What are your go to LP's for evaluating new gear or new tubes?

I think this is the pink label version of TFTT, which I shall have to play this morning:

What you have is a 1976 reissue. They switched to the blue rim orange palm tree label for that reissue.

That fits. I bought it in 77 or 78 at Cheapo Cheapo on Rupert Street, Soho. I don't rate as high for the content as TFTT, but the sound is still very good.

For me it is usually Opus 3's Test Record 1. Especially the first track, Therese Juel's Tiden Bara Går. Then Barbirolli's Elgar Cello Concert and Sea Pictures. Both are very well recorded (goes without saying for any Opus 3 recordings) and I know them intimately, which means I quickly pick up on differences in the sound.

I'll have to watch for Opus 3's. I'm not sure I have any but I might. I have a fairly extensive collection and I often find things that I don't recall even buying. Getting old has it's advantages as well as disadvantages. :)

I know what you mean! I happen to be listening to one of their finest this morning, Cyndee Peter's Black Is The Color (1977, Opus 3 77-06). (Which is quite a change from the one I played before it—Quadrophenia!) I would not normally think of myself as a candidate for gospel singing, but It's impossible not to love this woman's voice!

One re-master definitely worth listening to is Steve Hoffman’s version of Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Lovely!

@billpete Perhaps not so lucky with this one:

It would be nice if discogs were more fussy about mentioning DBX status. I once got an LP that had the CBS CX noise reduction on it. That was said to be playable without the decoder, though there would be some compression. It was acceptable, but I also had the CD of that album and it did sound better!

I believe that was Vivaldi's Opus 3, not anything to do with the Swedish record company!

This one?

You're in for a treat. They recorded with a simple Blumlein pair and did minimal if any processing.

I now have about 7 copies in 6 versions.

I've been moving copies/duplicates/versions of various albums down to shelves in the basement to make more room for new LPs upstairs. A nice problem to have!

@billpete Test Record Number One? Yes, it's in Swedish, but he sound is universal. Many years ago I was in contact with Therese Juel, and she sent me her translation of the lyrics:

The phone is calling
I’m chasing out the sound
A voice in my ears says
“Hi – remember me?” 
I hesitate for a start
I’m little bit confused
Next moment I remember
Like a life from the past 
"I’m saying “Hi – hi my old friend"
“Where have you been? It was long time ago!
Hi my old friend” 
We´re sharing our lives
The time is passing by
Cause we haven't met
For many, many years
But I feel we were very close
As close as yesterday
The time is passing by 
And outside my door
the rain is falling down
The time is passing by

I had to doctor her English a bit, as her original made no sense to me.

Bill, those are the lyrics to Tiden Bara Går. Therese used to have a website and I think I contacted her through it. After her singing career she went back to university and became a lawyer. Very nice lady.

Chris

Another recommendation for an album with great sound is Suzanne Vega "Solitude Standing" (A&M SP 5136). I bought it on cassette in 1987 and hadn't heard it for many years. Since finding a vinyl copy on discogs it has become a regular wife-annoyer (she objects if she hears the same thing twice in a month). Remarkable sound.