Die Kunst des HiFi: Percussion

The drum transients on this one are ridiculous — you can hear the stick hit the head and the room breathe after it. I used it to check a new set of speakers and ended up sitting through the whole thing twice. Volume 3 might be the best of the series so far.

I've been chasing a recording that captures drums without smearing the transients, and this volume finally does it — the snare crack and cymbal decay both stay clean. The percussion-only focus makes it a great test disc for checking how my setup handles dynamics.

The percussion on this volume is captured so cleanly that I can hear the sticks hit the drum head and the room around it. It's a real test for my speakers, and the dynamics on the opening track caught me off guard. Volume 3 might be my favorite of the series so far.