After reading the forum on "The Ultimate Track for B&O". I decided to take it upon myself to compile some tracks based on suggestions from the forum. I came up with a list and burnt 12 Track CD.

01 Angel - Sarah Mclachlan

02 Diminuendo In Blue And Crescendo In Blue (Live) - Duke Ellington

03 Dreams - Fleetwood Mac (Rumours)

04 Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Jeff Beck

05 Heal Over - K T Tunstall

06 Hotel California - Eagles (From Hell Freezes Over)

07 Money - Pink Floyd (From Dark Side Of The Moon)

08 Morning Bell - Radiohead

09 Sparks - Röyksopp

10 Take me Home - Phil Collins (Live) 

11 Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack

12 You Make Lovin' Fun - Fleetwood Mac (Rumours)

   I just a got a hold of a Beosystem 2300/Beolab 2500 Speakers, not one of the more expensive B&O. After listening to all the tracks on my system, I've concluded that this is a very good compilation to impress the non-believers on the sound quality of the B&O speakers. I have a "Bose" surround system and I use to think that there was nothing better sounding than "Bose". I stand corrected, the true love of my life now is my B&O. By the way, I tried the same CD on my "Bose" system, I have a 7.1 surround sound system. I felt pretty upset because I paid over $2000. CDN. The sound quality on my $500. CDN B&O is far better than anything I've heard in over 29 years of going from one system to another.

    I'd like to share this compilation with other people in Beoworld. perhaps I can send one to the UK via post and then the person who receives it copies it and sends to one other person and so on... Sounds crazy... Remember we are all adult men who are passionate about our "Toys". Consider it like a chain letter...Anyone up for it????

You have PM.

Sorry, What do you mean PM (Post Master?)

Dear All:

 

A very nice list.  Perhaps you would like to send to your neighbor down south in Michigan, USA?  Would Peter like to post the tracks for download?  There may be some legal issues with the latter.  

Whatever happened to sharing your bought music for no-profit with friends?

 

Thanks for the list & initiative.

Dario 

Hi Andro,

PM means personal massage.

I´ll also send You a PM.

Great idea with this demo CD.

Regards

beorebels

 Hi André, interesting!

Could you give an indication of what it is each track is supposed to reveal - what we're supposed to listen for?

The best  Test-CD I've ever come across is No. 3 from Burmester:

 

Selections:
1. A Time For Love - Melissa Walker -- Female voice, good perspective and "depth" - intimacy and detail in voice.

2. Paganini's Sonata Concertata - Gil Shaham -- demanding work with violin and guitar. Fingerwork, details, placement of instruments.

3. Early One Morning - John Lee Hooker  -- Rhythm, timing of instruments, hall, male voice "at distance", drum accompaniment

4. It's The Talk Of The Town - Bennie Wallace -- intimate saxophone, details in voicing of instrument, overtones, electrical guitar details

5. Sonata in G-Dur - Rossini  -- chamber orchestra intimacy and detailing, placement of instruments, no strings moving about ...

6. The Planet - Hans Theesink -- gritty, supergritty male voice close miked, details, chorus definition with male lead singer

7. Allegro Molto - Rimsky-Korsakov  -- full orchestra piece, details and dynamics

8. Orgelwerke von Bach - Hans-Jurgen Schnoor -- low bass precision and projection, definition of church space

9. Stimela - Hugh Masekela  -- backing chorus details, timing of instruments, voice qualities, live audience participation

10. Poem Of Chinese Drums - Yim Hok-Man  -- sheer percussion cussedness. Timing of loudspeaker elements

There will indeed be a problem (cetainly we shouldn't condone illegal copying and distribution of music on site). Having said that, well done for compiling the list - it allows others to obtain the tracks legally, either from CD or from online download sites such as Amazon, iTunes etc. In fact, in iTunes, you can publish an iMix which groups all the tracks in an album style, making it easy for those who may want to download it. As an example here is the LINK to a Beoworld Compilation iMix from last September - Sorry, you can't view it if you don't have iTunes.

A picture showing the result is shown below

 

 

Sorry to be boring but I have to post this. Beoworld cannot condone any illegal copying or distribution of copyright material.

What members do off site is clearly up to them though - this includes personal massaging! 

Puncher beat me to it!

Peter :

Puncher beat me to it!

That's probably the first time

As I Said, I compiled the selection based on the original post "Ultimate Track For B&O". I am not a professional that can pinpoint what each track reveals. Just finding these songs going through my collection was work enough. Your asking for a bit much...Sorry

Peter,

     What was I thinking...I'm sorry. I didn't think of the legality of it. I thought that I would just be sharing with other members my own findings..We''ll stay out of trouble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter :

What members do off site is clearly up to them though - this includes personal massaging! 

Gosh - not only are we offering musical ideas, but massages? What a site! - I'll have a neck and shoulders please..

Lee

 

PS - A rarer than rare event of a typo by Peter.. i couldn't let that go..  

PPS - Andro, some really good tracks on there that sound great on B&O !!! 

9 LEE:

Peter :

What members do off site is clearly up to them though - this includes personal massaging! 

 

 

PS - A rarer than rare event of a typo by Peter.. i couldn't let that go..  

 

 

Indeed, very rare.

Or maybe it wasn't a typo

Will send you a "massage" later Peter when I am homeward bound.

All these personal massage services, and none of it coming my way!  What the heck is my gold membership for!?!?! 

The whole thing is a useless exercise. Myself included, tracks nominated will be those which have been listened to often enough to have an opinion on their suitability to be included. These will be by artists whose music you like to listen to!

A certain piece of orchestral music, opera or country may be a fantastically dynamic recording but if that's not the type of music you ever listen to then it won't appear on your list. If I only listened to Gilbert & Sullivan, then my list would consist of their songs only. Meaningless.

All we are getting therefore is a list an individuals' favourites. 

 

hint: the "personal massage" is coming from "north of germany."

kokomo:

The whole thing is a useless exercise. Myself included, tracks nominated will be those which have been listened to often enough to have an opinion on their suitability to be included. These will be by artists whose music you like to listen to!

A certain piece of orchestral music, opera or country may be a fantastically dynamic recording but if that's not the type of music you ever listen to then it won't appear on your list. If I only listened to Gilbert & Sullivan, then my list would consist of their songs only. Meaningless.

All we are getting therefore is a list an individuals' favourites. 

 

I know where you're coming from, but this is a bit harsh. After all, you don't have to get involved if you don't want to!

kokomo:

The whole thing is a useless exercise....

All we are getting therefore is a list an individuals' favourites. 

 

I will also disagree with your analysis here....  Some of our members are long-time audiophiles...some are industry professionals, and many are 'just' Kool-Aid® drinking fans of the company.  Whatever...this exercise benefits those with less experience in the field by offering starting points.  So, I'll answer another question about my choices here as well:

In my case, the first track I mentioned'O-Zone/Jazz Variants' is one which I listen to exclusivly when testing/demo-ing speakers.  The track is over 10 minutes long, and one needs to listen until at least the 1:50 mark to get the full effect...and NEVER listen to the BeoLab 5's first.   The track will reveal a startling level of detail in the imaging, staging and presence of the instruments...in fact on a pair of BL-5's in a quiet room, you can actually hear the AC compressor in the recording studio.  Then at about 1:30-1:50 the 5's really get a chance to show off.  Be ready to play through at least to 3:00 or so, and note that even while the big drums are dusting your room, that startling level of detail is still there.  Have the volume UP before you press GO.

Phil Collins "Take Me Home" from the 'Finally' DVD, much the same, but in 5.1 (Play the DTS track, and have it UP first), in a well balanced, properly matched surround system, your ears will discern what your eyes see, there are 2 drummers flailing away on either side of a percussionist, and even at concert volume you can easily pick out what each is contributing to the song.  Let the song continue into the proper intro to Take Me Home and note the clean detail around the continuing percussion, the clean guitar, and the rest of the band as it builds.

KT Tunstall's 'Heal Over' is far different from the other two.  It starts out with just 'a girl and her guitar', very simple, with just a touch of reverb on her voice.  By the second (1:03) verse we get a sparse, simple, almost plaintive 2-part harmony which persists.  To this point you can demo ANY BeoLab you want, I love my 6000's on this track...but at 2:55 the rest of the band very softly blows the soundstage wide open...not big, not bombastic, but very broad.  This is when the 'new' BeoLabs, the 3/9/5, separate themselves from the old.

The KT Tunstall is the only one of the three I ever listen to in my car.  And both of the audio tracks break my cardinal rule for in-store demo...they take far too long to get to the "Oh...wow!" moment.  They are all, however, great for serious auditioning.  If someoe strolls into a B&O shop and says "I've heard a lot about your stuff, why are you better?" you really ought to be able to make your point in :30 or less.  Otherwise you lose their attention.

How do you deal with that?  Stephen Curtis Chapman 'Speechless' track 1 "Dive" played on a BeoSound 1, or BeoLab 3's.  Watch for dropping jaws.

Russ

 

 

9 LEE:

Peter :

What members do off site is clearly up to them though - this includes personal massaging! 

Gosh - not only are we offering musical ideas, but massages? What a site! - I'll have a neck and shoulders please..

Lee

 

PS - A rarer than rare event of a typo by Peter.. i couldn't let that go..  

PPS - Andro, some really good tracks on there that sound great on B&O !!! 

Actually not a typo - a reference to a previous typo! 

Peter :

9 LEE:

Peter :

What members do off site is clearly up to them though - this includes personal massaging! 

Gosh - not only are we offering musical ideas, but massages? What a site! - I'll have a neck and shoulders please..

Lee

 

PS - A rarer than rare event of a typo by Peter.. i couldn't let that go..  

PPS - Andro, some really good tracks on there that sound great on B&O !!! 

Actually not a typo - a reference to a previous typo! 

The quest for a Peter typo goes on then... drat..

 

Kokomo,

     I'm a bit offended by your comments. All I was trying to do was start something that I thought would make members more involved with each other. To top it off, you had to say it 3 times. My rule is, if I read a posting and I have nothing nice to say...Then I just keep my opinions to myself. Do you realize how much work was involved in what I did?...I hope in the future you're more carefull with your comments.

 

Thanks for nothing,

Andro

Compilation albums always will be the choice of one person or sometimes a committee but I rather like them. It often means I listen to music that I am not aware of or have not listened to for years. Sometimes it means I skip some tracks after the first time but don't be put off. And I apologise to all those having to listen to Roger Waters droning through Amused to Death!

Kokomo,my friend.
The list of tracks that Andro has kindly put together, were not his own choices, but gathered together from other Beoworld members in the highly successful thread started by Earle called "The ultimate track for B&O"

Andro is one of our newest members, and like you, a valued member. I hope he is not scared off by your comments.

Andy T.

I really enjoyed the list that Andro put together, and have already made some musical discoveries that would otherwise probably have continued to go unnoticed. (There's so much out there!)

The Tunstall track is brilliant and I had missed Beck's Pork Pie Hat -- both very good tracks.

And Puncher's comments about the Phil Collins selection will have me seek that out - I'm particularly fond of live acoustic recordings, feel there's nothing better at conveying a system's ability to convey place and music.