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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: Protato_Tubby on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:30:57

Title: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:30:57: What music do you use for testing headphones? Is there a standard set?
I tend to just listen to the first five pieces thrown up on shuffle by clementine.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: katushkin on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:33:05: The best music would be what you are going to listen to the most. No point listening to rap music on them if you are only going to be listening to metal.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: hwood34 on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:35:29: Quote from: katushkin on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:33:05
The best music would be what you are going to listen to the most. No point listening to rap music on them if you are only going to be listening to metal.
This. Beyond that just try and find something that has the best recording quality so the only variable is headphone quality
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:41:47: Quote from: hwood34 on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:35:29
Quote from: katushkin on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:33:05
The best music would be what you are going to listen to the most. No point listening to rap music on them if you are only going to be listening to metal.
This. Beyond that just try and find something that has the best recording quality so the only variable is headphone quality
Quote from: katushkin on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:33:05
The best music would be what you are going to listen to the most. No point listening to rap music on them if you are only going to be listening to metal.

Well, I only have the music I've bought on Clementine. So it is the stuff I listen to.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: fohat.digs on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:43:18: Listen to something simple and clean. Pure and unaccompanied so that you can really hear it.

Solo instruments, both high and low.

Only if you are satisfied with the clean sound would you move on to complex stuff to see if it can handle intermodulation.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Grim Fandango on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:53:38: Quote from: katushkin on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:33:05
The best music would be what you are going to listen to the most. No point listening to rap music on them if you are only going to be listening to metal.

I think this answer makes a lot of sense. Also different headsets are good at different things.

For example, there is music that really allows you to get a feel for the headphone's "sound-stage". I know people throw it around like it is a vague concept. But what it means is that you get a feel for distance, location and depth of sound. That is something that is really obvious when you hear it. Other music will test how the headphones deal with bass. I use these as examples because there are a lot of heaphones that excel in one of these and not in the other. Whether the characteristics of a headphone works for you depends on what you want it to do.

Just play the music you know and see how much you like how it sounds. Additionally, try a variety of genres. Do not look for anything in particular, just try and get a feel for how a headphone sounds.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: katushkin on Tue, 16 December 2014, 17:08:26: Quote from: Grim Fandango on Tue, 16 December 2014, 16:53:38
Just play the music you know and see how much you like how it sounds. Additionally, try a variety of genres. Do not look for anything in particular, just try and get a feel for how a headphone sounds.

I like this as a development of my point.

Take a piece of music you have listened to a lot. One you know. One you've listened to so many times that you know all the lyrics, know all the layers to it and listen to it on your new cans. Then you will know if it sounds good. If you can hear bit's you've never heard before, then even better.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Grim Fandango on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:28:50: Also, do not use crappy MP3's with a low kbps and such. But that should be obvious. You might not be able to tell the difference in the compression and quality of the file with crappy hardware. But as soon as you upgrade, it becomes painfully obvious.

I only say this because I gave my girlfriend a good pair of headphones, and she made this mistake. Defeating the purpose of having a nice set of cans. Though typically, the files you buy and download nowadays are of much better quality.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: FrostyToast on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:33:33: Choose ****ty music.
If the ****ty music sounds good, then the headphones must be quality. :p

btw, if you need terrible music, I can give you my playlist. It's embarrassing. :-[
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: tp4tissue on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:11:00: Quote from: FrostyToast on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:33:33
Choose ****ty music.
If the ****ty music sounds good, then the headphones must be quality. :p

btw, if you need terrible music, I can give you my playlist. It's embarrassing. :-[

LOLOLOLOL

show us the list.. (http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/payup-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862514)
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: rowdy on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:12:49: Apparently Bohemian Rhapsody has a good set of highs and lows for this kind of thing.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Thu, 18 December 2014, 10:09:22: Quote from: rowdy on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:12:49
Apparently Bohemian Rhapsody has a good set of highs and lows for this kind of thing.
Honestly, I'm not surprised.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: FrostyToast on Thu, 18 December 2014, 10:26:33: Quote from: tp4tissue on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:11:00
Quote from: FrostyToast on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:33:33
Choose ****ty music.
If the ****ty music sounds good, then the headphones must be quality. :p

btw, if you need terrible music, I can give you my playlist. It's embarrassing. :-[

LOLOLOLOL

show us the list..
Show Image
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/payup-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862514)

FrostyToast's Headphone Testing Playlist (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iggpk0upmakaae0/AACyk-dpmCSSWO0YYZ0r83ona?dl=0)
There are some songs that still need to be uploaded, I'll get to that.
You can also test if your tastes are terrible. If you use mediocre headphones and like the songs, then you have ****ty tastes.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: IPT on Thu, 18 December 2014, 10:40:52: for me personally i use FLAC file of 1812 overture for my burn-in.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: tp4tissue on Thu, 18 December 2014, 13:37:41: Ya'll are actually looking at PRECISELY where the Hi-Fi claims fall apart..

This void of non-descript performance where 99% of the people buying Expensive-Hi-Fi don't have the equipment to measure..
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: tp4tissue on Thu, 18 December 2014, 14:24:32: Quote from: FrostyToast on Thu, 18 December 2014, 10:26:33
Quote from: tp4tissue on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:11:00
Quote from: FrostyToast on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:33:33
Choose ****ty music.
If the ****ty music sounds good, then the headphones must be quality. :p

btw, if you need terrible music, I can give you my playlist. It's embarrassing. :-[

LOLOLOLOL

show us the list..
Show Image
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/payup-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862514)

FrostyToast's Headphone Testing Playlist (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iggpk0upmakaae0/AACyk-dpmCSSWO0YYZ0r83ona?dl=0)
There are some songs that still need to be uploaded, I'll get to that.
You can also test if your tastes are terrible. If you use mediocre headphones and like the songs, then you have ****ty tastes.

Other than the tailor swift, which I'm assuming is a Sexual thing, rather than a musical thing..

I don't see anything that's too embarrasing.. (http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/robot-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862517)
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: FrostyToast on Thu, 18 December 2014, 14:26:55: Quote from: tp4tissue on Thu, 18 December 2014, 14:24:32
Quote from: FrostyToast on Thu, 18 December 2014, 10:26:33
Quote from: tp4tissue on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:11:00
Quote from: FrostyToast on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:33:33
Choose ****ty music.
If the ****ty music sounds good, then the headphones must be quality. :p

btw, if you need terrible music, I can give you my playlist. It's embarrassing. :-[

LOLOLOLOL

show us the list..
Show Image
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/payup-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862514)

FrostyToast's Headphone Testing Playlist (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iggpk0upmakaae0/AACyk-dpmCSSWO0YYZ0r83ona?dl=0)
There are some songs that still need to be uploaded, I'll get to that.
You can also test if your tastes are terrible. If you use mediocre headphones and like the songs, then you have ****ty tastes.

Other than the tailor swift, which I'm assuming is a Sexual thing, rather than a musical thing..

I don't see anything that's too embarrasing..
Show Image
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/robot-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862517)

Oh no, T Swift is my jam.
Smash mouth? Skip that bologna.
Swift? I scan for that ****.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: HoffmanMyster on Thu, 18 December 2014, 14:34:01: Quote from: rowdy on Wed, 17 December 2014, 17:12:49
Apparently Bohemian Rhapsody has a good set of highs and lows for this kind of thing.

Also, Dire Straits is commonly recommended for this sort of thing. But obviously you should be familiar with the music you choose, as others have mentioned. But if you're choosing within a chunk of music you know, stuff that's mastered well is a better option.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Thu, 18 December 2014, 15:47:57: Quote from: IPT on Thu, 18 December 2014, 10:40:52
for me personally i use FLAC file of 1812 overture for my burn-in.
I WANT TO FEEEEEEEEEL THE CANONS.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: ezrahilyer on Thu, 18 December 2014, 16:19:34: For me I always listen to: Farewell by Apocalyptica in as high of a bitrate as I can get. It is one of the most amazing pieces of music I know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBroYj_Qv0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eBroYj_Qv0) (youtube low-bitrate version)
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: DrHubblePhD on Thu, 18 December 2014, 16:43:31: The best by far is dr. Cheskey's binaural recordings, really test the ability of your headphones across many genres and sound stages!
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Thu, 18 December 2014, 16:46:33: Possibly the best peice I've ever listened to is the theme from Schindler's List.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorGotjeLjM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorGotjeLjM)
I had to write an 8 mark appraisal of it i(well, an exerpt) n my GCSE Music "Listening to and appraising music" mock.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: IPT on Fri, 19 December 2014, 10:14:48: Quote from: Protato_Tubby on Thu, 18 December 2014, 16:46:33
Possibly the best peice I've ever listened to is the theme from Schindler's List.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorGotjeLjM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorGotjeLjM)
I had to write an 8 mark appraisal of it i(well, an exerpt) n my GCSE Music "Listening to and appraising music" mock.

Oh, anything FLAC from John Williams is good option.
I play the John Williams soundtrack collection frequently.
you know what im talking about with the cannons!!!!
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Fri, 19 December 2014, 15:49:38: Quote from: IPT on Fri, 19 December 2014, 10:14:48
Quote from: Protato_Tubby on Thu, 18 December 2014, 16:46:33
Possibly the best peice I've ever listened to is the theme from Schindler's List.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorGotjeLjM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VorGotjeLjM)
I had to write an 8 mark appraisal of it i(well, an exerpt) n my GCSE Music "Listening to and appraising music" mock.

Oh, anything FLAC from John Williams is good option.
I play the John Williams soundtrack collection frequently.
you know what im talking about with the cannons!!!!
The cannons, and the extra brass section to really make it load. As a Tuba player, I am very much fine with this.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: PointyFox on Fri, 19 December 2014, 16:05:40: Here's what I use:

Sibilance: New Order - True Faith
Timbre: Crimson Pirates (instruments), Blackmore's Night, Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (album)
Bass: Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (album), Acoustic Alchemy, rap/pop, 1812 Overture (the one with the sound warning on it)
Harmonic distortion: Acoustic Alchemy, Prong
Soundstage: Crimson Pirates
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Protato_Tubby on Sat, 20 December 2014, 06:33:47: Whelp, here's my music collection. I started when Tobuscus was cool - so that might explain a bit.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bx7rrL61BCS0RHRjOG5RSUxlUjQ&usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Bx7rrL61BCS0RHRjOG5RSUxlUjQ&usp=sharing)
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: viskin on Mon, 05 January 2015, 15:15:36: Dark Side of the Moon: Pink Floyd :) listen to the sounds you wouldn't be able to hear with ordinary headphones.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: Will@Drop on Tue, 06 January 2015, 12:09:22: For a track to be good headphone testing material, it has to have a wide dynamic range and top quality mastering. Finding well mastered records is easy but requires some googling.

For records with good dynamic range, check the dynamic range database: http://dr.loudness-war.info/

My go-to test track has been Steely Dan's "Reeling In The Years" since '08 for it's dynamic range and boss mastering.

Hope this is useful.
Title: Re: Music for testing headphones?
Post by: GL1TCH3D on Wed, 07 January 2015, 08:29:32: First I find the pieces of music in my regular library that have the best mastering quality.
This allows me have a consistent piece that I know very well and I'll know exactly how it should sound.
As others have mentioned earlier, each set of headphones will handle some genres better than others.
One of the best examples of this in my experience is the Audio technica W3000ANV which is a special edition headphone that audio technica released for the high end market years back. I personally owned these headphones and they were extremely unique in a good and bad way. They were slow headphones but had one of the most natural sounds. If you were only going to listen to slow piano pieces and instrumentals and such it would be fantastic. As soon as you play a rock piece on it, you were in for some disappointment. It couldn't really keep up. They also had some midbass emphasis which would further make it hard for rock music if you wanted to listen to everything in the rock piece. (Hopefully I got that point accross properly)
For that reason it's good to have some various pieces that test specific characteristics of the headphones.
Maybe you'll consider a rock or metal piece to test the speed of the headphones if you don't listen to fast songs often. Maybe a cello piece to listen to the texturing and layering of the bass. Orchestral pieces to test the soundstage, resolution, separation and imaging. etc.

Hope this helps!