Taking The Speakers For A Test Drive

A couple of months ago I went to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for a talk on Springsteen with my good buddy Matt from addictedtovinyl.com. Sitting in the hall for the couple of hours I was there, what stuck with me most wasn’t the great history of Springsteen’s career, but “man I need to upgrade my sound system”


Now I’ve been wanting to change up my audio system for awhile but just been putting it off, because simply it is a pain in the ass.


The problem is 1. When you try out speakers in an audio store, nothing ever sounds as good as it does at the store. 2. Most speakers can sound great with certain types of music but get lost with others. 3. The biggest hassle, the salesman who thinks he knows what you like more than you do. So how do you get around these problems?

First I make them move the speakers from their acoustically perfect sound room and move them in the general show room. This way the acoustics are closer to what I would hear when I bring them home. Second I bring my own CD (or vinyl at a really, really good store!) to test drive the speakers. This also eliminates problem #3 as the salesman is virtually eliminated and I can listen to the speakers in peace.


I don’t want to hear just any song or album to test drive the speakers. I want to hear certain parts of songs. The parts that are real genius, the parts that make your hair stand up on your arm. It’s that parts that make you love the music as a whole.


So what are the song parts needed to test drive the speakers.


First I want to try out a couple of my favorite songs just to get a feel of the speakers.
There’s No Way Out Of Here (David Gilmour) – Tough song for a speaker to reproduce without sounding muddled in spots where it should sound rich and full.

Dirty Work (Steely Dan) – Again another song that should be rich and full while the chorus, horns and keyboards should be clean and sharp.

Baby Blue (Badfinger) - The first 1 minute has enough changes to give the speakers a start and just a fun rock song that's one of my favorites.


Now lets test out the vocals.
Fly Me To The Moon (Live) (Frank Sinatra) – Live At The Sands is Sinatra at his best. Clear, crisp. A great sound recording. I’ll listen to the first 25-30 seconds where he transitions from talking to the first couple bars of the song. You’ll know if the speaker can handle it very quickly.

I Can’t Make You Love Me (Bonnie Raitt) – Bonnie’s voice is like butter on this song and that’s the way it should sound, like it’s being poured out of the speakers.

Into The Mystic (Van Morrison) – The speakers better make it sound like Van’s in the room with me. They’ll be playing a lot of him!

Death On Two Legs (Queen) – skip to about a minute in to hear if Freddy’s vocal range. Should be driven hard.

How about the other parts.
Starman (David Bowie) – First the acoustic guitars, then the great transition from the drum roll to Bowies voice in the first 20 seconds. Three distinct sounds.

Save Room (John Legend) – The bass in the opening of this song is so over produced that most speakers distort. Terrible production on a great song.

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) – I want to hear if the speakers can reproduce the mistakes in the beginning. The cough, the sniffling on the song then Gilmour’s acoustic should just punch out of the speaker right after.

We Belong Together (Rickie Lee Jones) – This song has so many delicate hidden sounds in the first 30 seconds of it, it has to be tested out. Then around the 2:30 mark is one of the best drum parts I ever heard in a song that changes the dynamic of the song.

Couldn’t Stand The Weather (Stevie Ray Vaughn) – Close your eyes and listen to the first minute of the song. You should be able to actually visualize his fingers moving so smooth and effortlessly.

The E Street Shuffle (Bruce Springsteen) – right after the carnival horns, the guitar riff here is amazing then right into Bruce’s voice in his gravely best.

Badge (Cream) – Jack Bruce’s bass line in the first 15 seconds is all I need to hear.

Money (Pink Floyd) – Roger’s bass line in the beginning, same as Jack’s above, need to hear it.

Dance On A Volcano (Genesis) – The first 25 seconds of the song is a plethora of different sounds.

So Very Hard To Go (Tower Of Power) – It’s all about the horns!

I’m Your Captain (Grand Funk Railroad) – Love the first minute of the song. Farners guitar, Brewers drums coming in and not to be outdone, Schacher’s great bass riff all classics in the first 30 seconds of the song plus I want to hear all the mistakes including the engineers talking in the background. Listen closely!

Journey Of The Sorcerer (Eagles) – Just need a straight instrumental using a lot of different instruments to see if I can pick each one out.

You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC) – The speakers need to be able to just rock out and LOUD!

Let’s Stay Together (Al Green) – and they need to be soft and soulful at other times.

Okay I test drove um all and finally picked out a pair of vintage Voice Of The Theatres. Got them in the truck, got them home and now the hard part. Sneaking the new speakers past Mrs. Bear! She’ll never notice, they are only the size of a small car……


But hunny I need them for my job….Do you think that will work?


Nuff said…..least till next time.
Peace Out
Bear