What songs would you use to test a sound system?

[Oshino Shinobu]

Okay, so long story short; I turn 21 in about a month and I'm going to be looking for a new car. I expect to have this car for a fairly long time, and plan on putting a fair bit of money into it (aftermarket parts) to get it how I want it. The initial cost of the car is a lot to being with, even used, so I want to make sure I'm getting one that is good spec and in good condition. I like music, so the sound system is fairly important.

 

I was wondering if anyone knows of some good songs to pick out issues with the sound system, so something with a good range. Or even just songs that you personally use to test audio systems.

 

I have a few songs in mind, but would like some input and suggestions for ones to try. I normally listen to EDM, but I occasionally go back to my rock/metal days. 

 

Some of the ones I plan on using (a variety, and songs I know very well).

 

(Good range and one I know)

 

(I know this song extremely well)

 

(Again, a song I know very well + Freddie and Bowie)

 

(Ones to test the bass of the system)

 

For those interested, I'm planning on buying a 2008 BMW E92 335i (The twin turbo N54 engine)

 

EDIT: Youtube kills the quality of audio. I have higher quality files of all of the songs on my computer. 

[flibberdipper]

I use Sound Barrier ft. Feather (seems to make subs go mad), Hotline Bling (same as before), Again from Fetty (actually made overvolt protection kick on with this lol), and then You Know You Like It (AlunaGeorge) because I just like it and it has decent lows.

[KemoKa]

Lightning Strikes by Yes, I find, is a very good test of pretty much everything in an upbeat progressive rock style.

Now you've made me want to listen to it. Dammit. Back to my years as a diehard Yes fanboy.

[That_Random_Guy]

maybe Stephen Swartz -- Bullet Train (Feat. Joni Fatora)

 

also i like that car

[Oshino Shinobu]

I use Sound Barrier ft. Feather (seems to make subs go mad), Hotline Bling (same as before), Again from Fetty (actually made overvolt protection kick on with this lol), and then You Know You Like It (AlunaGeorge) because I just like it and it has decent lows.

I can see how that first one would affect the subs within the first minute. I'll avoid Hotline Bling, just because I hate it I'll check out the others, cheers. 

 

 

 

 

also i like that car

 

I started off looking at the 320i, but kept moving up the 3 series until I settled on the 335i. Partially because of the awesome N54 engine and the amount of aftermarket parts available for the car. 

[KemoKa]

Come to think of it, pretty much any of the more off-the-beaten-path Yes songs are pretty good all-round tests for sound systems. Union has a lot of good 'uns.

[Nonco]

Deadmaus - Strobe is good for tests

[Curufinwe_wins]

Not youtube... Cause audio... but Hotel California is a timeless favorite for that application.

 

I would personally recommend My Immortal and The Heart of Everything to really test its range.

[trag1c]

Foreplay / Long time by Boston. Good mix of everything.

[brownninja97]

i generally use BRYNHILDR IN THE DARKNESS -EJECTRO Extended-

 

The song pretty much covers every type of music i listen to, there is the drmatic, the electronic, the wtf acid trip for 15 seconds, the epic, the rock and the im going to get shit done tone which i seriously cant explain. 

 

[Jacona]

I usually like to test with Blu-Swing albums. 

[Oshino Shinobu]

Not youtube... Cause audio... but Hotel California is a timeless favorite for that application.

 

I would personally recommend My Immortal and The Heart of Everything to really test its range.

I've heard of Hotel California being used a lot. Hell, Sennheiser used it with their $50,000 headphones. 

[Aniallation]

I'm exactly the same way haha, and I switch between different cars so much it becomes really annoying to me when the sound system sounds drastically worse going from one to another.

 

Here's some songs I usually use, as they do a good job of letting me hear how well the sound system covers the frequency range that's actually important to me, I'm not a person who's into giant subwoofers. And I keep it on a regular audio CD (not an MP3 CD, for both compatibility reasons across different cars and for compression reasons)

 

 

 

 

 

Generally, I find slower music to be a better sound comparison than fast-paced music like a lot of EDM seems to be.

 

If you do want to test how overkill subs will be though, this is a classic for that

 

[Curufinwe_wins]

I've heard of Hotel California being used a lot. Hell, Sennheiser used it with their $50,000 headphones. 

It's overused... But people have heard it so much the standard is very accepted.

 

Too many  people let distortions creep into the highs imho hence my recommendation of my immortal along with Within Temptation's work (Hand of Sorrow works well also) which hits those extremes well.

[Oshino Shinobu]

 

 

Generally, I find slower music to be a better sound comparison than fast-paced music like a lot of EDM seems to be.

I have a variety of EDM songs. Some are faster, while some are very slow. I plan on basically having a full day with the car before I buy it, so I've got plenty of time to try a variety of music. I've heard good things about the sound system in the E90-93 range of 3 series, which is partially why I want to test it. 

 

I'd probably use something from Jacoo for slow EDM.

 

[Aniallation]

It's overused... But people have heard it so much the standard is very accepted.

 

Too many  people let distortions creep into the highs imho hence my recommendation of my immortal along with Within Temptation's work (Hand of Sorrow works well also) which hits those extremes well.

+1 for My Immortal as well, great song for mids to highs

[Aniallation]

I have a variety of EDM songs. Some are faster, while some are very slow. I plan on basically having a full day with the car before I buy it, so I've got plenty of time to try a variety of music. I've heard good things about the sound system in the E90-93 range of 3 series, which is partially why I want to test it. 

I haven't tried E90-93, but the H/K system in the E46 I had for a bit wasn't that great for my music, the bass sounded too muddy. I can see it being really good for hip-hop and whatnot though.

[Oshino Shinobu]

It's overused... But people have heard it so much the standard is very accepted.

 

Too many  people let distortions creep into the highs imho hence my recommendation of my immortal along with Within Temptation's work (Hand of Sorrow works well also) which hits those extremes well.

 

 

+1 for My Immortal as well, great song for mids to highs

Ah, the nostalgia of My Immortal. I guess it's a good test in multiple senses as I know it fairly well. 

[KemoKa]

I would suggest - even if you're not into this sort of thing - playing some really big, grandiose organ music. Ones where the player has all the stops pulled out and is pumping away at all the different audio levels. And then try other, less massive, booming organ music. Just an idea.

[Ryoutarou97]

Tank by the Seatbelts/Yoko Kanno and "THE HERO!!" (with two exclamation points?) by JAM Project because I happen to have pretty good quality (and loud. Don't forget lod.) versions downloaded. Looking around, the only decent quality things I might have for higher pitch would be Cirno's Perfect Math Class by IOSYS and Ren'ai circulation, though I have sworn off listening to that because I had set it on repeat and my friends got mad at me for humming it.

[Interfectorem]

I would try Revolution by Diplo to test out the bass personally. Also, I very much envy your car.

[SuicideAnomaly]

It's overused... But people have heard it so much the standard is very accepted.

 

Too many  people let distortions creep into the highs imho hence my recommendation of my immortal along with Within Temptation's work (Hand of Sorrow works well also) which hits those extremes well.

Every time I hear it, I can't help but think of The Dude, and his disdain for them.

[Curufinwe_wins]

Every time I hear it, I can't help but think of The Dude, and his disdain for them.

Lol. I mean it's a great song, but....

[SSL]

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Muse - Supermassive Black Hole

Muse - The Groove

Two Steps From Hell - Love and Loss

Thomas Bergersen - Starvation

Frederic Chopin - Etude Op. 25, No. 5 in E minor (Murray Perahia)

Dubba Jonny - Home

J.S. Bach - Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582 (Michael Murray)

J.S. Bach - Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor: Prelude (Yo Yo Ma)

Arvo Pärt - Alina

Arvo Pärt - De Profundis

 

And probably some others that I can't remember at the moment.

[SSL]

Also, the soundtrack to Princes Mononoke (Joe Hisaishi). Some subterranean bass in there, below 30Hz in many places. Excellent for testing a sound system with serious subwoofer performance.