3 "Must Have" Records To Test Your Setup

It's been wild here at Amarillo's Funky Little Record Store and it feels like a lifetime since I wrote a new post. Moving into our own location has been a crazy wonderful adventure and I'm so grateful to all those that have been supporting us! All of that said, I wanted to give you guys a great tip for setting up and configuring your turntable and speaker setup - no matter how advanced or simple it might be!

I'm not going into turntable leveling and tracking force in this post (I'll cover those things in a future post). However, with this post I want to list my favorite albums that I personally use to test/setup my turntable and speakers. For me, well produced vinyl records with distinct highs, lows and mids help me with things like EQ, speaker placement.

#1 Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon 180g Remastered 2016

There is so much sonically happening on this album and the remastered version really highlights each sound. Bells, heartbeats, keyboards, footsteps and more hit all the highs lows and everything in between. If you like the way this record hits when listening to your setup then you've most likely got things just right.

#2 Van Halen 1984 180g Remastered 2015

Not only is this one of my favorite records, but in my opinion is a wonderful tool for setting up your stereo eq, setting bass and treble, etc. The opening keyboards alone will do an amazing job of letting you know exactly how you are going to want your setup to sound.

#3 The Beatles Abby Road 50th Anniversary Edition (New Mix by Giles Martin & Sam Okell)

What an amazing album to have in your collection no matter what! This particular version is an album mix from the original session tapes and is completely remixed. Treat your ears and your setup to this gem!