All too often audiophiles brag that their expensive rig or headphone can play "Jazz at the Pawnshop" with superb dynamic, micro detail and much aplomb.

Well....sadly, that recording, as well as many other audiophile favorites tend to sound great out of almost every single system, rig, headphone and speaker out there. What's the use of demo'ing something that sounds relatively the same on every other system?

One way to really test your system is to use a bad recording. It doesn't have to be horrendous but a normal, mediocre recording will do nicely.

For vinyl folks, take for instance, a gray label pressing of Frank Sinatra's "Song's For Swingin' Lovers". A great record if there ever was one but the recording quality is good...not amazing. Play the second track. Can you hear Sinatra breathe a sigh of relief at the end? If not...your system is lacking detail and resolution!

For CD lovers and Digital Downloaders, try out a regular issue of Bill Evan's "Portrait In Jazz". Have you ever noticed all the high pitched noise in some of the tracks? How about them drop outs? If you have no idea what I am talking about....your system is lacking in resolution and detail.

While it never hurts to get your hearing checked by a professional audiologist, a simple, normal recording can do wonderful things for your system and for your benefit. I bet those $2,000 zebra wood headphones don't sound that amazing anymore...do they?