NEW Audio Tier Thread - Page 45

Late to the party on this one, but I agree there is a mindset of how the audio supports the film as well as how it supports our preferences. UP is a wonderful and technically superior film. However, I thought it was a little too "balanced". As an example, Ratatouille was a similar conversational film but much more aggressively mixed, imo. The scene where Anton drops his pen when remembering his childhood. Fantastic bass! And imparted the drama of his memory. The way UP was mixed, and many others, would not have put as much drama on that action and is one of the many reasons I have such high regard for Ratatouille.

Edge of Darkness (DTS-HD MA) Tier 2

Pretty much a ho-hum. I strained to hear the dialogue on a couple occasions, especially early on in the film. I was hoping and kind of expected it would be more like "State of Play" sound design and implementation but alas, it wasn't.

Nine (DTS-HD MA) Tier 0

Another great sounding musical.

Battle For Terra (PCM) Tier 1

This was a good mix, but I find nothing special here. I did like the score especially at the beginning, which at that time it seemed had a more prominent role in the mix. As the story advanced the FX sounds took a more substantial role however. Real deep bass didn't arrive till the last battle scenes which surprised me based on the previous review. Surround usage was a bit less aggressive as I would have liked given some of the scenes, but they weren't severely lacking either. Dynamics were good, and dialog was always intelligible.

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Off topic I didn't like the animation style, it reminded me of the early Pixar stuff, which I also didn't care for at the time or now. YMMV.

I still consider Ratatouille one of the best mixes that I have ever heard.

I really need to watch Ratatouille again. I have only watched it once and it was on my BD30 BEFORE the firmware update was released to fix the -5db LFE issue with PCM. I remember the movie sounding fantastic though and I certainly could not tell there was a 5db LFE loss going on with the BD30 while watching it. If it sounded that good in light of that problem, it will sound even better this time

This aggression that you are talking about as far as mixing in the Rat is what I also like so much about Monsters Inc, Toy Story 1 and 2 (especially 2), Nemo and The Incredibles (I think A Bugs Life was like this as well). I definitely prefer an aggressive mix in general

I'm shocked to see Ratatouille lingering in tier 0, truly one of the greatest tracks around.

Been watching a few movies lately...

Avatar (DTS-HDMA) - Tier 0

Let me first say that I had high hopes for the audio on this way, and ultimately came away disappointed. Bass was definitely problematic on this one. One thing needs to be clarified first - this is a ton of mid bass, which would go a long way to explaining why some people have no qualms with the LFE in Avatar. The tree collapse has been talked to death and for good reason, it doesn't dig as deep as you'd expect considering how immense it should have felt. On the plus side, there is absolutely no bass bloat whatsoever in Avatar, which is indeed a significant tick.

To be honest, the scenes I was most impressed with were the scenes with little action. The ambiance in Pandora is spectacular, offering one of the most immersive experiences that can be found in home theatre. The sheer variety of sounds used is overwhelming, in a good way. There did seem to be a slight bias to the left surround speaker, but this could be a placebo effect due someone mentioning it earlier in this thread. Another letdown for me were the numerous flying scenes. Don't get me wrong, they sounded good, but I could never shake the feeling that they could have been more aggressive. It also doesn't help that I found the background soundtrack to be very forgettable...I can barely remember the theme of the movie.


Saving Private Ryan (DTS-HDMA) - Reference

For anyone who had previously heard the DTS mix, there was little doubt the DTS-HDMA would be nothing short of reference. SPR boasts an insanely detailed soundstage, with every scratch and ricochet recorded with great fidelity. As aggressive as this track is, it never sounds harsh - a testament to how balanced the recording is. LFE is prominent thorough the action sequences, and certainly more satisfying than what was heard in Avatar. Depth is great but falls short of Incredible Hulk levels. One aspect that really impressed me was how they handled explosions, in particular the subtle volume differences depending on how distant they occurred from the listening point. Dynamic range is exemplary, with incredible contrast between action and dialog driven scenes.

Sherlock Holmes (DTS-HDMA) - Reference

Now this one is fun to listen to. I'm surprised there wasn't more critical acclaim for this track in this thread. The surround use is some of the most creative stuff I've ever heard. Time and time again I was impressed by how the sound design demonstrated what was being depicted on screen. Panning was seamless and less experienced listeners would no doubt be turning their heads on several occasions. LFE is great, with great impact and surprising depth at times. No doubt the ship sequence will be used as demo material. The movie is consistently aggressive throughout, and this led to some slight harsh sounding high end, though not terible by any stretch of the imagination. Dialog was handled well, delivering RDJ's mumbling in glorious clarity This is right up there as one of the best tracks of 2010 for me.

Amelie (AU) (DTS-HDMA) - Tier 0

I went into this with low exceptions, and came away pleasantly surprised. Amelie's audio design reminded me of Changeling in many ways, with the an exceptionally natural sound field that diffuses the notion that you are listening to speakers. Dialog is always crisp. Again the dynamic range here is excellent, and for a movie of this genre, it does get very aggressive in parts. LFE is pumped up beyond what you'd expect, and thankfully the quality is largely excellent. Another effort that proves you don't need a bombastic action movie to demonstrate awesome sound design.

Phone Booth (DTS-HDMA) - Tier 2

For the most part this track is just plain dull. Being a predominately dialog driven film, this doesn't come as a surprise. What the track failed to do was build on the tension that the other aspects of the movie had successfully created. If anything, it hindered it. The LFE, which comes mostly from the background music, is bloated and flabby...reminiscent of the stuff you would hear from mainstream R&B songs these days.

Received my copy of the new 2L 2-disc release: OLE BULL Violin Concertos.

Audio options are:
Hybrid M-Ch SACD
BD with 5.1 DTS-MA 24/192, 7.1 DTS-MA 24/96 or 2.0 LPCM 24/192.

Performance and AQ are stunning, as expected, the color button function for BD audio tracks works perfect so no monitor is required. Recorded in a large room with nice dynamics for added listening pleasure.

Blu-rayDefinition.com review

Where the Wild Things Are (DTS-MA), Tier 0

Great sounding track. Really solid LFE, good surrounds, and clear dialog. Very impressive to me.

+1

Where the Wild Things Are (DTS-MA) tier 0

Agree with your post. I watched this last week, but never put in a vote. Great all around track.

Personally I couldn't sit through the movie. From what I heard, tier 0 would be about right.

It was....unique. That's for sure.

Have had this bluray since it came out and have not watched it yet. I question if it works on a level my four year old would enjoy and it is hard to work it into the adult rotation...

Side note, for those who like bass, the 9 bluray is $7.99 at Frys right now.

Maybe I should not have voted, and I guess the reason I have not voted is because I shut it off just after the 1 hour mark somewhere (I very rarely do this). Needless to say, I could not get into this one at all for whatever reason. I felt no connection/sympathy/anything for the boy in this one the way it was presented and/or acted (loved the book when I was younger).........The audio was very good though.


Man, I wish there was a Frys in Denver. This is one on my "to buy" list when I find a deal. I have rented it 2 times now.

I watched it today as a preview for our upcoming Saturday movie night, and decided my 6 year old daughter either didn't need to or wouldn't want to see it. It can be too intense for children, in my opinion.

I know there are plenty of adults that speak highly of this movie, but I could easily see this being made into a movie that was fun, fantastical and with a message for kids as well as being nostalgic for us that loved it as a kid. I also see it grossing 200 million domestically and having reference audio and visuals...ah well...

Their website lists it online $7.99 with $1.99 shipping

http://www.frys.com/product/6091368

i would add War of the Worlds... (DTS-HD MA) reference audio

Cool Thanks.

Sherlock Holmes - Tier 0

Saving Private Ryan - Tier 0

Both of these movies had high SQ, but in particular for SPR, if I take away the sentimental element or stay objective instead of letting my personal like of the movie biase me, I find that both are slightly off the best of the Reference ones.

The difference is not big, but I would not put either into Reference when you compare them to Toy Story, Star Trek and some of the best.

The bass, the surround field and construct are good, and just like Avatar, very impressive, but not in the same class as the best.

Legion (DTS-MA) tier 1

Solid all around track. Surround use was the standout in this one which was VERY well done.

2012 - tier 0

I thought it was a descent track. Very agressive surround but that's no problem for this kind of movie. There's a good amount of bass present although I agree with most of you there were some missed spots for intenser bass (the yellowstone explosion for example). It still was very punchy witch kinda made up for the lack of deep bass IMO.

It Came From Beneath the Sea (TrueHD 5.1, U.K. release) - Tier 4

Dialogue was clear. Overall the sound was harsh. At times of suspense/action the music became significantly louder which in the middle of the movie was quite often. I found that annoying especially mixed with the harshness of the sound. Unnatural effects. Sound was directed primarily from the front with little surround use (for music). No directionality or use of surrounds for action. No LFE.

Earth vs the Flying Saucers (TrueHD 5.1, U.K. release) - Tier 3

Dialogue was clear. The sound wasn't harsh sounding as there was some LFE present. Surrounds were used for action and music, with directionality on a few occasions. Unnatural effects.

The Big Blue (LPCM 2.0, U.K. release, English language, Region B) - Tier 1

The dialogue was clear for the most part. A few times the dialect made it difficult to clearly hear what was being said. Surround use throughout with music and effects. No directionality. Some, not much, LFE present. Natural sounding effects. Some discrete sounds. The music was especially pleasant sounding, clear and crisp.

Bryan,

Michael Jackson's This Is It features DTS-HD MA, not Dolby TrueHD 5.1.

A bit off topic, but how did this one look? I love this film for some reason.

This movie left an impression on me when I 1st saw it. I could relate to love of the ocean, just not at the extreme that Jacques did. Jacques having a picture of dolphins in his wallet struck me. I was very happy with the video quality. The colors were bright. Good clarity. The water/underwater sequences were also clear. I didn't notice any DNR, no artifacts. There were a few instances where the sunlight reflected off the lens. It's been a while since I've seen it on dvd and I've seen it more than just a few times. I also bought Atlantis at the same time so total including shipping from Amazon U.K. was $15/blu-ray. A bargain in my book. I'm glad I got it.

Atlantis (French LPCM 2.0, U.K. release, Region B) - Tier 2

This video is undewater scenes of fish and mammals by Luc Besson. Some nice on the water video as well with emphasis of light hitting the water surface as well as underwater.
The French LPCM is the only audio choice but it doesn't really matter as the only dialogue is brief narration in the very beginning before the underwater sequences start. There were English subtitles for this as well as for the titles Luc gives to the different sequences. Oddly enough there were 2 musical sequences with singing that was in English. Surround use was heard throughout. At times the sound level of the music somewhat obscurred the animal sounds which I didn't like (especially in the beginning with the dolphin sequences). Animal noises are natural sounding as are water sounds but these aren't heard often. The music wasn't as clear and crisp as in The Big Blue. The video of the ocean and the animals was the focus in this blu-ray rather than the animal/water sounds. Music was used as the primary audio source. I still did greatly enjoy the video, especially the manta ray sequence (my favorite animal).