moving on from your reference CDs
Most of us have reference DCs, you know the ones, the ones that you impress your friends with when showing of your system or the one you always carry to demos.
Question is are these CDs absolute, fact they sounded great on your set they should sound great on any system or the system is not up to the task be it a violin, guitar, piano or some vocals or haromies.
I'm currently assessing my 'new' amp and the first reference CD - D'Angelo/Brown Sugar - track 7 a cover of Smokey Robinsons 'Crusin' is not firing as it did on my 'old' amp BUT Dwele's - Some kinda track 3 and 15 sounds superb on the 'new' amp although it did sound good on the old.....
What was I saying....oh yes, are these reference CDs absolute,or do you move on?
No I don't!
When I had a demo last week I still took the following
Massive attack - mezzanine
Morcheeba - Big calm
Adele 19
Fleetwood mac -rumours
I took all these 11 years ago when I demoed some hifi apart from Adele obviously
I presume you took Adele 8 instead? 
......I can relate and its the problem I'm having assing the 'new' amp........
Now that would impress my friends!
Came in from work not too long ago and I'm knackered...can't even edit DC's fromhe opening post...doh!
A reference assing session!!?
I have a very small number of CDs that I use as a reference. They are always the first discs I try but then I move on quite quickly through a good range of my collection, trying to get a feel for how far a change can take me.
Sometimes the reference discs can lull you into a false sense that you are making a big improvement and it is only when you go a bit further into the collection that you start to realise you might be making a sideways or even retrograde move. It is a complicated business this hi-fi lark.
It's more about your expectations of the new amp rather than any particular cds. Especially relevant when assing.... 
Would that be 'expectation biass'?
Would that be 'expectation biass'?
Not really. Sometimes you lay too heavily on favoured or reference cds and lose track of the amps qualities. I often take a single or album that hasn't been played for a time and then compare. No conclusive answer, just acts as an alternative...
Would that be 'expectation biass'?
Not really. Sometimes you lay too heavily on favoured or reference cds and lose track of the amps qualities. I often take a single or album that hasn't been played for a time and then compare. No conclusive answer, just acts as an alternative...
All that biassing, seems to be by-passing! 
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No I don't!
When I had a demo last week I still took the following
Massive attack - mezzanine
Morcheeba - Big calm
Adele 19
Fleetwood mac -rumours
I took all these 11 years ago when I demoed some hifi apart from Adele obviously
Synology DS212j > Rega DAC > Rega Brio R > Rega RS1
Rega RP6 / Exact
Chord Chameleon Plus / Odyssey 2
Panasonic TX-P50 GT50 > BDP110e > Yamaha RX-V 667 > Rega Vox