Chesky Records - Dr. Chesky - The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc, 192/24, FLAC (tracks) FLAC

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01-When the Saints Go Marching In.flac
02-Don't You.flac
03-This Little Light of Mine.flac
04-Three For All.flac
05-Las Perlas de tu Boca.flac
06-Ben's Farm in Vermont.flac
07-Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.flac
08-Whip-poor-will.flac
09-Ceremony_Evening.flac
10-Transcendental Tripping.flac
11-Wa Wa Wa.flac
12-War.flac
13-Rock and Roll.flac
14-Test Tracks Introduction.flac
15-Four Surround Voices _ Announcement.flac
16-Four Surround Voices _ Test.flac
17-Front, Rear Voices _ Announcement.flac
18-Front, Rear Voices _ Test.flac
19-Drum and Bell_ Walk Around the Mic _ Announcement.flac
20-Drum and Bell_ Walk around the Mic _ Test.flac
21-Shaker_ Walk Around the Mic _ Announcement.flac
22-Shaker_ Walk Around the Mic _ Announcement.flac
23-Height_ Center Shaker _ Announcement.flac
24-Height_ Center Shaker _ Test.flac
25-Height_ Left Channel Shaker _ Announcement.flac
26-Height_ Left Channel _ Test.flac
27-Height_ Right Channel Shaker _ Announcement.flac
28-Height_ Right Channel _ Test.flac
29-Height_ Center Bell _ Announcement.flac
30-Height_ Center Bell _ Test.flac
31-Height_ Left Channel Bell _ Announcement.flac
32-Height_ Left Channel Bell _ Test.flac
33-Height_ Right Channel Bell_ Announcement.flac
34-Height_ Right Channel Bell_ Test.flac
35-Voice_ Dynamic Range Uncompressed _ Announcement.flac
36-Voice_ Dynamic Range Uncompressed _ Test.flac
37-Voice_ Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed _ Announcement.flac
38-Voice_ Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed _ Test.flac
39-Voice_ Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed _ Announcement.flac
40-Voice_ Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed _ Test.flac
41-Cymbal_ Dynamic Range Uncompressed _ Announcement.flac
42-Cymbal_ Dynamic Range Uncompressed _ Test.flac
43-Cymbal_ Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed _ Announcement.flac
44-Cymbal_ Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed _ Test.flac
45-Cymbal_ Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed _ Announcement.flac
46-Cymbal_ Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed _ Test.flac
47-Drum Kit_ Dynamic Range Uncompressed _ Announcement.flac
48-Drum Kit_ Dynamic Range Uncompressed _ Test.flac
49-Drum Kit_ Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed _ Announcement.flac
50-Drum Kit_ Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed _ Test.flac
51-Drum Kit_ Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed _ Announcement.flac
52-Drum Kit_ Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed _ Test.flac
53-Heart Beat Tracks.flac
54-Shake, Rattle, and Roll _ Announcement.flac
55-Shake, Rattle, and Roll _ Test.flac
56-Pink Noise _ Announcement.flac
57-Pink Noise _ Mono.flac
58-Pink Noise _ Stereo.flac
59-Pink Noise _ Mono + Stereo.flac
The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc.pdf

Доп. информация

PART 1: THE Music
1. Depth (4:29)
“When the Saints Go Marching In” - Wycliffe Gordon
Dreams of New Orleans - JD354
Most modern recordings have one mic per instrument, so they’re not true stereo recordings.
You might even say they’re just multiple mono recordings mixed together. Chesky Binaural+
recordings have just one pair of microphones in a B&K 4100 D “dummy head” that pick up the
entire band and the room they’re playing in. One big advantage of binaural recording is that it
preserves the spatial relationships of the instruments’ positions relative to the head. Here, with
Wycliffe Gordon’s traditional jazz band, you’ll hear Binaural+ is a more natural and accurate
approach. You get the actual depth and the three-dimensional presence of the players. There’s
no need to do an after the session mix; you hear what the B&K head heard, end of story.
2. Midrange Tonality #1 (2:11)
“Don’t You” - Amber Rubarth
Sessions from the 17th Ward - JD356
We may not be intimately familiar with the sound of a grand piano or symphony orchestra, but
we hear voices every day. Naturally recorded voices without processing are rare, but here with
singer Amber Rubarth you have a perfectly natural sounding vocal, and the accompanying
violin and cello should sound eminently realistic.
3. Midrange Tonality #2 (2:45)
“This Little Light of Mine” - The West New York Spiritual Choir
Dr. Chesky’s Sensational, Fantastic,
and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show! - JD355
Midrange is such an important virtue I decided to include two Midrange Tonality tests. This
one was recorded in a huge space, St. Paul’s Church in New York. The tonal range of the Choir’s
male and female vocals are impressive. When the Choir starts clapping their hands, you should
hear the fleshy sound of human hands clapping, which are surprisingly difficult to reproduce.
Only the best headphones get handclaps right.
4. Presence (5:29)
“Three for All” - The Bucky Pizzarelli Trio
Three for All - JD362
Here on “Three for All” you’ll experience Bucky and John Pizzarelli’s and Ed Laub’s guitars with
a rare immediacy. John’s on the left, Bucky’s in the middle, and Ed is on the right. Each instrument
is in its own “space,” but you should feel like you could reach out and touch their strings.
5. Texture (4:20)
“Las Perlas de Tu Boca” - Xiomara
Cubania Total - JD368
With a great recording like this one from Xiomara, you should almost feel the textures of the
instruments. The guitar, bass, hand percussion, and Xiomara’s vocal take on a palpable threedimensional
presence.
6. Treble (1:45)
“Ben’s Farm in Vermont” - David Chesky
The Zephyrtine: A Ballet Story - JD363
Performed by Fundação Orquestra Estúdio (Guimarães, Portugal),
Rui Massena (Conductor)
Listen to the bells and celeste right at the beginning of “Ben’s Farm in Vermont”—the shimmering
detail of the instruments should sound crystal clear. When high frequencies are well reproduced,
their harmonics “float” above the rest of the instruments, and are liberated from the headphones.
7. Binaural Imaging (5:14)
“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” - David Hazeltine Trio
Impromptu - JD360
Hazeltine’s piano is on the left, the stand up bass is in the center, and the drums are on the right.
Each instrument is distinctly located, just as they would sound if your head was in the same
place as the B&K 4100 D “head” at the session. As a Binaural+ recording, the head’s mics also
picked up the sound of the trio filling the recording venue.
8. Space (4:31)
“Whip-poor-will” - Alexis Cole
A Kiss in the Dark - JD366
The accurate portrayal of “space” really is the final frontier in headphones. Chesky Records
has always made recordings in beautiful acoustic settings rather than sterile studios. Here with
jazz singer Alexis Cole, her vocal is close up, but the rest of her band is set back from the B&K
recording head’s microphones, so you really hear their sound filling the recording venue. The
room’s walls, floor and ceiling reflections are part of the sound. Close your eyes, and with a
great set of headphones, you should feel like you’re in the space.
9. Intensity (6:54)
“Ceremony: Evening” - David Liebman
Ceremony - JD367
I find that some headphones handle high intensity music a lot better than others. Crank up
“Ceremony: Evening” over a few different headphones and see how you feel about the music.
Just make sure to play each set of headphones at approximately the same volume level.
10. Rhythm & Pulse (7:10)
“Transcendental Tripping” - David Chesky,
Billy Drummond, Javon Jackson, Jeremy Pelt, Peter Washington
Jazz in the New Harmonic - JD358
There’s a lot going on here, but it’s the groove that drives the music. Some headphones can sound
perfectly fine in most ways, but don’t communicate the energy, the forward motion of the music’s
pulse. You should be moved, tapping your feet or bopping your head to the rhythm, but if you’re
not, try listening to this track with different headphones, and see if that makes a difference.
11. Transient Response (7:52)
“Wa Wa Wa” - Candido Camero
The Master - JD365
Cuban percussion master Candido and his band should sound remarkably clear and present,
not bright or overemphasized. The “leading edge” transients of each strike of the percussion
instruments should be sharply defined, and the better the headphone, the more clearly outlined
those transients will be. Transients also play a role in the sound of horns; they should not sound
dull or rolled off.
12. Bass (5:46)
“War” - Jamey Haddad, Mark Sherman, Lenny White
Explorations in Space and Time - JD352
Listening to bass over headphones is very different than listening over speakers. With speakers
you feel deep bass, it’s a whole body experience, but good headphones can reproduce the very
deepest bass frequencies. The huge tympani drum on the right channel goes nice and low, and
it’s cleanly defined. The tautness of the drum head isn’t easy to reproduce; some headphones
muddy the bass, and when the three master percussionists really get going, their sound will
test the power of your iPod, phone or headphone amplifier. There’s a lot going on in this track’s
bottom end. Can your headphones and amp handle it?
13. Visceral Impact (4:05)
“Rock and Roll” - CC Coletti
Bring It on Home - JD357
Turn this one up nice and loud, so you can feel each beat of the bass drum. With this sort of
hard-hitting demanding material, the headphone’s amplifier can make a huge difference, as a
puny amp will constrict the music’s power. While headphones can’t deliver the gutsy slam you
get from big tower speakers, the better full-size, over-the-ear headphones will deliver more
oomph and impact than in-ear models.
PART 2: THE TESTS
14. Test Tracks Introduction (3:13)
Surround Spatial Imaging Tests
15. Four Surround Voices: Announcement (0:34)
To see if it’s possible to locate sounds in front of and behind a binaural microphone, we start our
spatial tests with four people. Each one is four feet from the B&K microphone head. The first
voice is in front and to the left of the head; the second is in front and to the right; the third is four
feet behind the mic to the left side; the fourth is four feet behind the mic to the right side. Each
individual in sequence announces his location, and keeps the sound moving around the mic.
16. Four Surround Voices: Test (0:35)
17. Front/Rear Voices: Announcement (0:10)
This time there are just two voices; one in front, and one in back of the mic. Both are about five
feet from the mic.
18. Front/Rear Voices: Test (0:19)
19. Drum and Bell - Walk around the Mic: Announcement (0:14)
Now you will hear a percussionist walk around the binaural head while pounding on a big drum and
playing a bell. The drum and bell’s tone should sound very different as he moves around the head.
20. Drum and Bell - Walk around the Mic: Test (1:09)
21. Shaker - Walk around the Mic: Announcement (0:19)
On this track, a percussionist walks around the mic while playing a shaker. He will announce
his position when he’s on the mic’s left side, directly behind the mic, on the mic’s right side,
and then directly in front of the binaural head again. The sound of the shaker should be very
different in each position.
22. Shaker - Walk around the Mic: Test (0:59)
HEIGHT TESTS
23. . Height - Center Shaker: Announcement (0:12)
This time the percussionist is three feet directly in front of the binaural head, and he’ll start
playing a shaker one foot from the floor and slowly rise vertically. He’ll finish with the shaker
about eight feet from the floor. Can you hear that?
24. Height - Center Shaker: Test (0:29)
25. Height - Left Channel Shaker: Announcement (0:12)
Now he is about three feet off the left side of the binaural head, and he’ll start playing the shaker
one foot from the floor and slowly rise again vertically.
26. Height - Left Channel Shaker: Test (0:23)
27. Height - Right Channel Shaker: Announcement (0:12)
Identical to the left channel height spacial imaging test, except reproduced on the right side.
The shaker is three feet to the right; one foot off the floor and slowly rises.
28. Height - Right Channel Shaker: Test (0:26)
29. Height - Center Bell: Announcement (0:23)
These next tracks are similar to the shaker tests, but this time our percussionist will be playing
a bell. He is directly in front of the mic, about three feet away, with the bell one foot off the
floor. He will slowly rise to a height of eight feet with his arm raised. Can you hear that?
30. Height - Center Bell: Test (0:25)
31. Height - Left Channel Bell: Announcement (0:11)
He is about three feet from the left side of the binaural head, and will start playing the bell one
foot from the floor and slowly rise.
32. Height - Left Channel Bell: Test (0:28)
33. Height - Right Channel Bell: Announcement (0:16)
Identical to the left channel height spacial imaging test, except reproduced on the right side.
With his arm raised, the percussionist’s bell is eight feet from the floor.
34. Height - Right Channel Bell: Test (0:25)
Compression TESTS
35. Voice - Dynamic Range Uncompressed: Announcement (0:14)
A man whispers the word “one,” and repeats the word a little louder each time. This track is
uncompressed.
36. Voice - Dynamic Range Uncompressed: Test (0:14)
37. Voice - Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed: Announcement (0:10)
The previous take is repeated, but this time we’ve compressed the voice’s dynamics, so the
soft-to-loud contrasts are squashed. Just a bit.
38. Voice - Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed: Test (0:14)
39. Voice - Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed: Announcement (0:12)
The original take is repeated again, but this time the sound is radically compressed. The natural
quality of the voice is lost.
40. Voice - Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed: Test (0:14)
41. Cymbal - Dynamic Range Uncompressed: Announcement (0:12)
Here, a single cymbal is played. The sound is completely uncompressed, and you can really
hear the brassy, metallic quality of the cymbal.
42. Cymbal - Dynamic Range Uncompressed: Test (0:47)
43. Cymbal - Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed: Announcement (0:10)
The previous take is repeated, but this time the cymbal’s dynamics are compressed, so the
natural shimmer and sparkle are reduced.
44. Cymbal - Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed: Test (0:49)
45. Cymbal - Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed: Announcement (0:12)
The original take is repeated again, but this time the dynamics are radically compressed. It
almost sounds like an electronically synthesized cymbal.
46. Cymbal - Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed: Test (0:51)
47. Drum Kit - Dynamic Range Uncompressed: Announcement (0:15)
A drummer whales away on his drums in this test. The sound is 100 percent uncompressed,
and it sounds live. Play this one nice and loud to feel the full dynamics of his performance.
48. Drum Kit - Dynamic Range Uncompressed: Test (1:09)
49. Drum Kit - Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed: Announcement (0:08)
Adding mild compression to the same track flattens the dynamic contrast a bit, but it still
sounds great.
50. Drum Kit - Dynamic Range Mildly Compressed: Test (1:09)
51. Drum Kit - Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed: Announcement (0:13)
Same drum kit, but with a ton of compression and peak limiting. Now the sound is a mere
shadow of its former self. Heavy compression takes its toll.
52. Drum Kit - Dynamic Range Heavily Compressed: Test (1:10)
Bass TESTS
53. Heart Beat Tracks (1:10)
Want to see how low your headphones go? Here’s 50 Hertz.
Let’s go down a bit; here’s 40 Hertz.
If those were too easy; here’s 30 Hertz.
Finally, let’s take it all the way down to 20 Hertz.
54. Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Announcement (0:23)
Here are a series of tones, with announcements along the way. They start at 300 Hertz and drop
down to 20 Hertz. Some headphones will make odd noises and produce distortion as they play
the lowest frequencies; proceed with caution.
55. Shake, Rattle, and Roll: Test (2:28)
PINK NOISE TESTS
56. Pink Noise: Announcement (0:15)
Lastly, while preparing to record these tests we received requests to include pink noise, so here
are mono, stereo, and mono + stereo pink noise tracks.
57. Pink Noise - Mono (1:03)
58. Pink Noise - Stereo (1:03)
59. Pink Noise - Mono + Stereo (1:00)
CREDITS
Produced by David Chesky & Steve Guttenberg
Liner Notes: Steve Guttenberg
Executive Producer: Norman Chesky
Recorded, edited, and mastered by Nicholas Prout
Graphic Design: Jeff Wong
Project Coordinator: Lisa Hershfield
Production Assistant: Greg Stankevich
All tracks were recorded at the Hirsch Center, Brooklyn, New York,
and St. Paul’s Church, in New York, with a B&K Binaural head and Crystal microphone cable.