Try a variety of musical styles when evaluating audio equipment

There are actually no rules involved when listening to audio equipment to evaluate its quality and performance.

Published on October 10, 2007

Try a variety of musical styles when evaluating audio equipment

Wijit Boonchoo

Generally, a variety of musical styles from pop and jazz to classical music is essential when evaluating the performance of similar pieces of equipment, such as loudspeakers. This will reveal the major differences between different pieces of equipment, allowing you to choose that which is best for your needs.

However, knowing what sounds good and what does not is not that easy. Most people will be able to tell the difference between great and poor sound, but they might not know why the difference exists. You need significant practice in listening to music.

It is best to start your musical listening with songs accompanied by just a few instruments, like pop or jazz, before jumping into more complicated pieces using many musical instruments, such as classical music.

Normally, when I critically analyse an audio system, I prefer to listen to pop, jazz and classical music, in that order. From jazz to modern or fusion jazz, the goal is to discover the liveliness of the audio system, and this relies mostly on its loudspeakers.

Many speakers tend to offer plain sound with a limited amount of bass. Others offer a lot of bass but they are no good for rock music because they lack tight bass notes and distinct realism. As you listen to more musical styles, your ears will become attuned to a strong frame of reference that tells you if a particular system has the sound qualities you need.

There is one classical CD that I recommend for evaluation of sound systems: "Master of Classical Music Vol 2: Beethoven". "The Violin Romance" track, in particular, offers a variety of musical instruments, as well as violin groups and solos. It is packed with techniques that will help you train your listening skills. It will focus your attention on intervals and notes.

The precision of soundstage and images are among the main features of this disc, and the violin tracks keep things interesting. Ultimately, it will teach you why one loudspeaker system is better than the rest.

As well as listening for precision of soundstage and images, perfect musical progressions and transparent singing voices are important as well. You should be looking for certain audiophile discs equipped with helpful singing tracks from Louis Armstrong, Whitney Houston, Jim Reeves and Rickie Lee Jones. You should quickly grasp the musical intervals that allow you to meditate on tonality. For a good system, the tonality of Armstrong's gravelly voice should not feel jarring, but rather smooth and effortless. A great audio system should convey and control the tonality of Rickie Lee Jones' naughty voice. There should be no feeling of intensity or harshness; the voice should be open, high and controllable.

When it comes to evaluating and selecting an audio system, listening to a variety of song styles is the best way. Listen to all styles, not just the ones you like, because the music will upgrade your listening experience. Remember: let the music tell you how well or how badly a stereo system replays the material.

By Wijit Boonchoo