7 tracks that test every sound system from CEO Wilson Audio

When Daryl Wilson conducted a listening session for Wilson Audio's $788,000 Autobiography speaker, he didn't simply play music and ask everyone in the room if they heard it or not. Instead, he gave each track a clear technical task. During five listening sessions at LMC Home Entertainment (Scottsdale, Arizona), Wilson used the same seven-song playlist to evaluate specific elements of the system including imaging, depth, bass range, scale, timbre and resolution. This approach gives listeners clear clues to follow, rather than just making general, emotional judgments. In particular, these testing methods are completely free and can be effectively applied to evaluate much cheaper sound systems.

1. Bubbles by Yosi Horikawa (Sound and positioning test)

This music uses the sounds of table tennis, marbles and small objects moving continuously in space. Wilson uses this song to measure three factors: depth, width and clarity of the image. In a properly aligned system, the soundstage needs to extend to the back and sides of the wall. Each sound effect must establish an independent position, clearly separated in space instead of blending into the common background.

2. St. Francis by Michael Stearns (Soundstage depth test)

This is a test of the ability to reproduce the depth of space. Natural recordings at Mount Roraima (Venezuela) provide sound ranges at many different distances. Insect and bird sounds need to appear at a distance of approximately 10 meters, while fire sounds and human voices are located in separate locations. The most challenging is the sound of birds flying across the stage and gradually receding behind the left speaker. This sound needs to continue to create the feeling of moving farther back instead of being blocked at the speaker surface. Losing this effect will cause the soundstage to become flat and lose three-dimensionality.

3. Sunshine of Your Love by YOOKiE (Test the power of the bass line)

Wilson used 42 seconds of this remix to test the physical response of the 12-inch and 15-inch woofers. The test focuses on sound pressure and control of deep bass. According to Wilson's standards, the bass range meets the requirements when it creates a physical vibration effect that directly impacts the listener. However, the level of accuracy and power of the bass range in reality depends largely on how the speaker is configured and where the vent port interacts with the listening room.

4. Crooked Smilk (Sound Scale Test)

This is an electronic music piece produced entirely using computer software, without simulating any actual physical space. Wilson used Crooked to test the system's ability to handle virtual audio scale. If the system lacks control and low dynamics, the track will have a flat and narrow soundstage, on the contrary, a well-responsive system will reproduce a multi-dimensional, open and airy space exactly like the mix data.

5. Japanese Roots by TakéDaké With Neptune (Test the tone and sustain)

All musical instruments in this album are made from bamboo. The score plays a role in evaluating the accuracy of the material and the resonance of the notes. The sound system needs to distinguish the characteristics of bamboo compared to other types of wood. Besides, the static sound background is a mandatory technical element for the listener to recognize the natural fading and ending of each note. The level of quietness of the sound background directly reflects the ability of the speaker cabinet modules to handle internal vibrations and absorb sound.

6. Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin (Test for peeling)

This song was recorded using overdubbing by Bobby McFerrin for the entire range of sounds: lead vocals, simulated bass and body rhythms. The test requires the system to clearly separate the sound bands, keeping them in independent positions but still maintaining a harmonious connection so that the listener can identify that all of these sounds come from a single artist source.

7. The Pink Panther Theme by Henry Mancini (Emotions Test)

In the final music, the technical evaluation criteria are removed. The goal of playing this familiar song is to trigger the listener's personal memories. This conclusion aims to confirm that the optimal technical parameters tested through the previous 6 music tracks are essentially a tool to optimize the user's music listening experience and emotional connection. Technical limitations of testing methods Although they provide detailed evaluation data, these tests are still governed by the principles of acoustic physics. Wilson describes Autobiography's ability to align modules as having zero latency, but according to published specifications, the system achieves a latency of about 1 microsecond. Although this is an extremely small index, it is not absolute zero. Furthermore, phase synchronization accuracy varies directly based on the listener's position relative to the source. According to acoustic studies, perfect phase synchronization is usually achieved only at a single sweet spot. Therefore, when using this list as a home reference, users should be aware that device capabilities only contribute a portion; Listening room acoustics, sound dissipation treatment methods, speaker placement and listening position are all technical factors that determine the final sound result. Source: headphonesty