Whether you call them "demo" discs is a moot point.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Steve S1:
Surely it pays to take recordings you are familiar with? Whether you call them "demo" discs is a moot point.

Spot on.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve S1:
Surely it pays to take recordings you are familiar with? Whether you call them "demo" discs is a moot point.

I agree, but then I'm familiar with hundreds of records! What I'm arguing against is the use of a particular two or three records that you know almost note for note for every demo, as there's a danger of not hearing the wood for the trees, so to speak. And IMO one of the signs of a good system/piece of equipment is that it should be capable of handling music from any genre, rather than favouring one over all the others.

I normally take a couple of discs that I'm currently "into" and playing regularly.

With dealers playing you CDs there is scope for misleading results if you don't check you are comparing like with like.

If someone offers to play a disc that you are familiar with, say Rumours for example, and it turns out to be the remaster of the one you own.....you'll be impressed alright.