Can your speakers handle The Dark Side Of The Moon?

allsmith

Super Member
The heartbeat in the beginning of side A track one of Pink Floyd's masterpiece is so intense! I think i read somewhere that it is around a 30 hz tone. I use this album as a test for speakers i have or thinking about purchasing. If you crank it up either the room will vibrate or your woofers will beg for mercy! Also when the clocks bells go off in the beginning of Time it will pierce your ears! Those bells are the only thing that has kicked the protection in on my Yamaha R9 receiver ever! That was a long time ago and i always make sure the volume is not too high on Time anymore! Besides being a great album Dark Side is a great system test! What albums do you all use to test out some speakers your looking at?
 
For uber-deep bass, I play Moby's track "80" (off his Ambient album); it makes the joists creak, literally. And if you want to see if your speakers will go below 30 Hz, try Tosca's Dehli 9 album, disc 2, track 2, called "D-Moll." There is a rumbling note that hits at about 90 seconds, that is simply inaudible on most speakers, it's so low. I need a sub to hear it well, even when I'm playing it on my 250Tis or 4430s.

For voices, I like female vocals: Norah Jones, Tori Amos, Alison Kraus, Geike Arnaert, Tracey Thorne ...

BTW, that damn heartbeat ruined my Valencias for me: They have no deep bass, and I could barely feel the heartbeat. I had expected so much more, and did not realize that the Valencias simply don't go very low.
 
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If you want to torture your system into protection with extreme, over-the-top dynamics look no further. Enoch Light is your man and Stereo 35 mm is your record:

Stereo+35MM+-+Cover.jpg
 
Man, you inspired me to rock the heartbeat again, so I went out and did it, and now my Velodyne sub is rattling like a bastard; the driver must have finally crapped out. Thanks a lot! :lmao::stupid:
 
Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3 (orchestra with organ) is a good pants-flapper as well. I think I'll need to crank up DSoTM and crack the foundations.

-D
 
Man, you inspired me to rock the heartbeat again, so I went out and did it, and now my Velodyne sub is rattling like a bastard; the driver must have finally crapped out. Thanks a lot! :lmao::stupid:
Dang sorry man! I just got a older 100 watt jbl powered sub woofer and it did not like the hearbeat at all!! Now my D9's could handle it. Sorry dude i should have put a disclaimer to play The Dark Side at your own risk! Again sorry!
 
The heartbeat in the beginning of side A track one of Pink Floyd's masterpiece is so intense! I think i read somewhere that it is around a 30 hz tone. I use this album as a test for speakers i have or thinking about purchasing. If you crank it up either the room will vibrate or your woofers will beg for mercy! Also when the clocks bells go off in the beginning of Time it will pierce your ears! Those bells are the only thing that has kicked the protection in on my Yamaha R9 receiver ever! That was a long time ago and i always make sure the volume is not too high on Time anymore! Besides being a great album Dark Side is a great system test! What albums do you all use to test out some speakers your looking at?
I'll have to check this out tonight. I have three flavors of DSOTM on CD's and 2 or three different LP's. I've been meaning to do a huge A,B,C,D,....test between the different formats to see once and for all what differences, if any, I can detect. My favorite test for speakers has typically been the animated movie "9", the beginning has tortured every speaker I own but my Mach One's. HT can really wring things out. Definitely agree with the female vocals for testing.
 
Sounds silly, but my clean bass test is Herb Alpert - Girl From Ipanema off the South Of The Border album. Its not quite a floor shaker, but its a low note without much else going on at that particular moment. Its also got a nice sustain, so its useful for finding rattles in cabinets. Overall its just a nice sounding record though so I find it useful as a setup tool. The heartbeat from DSOTM is also a good one, but its more of a pounding bass than a drawn out note.
 
That is the album I use to test most speakers, I also have Dire Straits greatest hits CD that seems to be one of the nicest recordings for accuracy.
Norah Jones also does well. The heartbeat part will test the foam surrounds very well. :yes:

The heartbeat test with my modded Mach 3 Rhino's will just rattle things off the walls, then when the bells come in those horns just blow you away. I have fond memories sitting in my beanbag chair playing that album as a teen.
 
I like "Matriarch" by Montrose. I love the increasing scratching and the way the drums come in "sneaks up" on unsuspecting speakers. Poor things, they don't know what hit them.
 
Dang sorry man! I just got a older 100 watt jbl powered sub woofer and it did not like the hearbeat at all!! Now my D9's could handle it. Sorry dude i should have put a disclaimer to play The Dark Side at your own risk! Again sorry!

It's all good; I rocked out at my own risk! :D
 
The heartbeat in the beginning of side A track one of Pink Floyd's masterpiece is so intense! I think i read somewhere that it is around a 30 hz tone. I use this album as a test for speakers i have or thinking about purchasing. If you crank it up either the room will vibrate or your woofers will beg for mercy! Also when the clocks bells go off in the beginning of Time it will pierce your ears! Those bells are the only thing that has kicked the protection in on my Yamaha R9 receiver ever! That was a long time ago and i always make sure the volume is not too high on Time anymore! Besides being a great album Dark Side is a great system test! What albums do you all use to test out some speakers your looking at?

When I was in Okinawa in 1983, I hung my AR 58s speakers out the window of the third-floor of my barracks at Camp Butler. I cranked that track on my JVC QL-A75 over my Luxman L-580, had the amp clipping for sure. Loudest I ever turned that puppy up.

The Officer of the Day was pounding on my door in ten minutes. Read me the Riot Act. I could hardly hear him, my ears were ringing. I was nearly given Captain's Mast (non-judicial punishment). Totally worth it.
 
Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach. The organ notes in the beginning will make your woofers look like they are going to come out of the cabinet. The Telarc version with Michael Murray at the organ is amazing.
 
I like the deep drum in Dire Straits - Iron Hand.

Enjoy the the drums in Pink Floyd - Two Suns In The Sunset

Love The Dark Side Of The Moon !

Two NHT Subzero 10in subwoofers powered by a Yamaha P-2200, they can handle it :)
 
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The PSB's are most definitely up to snuff, my turntable's isolation, however, is not! And I am on carpeted concrete down here :D pretty sure I heard a pipe in the ceiling vibrating too
 
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