Reference Recordings Test & Burn-In HDCD

Test CD Once Again Available!
The test and burn-in CD offered by XLO Kabel and Reference Recordings is a valuable tool for the correct installation and cabling of your music system. The burn-in and demagnetization tracks help you get the most out of your system. Using examples from the Reference Recordings catalog, you will not only learn a lot about the correct phase position, but also about correct dynamics and miking.
This is THE step-by-step guide to setting up and fine-tuning your audio or home theatre system. Roger Skoff of XLO Electric (innovators in the field of cables and interconnects) and "Prof." Keith O. Johnson (audio guru and co-inventor of HDCD) lead you through a quick and easy system set-up.
Included are tracks dealing with Balance, Wiring and Polarity, Speaker Placement, Soundstaging, Imaging and Depth, Absolute Phase, Component Demagnetization and Burn-In.

Selections:

1. Channel identification – are left and right channels connected correctly
2. Voice in phase – the voice must be in the middle between the speakers
3. Voice in opposite phase – the voice seems to be completely detached in the room and has no spatial representation
4. Clapping – this repeated clapping sound is used by sound engineers to familiarize themselves with the sound conditions of the listening room. You can wonderfully assess the reverberation of the room at any position. You can often see acoustic specialists clapping through rooms to do just that. However, since every human clapper is slightly different and the clapper has an acoustic influence himself, this track is more suitable
5. 315 Hz test tone – this tone is used to determine balance differences in the electronics. A multimeter connected to the outputs of the system can wonderfully indicate channel differences in the level
6. Prof. Johnson demonstrates room acoustics – a multi-microphone installation in a large studio is used to demonstrate spatial representation. Prof. Johnson wanders around the hall and you can follow his voice and the struck instruments acoustically. He also gives an example of a miking error, as it often happens
7. Demagnetization sweep – is used to dissipate magnetic charges within all components of a hi-fi system. Should be carried out regularly. Please follow the note in the manual for use with pickups!
8. Low-frequency demagnetization fade – Since the crossovers in both active and passive speakers do not allow the high-frequency sounds in Track 7 to pass through, this track is specifically designed for demagnetizing the bass. Do not use this track to demagnetize pickups
9. Burn-in tones – all components of your music system must be recorded in order to achieve the best possible playback quality. This track speeds up the process tremendously. Set the track to repeat and let it run continuously. Play the track at normal volume. Your system will not be damaged as a result. If you only want a hi-fi component, but do not want to burn in the speakers, or if you feel disturbed by the sounds, you can place an 8-ohm resistor with 10 watts of power handling between the ends of your speaker cables. These resistors are available for little money in electronics stores and standard quality is sufficient for this application. This track is not suitable for cartridge burn-in systems. These must be retracted mechanically
10. Mono piece of music in phase – the voice and all musicians should be in the middle between the speakers
11. Mono piece of music in opposite phase – the voice and all musicians should be completely undefined in the room and not seem as if they come out of nowhere and are represented over a wide range. The less your speakers can be located, the better they display when the signal is in phase
12. Stereo in the wrong absolute phase – this track still sounds good on first listen, but if you listen more closely, you will notice that the musical performance is not really lifelike. The track is in the same phase for left and right, but overall in opposite phases. That is, if in the original there was a stream of air going in the direction of the microphones, the speakers that are playing will simulate a stream of air going away from the listener. In terms of measurements, the signal is the same, but there are music listeners who perceive the difference. If you don't hear it, don't worry, not every person notices this difference
13. Stormy Weather – the piece of the previous tracks in correct phase and in full length. The singer Eileen Farrell had just celebrated her 70th birthday and you can hear the age of her voice wonderfully. The feeling of spatiality does not originate from the recording room, but was artificially generated. Pay attention to the position of the flugelhorn at the back of the stage
14. Shiny Stockings – Big Band Jazz with a wide dynamic range. The piece begins very quietly with a piano solo and increases more and more. Finally, five trumpets, three trombones, five saxophones, acoustic bass and drums play. If your system can reproduce all of this without smearing the instruments or capitulating to the dynamic range, then you've done a lot right
15. Morton Gould: Derivations for Clarinet and Band – Here a big band plays and they have the opportunity to listen to the wind instruments individually. Recorded in the brilliant acoustics of the Medinah Temple in Chicago
16. Janácek: Sinfonietta, "The Queen's Monastery" – This track is from the first symphonic HDCD recorded in the Czech Republic. There are 26 violins and an equal number of larger string instruments. Contains many solo moments and especially the horn blows at 3:45 are interesting
17. Biebl: Ave Maria – Gigantic choral recording with 30 voices in the center and another 200 voices on the sides. The spatial representation goes beyond the loudspeakers on both sides. The picture was taken in the "cathedral mode" of the customizable Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas
18. Weinberger: Polka and Fugue – After a common polka, this show piece presents all the instruments of a symphony orchestra in turn and also their position in the orchestral structure. With the use of the organ at 5:38, the orchestra continues to increase in level and the combination of organ and bass registers is a challenge for any system. Most music systems will start to distort at high levels. Carefully approach the limit of your system. Good luck!