Top of the Charts: The Songs the Sound Engineers Use to Tune Your Stereo

Car and Driver ^ | Published: Oct 23, 2021 | By Benjamin Hunting

[thecodont]

From the November 2021 issue of Car and Driver.

What's blasting from your car speakers, and more important, how does it sound? For sound-system engineers at the audio-equipment manufacturer Bose, a playlist is more than tracks that slap. To test stereos, they need songs representing a variety of sounds and recording techniques to make sure new systems can re-create a song with the depth of the original recording.

To have a common reference point, Bose engineers all over the globe share a master playlist. "Every system engineer knows these tracks inside and out," says Mark Armitage, head of the acoustical-engineering team at the company's Michigan field office. "It makes for a universal language we can use when testing and tuning."

Armitage says the 54-track Bose playlist is updated periodically, and engineers can use it alongside a smattering of their personal favorites or recent Grammy winners. He walked us through a few selections from his test list.

[Ignatz]

Let me preface this by saying that, IMHO, Bose products are overpriced.

Now, if “old men with money” whom aging has ungraciously lessened their sensitivity to certain audio frequencies find speakers that boost those frequencies, then those speakers DO sound great.

A moments reflection on your own comments would reveal that your’s and anyone else’s opinion of sound quality is invalid.
The only valid opinion is in the ears of the listener.

Further, if your claim about Amar Bose’s genius is correct, then Bose should be lauded for helping people to enjoy a richer tonal pallette as they age.

So, BOSE:
Butt-
Out
Sonic
Elitist

[usconservative]

No every listener who agrees calls in... ;-)

Those are the ones we don't let on the air. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[jy8z]

That’s a good story. Thanks for posting it.

[CaptainPhilFan]

You’re welcome!