Audiophile-Streaming – Official Playlist

I have put this playlist together with a lot of love, time and attention. It is not simply a collection of tracks that sound good. I deliberately chose music with very different qualities, recordings that make you listen a little more closely and sometimes reveal things about your system that you may not necessarily want to know.

Of course, this is also a very personal selection. These are songs I genuinely enjoy, and I have absolutely no intention of telling anyone what they should or should not like. Music is far too personal for that. Think of this playlist as an invitation: discover, enjoy, compare, turn up the volume and occasionally wonder what on earth your loudspeakers are doing.

Some tracks are here because they are simply wonderful recordings. Others are here because they can be challenging. And a few might even make you question some of your Hi-Fi choices.

Take Bad Guy by Billie Eilish. I absolutely love it. That dark, steaming beat is addictive, but when those seriously deep bass notes arrive, I instinctively reach for the volume control. My loudspeakers simply cannot handle that part of the track at the levels I would sometimes like to play it. And that is exactly why it belongs here. A good playlist should not only flatter your system, it should occasionally give it a hard time too.

Then there is Azwan by Driss El Maloumi. If loudspeakers could dance with joy, mine probably would when this starts playing. The recording feels wonderfully open, spacious and natural. Instruments have room to breathe, details appear effortlessly and everything seems to exist in its own little space. It is one of those recordings that can make you stop whatever you are doing and simply listen.

Naturally, a serious audiophile playlist cannot completely avoid a few familiar favourites. Birds by Dominique Fils-Aimé is here, as is Bubbles by Yosi Horikawa, a track that remains almost irresistible when you want to hear what a system can do with placement, space and tiny sonic details. And yes, the famous live version of Hotel California is included too. Sometimes a classic becomes a classic for a very good reason.

But this playlist is not intended to be another predictable collection of “audiophile test tracks”. I also wanted to include music that I simply love, recordings that make me forget about equipment, cables, DACs and specifications for a while. Because ultimately that is what all this equipment is supposed to do: disappear and leave us alone with the music.

I want to finish with one personal recommendation that perhaps not everyone knows: Soothing by Laura Marling. Listen to that wonderfully clean bass line. It sounds beautifully controlled and natural, but underneath it there is also a slightly sneaky, punchy weight that gives the track tremendous character. For me, it is an absolute must-listen and one of those recordings I keep coming back to. One small warning, though.

I accept absolutely no responsibility if, halfway through this playlist, you suddenly develop an overwhelming urge to visit your local Hi-Fi dealer. Nor can I be held responsible for unexpected loudspeaker upgrades, new amplifiers appearing in the living room, mysterious boxes arriving at the front door or difficult conversations about why you “really did need another DAC.”

After all… Life is too short for bad speakers.

Enough reading. Turn off the distractions, choose a track, sit back and listen.
There is plenty more music waiting for you on this website.

with regards,
Ronald
EarFluencer and CEO of the Volume knob