Just saw "War of the Worlds" yesterday, mainly to hear how the S12 would do with the LFE. I was quite happy...with the Mirage that is. The movie absolutely sucks. Now I remember why I usually DON'T watch this kind of big-budget Hollywood FX crapola.

Lousy acting (pretty pathetic when a little 11 year old girl upstages the entire cast :eek: ), moronic dialogue/script, ugh I could barely sit through it. Suddenly made me wish I had some good leaf even though I haven't lit up in years and years.

So, am looking for suggestions of subwoofer-intensive flicks that have more than a half dozen brain cells to them.

The last good LFE flick I saw was "Master and Commander," "Lord of the Rings," "The Incredibles" and "Hero." Surely there must be more?

====

Edited to add: for newcomers to this now-humongous thread, one of the posters has graciously compiled a list of subwoofer movies---which, however, he declines to describe as "sucking" or "non-sucking."

You can see it by going to post #607:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8391074&&#post8391074

LOTR trilogy...

As a general rule, as bass in a DVD approaches reference extension, the movie's story line concomitantly falls to the lowest of lows as well.....

concomitanty

I had to look that up. I think you skipped an 'L'.

Seth

I had to look that up. I think you skipped an 'L'.

Seth

OOOPS! :D Thanks....and fixed!

Serenity.

Maybe not that great a sub movie, but it has its moments and the surround track is great; good flick, too

Here are a few other possibilities... depending on your tastes:

Das Boot
U-571 (some like it, some don't)
Saving Private Ryan
Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Master & Commander
Spider-Man 2
Open Range

Add to or clip from the above list as suits your tastes...

I have found that as my audio systems power and capability increased, there was a concomitant ;) reduction in my quality control of the material I played on the system. Actually, I kind of liked WOTW and found it (like most Spielberg films) entertaining but I will admit to an over all reduced level of QC. For me the rule of thumb is, if it sounds good, I will attempt to watch it. For example, I am really looking forward to the DVD release of King Kong. Do I believe that this is going to be a good movie? Probably not but I bet it will sound great and be fun to watch.

master and commander--you've seen.
U-571--I really enjoyed it on my regular tv--loved it with my new system.
You mentioned LOTR trilogy--awesome.
If you liked hero you must watch "house of flying daggers", highly recommend
Nemo--surprising good bass, great movie
Saving Private Ryan--One of the absolute best movies and soundtracks
tears of the sun--if you can tolerate the constant bruce willis close up stares--its a good movie
Black Hawk Down--award winning sound, great true story
Behind enemy lines--some FX stuff, but not at all overdone.
The haunting has unbelievable bass, ok as a movie--doesn't totally suck
the Matrix trilogy--I haven't seen all 3, not really a fan but many people love them, good bass scenes
Star Wars trilogy--the new ones episode 1-3, I have seen all three, not a huge fan, but the originator of THX does know how to make a soundtrack that impresses
BladeII is supposed to have great bass, if you liked the first one it might be worth a shot
Apollo 13--good movie, not astounding bass--really only the take off scene and it is only ok
jurassic parks--3 and 1. The original is the best movie, the 3rd has better bass
Rundown--a movie I thought I would hate, but actually enjoyed--good sound, despite the Rock


The other end of the spectrum--War of the Worlds is probably the king of bass movies, but it does suck as a movie.
The absolute worst movies I have forced myself to stomach my way through--solely for the bass:

Godzilla (matthew broderick version)--unbelievably bad movie--can't believe they made it. It took three sittings to get through
Fantastic four--good sound, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE movie, fell asleep despite the shaking
Superman 2--I know tons of people love it, I barely made it through
Pearl harbor--really only one scene has good bass, the rest of the movie blows
Hellboy--probably the best on this list, but still bad--good bass though
and my #1 stinkfest movie with impressive bass....The Hulk. Holy S#@* what a peice of garbage that thing is. It is almost worth forcing yourself to sit through it just for the shear enjoyment of just how bad it is--It is so bad. That is the only thing making almost watchable--the fact that they actually made such a hunk of stinking dung. As much as I have tried I can't get through it. Still never seen every scene of it. Good bass and jennifer connelly--that is it.

So, what I think we are saying is, subwoofer/bass enthusiasts are not necessarily good movie critics. :)

One movie I enjoyed quite a bit and which you don't expect would be a big-bass flick is "Open Range". There's some cool thunder in the opening, but the shotgun stuff near the end is what really surprizes you, quite percussive.

I put my HT system together so I can enjoy mindless entertainment without going to the movie house and being surrounded by the mindless. My work requires me to be "On" all the time. It is nice to be able to shut down and watch something with good visuals and sound. If it isn't up to snuff in the dialog department or the situations are preposterous, well that can be entertaining as well for its humor. In contrast, watch Pride & Prejudice. Good dialog, boring as hell. It would have been just as satisfying to watch it on an iPod.

One of my favorites for sound is The Fifth Element. I understand the SuperBit version is better than the commercial release. There are some good explosions and when the evil entity speaks, good deep rumble.

One movie I enjoyed quite a bit and which you don't expect would be a big-bass flick is "Open Range". There's some cool thunder in the opening, but the shotgun stuff near the end is what really surprizes you, quite percussive.


second that,

also try 7 any of the matrix movies and there was one other animated movie damn cant think of it i remember them going through ice asteriods that had some serious bass

and there was one other animated movie damn cant think of it i remember them going through ice asteriods that had some serious bass
Titan A.E.


Tim

second that,

also try 7 any of the matrix movies and there was one other animated movie damn cant think of it i remember them going through ice asteriods that had some serious bass

That would be Titan A.E. I agree that it is a pretty good movie.

Iron Giant: Decent movie, good bass.

Polar Express: wrong time of the year, good movie, good sound FX

Adult Flix (non-porno):

Batman Begins
Patriots (Superbit Version)

AirForce One had some decent bass in it. It was a pretty good flick, not the best but I have not seen many Academy award winning movies (as far as story and content) that has the type of bass talked about here. Save for the likes of movies like Saving Private Ryan, there are very few.

Here are a few other possibilities... depending on your tastes:

Das Boot
U-571 (some like it, some don't)
Saving Private Ryan
Incredibles
Finding Nemo
Master & Commander
Spider-Man 2
Open Range

Add to or clip from the above list as suits your tastes...

Will have to try Open Range...isn't that a Western? I usually don't associate that genre with major LFE.

Spiderman 2...hope it's better than the first one, that was awful.

Private Ryan...first 20 minutes rocked, but all downhill from there.

U571 and Das Boot I'll have to try, though Das Boot is a pretty old film isn't it? Did they remaster it with dedicated sub channel output or what?

This thread reminded me why I only needed to go so far in the infrasonic bass department. Not that much for good films with a lot of infrasonic source material is out there.


Now, getting the bass even throughout the listening area by use of multiple subwoofers is another matter!

The Perfect Storm was a pretty good movie (based on a true story). I can't remember if it had a ton a bass though. I do know it had good special effects.

Will have to try Open Range...isn't that a Western? I usually don't associate that genre with major LFE.
Yeah, it's a Western, not what you'd expect much bass from. Worth watching, there just happens to be some good LFE there.

Das Boot is an amazing movie experience, period. Far, far better movie than U-571 IMO. The storm sequence and depth charges have content down below 15 Hz....

U571 and Das Boot I'll have to try, though Das Boot is a pretty old film isn't it? Did they remaster it with dedicated sub channel output or what?

Das Boot was originally filmed in the early 1980's for German TV. It was remastered in DD 5.1 in 1995 (approximately) for theatrical release. It is an AWESOME movie, definitely the best submarine movie ever made and IMHO one of the best war movies of any kind.

U571 has more bass effects but isn't 1/10th of the movie.

Dark City

Sky Captain
Unbreakable

You probably won't like those though either. ;)

Ladder 49 was a pretty good one I thought. Great bass in the opening scenes especially.

One movie I enjoyed quite a bit and which you don't expect would be a big-bass flick is "Open Range". There's some cool thunder in the opening, but the shotgun stuff near the end is what really surprizes you, quite percussive. Amen. While the opening rain scene isn't a boomer, it is most realistic. Not one person I've played this scene for has failed to turn and look around behind them. I think it is a relatively unique experience to be watching a rain scene in a movie, and really have the sound of the rain all around you. It is a startling experience. Good gun battle, and pretty good flick.

As the OP and some others have noted, there are not all that many good movies with great bass. Some that come to mind (many already mentioned):

Iron Giant
Das Boot
Blackhawk Down
Master and Commander
From the Earth to the Moom (HBO Miniseries)
Aliens
Contact
Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas
Band of Brothers

best two movies I have seen so far this year, along with a good sound track are
Serenity and the new batman movie. I watched Serentiy twice. Best Batman movie I have seen so far.

Don't know how it qualifies for pure LFE, but the all time greatest testosterone moment in cinema was when Jesse the Body got capped in Predator and Bill Duke picks up his gatlin gun and all hell breaks loose. HELL YEAH! I'm going to go cue it up right now for some good alone time. Excuse me.

So, what I think we are saying is, subwoofer/bass enthusiasts are not necessarily good movie critics. :)

Yup.

Seth

I'm back. WOW thats good. Anyone got a cigarette?

Das Boot was originally filmed in the early 1980's for German TV. It was remastered in DD 5.1 in 1995 (approximately) for theatrical release. It is an AWESOME movie, definitely the best submarine movie ever made and IMHO one of the best war movies of any kind. ...One of my favorite movies that I first saw in German with English subtitles. I can't stand the English dub version; inauthentic.

YMMV

One of my favorite movies that I first saw in German with English subtitles. I can't stand the English dub version; inauthentic.

YMMV


I agree. With the current DVD versions, both the 3-1/2 hour "Drector's Cut" and the newer 5 hour "Uncut" version, you can choose between subtitles and dubbing. For the uncut version they redid the English dub using some of the original actors from the film, but they also toned down the "saltiness" of the original dialog. So, subtitles are still best.

but they also toned down the "saltiness" of the original dialog.

ARRRRRGH!

5 hours with a bunch of guys in a submarine, dunno about that part though... :D

I did foreget Titan AE on my list of monster bass movies. The story is ok--i just couldn't deal with the huge contrast of quality between the awesome background/space scenes and the crappy human chracters. It was like watching Nemo with fred and barney. The space scenes are great, the ice field scene has unbeleivably hot deep bass, but the cartoon people just annoy the heck out of me. Also, I could do without some of the singing scenes--reminded me of a disney type movie from years gone by.

I have not seen Das boot but have heard that it is the single greatest war movie ever made. It is on my list to see.

I do agree that there are very few movies with quality bass that are truly good movies.

Good thread.

Here's how good Das Boot is:

You know it is the Germans fighting against us and within 10-15 minutes you are rooting for them. I have seen a lot of war movies and this is my favorite.

As far as bass, there is a tremendous amount of bass in the surrounds if you run full range. It is almost certain that you will bottom out your surrounds if you do this. My surrounds were flat to 15Hz when I watched this film the first time and they were pushed to the max.

Boy I'd love to have Das Boot in HD, what a tremendous film ! The slow pace gets to some people but without it, the way life must have been for them could never have been conveyed in any meaningful way IMO.

Art

BTW you can find cheap Superbits at Bestbuy. Das boot for 9.99 what a deal.

Also its best on superbit, DTS, directors cut, and it won't let you hear the english Dub, GOOD!

Also Band of Brothers is a delight in everyway.

I think War of the Worlds was pretty good. Speilberg was working with what he had available. Its a remake and sticking to the original which unfortunately isn't all that great of a movie. Everyone expects the hollywood ending now a days, all ties wrapped up, but WOTW is different from what we're used too, which most percieve as a bad movie.

Everyone expects the hollywood ending now a days, all ties wrapped up, but WOTW is different from what we're used too, which most percieve as a bad movie.

It was more reality then perception. (The total movie was poorly done!)

Apocalypse Now has some bass.

Another not well known German war movie with outstanding LFE is Downfall (or Der Untertag) filmed in 2004, about Hitlers last days in the bunker while the Battle of Berlin rages with the Russians. With the scarily realistic bombardment going on in the streets overhead it made me feel like my HT was in the bunker as well. Like Das Boot, best watched in German with subtitles. Phenomenal acting.

Das Boot is a classic. Love it. One of the best war films out there. LIke one of the other posters mentioned don't watch it with it dubbed in english. Ruins the movie.
Red October is decent too. Stargate special editon with 6.1es is very good too. Not with macguver but with kurt russel. Blow is a good show with a nice soundtrack of 70's music. Jurassic Park 1 and 3. very good bass. i well not even mention number 2. End of days is got some crazy bass and surround effects. the movie isn't great though. Man on fire is a good movie and has great sound. The first bourne identity also. A good comedy with lots of bass is jay and silent bob strike back.

good one I forgot smokey--I'll second Man on Fire--really good movie. Way more/better than I expected and the sound is pretty good.

Also Band of Brothers is a delight in everyway.

I couldn't agree more. This is not only one of the best miniseries I have ever seen period, but it is one of my favorites for surround effects. I watch the DTS version about 5db from reference and it's a very immersive experience. People talking would be just as you would hear in real life....and then the artillery starts exploding all around you. The LFE is pretty intense in some scenes and the levels for each channel are fantastic.

i too was surprised with man on fire. one of my favorite movies. good story, great acting. Band of brothers is great too. lots of action. Its all based on a true story too. We were solders, was a decent film too. I forgot to mention the movie hackers. Has some killer bass in that movie. Its also a good flick. I'd say war of the worlds has the best bass i've ever heard. But like edster mentioned its down right horrible to watch for story and acting. doesn't do the book justice. JUst watch Jarhead has really excellent sound and is a good movie. Twister is still one i like to pop in and watch the sound is crazy. i never get bored watching that cranked loud.

The best bass I have heard yet is while sitting in a bunker in Iraq, just not to enjoyable. I will say that when I read these post, I sure can't wait for my next R&R to hear my system. Which will be in 2 weeks, the first stop is the movie rental. Oh and the low flying helicopters do a number on the body that makes me think of my surround sound.

This gave me a chuckle...'Subwoofer Movies' :D

If only the producers, director, actors, writer, etc., knew that they were all just background noise to the LFE track :p

Bosso

The Beast is a good war flick too. Its about a german tank on patrol in Afganistan I believe it was. Great movie. Anyone seen it???

I saw The Beast many years ago on HBO late at night I think. I don't remember much from the movie, but I do remember being 10 or 11 at the time and being traumatized by the scene showing a prisoner being run over by a tank (I think this is the same movie)....one of the more brutal scenes I've seen in a movie....don't know if it would appear less brutal now that I'm older though.

The Beast is a good war flick too. Its about a german tank on patrol in Afganistan I believe it was. Great movie. Anyone seen it???
Good flick

The best bass I have heard yet is while sitting in a bunker in Iraq, just not to enjoyable. I will say that when I read these post, I sure can't wait for my next R&R to hear my system. Which will be in 2 weeks, the first stop is the movie rental. Oh and the low flying helicopters do a number on the body that makes me think of my surround sound.

Thanks for this post and putting these war movie LFE into perspective.

I couldn't agree more. This is not only one of the best miniseries I have ever seen period, but it is one of my favorites for surround effects. I watch the DTS version about 5db from reference and it's a very immersive experience. People talking would be just as you would hear in real life....and then the artillery starts exploding all around you. The LFE is pretty intense in some scenes and the levels for each channel are fantastic.


There is a DTS version of Band of Brothers?

Yeah, I wasn't aware that there wasn't a DTS version. My copy of Band of Brothers is in the metal case and has a DTS track for each episode.

Yeah, I wasn't aware that there wasn't a DTS version. My copy of Band of Brothers is in the metal case and has a DTS track for each episode.


i have the copy in the metal case as well but i don't recall seeing a DTS track.......i will check again tonight. I will be PO'ed if i paid all this money and didn't get a DTS track......

do you also have the DD track? or only DTS?

I remember the movie "Black Hawk Down" getting a lot of press a few years ago but I've never seen it. How is that movie visually and (sub)sonically?

I remember the movie "Black Hawk Down" getting a lot of press a few years ago but I've never seen it. How is that movie visually and (sub)sonically?


get the superbit (DTS) version....

it's a great movie, visually and subsonically.

there is a scene, 35 minutes into the movie, when the general gives the order to proceed with the misssion, codenamed "Irene"......

a helo pilot says, "fuc!king Irene" then all the helos fire up their engines and i think there are some really low LFE frequencies during the next several seconds when the rotors begin to rotate, my pb10 shook my living room and my sofa........ :) it was awesome

do you also have the DD track?

yes i do. i can change it to DTS by accessing the languages for each episode.

Batman Begins

This is one of the only movies where my wife came downstairs to see what us guys were watching. I didn't notice it so much but she said that the bass was almost non-stop. On a replay I made a point of paying closer attention and I have to agree, Batman Begins gives the subwoofer a workout! :cool:

The best-sounding scene though has to be the tripod coming out of the street in WOTW (DTS)

Runner-up: The opening battle in Master and Commander (DTS)

Mark

Another not well known German war movie with outstanding LFE is Downfall (or Der Untertag) filmed in 2004, about Hitlers last days in the bunker while the Battle of Berlin rages with the Russians. With the scarily realistic bombardment going on in the streets overhead it made me feel like my HT was in the bunker as well. Like Das Boot, best watched in German with subtitles. Phenomenal acting.
I saw this in someone's house, without a subwoofer. Loved the movie. Absolutely brilliant acting. (I wouldn't think of watching a dubbed version, but I don't think one even exists.)

I got a copy of my own for Christmas, but haven't played it yet because I got a new receiver and sub, too, and I've be watching all the usual suspects for great sound. I had no clue Downfall might be one of them.

Thanks for the tip. Can't wait to see and hear it again.

yes i do. i can change it to DTS by accessing the languages for each episode.


awesome......i found it now......

i never bothered to check the "language" section before

DTS rocks

Note: This is a cross-post, as I posted early today to a similar subject thread in the Speaker Forum, thinking I was posting to this thread! Anyway, I have taken the liberty of copy & pasting that same post, as I thought some here might find the movie mentioned of interest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is one that most have probably not seen: D-Tox (alternately Eye See You)

This was a Sylvester Stallone film made back in 1999 that did not get released here in DVD. In it, Stallone plays a cop who initially chases a serial killer; which ends up getting his girlfriend killed; which inturn causes him to fall in to the bottle. His boss (Charles S. Dutton) sends him to dry-out in some remote frozen Northern gulag of a detox center for alchy LEOs. Strong supporting cast includes: Kris Kristopherson, Tom Beringer, Robert Patrick and several other solid actors. The Movie was kind of a slasher B-flick; but in a good, "guilty pleasure" sort of way.

The Japanese DVD I viewed was a 2.35 transfer with a bass-heavy 5.1 soundtrack. Lotsa of low rumbling bass to be had here. In fact, I recall that the bass revealed a couple places on my second floor landing that I needed to have the glass inserts re-caulked along several of the edges, because the bass was vibrating them so badly. Also found out which wine glasses in the kitchen cupboard were touching each other. Not the greatest movie for sure, but still worthwhile beyond the rumbling bass; and likely more entertaining than the 99th viewing of The Fifth Element!

not a movie (well, pilot maybe) but if you haven't seen BSG off DVD or in HD you don't know what you're missing on the audio side. I got the DVDs as soon as they came out and FINALLY got SWMBO to watch the pilot. she immediately got hooked and we plowed through seasons 1 & 2.0 off DVDs in two weeks (to make 2.5 premier). the sound is simply awesome (when things go wrong/in battle/etc.)

not a movie (well, pilot maybe) but if you haven't seen BSG off DVD or in HD you don't know what you're missing on the audio side. I got the DVDs as soon as they came out and FINALLY got SWMBO to watch the pilot. she immediately got hooked and we plowed through seasons 1 & 2.0 off DVDs in two weeks (to make 2.5 premier). the sound is simply awesome (when things go wrong/in battle/etc.)
Haven't seen the DVDs, but the HD broadcasts do sound good. Not WotW/LotR/Batman Begins/Star Wars I,II,III/Das Boot/The Haunting/etc. demo quality, perhaps, but very effective.

Jakesdad, I totally agree with you about BSG. I got season 1 this past Christmas and I couldn't believe the quality of the picture and sound. The music is absolutely phenomenal, as are the environmental sound effects. I love the low, punchy bass that accompanies the Viper's blaster fire.

As for the total package, the best part of season 1 absolutely has to be Kobol's Last Gleaming. Wow. Everything from awesome space battles to cool planet scenes and an incredible score.

I've yet to see BSG in HD but I am so impressed with the DVD that I don't really mind.

Mark

5 hours with a bunch of guys in a submarine, dunno about that part though... :D

I agree, the 3-1/2 hour version (Director's Cut) is plenty long enough. Believe me, it is so engrossing that the time flies by. It also has a director's commentary track which the uncut version doesn't have. All in all, I think Director's Cut is the version to get.

Doesn't The Haunting win the award for worst movie still worth watching for the bass?

As for the total package, the best part of season 1 absolutely has to be Kobol's Last Gleaming. Wow.

I can wait to get my hands on the 2.5 DVDs and see the last two episodes w/the Clyon battle on Caprica.

I'm going to go out on a limb and bet that will be worthy of a high-end sub...

Doesn't The Haunting win the award for worst movie still worth watching for the bass?

Hey, at least it's got the Cathrine Zeta Jones "eye candy" thing going for it!!! The Fog has some nice extention and is really bad.
I watched Black Hawk Down for the first time last night....very good war movie but wasn't overly impressed with the LFE though...about like The Island which is semi-good on the LFE and for some reason a movie I really like alot ..even more than Serenity which has some really good LFE in it..also Batman Begins is pretty good ...Waiting on King Kong DVD, which I haven't seen yet...I bet it has to have some good chest pound scenes in it. The lightning and pod emerging scene from WotW's is the demo I still use to blow my friends away with though....awesome LFE scene...

I didn't care for Serenity (although I am a fan of sci-fi) or Titan A.E.

Good movies with good bass, as far as my tastes go:
House of Flying Daggers
Master & Commander
Kill Bill
Matrix triology
LOTR trilogy
Batman Begins
The Rundown
Jurassic Park 1
Star Wars Eps 1 & 2
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Spider-Man 2
Harry Potter 2 -- I'm allowed to like it since I have a 7yo daughter ;)
The Incredibles


I agree with the BSG suggestion. I have the soundtrack for Season 1 and some of the tracks have incredible bass (most of the songs have strong Taiko drums).

Flight of the Phoenix (DTS) - any part when the plane is flying. Awesome

My house was moving!

Flight of the Phoenix (DTS) - My house was moving!

I beg to disagree on the question of "suck"-iness. The original version of this movie, with James Stewart et al, was excellent and gritty. The re-make, however, while it may have great bass, sucks bigtime thanks to a ridiculous script, improbable action, and terrible acting. So the re-make is not a movie with great bass that "does not suck", which is the subject of this thread.

the beast is a great war flick. its about the russians in afganistan in the early 80's. The thin red line, is another good war flick. Battles have great bass and its a pretty good show too. I would say full metal jacket which is my favorite war show. but there is not a lot of bass in it. Predator in DTS is good also. Behind enemy lines is a real good show with tones of bass and action. Great scene with the fighter jet trying to out run the sam missile. Or when he has to run threw the mine feild. Forgot all about that one might watch it tonight.

I agree about Flight of the Phoenix. I watched it, recorded off of HBO-HD, and the only positive it had going for it was the sound effects of the plane crashing. Other than that it was a waste of my time.

Doesn't The Haunting win the award for worst movie still worth watching for the bass?

It could be tied with 'Torque' . Torque is Ed Wood bad but I have to admit on its audio and video merits I consider it a reference disk.

It could be tied with 'Torque' . Torque is Ed Wood bad but I have to admit on its audio and video merits I consider it a reference disk.

A couple I enjoyed that were not mentioned are

The Day After Tomrrow (if you can get past all the policitcal BS in it)

The Island

Into The Blue (it was pretty good)


I might watch the Ice Harvest and The Cave tomorrow. We will see.

-Eli

A couple I enjoyed that were not mentioned are

The Day After Tomrrow (if you can get past all the policitcal BS in it)

The Island

Into The Blue (it was pretty good)


I might watch the Ice Harvest and The Cave tomorrow. We will see.

-Eli

I know! I almost choked on all the political BS in DAT!!! I can't believe people think that global warming is real! Gimme a break! I can't believe I supported their warped agenda by even watching it either!! But watch out for The Cave too, it's pretty slanted with almost as much political BS as DAT.

Two others that haven't been mentioned: 1) the Bond flick, "GoldenEye" -- the opening sequence in the arms market, when Brosnan tries to blow up the whole place to steal a jet - and the US Navy succeeds; and 2) the thunderstorm sequence in the IMAX flick "Blue Planet". cyberbri, you should appreciate that one, it's another "Save Our Planet" theme :rolleyes:.

One that was a really disappointing transfer was the IMAX DVD version of "The Dream is Alive". The first shuttle launch sequence is missing all the LFE -- my Laser Disc version has lots of LFE which rattles the house when the solid rockets fire (just like in the IMAX theaters, the ones with the 6 or 8 - 32" Electrovoice subwoofers). It looks like I'll have to make my own DVD transfer.

Just finished watching this. The DD-18 did it's thing in this really good scifi film. Great LFE, special effects and good writing. Check it out.

Sorry couldn't let that go cyberbri--its just to easy. So, I guess the fact that this January was the warmest January on record (the last 150+ years) doesn't mean anything then? Also I guess the fact that something like 5 of the 10 hottest years on record have occured in the last 10 years doesn't mean anything either? And I also must assume that every industrialized country in the world (over 130-except the one ran by dubya) all signed the documents outlining ways to reduce global warming are completely ignorant morons in the pockets of some tree hugging hippies with some crazy radical agenda to do what?...or yeah, not pollute our planet further--sounds pretty logical to me because that makes them tons of money, how? Yep, that makes sense to me. Not to continue the political conversation, but I just had to state the above. It is just too obvious. To get back on point, I agree with you completely, though, the movie completely blew and it was laid on way too thick.

FLight of phoenix does have some crazy bass during the crash scene, the rest is just ok at best. I am looking forward to watching the original.

The Haunting is definatley not a good movie, but nowhere near the worst movie with awesome bass. Have you seen or should I say tried to watch The Hulk or Godzilla? These greatly surpass the haunting on a stinkfest scale. I can't beieve they made these steaming piles of dung.

Sorry couldn't let that go cyberbri--its just to easy.

Maybe I'm not reading you correctly - but I was taking a jab at the person that said the comment originally, and I thought adding a comment about the heavy political BS in "The Cave" made that abundantly clear. I'm not one of the Limbaugh followers who believes him when he says "global warming is a hoax" (yes, he actually said this - and I almost drove off the road when I heard him - okay, not really, but it was shocking nonetheless).

gotcha. I must have missed what you meant. Again, I find the whole subject hilarious.

Sorry couldn't let that go cyberbri--its just to easy. So, I guess the fact that this January was the warmest January on record (the last 150+ years) doesn't mean anything then? Also I guess the fact that something like 5 of the 10 hottest years on record have occured in the last 10 years doesn't mean anything either?

Unfortunately thanks to the third world countries in Africa and Asia cutting down and burning the rainforests all the good work done to reduce emissions in the developed countries will mean nothing as research has shown that the rate these rainforests are being burned at actually puts the whole planet at risk more than any emissions from our countries and in fact negates any good done by the developed nations agreement ( thats according to a good documentary i recently watched from the BBC ) Logging is some of the reason those rainforests get cut down and also burnt in order to clear land for farming and the bad thing is not only do species become extinct every day but possible cures for cancer can be found in the exotic species of rainforests and thats all being lost so although a lot of nations have done their best to cut dangerous emissions which are destroying the planet its considered by some experts that it will all be for nothing unless we can stop the rainforest destruction.

I better add some movies to keep the discussion relevant.

I like the following for bass ( it may not always be the lowest but i consider these movies to have great bass content and surround activity and just a natural great sounding movie soundtrack )

Jurassic Park 3 ( amazing bass and surround activity and enjoyable flick in dts )
Dawn of the Dead - unrated Japanese dts edition ( huge bass - enjoyable movie )
The Haunting dts ( better than people give it credit for - i liked it )
King Kong ( nice low bass and great surround and fantastic pic and movie )
Hero - Region 3 ( full bitrate dts edition ) - good pic and lovely surround activity coupled with nice low deep bass and the story is pretty good too - subtitles
Spiderman 2 dts Superbit edition ( very deep bass and surrounds always active )
Planet of the Apes ( 2001 remake - deep bass especially during the spaceship crash sequence which impressed me greatly and really good picture quality and surround activity its just a pity that the movie loses its way a little during the second half because upto that point it entertained me )
Hellboy - directors cut ( good deep bass and generous surround activity )
Cutthroat Island ( full bitrate dts edition from Japan - i liked this movie so much i paid £54 to import it - thats about $95 - picture is not so hot as its full of edge enhancement but sound is gorgeous - great soundtrack music and lovely surround activity and great low deep bass - pity about image quality and only reason it cost so much is because post office charged an additional £20 and customs stung me too - usually average cost from Japan is £25 to £35 pounds )

I could probably add another fifty some of which would be better than the movies mentioned but who would read ?

I'm not one of the Limbaugh followers who believes him when he says "global warming is a hoax" (yes, he actually said this - and I almost drove off the road when I heard him - okay, not really, but it was shocking nonetheless).
I listen to Limbaugh regularly, and I've never heard him say that. What I have heard him say is that "man made global warming is a hoax". Interesting how the two words you left off completely change the meaning. After all the earth has been through several ice ages, and man wasn't around to cause those, or cause them to end, so it might be a tad early to blame humans for the climate shifts this time. I wonder if natural cycles of the sun (the largest source of global energy) could be responsible?

I didn't leave off any words. I heard him say "global warming is a hoax" - maybe not exactly those words, but he didn't say anything about "man-made."

...After all the earth has been through several ice ages, and man wasn't around to cause those, or cause them to end, so it might be a tad early to blame humans for the climate shifts this time. I wonder if natural cycles of the sun (the largest source of global energy) could be responsible?
I agree that may very well be the case, but given the stakes, wouldn't it be prudent to take the advice of the vast majority of scientists who believe the present cycle is man made?

We now return to our regularly scheduled topic... ;)

I agree about Flight of the Phoenix. I watched it, recorded off of HBO-HD, and the only positive it had going for it was the sound effects of the plane crashing. Other than that it was a waste of my time.

Ok - movie was ok, wife liked it. But you need to hear it in DTS! I don't currently have a sub at this time, but the bass is incredible! For me, it's one of my reference movies.

Bass is cool, but for me it doesn't save a movie.

I agree that may very well be the case, but given the stakes, wouldn't it be prudent to take the advice of the vast majority of scientists who believe the present cycle is man made?



Or at least being exacerbated by man?


Ie. -- humans die, it's inevitable.
So does smoking kill, if humans die anyway? Or does smoking just speed that process along?

LOTR:Two Towers where the riders(of Rowhan) were charging to meet the Wyld Riders/ orgs (with Legolas taking them down with his bow and arrow)! Friggin' awesome bass!

Pirate of the Carribean had some great bass as well as utilizing the surround speakers quite well....(the cannonballs flying from front to rear especially)..


SW EP. 3 was a HUGE disappointment soundwise!!! The bass felt like it never got below 50! I watched it in 2 different Harkin's cinemas (one was the huge CineCapri which is okay on bass simply due to it's size but the much smaller cinema 15 usually rattles your teeth out and didn't even vibrate my seat!!)


WotW was a great bass one and the basement scenes pushed the Klipsch's horns perfectly..amost had to run to the RR for a #1 due to that!! :p :p :p

Sorry couldn't let that go cyberbri--its just to easy. So, I guess the fact that this January was the warmest January on record (the last 150+ years) doesn't mean anything then? Also I guess the fact that something like 5 of the 10 hottest years on record have occured in the last 10 years doesn't mean anything either? And I also must assume that every industrialized country in the world (over 130-except the one ran by dubya) all signed the documents outlining ways to reduce global warming are completely ignorant morons in the pockets of some tree hugging hippies with some crazy radical agenda to do what?...or yeah, not pollute our planet further--sounds pretty logical to me because that makes them tons of money, how? Yep, that makes sense to me. Not to continue the political conversation, but I just had to state the above. It is just too obvious. To get back on point, I agree with you completely, though, the movie completely blew and it was laid on way too thick.

Are you referring to the Kyoto Accord? If you are, you might want to get your facts in order...

Over a year before ALGore signed the 'treaty'(it WAS signed by the way) the Senate passed a resolution:

http://www.nationalcenter.org/KyotoSenate.html

The Senate voted 95-0. That means every Senator voted for it.

It reads, in part:

...

Whereas the Senate strongly believes that the proposals under negotiation, because of the disparity of treatment between Annex I Parties and Developing Countries and the level of required emission reductions, could result in serious harm to the United States economy, including significant job loss, trade disadvantages, increased energy and consumer costs, or any combination thereof; and

Whereas it is desirable that a bipartisan group of Senators be appointed by the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate for the purpose of monitoring the status of negotiations on Global Climate Change and reporting periodically to the Senate on those negotiations: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--

(1) the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol to, or other agreement regarding, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, at negotiations in Kyoto in December 1997, or thereafter,

...

In truth 162 countries have ratified the agreement. 120+ of them had absolutely no reason not to, because they were all exempt from any restrictions. Including 'developing' countries like India and China :rolleyes:

China, i'm certain you already know, is the world's second largest producer of 'greenhouse gases'.

Of the other 'Industrial' countries, the U.S. has by far the most to lose by entering into this flawed agreement.

Anyway, War of the worlds....great bass...yadda yadda.

hmmm, maybe we should all agree to disagree on the whole global warming thing.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue, I think all of us can agree that The Day after tomorrow was ridiculously over the top.

I watched the LOTR Fellowship EE the other day w/ my new SVS 20-39+ my that movie is crazy bassy at times. especially diuring the whole Balrock and cavetroll scenes...

King Kong has great bass. Not as low or loud in the peaks as WOTW, but it's a much better flick. The bass in the movie is persistent throughout the entire 3 hours. It goes from a ship, to a crashing ship, to Kong, to dinosaurs and it goes on. Very loud and impressive.

Another great bass flick is the movie One Hour Photo. It has very loud bass in around the 30hz area in quite a few places. I had to turn my Omni S12 all the way down on it. Only movie that's ever made me do that.

Walk the line is similar.

and a quick joke....

Q: What is the difference between Rush Limbaugh and the Hindenburg?

A:One is a flaming fascist gasbag full of hot air, and the other is a dirigible

Global Warming was covered on last night's 60 Minutes. Read about the story here (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/60minutes/main1415985.shtml) and see video from the show here (http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/20/administration-muzzles-scientist/) and here (http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/03/20.html#a7587)



Nice joke, aragon, btw. I was thinking of a similar joke about his "hot air" being a major contributing factor to global warming...

Q: What is the difference between Rush Limbaugh and the Hindenburg?

A:One is a flaming fascist gasbag full of hot air, and the other is a dirigible

ROTFL!

So, what I think we are saying is, subwoofer/bass enthusiasts are not necessarily good movie critics. :)
Well, perhaps not NECESSARILY -- alot of elements are at play in what makes a "good" movie critic -- ability to write coherently might be one, but surely all that is necessary to the determination of what makes a great film versus the not-so-great, is the ability to critically evaluate the LFE content of a given production. I think you'll find, if you reflect upon it, that it really is just that simple.

i think someone recommended Contact so i watched it last night and 2 things...

1) AWESOME story! that and Foster is such a great actress in this movie!
2) HOUSE CRUMBLING BASS!!! ahhahaha especially towards the end.

go watch it!

I have an extra Sunfire True Signature EQ subwoofer, Sunfire's flagship sub that I would like to trade or sell. It is a 10/10, just opened to examine unit. $1429 + shipping.

Also looking for a Panasonic Plasma 42". A possible trade + $$'s?

Tally

Outright sales pitches and selling goes on in the classifieds, not here.

1. Explosion of the planet Praxus: Star Trek: Undiscovered Country
2. Salvage team cutting into Ripleys' adrift ship. Aliens
3. Opening sequence of a stampede. Rustlers' Rapsoady
4. Many scenes especially those big rifles shots. Quigley Down Under
5. The tornado scenes. Twister

1- 3 all are in the first 5-10 mins of the movie. Enjoy

submarine falling into the abyss, chapter 10 of finding nemo.

opening battle of LOTR:FOTR where sauron (sp?) gets his hand sliced off and implodes.

well, on the rec of several people I Netflixed the first disc having never seen this show...and was quite disappointed.

Maybe my expectations were too high, I was hoping for something near the caliber of "Saving Private Ryan" and instead this felt like a cheap 1970s TV series with all the usual monly-mon locker-room crapola. So much of it felt very fake, like the parachute jump most of which screamed "computer animation!" Generally needs a good film editor to trim all the fat too.

That dorky guy from "Friends" playing the dorky drill instructor was a hoot, wow he should've stuck to sitcoms. :rolleyes:

Do the episodes get better as you go along? I'm debating whether to rent Disc 2 or not.

I'd definitely save my money. I think your mind is already made up.

I'm surprised that no one mentioned The Perfect Storm. Enough bass to make you sea sick...

well, on the rec of several people I Netflixed the first disc having never seen this show...and was quite disappointed.

Maybe my expectations were too high, I was hoping for something near the caliber of "Saving Private Ryan" and instead this felt like a cheap 1970s TV series with all the usual monly-mon locker-room crapola. So much of it felt very fake, like the parachute jump most of which screamed "computer animation!" Generally needs a good film editor to trim all the fat too.

That dorky guy from "Friends" playing the dorky drill instructor was a hoot, wow he should've stuck to sitcoms. :rolleyes:

Do the episodes get better as you go along? I'm debating whether to rent Disc 2 or not.


Wait till you get to Carentan, Bastogne or the Breaking point, not up with SPR but not bad for an HBO series.

Personally, I think Band of Brothers puts Saving Private Ryan to shame...I own both Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan...I've watched Saving Private Ryan maybe 3 times since I bought it (about the time it came out)....I've watched Band of Brothers about 4 times since I bought it in September. Band of Brothers does a much better job with character development...yes, the first two episodes are a bit slow going, but it builds from there. Carentan and Bastogne are great episodes, but like someone else said...you probably have already made up your mind regarding the series which is fine...I'm not faulting you for that. I just honestly can't see how someone COULDN'T like this miniseries.

How long is Band of Brothers?

Personally, I think Band of Brothers puts Saving Private Ryan to shame...I own both Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan...I've watched Saving Private Ryan maybe 3 times since I bought it (about the time it came out)....I've watched Band of Brothers about 4 times since I bought it in September. Band of Brothers does a much better job with character development...yes, the first two episodes are a bit slow going, but it builds from there. Carentan and Bastogne are great episodes, but like someone else said...you probably have already made up your mind regarding the series which is fine...I'm not faulting you for that. I just honestly can't see how someone COULDN'T like this miniseries.

hmm, well since this is all Netflix not $4 a pop at Blockbuster, I'll give it another shot...which episode # is Carentan and Bastogne? Can I skip a few episodes to get to those, or would those episodes not make any sense if I did?

Carentan is #3, Bastogne #6, 10 parts total, run time 600 min. Don't skip any.

Story wise band of brothers is much better, SPR is better in the sound but not by much.

Dont' skip a chapter!!

Best "subwoofer movie" is The incredibles. I would sit with a funny grin even with the LFE turned off. And with a good sub that movie just rocks :=)

Watched Braveheart last night, I didn't remember it having as much LFE as it did

Another vote for the "nothing but trailers" previews on HDNET. I watched this the other night and definately had to turn the volume down from my normal listening levels.

Jim

I recently watched Das Boot--Great movie no doubt. I wouldn't put it on my bass demo list, though. the depth charge scenes from U-571 put it so shame.

Another movie I watched last night again for the first time--since the HT, was House of Flying Daggers. I have seen this movie on my old pro-logic set up on a 27" tv and really enjoyed it. Last night I was almost in awe on my new system. I have seen the "echo game" seen a few dozen times on systems costing 10-20 times what mine does, but there still is nothing quite like hearing/seeing it in your own home. The most impressive thing about the scene to me is all the subtle nouances of it. There are many parts of it that are almost completely silent and you can hear the water fountains in the background and the other girls giggling on the balcony. You also can hear the breathing of the characters--simply amazing. Then of course is the powerful drum beats. When combined with the amazing colors and dancing ability of the exquisite miss Zhang Ziyi, it all adds up to be one of the best home theater show-off scenes I can think of. The background scenery of this movie is breath taking with the beautiful colors. The bamboo forest fight scene really utilized all 7 channels extensively. Overall, I liked Hero better, but this one is definatley a must have as well.

Another movie I watched a few nights ago was "Shine." Geoffery Rush plays David Helfgott, a world class pianist. I didn't expect much from a sound standpoint, and definately nothing special from the sub on this movie, but there is one scene that truly is amazing sonically. Of course, there is some ridiculously complex and awe inspiring piano playing but the director really goes inside the artist as to what it must have been like for him in slow motion. I won't give anything away but it has some very impressive sound. If you are looking for a good story and like "artsy-fartsy" movies that will impress your little lady, check this out.

Another movie I watched last night again for the first time--since the HT, was House of Flying Daggers. I have seen this movie on my old pro-logic set up on a 27" tv and really enjoyed it. Last night I was almost in awe on my new system. I have seen the "echo game" seen a few dozen times on systems costing 10-20 times what mine does, but there still is nothing quite like hearing/seeing it in your own home. The most impressive thing about the scene to me is all the subtle nouances of it. There are many parts of it that are almost completely silent and you can hear the water fountains in the background and the other girls giggling on the balcony. You also can hear the breathing of the characters--simply amazing. Then of course is the powerful drum beats. When combined with the amazing colors and dancing ability of the exquisite miss Zhang Ziyi, it all adds up to be one of the best home theater show-off scenes I can think of. The background scenery of this movie is breath taking with the beautiful colors. The bamboo forest fight scene really utilized all 7 channels extensively. Overall, I liked Hero better, but this one is definatley a must have as well.



I agree with this (except I don't know if I like Hero better or not).
If your bass is too hot or boomy, the drums all sound the same. But when properly calibrated, each drum hit sounds different, very textured and detailed. From the end of the subsequent fight scene, the sound is superb. I have the R3 Edko with the full bit-rate DTS version. I still need to watch this all the way through again, with all my recent tweaks since I first saw it (including my new subwoofer) - I've only demoed a few scenes but it sounds great at -15 to -20. I need to watch Hero again too one of these days...

i'd love to get my hands on some more DTS full bit-rate version movies--especially that one. Athough, it was one of the few movies that I remeber that I really loved the sound of in DD--DTS isn't an option on my version. I only paid $12 for itI have been waiting for it to come down--my local store has had it for a while for $18. Well, actually it was kind of free as I traded spiderman 2 and proof of life for it--they gave me $13 store credit for the pair. BTW I watched it at -5--typical for me with DD recordings. DTS I usually watch -10. Those setting result in similar SPL I don't know if there is factual data to back that difference up, but in my system a DTS disc is louder by about 5db. I have found this to be true and fairly accurate with just about every disc I have. There are a few DD that are really recorded quiet and others a little hotter, but for the most part the above holds true.

Dolby Digital uses "Dialnorm," which tells the receiver to lower the volume (usually by 4dB). DTS doesn't use this, which is why DTS tracks are usually 4dB louder than the DD tracks of the same movie.

If your receiver saves speaker level settings per input, you can set DTS levels 4dB/notches quieter on all channels/sub than DD to even it out.


BTW, I got my HoFD R3 DTS, along with Kung Fu Hustle DTS (I think it's half bit-rate), from play-asia January of last year (before they came out in the US). They were $15 each, plus about $2.50-$3 shipping each. Not too bad. I have a modded region-free Panasonic DVD player, but I mainly use my HTPC for DVDs, and have AnyDVD installed so I can get past region codes (and skip pesky ads at the beginning too).

I'm surprised that no one mentioned The Perfect Storm. Enough bass to make you sea sick...

I think someone did a few pages back. I'm surprised that no one mentioned the chase scene in T3. Also, someone mentioned House of Flying Daggers? That dance scene is full of incredible bass....and you don't have to crank it up to hear it. Haven't seen WOTW yet. Saw KK when last in the states. I'm sure I'll watch it again for the bass scenes as a rental.
Javry

One I don't see listed (maybe because it doesn't qualify as "don't suck") is Total Recall. You can skip to the last scene to get the good bass when Mars changes its entire environment--hold onto your seat. The Daily Show even used a scene from this movie the other night, although it's older than Basic Instinct 1. The only reason I mention that is that one reason to watch the rest of the movie is a young Sharon Stone. (Hey, it's more relevant to this thread than a global warming debate!)

Well, perhaps not NECESSARILY -- alot of elements are at play in what makes a "good" movie critic -- ability to write coherently might be one, but surely all that is necessary to the determination of what makes a great film versus the not-so-great, is the ability to critically evaluate the LFE content of a given production. I think you'll find, if you reflect upon it, that it really is just that simple.

"A little" is two words. So is "a lot."

The movie Twister has some awesome sections in this movie. each scene with a tornado is good.

Yes, however, twister sucks.

go to .... star wars III and go to the ateroid feild when bobah fet releases the siesmic charges!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

I never noticed it in watching the show on TV, but I'd be curious to find out what the bass content on the Battlestar Galactica DVDs is. It's much different with its own dedicated LFE channel, it seems to have some fairly deep and punchy bass in it.

Narnia - kicks some A$$ and so does Underworld.

Lord of War, not an earthquake soundtrack but a very nicely done job with surround and obnoxiously overhyped gunfire. If memory serves it had a DTS option. Handguns have mortar impact.

If you're into guns and explosions, it's a great one for that. Good movie too.

lord of war wasnt too bass heavy but the sound was terrific throughout the whole movie. yes there is a DTS track.

Also, don't know if it was mentioned, but Open Range is excellent, the gunfight at the end. Maybe not as much a subwoofer movie overall, but the DTS track is excellent and definitely comes alive with good subs and tons of dynamic range. Great film too if you like classic style westerns.

It seems that everyone forgets BLOWN AWAY now that movie kicks some butt and there is good Bass in that movie not like WOTW or others butt it does crank !! I wonder when the last time most of you have watched it?

Toy Story 2 the last Part when the Plane is taking off, my couch feels like its taking off with it, give it a shot and you'll be surprised how good it is.

THERE IS NO LOVE WITHOUT PAIN.

well, on the rec of several people I Netflixed the first disc having never seen this show...and was quite disappointed.

Maybe my expectations were too high, I was hoping for something near the caliber of "Saving Private Ryan" and instead this felt like a cheap 1970s TV series with all the usual monly-mon locker-room crapola. So much of it felt very fake, like the parachute jump most of which screamed "computer animation!" Generally needs a good film editor to trim all the fat too.

That dorky guy from "Friends" playing the dorky drill instructor was a hoot, wow he should've stuck to sitcoms. :rolleyes:

Do the episodes get better as you go along? I'm debating whether to rent Disc 2 or not.


I thought it kicked Butt and the Sound is excellent so please keep getting the Discs the shooting is superb with Bullets flying around the room and grenades going off. I have seen it 3 times now and still enjoy it the shooting scenes just make it great.

DD's

I watched, well actually I purchased about 5 weeks ago, Lost in Space based on some of the recommendations that it has good bass. Well I do have to admit it has some respectable bass scenes--nothing crazy good or anything, but there is enough there to make the room rumble a bit from time to time. However, what a hunk of garbage the movie is. William hurt--a real good actor that sold out and just took a paycheck for this one. Mimi rogers and heather graham both keep their clothes on throughout, Gary oldman plays a much toned down version of Zorg in this that sucks, and how in the world does matt leblanc have an acting career? Maybe I was a bit optimistic that they finally figured out that keanu can't act, and quit hiring these schmoes--I guess I was wrong. Holy crap he is bad. The movie wasn't totally crap up until it jumped the shark like so many movies today do--they added a stupid computer gernerated space monkey thing that was just terrible. It had nothing to do with anything and was very poorly done. It was very obvious bluescreen stuff where the actors look like they are blind when they look in the direction of the stupid thing--obvioulsy just looking that direction. Obviously, I will be trading this movie back in--Probably put towards the extended version of Two Towers and Return of the King. I have the fellowship and regular version of the latter two.

I watched Bad Boys II again last night. I never get tired of that movie. I turned it up a bit and discovered some bass I hadn't noticed before. Plus, one of the best car chase scenes I have ever seen--with the guys throwing the cars off the trailer, plain crazy. Sound flies around you everywhere--despite the computer aided graphics in that scene it is still too good not to like. Tons of explosions and good background music throughout.

I haven't watched SW III on my system at home--I will have to do that.

Even you don't like Twister as a movie there are some very impressive seens in it. The opening when she was a little girl has some serious low-end grumble.

Just saw "The Last Samurai" last night, some decent bass here and there but as a movie it was pretty cheesy as I expected.

Just saw "The Last Samurai" last night, some decent bass here and there but as a movie it was pretty cheesy as I expected.




Yea alot of his movies are a little chessy but you cant beat the Jet fights in Top Gun.

Have you ever seen Stealth that movie is pretty decent when it comes to sound I will be buying that one in the near future.

and my #1 stinkfest movie with impressive bass....The Hulk. Holy S#@* what a peice of garbage that thing is. It is almost worth forcing yourself to sit through it just for the shear enjoyment of just how bad it is--It is so bad. That is the only thing making almost watchable--the fact that they actually made such a hunk of stinking dung. As much as I have tried I can't get through it. Still never seen every scene of it. Good bass and jennifer connelly--that is it.

In the job I had before my last one (oddly enough, the same employer that I have now), I worked with a guy who constantly brought in mp4 files on CD of movies that were currently in release in the Theater. The first time I succumbed to watching one during a slow graveyard shift, it turned out to be The Hulk.

It was, I must say, a surreal experience. Intellectually, I knew that I was watching the same thing I would see if I went to a theater and plopped down my ~$10. But I persistently felt like I was watching some Internet distributed movie created to showcase some CGI nerd's command of a pirated Studio-Quality computer animation suite. It was so horrible, I was transfixed. I was could not bring myself to watch any of the other movies that were circulating around before that guy left. Some part of me felt The Hulk was created simply to punish me for being willing to watch a pirated movie. I did not want to try my luck, again.

Well I see no one has ever talked about this movie. There are a couple of explosion in RUSH HOUR 2 DTS that sound pretty damn good. :eek:

I watched the hitchhikers guide to the universe last night. I can't beleive I actually succumbed to it. Basically, we had some friends over last night and they brought about 4 movies with them and they voted for "Dick and Jane"--that wasn't happening. I figured I could at least plow through "the guide" based soley on the sound. I had a few people over that had never seen my set up and they were babbling like idiots on and on about it. So, I, of course, turned the volume up a few notches extra just to add to the impact. The THX logo came on and their jaws dropped. I was a little taken aback by it myself--It was very powerful--much more so than I remember other times. In my head I attributed it to the DTS, and the extra 5db on the master volume. There is a ton of bass in this movie. Some of the scenes it is just a low background rumble of the space crafts. There were several scenes where it was a bit overwhleming and it actually ditracted from the movie some. Also, it made some of the dialog a bit tough to hear with the hugely powerful rumble. There are several "thump you in the chest" scenes in this movie. The one scene when the main guy and the lovely Zooey are in the kitchen and getting Tea there is a very deep and powerful rumble during their entire dialog sequence. This one was so low it just made the couch shake and didn't interfere with the rest of the sound at all--your really don't hear it. After a few more scenes, I actually turned the setting down from -6 to -10 and dropped the volume 3 db's on the master. After the movie I was still perplexed. I happened to glance at the gain on the sub--somehow, of course no one is taking credit for it, the gain was turned up to the 12 o'clock position instead of its normal position which is calibrated about 4db hot at 9:00. I felt much better. I assume the girlfriend was showing it off as she had people over yesterday--she says she didn't touch it. The movie didn't stink as bad as I thought it would. It was really dumb and mindless, overdone on many aspects, but there was enough funny little parts that made me laugh and to be enjoyable. I would say I need to re-watch it properly calibrated to see just how the sound actually stacks up to other movies on the "good bass movie" list. What I experienced last night was crazy powerful--artificially of course and a bit too much so, a little distracting. I probably could sit through it again for "scientific reasons" only of course.

you cant beat the Jet fights in Top Gun

Top Gun is a lot like the original BSG - as an adult you're absolutely horrified that you ever thought it was "cool" when you were young (FWIW I was 7/8 for BSG and 15 for Top Gun). once I got into playing Falcon and learned what all the numbers on the radar mean I realized that they obviously didn't bother with a continuity person as there are a couple of scenes where the altitude/speed/heading change pretty significantly between Goose glancing up/down.

all that said I do own the DVD and look forward to administering the afterburner test on my pb12+/2 when it arrives.

1. War of the worlds (Lot of scenes with great low and midbass content)
2. The Incredibles (Train Stop, Rocket launch, Big Iron robot fall scene goes below 20 hz)
3. Finding Nemo (Submarine and Dentist's clinic scenes)
3. Monster Inc. (Monster knocks on the boy's door scene)
4. Toy Story II (Extra ordinary FX/THX content)
5. Thin Red Line (A lot of machine gun fire, Cannon Shots and Air Strike scenes)
6. Batman Begins (Very good effects overall)
7. Mater and commander (Battle scenes with great LFE content as well as one of the best surround effects mixing)

OOOPS! :D Thanks....and fixed!


Google still can't define it...

We watched We Were Soldiers last night. I thought it was a well done, heart wrenching movie. (I had never seen it)

I was impressed with the sound. DD EX only.

Stong fast bass from gun shots and explosions. Strong subsonics from helicopter blades.

We watched at -5 MV and it was driving the room pretty hard.

-Eli

Just got done watching a Easter day Family Movie Called:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

I can say it left me in Awe!. Strong bass, very good LFE. I was listening to the DTS track, and will be watching it again this week. Good family flick.

I haven't seen Sin City mentioned yet so I'll put that one out there. From what I remember it had some good bass throughout most of the movie. Plus it's just a cool movie.

I haven't watched a good bass movie in a while and the last several I watched I was hinking to myself--why did I spend all this money on that huge box in the corner? I popped in War of the Worlds and watched scenes 2 and 3 again (I think that is right--the lightning followed by the first tripod showing up) I immediatley remembered what the cash paid for. I only watched that movie once and never put the disc back in unitl last night. Holy S*@T!! what a powerful scene. I watched it 3 times--the first time I was highly impressed, but not totally floored. I was going to play a bit and crank it a bit so I checked my settings--I had the sub at -12 as opposed to the calibrated 4db hot at -6 that I normally listen/watch at. I turned it down a few days ago for something and never set it back. I put it to its normal -6 setting (with gain at about 9:30) closed the doors to kind of seal up the room and, and I can't find words to describe it. I was in awe myself, not just grinning, but jaw dropped. I really did kind of forget how powerful that big black box really is. That scene is just plain crazy. I got my meter out and rewatched staring at the meter the whole time in my normal seat. I put it on the 110db setting. It bounced around in the 102-108 range for the majority of it, but there were several spikes that went up past 115. One actually buried it past 120db. I have considered tactile transducers, but I don't think they could possibly add much to that scene. I felt a bit wore out after putting myself through that 3 times in a row. The best time of course being the last as staring at a meter is much better entertainment than watching mr theta 7 try to act. Gotta love bass. I think this movie will be tough to remove from the top spot on the bass movie list, just from a pure quantity and powerful standpoint. Movie wise, it blows.

I have to admit a secret love for Event Horizon as a fun movie and one of the few that I find truly freaky and disturbing.

That being said they just came out with a new special edition and I just received it today. The packaging would never let you know, but it has DTS and a couple scenes that were always low and loud in the original DD version are absolutely thunderous now. I don't know how low they hit or any other specifics but if you enjoyed the movie or want to give it a shot it's a wallet busting $14 at amazon.com for the just released special edition with DTS.

Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire had a few good bass heavy moments as did The Chronicles Of Narnia.

Platoon
XXX

I haven't seen Sin City mentioned yet so I'll put that one out there. From what I remember it had some good bass throughout most of the movie. Plus it's just a cool movie.

Funny, I don't remember the bass much from this movie...probably because it was such an amazingly good film! :p

I just got my 2039pc plus yesterday and watched a few movies after calibration.

All i can say is this thing is scary. I watched the DARLA scene and almost crapped on myself. Next i watched war of the worlds chap 2 and 3. It felt like the Machine was coming out the living room floor.

The last one i watched was Flight of Pheonix. So far this is my favorite one. The plane crashing was :eek:

I just got my 2039pc plus yesterday and watched a few movies after calibration.

All i can say is this thing is scary. I watched the DARLA scene and almost crapped on myself. Next i watched war of the worlds chap 2 and 3. It felt like the Machine was coming out the living room floor.

I am sorry, but I have to ask, how many cubic feet is the plus pressurizing? Including areas that are very open to the main listing room. I have ~2400cuft, and should have the passive (CS) version early next week. Would you help me figure out what I might expect from my first one?

I am sorry, but I have to ask, how many cubic feet is the plus pressurizing? Including areas that are very open to the main listing room. I have ~2400cuft, and should have the passive (CS) version early next week. Would you help me figure out what I might expect from my first one?

I'm still learning about setting up subs and how to EQ them and such.

My room is kind of large. It is 12x25x8. The room is very, very open. It is open to the kitchen, sunroom right behind the couch, and a large halway. We sit on the right side of the room in front of the open sunroom.

The pc plus is in the front right corner. I listening area is around 12 feet from the sub. I calibrated the best i could so far. I bought a BFD and will try to learn how to use it this saturday. So far my wife and I have really been enjoying this thing. I have never felt this kind of bass before in my life.

I'm used the car subs and being real boom bass for music. This bass is real smooth like silk. I cant even tell where the bass is coming from.

The bass from Dalra and War of worlds shook up my giant sectional couch 12 feet away.

Here are my sub plots i took earlier today before i apply the bfd plots.
http://home.comcast.net/~rahmelhaggerty/Subplots.JPG


I'm going to EQ this weekend when i get some time. Like i said before, I'm new to all of this and i'm learning something everyday. I'm not sure if these plots are good or bad. I'm not even sure what i need to EQ. But i'm learning as the days go by.

>I calibrated the best i could so far.

What SPL are your mains calibrated to, and what SPL is your sub calibrated to? I'm curious as to how hot you run your sub....

snobgoblin, congrats on the new sub--glad to see you finally decided one and am happy with your decision. I am in the process of figuring out the BFD myself. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and have yet ot plug it in. I just got the connectors earlier this week and have told myself to start to tackle it everynight. Problem is, I put in a movie and get sucked in, never having enough time to dedicate to it. there is some great info on here on it. do some research. go to hometheatershack.com and use the BFD guide provided. Have fun with your new toy--you will want to rewatch numerous movies and if you are like most of us you will find yourself buying and watching movies just for the bass. Re-read this entire thread, there are some good ones listed. Enjoy it.

snobgoblin, congrats on the new sub--glad to see you finally decided one and am happy with your decision. I am in the process of figuring out the BFD myself. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and have yet ot plug it in.

LOL this is exactly the reason I still have not pulled the trigger on one of these things yet...I love the idea of what it does and have read only glowing testimonials about it, but am afraid that I'd be too lazy and/or technically illiterate to ever get around to using it properly. :(

>I calibrated the best i could so far.

What SPL are your mains calibrated to, and what SPL is your sub calibrated to? I'm curious as to how hot you run your sub....

I used the Avia Disk. I set all my mains and surrounds to 74-75db. The sub was set to around 79-80db. I am no pro so I’m not sure if this is 100% right. I'm going to play around with it all weekend. When I made the plots the sub gain knob was around 10oclock and the receiver sub volume was -5. The volume on the receiver was set to -14. I turned it to -14 because I thought the shaking effect a low Hz was cool. This sub has a lot of untapped power.

I tuned it to 16 Hz and watched chapter 3 of war of the worlds. I thought the sectional was going to get sucked into the floor. I switched back to 20 Hz for right now because 16 Hz might be a little to much. I could hear the cabinets in the kitchen gently flapping.

snobgoblin, congrats on the new sub--glad to see you finally decided one and am happy with your decision. I am in the process of figuring out the BFD myself. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and have yet ot plug it in. I just got the connectors earlier this week and have told myself to start to tackle it everynight. Problem is, I put in a movie and get sucked in, never having enough time to dedicate to it. there is some great info on here on it. do some research. go to hometheatershack.com and use the BFD guide provided. Have fun with your new toy--you will want to rewatch numerous movies and if you are like most of us you will find yourself buying and watching movies just for the bass. Re-read this entire thread, there are some good ones listed. Enjoy it.


I said it once and I'll say it again. Thanks Bsheldon, Ron temple, Craigsub and who ever else helped me through the Long process of chosing the right sub. I tried to be cheap and get the budget subs only to end up going through 3 budget subs. Now i'm finally happy with my purchase. The long Hunt is over. I should have listened the first time you told me to spend the extra money and get the better sub. Thats why these forums are so great. I would have never known about all the great subs that are out there. I would probly still be running my Best Buy bought $300 Athena ps4000. :eek:

Well, off of some recommendations here, i went out and bought Das Boot and U-571. I watched U571 last night and all i have to say is wow... Those depthcharge scenes...HOLY yowzaaa. The movie itself was ehhh..50/50


Didnt get to Das Boot yet, as I saw its about 4 hours long... that will have to wait till next weekend...

I watched U571 last night and all i have to say is wow... Those depthcharge scenes...HOLY yowzaaa. The movie itself was ehhh..50/50

yep, that's the way it all too often goes: the better the LFE, the lousier the movie.

Aside from "Low Frequency Effects" maybe LFE also stands for "Lousy Film Embarassment." :D

Aside from "Low Frequency Effects" maybe LFE also stands for "Lousy Film Embarassment."

hahaha.. or "Likely Flop Event"

the first 20 minutes of this bond flick are amazing for lfe, it is the first and only movie (i believe) to use a dts track. overall the movie is ok but the first 20 min are full of explosions and even when madonna sings the usual crappy bond song the lfe is amazing, check it out.

I don't think anyone mentioned this baby. Get the DTS version, forget the others.
You can feel the water shaking in the tour scene when the boy and girl are in the tour trucks. This is the part were they thought the power went off.

Hard to find the DTS version though.

Yeah, the DTS version comes in a single disc special version. The 3-disc 1-3 trilogy pack has DTS for #3 only. I have the DTS for #1, and got the trilogy for Christmas, so I switched out #1 so the DTS versions for #1 and #3 are in the same box.

The drums that kick off the film (#1) are pretty nice too.

I may be in the minority here, but I actually liked and thought u-571 was a pretty darn good movie. I watched on a regular tv the first time, so the impressiveness of the LFE was not at all a factor. Das Boot is a very good movie. Decent, LFE, not as good as u-571. It is long, so you will difinatley eat up most a day watching it. Also, remeber is was made in the early 80's, there are couple of scenes that were fairly obviously speceial effect sets, but didn't ditract from the experience. It was actually kind of refreshing to see well done special effects, unlike now where they would just turn the computer on and throw in the background instead of going through the process of making a set.
snobgoblin, you have your setting correct, 3-6db hot on the sub is pretty normal, I run mine 4db hot. Scene 3 from WOW is unbelievable. I really want to go watch it at other people's home theaters just to compare and really appreciate my own. Haven't had the chance lately. That low grumble really shakes things up. As you have discovered, you would have been missing this amazing amount of bass with an inferior sub.
I actually sat down to watch die another day a couple of weeks ago. The first 20 minutes is filled with explosions, but I didn't make it through. I remember liking it the first time I watched it years ago, but this time it was just too much. I turned it off after about 30 minutes.

I haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean mentioned. There is cannon fire similar to Master and Commander, and also a decent amount of rumble in the battle scene between the Interceptor and the Black Pearl.

Another thing about Das Boot is the spectacular high level surround action when the bolts start popping after they flee to the depths

Thanks for the recommendations!

Can someone please explain to me the difference between DTS and DD? Normally, when you rent from either Netflix or Blockbuster, how do you know what version of the DVD you have?

Additionally, if you don't have HD TV, can you still take advantage of DTS & DD?

Thanks for the recommendations!

Can someone please explain to me the difference between DTS and DD? Normally, when you rent from either Netflix or Blockbuster, how do you know what version of the DVD you have?

Additionally, if you don't have HD TV, can you still take advantage of DTS & DD?


DD (Dolby Digital) and DTS are surround sound formats. It doesn't matter what kind of display you have. But you need to have a compatible receiver and a 5.1 speaker system to enjoy them. DD comes on most DVDs, and DTS comes on a handful as an alternative to DD.

To expand on cyberbri's comment, nearly all new DVDs have DD, some have both DD and dts (in these cases the user usually must select dts in the DVD menu as they default to DD), while a very small number were issued in two completely separate versions, one DD, the other dts. The dts only discs tend to be hard to find, and rental places rarely if ever have them as some equipment can't handle the format.

DD (Dolby Digital) and DTS are surround sound formats. It doesn't matter what kind of display you have. But you need to have a compatible receiver and a 5.1 speaker system to enjoy them. DD comes on most DVDs, and DTS comes on a handful as an alternative to DD.
AND......you need to set your DVD player to "BITSTREAM", correct? I remember that you stressed that point on another thread. :)

I'm buying 2 of the 16-46 cs-pluses with 700watts rms available to each. I have a 36 x 14 room with a cathedral at 13ft for the apex. I hope this is enough to pressure my room. Its a totally dedicated HT with all the floating walls and floors and stuff.
does anyone else have a room this large with something similar?

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned king kong. the middle part of the movie will floor you. every time kong growled it would make the hair on my neck stand up!!!

flux,

i am sure you will be happy with that. My room is 32x16x9, about 4600 cubic feet and I run the pb12+/2. Those to individual cylinders with that much power should be able to outperform what I am running--if properly set up of course. I can and do hit over 115db of bass on a fairly regular basis (i actually have seen 120db uncorrected on my RS meter) and I would imagine you should be able to get to at least that level as well. Your room is around 5000 cubic feet. good luck with your new toys.

This is slightly off-topic but I just got the newish Joe Bonamassa "Live at Rockpalast" Concert DVD linked HERE (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DN5W4I/qid=1146322812/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-5005195-3081419?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=130)
and it has DTS format that I'm totally blown away by. Eric Czar's bass playing is awesome and Joes' blues rock guitar playing is a Stevie Ray killer IMHO... I'm totally floored by how good this DVD sounds...If you like blues/rock guitar...this is a must have to add to your collection!!!!! It just screams with sound quality that's demo material for a live music/concert DVD to impress your chums with!!

Going back on topic for a post ,Serenity HDVD just a fun flick and relentless LFE.

Art

I watched Serenity and The Island at about the same time...and while the LFE in Serenity is better than The Island...I liked The Island better, as a movie, than Serenity.... great sci-fi flicks...

I liked The Island better
Sure it wasn't the hot blond?

I liked The Island better, as a movie, than Serenity....
:eek: :confused:

I liked The Island better
Sure it wasn't the hot blond?

:D that definitely added to the likablility of the film....but I found the premise horrifiying!!!!!!

I just got my 2039pc plus yesterday and watched a few movies after calibration.

All i can say is this thing is scary. I watched the DARLA scene and almost crapped on myself. Next i watched war of the worlds chap 2 and 3. It felt like the Machine was coming out the living room floor.

The last one i watched was Flight of Pheonix. So far this is my favorite one. The plane crashing was :eek:


That crash scene on Flight of the Phoenix is something else. I have a PB12 Ultra/2 and on this scene my wife thought that the vent over the kitchen stove was fixing to break off. :D My room is around 21x22 with 11' vaulted ceilings and this thing fills every bit of my living room with earth shaking waves.

Thanx, bsheldon:))

2. The Incredibles (Train Stop, Rocket launch, Big Iron robot fall scene goes below 20 hz)

I just watched The Incredibles and wasn't impressed. Do you have the time stamps for these scenes?

Maybe my sub (SVS PB-10) isn't setup properly (but when I play music, the sub really kicks!).

Right now, I have a 5.1 setup and I have a Optical Digital wire going from DVD to Receiver.

All speakers set to small. Cross over set at 80Hz. The gain set to 1/3 of the way up (about 10 or 11 o'clock).

I watched the movie at about 80dB.

well, the Incredibles REALLY impressed me..... although I dont have an SVS monster sub, my Acoustech H100 really shook up my little room... 10x11.... I mean the part where Mr. I jump over the Iron Ball Robot and knock him to the trees..... that almost bought the house down... it was like BOOOOOOOOM and a slam to my chest!

O btw, The Incredibles > WOTW in the bass department IMO. :D

I just watched The Incredibles and wasn't impressed. Do you have the time stamps for these scenes?

Maybe my sub (SVS PB-10) isn't setup properly (but when I play music, the sub really kicks!).

Right now, I have a 5.1 setup and I have a Optical Digital wire going from DVD to Receiver.

All speakers set to small. Cross over set at 80Hz. The gain set to 1/3 of the way up (about 10 or 11 o'clock).

I watched the movie at about 80dB.


Have you calibrated the sub to match the speakers?
Have you run frequency sweeps to see what kind of frequency response you are getting? The location of your sub and/or listening position, combined with room acoustics, could give you good bass at some frequencies, but could also suck out the bass at others, making HT less than spectacular.

I just watched The Incredibles and wasn't impressed. Do you have the time stamps for these scenes?

don't know the exact timestamps but the rocket launch and chase scene w/Dash through the jungle jump to mind

Maybe my sub (SVS PB-10) isn't setup properly (but when I play music, the sub really kicks!).

if you have an SVS and weren't impressed w/the rocket launch that does sound pretty suspicious... I just got a pb12+/2 and that scene rattles my surrounds on their wall mounts ;-)

Sounds like a set-up problem. If the sub kicks on music, maybe the processor is set up to siphon the lower frequencies from the other speakers whereas with 5.1, the LF channel is dedicated (and may not even be operating in that context, depending on set-up).

Another possible problem, if THE INCREDIBLES did not excite your low-zone, is that you don't have dual Snell 18" behemoths pounding every available molecule of air onto your tympanic membrane -- I have found that with that new approach to LFE reproduction in my home, even with the sub channel independantly adjusted at its lowest setting (-10), THE INCREDIBLES still delivers awesome impact -- You might try that.

Azn_plyr,

Your quote:

"O btw, The Incredibles > WOTW in the bass department IMO."

While your are certainly entitled to your opinion and I have no doubt that Incredibles does sound better on your system than does WOTW, I must totally disagree. Now granted I will admit that the Incredibles has some good bass scenes, nor have I compared waterfall graphs, but the bass in Incredibles is nowhere near the level and depth of scene 4 (1st tripod rising) of WOW. Again the H100 may not quite be up to depth and rumble of this scene, hence the reason you like Incredibles better. Well, actually I LIKE incredibles better from a movie standpoint, but nothing I have encountered yet touches that scene from a pure low-end bass rumble standpoint. Again, I don't know just how low it goes, but my butt, chest, couch, walls, chimney flu, and window's all tell me that this scene is the most powerful I have heard to date. I have tried as many as I can. some honorable mentions are Haunting, FOF, Hitchhiker's guide, U571, BHD, All 3 LOTR's, and M&C.

Have you run frequency sweeps

Newbie question: how does one run frequency sweeps? What do I need to do this? Thanks.

spl meter, and an audio test cd--very popular in the car audio world, and graph paper is the bare essentials. There are of course many online programs that you can use your computer to generate the tones. play each sine wave (frequency note) one at a time and graph the results. Also a spl meter compensation chart comes in handy so you will be more accurate--what is the point of going through all of the effort if the result isn't going to be that good. This will give you a good idea of what the frequency response is in your room.

Newbie question: how does one run frequency sweeps? What do I need to do this? Thanks.
Well, you need

a) Something to produce test tones at different frequencies
b) Something to measure sound level

Then use those 2 things to measure the sound output of each / all / selected speakers at different frequencies, and write down the results. That'll give you something to see how your system is performing, and allows you to make adjustments to improve it. Typically people create the fancy graphs based on this that show a line indicating the sound's loudness at different frequencies.

For (a), you can use a CD with test tones (you can download stuff from the internet to burn a CD on your computer) or you can use software that you can find on the internet, one popular one being RoomEQ Wizard, that you run on a PC connected to your speakers (usually through a receiver).

For (b) the popular choice is a Radio Shack Sound Meter. It'll show you how loud sound is.

If you use RoomEQ Wizard (software you run on a PC) and connect the Radio Shack meter to your PC (as described on the RoomEQ Wizard site) you can do a lot of the stuff automatically and much faster.

Azn_plyr,

Your quote:

"O btw, The Incredibles > WOTW in the bass department IMO."

While your are certainly entitled to your opinion and I have no doubt that Incredibles does sound better on your system than does WOTW, I must totally disagree. Now granted I will admit that the Incredibles has some good bass scenes, nor have I compared waterfall graphs, but the bass in Incredibles is nowhere near the level and depth of scene 4 (1st tripod rising) of WOW. Again the H100 may not quite be up to depth and rumble of this scene, hence the reason you like Incredibles better. Well, actually I LIKE incredibles better from a movie standpoint, but nothing I have encountered yet touches that scene from a pure low-end bass rumble standpoint. Again, I don't know just how low it goes, but my butt, chest, couch, walls, chimney flu, and window's all tell me that this scene is the most powerful I have heard to date. I have tried as many as I can. some honorable mentions are Haunting, FOF, Hitchhiker's guide, U571, BHD, All 3 LOTR's, and M&C.


Actually, I should've wrote more details, WOTW no doubt goes lower and stronger, as a matter of fact, it shook my little room and doors up much more than the incredibles did, but it just did not have the impact. There's a long and low rumble that shook everything up, but it did not give me a thump to the chest hehe. When Mr. Incredibles knock that robot down, that was very breath taking if I am saying this correctly. So that's what I meant, but hey, it is true that I might enjoy WOTW's bass more if I had a better sub.

Nah, i think i'd agree on that. WotW seems to have lots of sustained rumbling and shaking while Incredibles has more "slam" i think. Different types of awesome bass :)

Have you calibrated the sub to match the speakers?
Have you run frequency sweeps to see what kind of frequency response you are getting? The location of your sub and/or listening position, combined with room acoustics, could give you good bass at some frequencies, but could also suck out the bass at others, making HT less than spectacular.
Let me first apologize by saying that I'm a dumb@ss. The reason, the SUB was so low was because when I did the Auto EZset/EQ on my receiver, it turned the SUB down -9dB and the gain on the sub was set to 1/4 (9 o'clock)!

I reset all my speakers to small and set the cross over to 80Hz and re-ran the Auto EZset/EQ again.

Then, I ran the MANUAL test tones. Not really sure if I did it correctly, but I made a reference point of 70dB (which was -28 on the receiver). I made sure all 5 speakers are around 69 - 71db and when I got to the SUB. I made a HUGE jump. It was up to 104dB. Yes, I like house rocking bass. Mind you, this setting was done the following way:

SUB's gain is about 1/3 of the way up (10 - 11 o'clock). And I set the SUB to 0db in the receiver.

Ok, so I selected scenes from The Incredibles again and man! It rocks!!!!

Scenes to watch:

- When Mr. I knocks the Iron ball into the tree.
- When the Iron ball starts rolling after Mr. I. This part made my floor vibrate. It felt like the ball was coming towards me.
- When Dash went into the tunnel and the rocket ship takes off

Damn, I LOVE my SVS PB-10!!!!!!

Ok, I eat my words and I have to say that "The Incredibles" rock!

Ok, next is the frequency sweep for me. Does the Avia disk do that? I should have gotten the package when I got the SVS sub!!!! Now, I'm going piecemeal and will end up paying a lot more.

How exactly does the frequency disk work? They play a tone....say 50hz. But how do you know it's 50Hz? The Radio Shack SPL that I have only tells me how loud it is (in dBs), but it doesn't tell me how high or low the sound is. Maybe it's time for me to so a search and do some reading. :)

get a disc with individual test tones. mine coincides with the track number. ie track number 20 is a 20hz sine wave, track number 21 is 21hz sine wave...all the way up to 100. It has a bunch of sweeps from various points before that. THe sweeps are nice to watch your meter with. say a 200-20hz sweep. the meter should stay as constant as possible throughout the entire sweep. say you use 70 db as your base, just fine, the sweep should start close to that and stay close to that all the way through. I would suggest that you re-calibrate more than just a bit 34db HOT is aWAY, WAY TOO hot. I can't imagine you can hear the movie at all with the rumble of the sub. 3-6db hot is pretty normal for bassheads. Even extreme bass junkies only go up to about 8-10db hot. ANymore and it way too distracting. I normally listen about 4db hot. I was playing with a bass disc and turned it up to about 10db hot manually on the sub. I forgot about it and left it there when I started to watch a movie the next day, immediately I knew something was wrong--I checked the setting on the receiver they were the same so I just concluded the disc was recorded REAL hot and turned the settings down 5db. after the movie and I turned the lights back on, I looked at the sub an sure enough found the culprit. I can't imagine enjoying even 10db hot, let alone 34. That is about 5-6 times louder than your mains. Heck I watched a movie last night after doing a demo the night before and I noticed the bass was too hot. (I turn the bass up 3db's for demos) I understand that different people like what they like and if you do like it that hot enjoy it. I am kind of hoping I miss read that a bit. The way I understood what you said was that you calibrated to 104db and hence the above paragraph. But if you are saying it was peaking at about 104db that is a whole other thing and then ignore the above.

BTW, Speaking of the movie I watched last night, since this is the point of this entire thread, I watched "Under the Skin." It stars the short-haired, uniquely sexy, british actress Samantha Morton. I had seen her before in Minority Report and In america. This was aher break out film back in '97. It could have been called "lots of Samantha's skin" as you get to see lots of her frequently. That in and of itself made it a watchable movie. It is a bit disturbing, and I did cringed a few times. the reason I bring it up is there are a few scenes where she is in a night club and the bass is very strong. It is one of those movies where you could watch it without a sub at all outside of these few scenes and not know the difference. I was a bit taken aback by the intensity of these couple scenes. I think more from a juxtopostional standpoint than anything. The ones scene in particular has some club music with a very fast and powerful bass line. i rewatched/listened to that scene just to hear the subs work that fast and transition from one note to the next that fast at such a level.

Ok, next is the frequency sweep for me. Does the Avia disk do that? I should have gotten the package when I got the SVS sub!!!! Now, I'm going piecemeal and will end up paying a lot more.

How exactly does the frequency disk work? They play a tone....say 50hz. But how do you know it's 50Hz? The Radio Shack SPL that I have only tells me how loud it is (in dBs), but it doesn't tell me how high or low the sound is. Maybe it's time for me to so a search and do some reading. :)


You can still get it from SVS. I think it's $80 for the meter and the Avia disk.


Definitely run the sweep tones, which start at one frequency and go through all the frequencies to the last one (ie., start at 200Hz and go down to 20Hz). If the bass is really "bumpy", you need to experiment with placement as much as you can to get it as flat as you can (no more than 10dB difference between any 2 frequencies, less variation is even more desireable - flat is the most desireable).

There are also test discs you can get (or burn on your own using test tone mp3s) that have an individual sine wave for frequencies. You would know which frequency it is by the track number. Ie., the downloads section here has different sine waves, sweeps, and bass-heavy songs: http://www.realmofexcursion.com/

Yes, 34dB hot is WAY TOO HOT. I would assume that you have some big peaks in there throwing it off. Definitely check how flat/even the response is, and then re-calibrate after tweaking location.

If the sub is flat AND 30dB hot, then you are pushing your sub to reference level at -30 below (ie., -30 on the dial of reference level set to "0" on the dial). If the sub is relatively flat, and you set it so it reads the same SPL as the mains with test tones, then you are already about 2dB hot. If that's not enough bass for you, you need to watch at about -10 or -5, not turn up the bass. I have a feeling the response with your current placement sucks, and that's why you feel the need to run the sub so hot. If you listen to any music, it will definitely sound bad that way. Before I calibrated my sub, I had it at just under 1/2-way on the sub gain and a fe notches under the level of the speakers on the receiver. Movies sounded good, but music was very boomy and I couldn't turn it up very high at all. When I calibrated, I found out I was about 10-15dB hot. When I turned it down to match the speakers (-3 below other speaker levels on the receiver, 1/3 on the sub gain for me), music became much more natural, and I could watch movies (and music) at much higher volumes, and the bass in movies suddenly had a ton of detail rather than just being a series of boomy one-note booms.

See this thread to read about my experience experimenting with placement, and finally getting the sub's calibration in line:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=640646

Thanks for the the response. Yes, I guess I'm running 34dB hotter with my sub.

To clearify, when I use my receiver's test tones, I set all 5 speakers (L, C, R, SR & SL) to about 70dB. When it's the SUB's turn, it goes to 104dB. So, yes......with my receiver at volume knob at "-28", my 5 speakers were around 69 - 71dB......and the SUB was at 103dB (it was constantly around 102dB - 103dB on the Radio Shack meter)......and it made the whole room vibrate. Everything was rattling.

But for some reason, when I turn up the volume when I listen to music or watch DVDs, the bass isn't too bad at all. Perhaps you're right.....perhaps, the Sub location sucks. The sub is located just in front of the FR speaker (next to a wall). I'll try to post up a pic.

My vote would be Friday..

Friday???? Friday the 13th? What movie are you talking about?

You can still get it from SVS. I think it's $80 for the meter and the Avia disk.

yup...

just ordered them from them as all the RSs around me only have the digital SPLs. had my 12+/2 for a few weeks now and need to get that thing tuned (though it certainly makes its presence know even at factory defaults :).

don't know if anyone's mentioned this one yet but Star Wars IV (a.k.a. "A New Hope", "Star Wars") sounds pretty cool at the end when Luke pops a cap in the Death Star - shook the pictures in the basement as well as the surrounds (need to tighten up those wall mounts I guess).

Friday???? Friday the 13th? What movie are you talking about?


Man I'm gonna get you high today because it's Friday you aint got no job and you aint got chit to do

I wonder why nobody has mentioned Event Horizon special collectors edition. As a nice bonus there is dts track available, even though it is not advertised on the cover. It would be interesting to see both the amplitude and depth of extension posted on a waterfall chart, this movie will identify any loose fixtures in your house for those of us that use their living rooms as home theater rooms!

I wonder why nobody has mentioned Event Horizon special collectors edition. As a nice bonus there is dts track available, even though it is not advertised on the cover. It would be interesting to see both the amplitude and depth of extension posted on a waterfall chart, this movie will identify any loose fixtures in your house for those of us that use their living rooms as home theater rooms!
I already did (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7522274&&#post7522274)

The scene where the drive engages has some intense bass.

Wargames (1983)

Saw Assault on Precinct 13 last night.......... Ok'ish film but the bass was wicked, from the firing of the weapons which hit you right in the chest to the explosions which moved the foundations of my house a couple of inches :D

It's been mentioned before, but I just watched Downfall last night for the first time with a top flight bass system.

Great film with wonderful, subtle bass. The constant, distant artillery was rarely loud, but seemed to be at a very low frequency. I got my money's worth from my SVS 16-46 PC+ and Buttkicker. It really gave a great impression of what it might be like to be in a bunker during a bombardment.

Saw Assault on Precinct 13 last night.......... Ok'ish film but the bass was wicked, from the firing of the weapons which hit you right in the chest to the explosions which moved the foundations of my house a couple of inches :D

Yeah, good sound on this one, but again I think I'd put this movie in the "sucks" category... ;)

Thought I had Titan AE, but didn't. Couldn't find it in stores, so I got a used one at a clearance store. It was in perfect condition. Started watching this for the first time with my PB12+/2. Damn. Had to stop with 30 minutes to go as it got to 11:00 PM. Didn't want police to break down my door as I would not have been able to hear them knocking.

This is what I like about animated movies. They can do whatever they want without the physical limits of live action or using hoakey looking CG.

I will probably watch this in its entirety tonight, but will start a little earlier in the evening.

OFF TOPIC:

What is the official "quiet time"? Is it 10pm? 11pm? Does it vary by state? How about in the AM? When can you start blasting music?

OFF TOPIC:

What is the official "quiet time"? Is it 10pm? 11pm? Does it vary by state? How about in the AM? When can you start blasting music?

In California it's 10:00 PM, if anyone complains. The police won't come to your door unless called. I believe that dawn becomes open season again.

whatever your wife says it is... :)

seriously, I got chewed out for rumbling the kids rooms two floors up during The Sopranos theme the other night - geez, I only had it at -20...

I believe that dawn becomes open season again.

That line made me laugh.

Don't think it was mentioned yet but a GOOD movie with really good bass:

Kung Fu Hustle

Just got the collectors edition of TOP GUN with DTS. Pretty cheesy movie but still enjoyable.

The roaring of the turbines as they pass by is simply awesome.

I forgot to mention that I got if for only $5 so it was worth it :)

Watch it. You will be amazed by the LFE content for a kids movie. I was.

dont think these have been mentioned yet: CASTAWAY (crash sequence) THE BOURNE IDENTITY(opening sequence) THE BOURNE SUPREMACY(ending car chase scene....and IMO best chase scene)..........................

Which DAS BOOT version..... ive never seen it but you guys got me wanting to buy, but there is about 10 versions???????????

Has Zathura been mentioned?

Has Zathura been mentioned?

Two up from yours.

Thanks, the movie is decent.

I can't remember which Matrix but the scene when Neo takes off and fly's like superman has some great Bass. But really, is there anything better then the Daria pounding in Nemo? Anybody?

Just curious.... Do any of these movies actually extend below 20hz?

Just curious.... Do any of these movies actually extend below 20hz?
Check the waterfall thread. You'll see several of 'm do.

Yeah, the DTS version comes in a single disc special version. The 3-disc 1-3 trilogy pack has DTS for #3 only. I have the DTS for #1, and got the trilogy for Christmas, so I switched out #1 so the DTS versions for #1 and #3 are in the same box.

The drums that kick off the film (#1) are pretty nice too.

I can't find the DTS version anywhere. Apparently it's out of print. I'm so disappointed. I spent hours going to stores trying to find it, not to mention I can only find it used on the internet or from questionable sources. Any ideas?

Which DAS BOOT version..... ive never seen it but you guys got me wanting to buy, but there is about 10 versions???????????[/QUOTE]


come on guys..... which version???????????

Like all good movies, get the Director's Cut.

Like all good movies, get the Director's Cut.

exception to this would be "Blade Runner"---the DC absolutely sucked compared to the producers' cut: bloated and boring as all hell. Unfortunately the producers' cut is impossible to get on DVD.

Sure there are always exceptions, for Das Boot having seen the original release, the DC and the extended version, DC is best. The extended version like most out there tend to be the studio's attempt to exploit a films popularity by picking up the cut scraps from the editing room floor and putting them back into a movie. Just look at most of the deleted scenes attached as dvd extras to see why directors purged them in the first place.

Most DC are truer representations of what the artist intended before a producer required the film be cut to fit a time slot or the censure board made its presense felt.

I was cranking u571 last night. Pretty cool especially the depth charges blowing up . :D I need to see das boot.

does the directors cut of das boot have dts???? or just the super bit???

exception to this would be "Blade Runner"---the DC absolutely sucked compared to the producers' cut: bloated and boring as all hell. Unfortunately the producers' cut is impossible to get on DVD.
It's a matter of taste. Obviously, the preview audiences agreed with you, and the producers quickly "fixed" it.

I like the producers' version (which I have on the Criterion Laserdisc), but if I could only keep one, it would be the director's cut, if for no other reason than the producers' tacked on ending just didn't work for me. A couple of the scenes added back into the director's cut also raised the possibility that Deckard (Harrison Ford) was himself a replicant, which makes the story more provocative in my mind.

does the directors cut of das boot have dts???? or just the super bit???
Mine doesn't (Signature edition). According to IMDb, only the Superbit version has dts. The DD is pretty impressive, though, and some will argue there is no significant difference if you equalize the playback levels.

Yes only the Superbit version has DTS but if you want the better version go with the DC. The DD track is is pretty good.

Now that i have a much better sub (DIY 15" coffin) than i used to have (small HTiB sub), i actually have really started enjoying the music in movies much more. The bass is much more authorative now, making its presence felt, but without overwhelming.

For example, in the movie "Stay" there's a point in the 2nd half of the movie (IIRC) where some house / dance track is used as music, and it has strong bass. Not the thumping shaking rumbling kind, but just strong bass tones that you feel as much as you hear them. Very cool.

I watched Walk The Line before i had my new sub, and i can only imagine what that must sound like with a good sub. I'm tempted to rent it again just to experience the sound again :)

I read pg. 1-4 and 8. I didn't see on those pages the mention of "Twister" Haven't watched it in sometime, but will revisit it now that I've added two ButtKickers to my M&K sub. :)

I read pg. 1-4 and 8. I didn't see on those pages the mention of "Twister" Haven't watched it in sometime, but will revisit it now that I've added two ButtKickers to my M&K sub. :)

I did watch Twister after getting a better sub. It does have some deep base stuff during tornados. There is a descending sweep tone buried in a lot of other noise to make the tornado sound like a beast. The very first tornado is the best.

Cmon guys, "Twister?"

The point is to pick movies that DON'T suck, not ones that do! :)

Cmon guys, "Twister?"

The point is to pick movies that DON'T suck, not ones that do!
To each his own.

besides, how can you not like a movie that has flying cows? Even if it is the same cow.

This is how I explain my taste in movies. This is on the first page.

I put my HT system together so I can enjoy mindless entertainment without going to the movie house and being surrounded by the mindless. My work requires me to be "On" all the time. It is nice to be able to shut down and watch something with good visuals and sound. If it isn't up to snuff in the dialog department or the situations are preposterous, well that can be entertaining as well for its humor. In contrast, watch Pride & Prejudice. Good dialog, boring as hell. It would have been just as satisfying to watch it on an iPod.

Okay, but then why not post in the normal subwoofering threads? I've got TONS of cool bad movies with great bass, but good movies that are also eye or ear candy are sadly on the rare side. :-/

I thought there was a thread on movies with good bass rather than one's that "don't suck". Saying that a movie sucks or does not suck is a matter of opinion. If no one can find the other thread I will simply start one like the reference list in the dvd section and try to keep the list in the first post.

Cmon guys, "Twister?"

The point is to pick movies that DON'T suck, not ones that do! :)
Touche. After reading 5 pages of selections, I concluded that the thread had strayed off its original intent. I'm such a noob. :smacksownhand:

Okay, but then why not post in the normal subwoofering threads? I've got TONS of cool bad movies with great bass, but good movies that are also eye or ear candy are sadly on the rare side. :-/

I have two criteria for a good subwoofer movies that doesn't suck. If it entertains me, it's a good movie. If it pisses off my neighbor, it's a good subwoofer movie. If it entertains me and pisses off my neighbor, it's a great movie.

I have two criteria for a good subwoofer movies that doesn't suck. If it entertains me, it's a good movie. If it pisses off my neighbor, it's a good subwoofer movie. If it entertains me and pisses off my neighbor, it's a great movie.

unfortunately for me, if a movie just flat-out, undeniably, stinks-to-high-heaven SUCKS (like "War of the Worlds") it not only does not entertain me, but actually sucks so much mental energy out of me while enduring it that I would not even have anything left to enjoy pissing ANYBODY off, neighbors or not.

:D

am i the only one that actually enjoyed war of the worlds??????????

am i the only one that actually enjoyed war of the worlds??????????
No! :)

Over 40% of the INDb voters have given it an 8 or better (60% 7 or more), so it has fans as well as detractors.

I enjoyed WotW. But i'll readily admit that it wasn't a Great Movie though.

am i the only one that actually enjoyed war of the worlds??????????

I liked it. But then I liked Twister, The Hulk, Spiderman 1.... I enjoy many movies that the Foreign Language Film crowd find painful. About the only foreign language films I have liked starred Jackie Chan or Jet Li. I don't have to critique every movie I watch. I watch it, enjoy it or not, and put it away.

My DTS copy of the Haunting arrived yesterday from Amazon.

The scene where it gets cold in the room (when the banging on the door starts) came on . . . and I forgot that I had left the gain on my PB10 around 80% for the Room EQ Wizard stuff; plus, the receiver was at -18. And I'm in a room slightly bigger than 100 square feet. I almost had a heart attack during that scene.

am i the only one that actually enjoyed war of the worlds??????????

Nope! I also enjoyed it.

I liked it a little bit, although the acting was kinda corny... like 2 fast 2 furious acting, that was corny too.

Avoid King Kong at all costs! what a King Kong-sized load of CGI crap that was! And watching Kong fight the dinos- when did headlocks and judo moves become something APES know?? sheesh, sometimes these programmers need to actually get out and experience the world a little, you know? But the bass is pretty cool, especially the scene where all the dinos are stampeding for 3 minutes. Worth watching just for the sound effects.

Avoid King Kong at all costs! what a King Kong-sized load of CGI crap that was! And watching Kong fight the dinos- when did headlocks and judo moves become something APES know?? sheesh, sometimes these programmers need to actually get out and experience the world a little, you know? But the bass is pretty cool, especially the scene where all the dinos are stampeding for 3 minutes. Worth watching just for the sound effects.

And where exactly should those programmers get out and experience fighting techniques of a 25' tall gorilla against three T-Rex's? :D Just kidding, I was thinking the same thing, but I have a pretty solid ability to suspend all disbelief and movies for what they are. Kong certainly wasn't one of the best movies this year, but certainly worth a watch.

Avoid King Kong at all costs! what a King Kong-sized load of CGI crap that was! And watching Kong fight the dinos- when did headlocks and judo moves become something APES know?? sheesh, sometimes these programmers need to actually get out and experience the world a little, you know? But the bass is pretty cool, especially the scene where all the dinos are stampeding for 3 minutes. Worth watching just for the sound effects.
Just curious, but what in this movie seemed real, so that a fighting ape seemed out of place? :p

Well thats a bit over the top, but I'd agree that King Kong was overrated as a film.