Every reviewer at What Hi-Fi? has their own carefully curated list of songs they use to test speakers, spanning all genres and musical tastes. This is crucial for testing speakers, especially if they’re new: it’s best to use songs that you know really well to hear what speakers can do.
By that token, you’ll probably also have your own playlists for testing the various facets of audio performance; but what’s the harm in adding a few more tracks?
We’ve put together a list of ten songs (with some extra suggestions) that we use to test every aspect of a pair of speakers’ performance, from treble and bass quality to the way they handle rhythm and dynamics. This is by no means a complete list - we’d be here for days if we tried to list every single song we use for testing - but it’s a start. To get you listening to these tunes right away, we’ve put together a playlist of these songs on various music streaming services.
1 RADIOHEAD - THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
TO TEST OVERALL BALANCE
As is Radiohead’s wont, The National Anthem is a dense, multi-tiered wedding cake of a song, with acoustic and electronic instruments firing off in all directions - not to mention a brass ensemble that appears to have turned up to the wrong booking. Everything is dialled up to eleven, from the treatment on Thom Yorke’s vocals and the overdriven bass guitar sound, to the Theremin-y wailing in the background.
Your speakers must strike the perfect balance between organisation and attack, between dynamism and poise and, most importantly, between control and abandon, throughout the frequency range. Done correctly, this is a thrilling cacophony. And of course, done badly, it’s just a cacophony.
ALSO LISTEN TO THESE:
The Cat Empire - Fishies
Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor
2 BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - TURN YOUR LIGHTS DOWN LOW