Three tracks to Judge all IEMs and Headphones by

IEMs / Other In-Ear Monitors (IEM)
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We have a radio program in the UK called Dessert Island Discs, where people are asked if you were marooned on a desert island which three songs would you want to listen to?
In that vein, if you only had three tracks by which you could assess your IEMs/Headphones, which three tracks would you choose?

My choices would be…

1 Jezabel Spirit, from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by David Byrne and Bryan Eno
2 Lost on You, from Lost on You by LP
3 Hyperactive from The Flat Earth by Thomas Dolby

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That’s a fun one, I’ll jump in here.

  1. Days by No Vacation for treble energy
  2. Doin’ It Right by daft punk for subbass check
  3. Younger & Dumber by Indigo De Souza for female vocals
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Hmm, had to think about this a bit.

  1. Heart of Gold cover by Johnny Cash. The guitar play near the end is usually what makes or breaks an iem or headphone for me.
  2. Eternal wind by Hiroko Moriguchi. Been my go-to track for female vocals for years now. Also features some slow and concise percussion to check for sibilance.
  3. Intergalactic by The Beastie Boys. I’ve always like the bass on this track.
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A hip-hop track for bass and male vocals.
A Slayer track for judging how it handles instruments with fast tempo.
A Vivaldi piece to judge timbre.

Edit: since HBB’s answer is so much more detailed, here is my attempt.

  1. Instead of a hip-hop track: Alpha Blondy’s song Soutra can really show the bass and mal vocals capability of a set. This song is well recorded and it needs to thump in your ears.
  2. Ghost of War by Slayer: if the drivers can keep up with the busy song that’s a first good sign. I also make sure that the bass is reproduced properly kick wise and timbre wise. Finally, does the voice of Tom Araya come through all the instruments?
  3. Vivaldi’s Adagio Presto from La Certa Opus: mainly to check how it plays baroque/classical music, how sharp is the violin and I judge timbre using the harpsichord in the background.
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Kate Bush Moments of Pleasure

John Martyn Solid Air

Groove Armada Suntoucher

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After listening to those 3, I am going to go out on a limb and guess you own or have owned a ZMF AO. :wink:

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Nope IER Z1R, OG Andro amongst others and Buds…HP’s make my head and ears way too hot (weight is not an issue) to use for any length of time even being here in the UK, I have one HP left a pair of Fostex Purple Hearts which I use occasionally and for folk visiting.

Edited…If those tracks work well on a ZMF AO then they should deffo work and test IEM’s too :notes::+1:

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Man, three is tough…if only it were four… Well, rules are rules so here are my (current) choices below.

:notes:

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Only 3?
OK :ok_hand:
Led_Zeppelin_-_Led_Zeppelin_IV

Bonhams intro on “When the Levee Breaks” is a historical Rock & Roll moment. Been written about for 50 years.

Most important is at the time it was released. If this sounds otent and emphatic things are going as intended. If it simply sounds like an unproduced kick drum or worse…something is going wrong in the bass likely where bass transitions to lower mids
*
Michael_Jackson_-_Thriller
“Wanna be Startin’ Something”
If midbass is bleeding the backbeat will audibly smear into M.J’s vocals particularly the first verse.

ELO-Out_of_the_Blue_Lp (1)

“Mr Blue Sky”
If Vocals are going to be over the top this track is a good ref for me. Under ideal tuning it’s a popper anything above that and it’s a box of 6Khz razors on my eardrums.

I’d use more than 3 but just 3?
These tell me midbass 2x mids 2x and enough about upper mids and treb 1x to extrapolate how other instruments will fare

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Everyone gets a :heart: from me because every song makes sense

to pick three is nearly impossible if not completely so…

those three songs would make your train come off it’s tracks after a couple months…
I mean you’d totally lose your shit
:smile:

edit…I want it changed to ten (10) …I demand it and refuse to participate if I don’t get my way

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The rules are the rules.

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“Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” by Radiohead to test layering, separation, imaging

“Get Lucky” by Daft Punk to test bass and imaging

“Bubbles” or “Letter” by Yosi Horikawa because it sounds cool as hell on good headphones! :slight_smile:

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I think I have listened to “Get Lucky” after every headphone, amp, and/or DAC purchase. :laughing:

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Three tracks just has to make you think!

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This is a tough one.
These are 3 that my gear generally gets judged by.
“Comfortably Numb 2022” Roger Waters
“Nothing Else Matters” Metallica S&M
“Brucia la Terra” Andrea Bocelli

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