Great question as it's all too easy to get lost in a sea of subjectivity when it comes to audio playback.
One good way might to record friends or family talking. I found the quality from a digital camera to be surprisingly good but I'm pretty sure a decent smartphone would be good enough.
If the playback through your system convinces you that it's them then that's a good reference. I know it's an old Hi-Fi cliche but speech is a surprisingly good way to check accuracy, at least midrange accuracy.
As a bonus a simple home recording can also avoid innumerable recording effects such as compression, delay, reverb etc that are usually present in most commercial offerings.
I get the feeling that 'straight' recording is seen as taboo by most recording studios.
Apparently it's not what we want.
One good way might to record friends or family talking. I found the quality from a digital camera to be surprisingly good but I'm pretty sure a decent smartphone would be good enough.
If the playback through your system convinces you that it's them then that's a good reference. I know it's an old Hi-Fi cliche but speech is a surprisingly good way to check accuracy, at least midrange accuracy.
As a bonus a simple home recording can also avoid innumerable recording effects such as compression, delay, reverb etc that are usually present in most commercial offerings.
I get the feeling that 'straight' recording is seen as taboo by most recording studios.
Apparently it's not what we want.