The Official Ultra Off-Topic Thread : In retrospect, this thread should be so named considering all the off topic stuffs we've had. Feel free to add - anything goes,, please just try to be nice .
Some interesting & important posts:
*** My very good mini reviews of a few ultra high-end speaker systems (Wilson, Magico, etc.) post 168: Here
*** My List of the greatest demo Blu-ray's: For some of the very best and MUST-HAVE movies for showing off your system click Here
*** Paul Hales's GREAT interview on room correction Here
*** Not important, just interesting , my Review of automobile Dirac post 160: Here
*** Atmos speaker placement and importance of center speaker (Grimani interview): post 748 & 749 Here
*** Roger Dressler's & sdurani's comments on surround speakers (type, setup, issues, etc.), post 604 to 607: Here
Besides the jaw dropping bass that goes to 18 hz per data-bass (my wife at one point thought we had another earthquake - no kidding, since we just had one here in Southern Cal), did anyone notice the flies buzzing overhead starting at 1:21:16? Right after Sandra Bullock surfaced from underwater, at 1:21:16, first a fly buzzes *directly* over audience right side, then over audience left rear, then it flies towards the screen where you now see it on screen. In the mean time, space ship debris race right to left in the sky. WOW... what a SPECTACULAR visual and audio treat! I love the effort and talent of movie sound engineers.
BTW Gravity is a theater Atmos/home DTS (on blu-ray) mix. The faces behind the scene for Gravity's sound: production mixer Chris Munro; re-recording mixers Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, and Christopher Benstead; scoring mixer Gareth Cousins; ADR mixers Chris Navarro and Thomas J. O’Connell; and Foley mixer Adam Fil Mendez. Together the team is 2014 Oscar winners for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. Very well deserved.
Interesting articles here and here.
The "overhead flies" sequence is among most distinct overhead sound maneuvers that I have heard, and of note, is more pleasing in 7:1 setup than in 5:1 setup. The 7:1 setup makes the effect more distinctly in mid air above us in my system. It also pulls sound effect rearward and expands the sound-scape, extending it to the 180 degree space behind audience. Very spooky. My wife and son/daughter laughed incredulously when I pointed out the buzzing creatures circling above us. If you are at 5.1, I would highly recommend to give 7.1 expansion a try as the difference is obvious and quite enjoyable. That said, I should warn that upmixing must be used cautiously as it changes the soundstage presention, direction of foleys, etc. Upmixing is not a benign process as at the same time that it increases spaciousness/envelopment, upmixing invariably affects adversely image clarity/focus ("native is the filmmixer's intent, upmixing is the engineer's intent" ). All 4 modes Dolby music/movie, DTS music/movie, increase spaciousness and the soundfield is "bigger," more impressive, and more ENVELOPING with atmospheric/ambient now behind you as well. BUT... at the same time upmixing IMHO decreases focus and clarity of the front soundstage's imaging.
From crystal clear conversation, to jaw dropping bass, to spectacular sound effects, yes, all the audiophile engineers have abandoned music for the theaters! I have never had my chair vibrate so much in a movie LOL. In fact the whole floor was vibrating.
Gravity is another example of why whether your system is 5.1 DTS or 7.1.4 Atmos, to play with the "big boys," the front 3 speakers - left, center, right - should be as large, full range, and good sounding as one's budget allows. Yes, the enveloping effect is nice, yes the flies sound effect is fun to listen to, but... they are "surround" sound in support of the "primary" sound from front 3 speakers, where the screen and action reside. Whether it is Gravity, or Super 8, or Smaug, the front 3 channels are the ones that dominate the sound and provide the ultimate sonic drama (turn off your LCR speakers in Super 8's train wreck and you'll notice there is almost zero sound from the surrounds). We are fascinated, of course, by the latest technology since it is so much fun to talk about, but remember neither room correction, nor Atmos, nor Auromatic, will turn a bad speaker into a Wilson, nor an inexpensive receiver into a Theta. It's a whole system approach and audio fundamentals (capable amp, good speakers, etc.) are still the first, and most critical, step.
Scene of the vibration :
Linn Sondek Turntable w/ Lyra and Koetsu Cartridge, Conrad Johnson Premier 10 Phono Stage and Premier 16 Preamp, Theta CBIII HD, Krell FPB 600 Amp & Classe CA 400 Amp, Thiel CS5i, and the pièce de résistance , Theta Casablanca.
Some interesting & important posts:
*** My very good mini reviews of a few ultra high-end speaker systems (Wilson, Magico, etc.) post 168: Here
*** My List of the greatest demo Blu-ray's: For some of the very best and MUST-HAVE movies for showing off your system click Here
*** Paul Hales's GREAT interview on room correction Here
*** Not important, just interesting , my Review of automobile Dirac post 160: Here
*** Atmos speaker placement and importance of center speaker (Grimani interview): post 748 & 749 Here
*** Roger Dressler's & sdurani's comments on surround speakers (type, setup, issues, etc.), post 604 to 607: Here
Besides the jaw dropping bass that goes to 18 hz per data-bass (my wife at one point thought we had another earthquake - no kidding, since we just had one here in Southern Cal), did anyone notice the flies buzzing overhead starting at 1:21:16? Right after Sandra Bullock surfaced from underwater, at 1:21:16, first a fly buzzes *directly* over audience right side, then over audience left rear, then it flies towards the screen where you now see it on screen. In the mean time, space ship debris race right to left in the sky. WOW... what a SPECTACULAR visual and audio treat! I love the effort and talent of movie sound engineers.
BTW Gravity is a theater Atmos/home DTS (on blu-ray) mix. The faces behind the scene for Gravity's sound: production mixer Chris Munro; re-recording mixers Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, and Christopher Benstead; scoring mixer Gareth Cousins; ADR mixers Chris Navarro and Thomas J. O’Connell; and Foley mixer Adam Fil Mendez. Together the team is 2014 Oscar winners for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing. Very well deserved.
Interesting articles here and here.
The "overhead flies" sequence is among most distinct overhead sound maneuvers that I have heard, and of note, is more pleasing in 7:1 setup than in 5:1 setup. The 7:1 setup makes the effect more distinctly in mid air above us in my system. It also pulls sound effect rearward and expands the sound-scape, extending it to the 180 degree space behind audience. Very spooky. My wife and son/daughter laughed incredulously when I pointed out the buzzing creatures circling above us. If you are at 5.1, I would highly recommend to give 7.1 expansion a try as the difference is obvious and quite enjoyable. That said, I should warn that upmixing must be used cautiously as it changes the soundstage presention, direction of foleys, etc. Upmixing is not a benign process as at the same time that it increases spaciousness/envelopment, upmixing invariably affects adversely image clarity/focus ("native is the filmmixer's intent, upmixing is the engineer's intent" ). All 4 modes Dolby music/movie, DTS music/movie, increase spaciousness and the soundfield is "bigger," more impressive, and more ENVELOPING with atmospheric/ambient now behind you as well. BUT... at the same time upmixing IMHO decreases focus and clarity of the front soundstage's imaging.
From crystal clear conversation, to jaw dropping bass, to spectacular sound effects, yes, all the audiophile engineers have abandoned music for the theaters! I have never had my chair vibrate so much in a movie LOL. In fact the whole floor was vibrating.
Gravity is another example of why whether your system is 5.1 DTS or 7.1.4 Atmos, to play with the "big boys," the front 3 speakers - left, center, right - should be as large, full range, and good sounding as one's budget allows. Yes, the enveloping effect is nice, yes the flies sound effect is fun to listen to, but... they are "surround" sound in support of the "primary" sound from front 3 speakers, where the screen and action reside. Whether it is Gravity, or Super 8, or Smaug, the front 3 channels are the ones that dominate the sound and provide the ultimate sonic drama (turn off your LCR speakers in Super 8's train wreck and you'll notice there is almost zero sound from the surrounds). We are fascinated, of course, by the latest technology since it is so much fun to talk about, but remember neither room correction, nor Atmos, nor Auromatic, will turn a bad speaker into a Wilson, nor an inexpensive receiver into a Theta. It's a whole system approach and audio fundamentals (capable amp, good speakers, etc.) are still the first, and most critical, step.
Scene of the vibration :
Linn Sondek Turntable w/ Lyra and Koetsu Cartridge, Conrad Johnson Premier 10 Phono Stage and Premier 16 Preamp, Theta CBIII HD, Krell FPB 600 Amp & Classe CA 400 Amp, Thiel CS5i, and the pièce de résistance , Theta Casablanca.