NEW Audio Tier Thread - Page 7

The Taking of Pelham 123 (DTS-MA) tier 1

Nothing to complain about with this track as it is tech solid. Dialog driven film for the most part which always comes through loud and clear. Nothing demo worthy in this one, but a solid track and does its job considering the material.

Up (DTS-HD MA) - Tier 0
Great sounding movie but after watching Monster Inc I'd have to drop this down to tier 0. Like others have posted it had good use of surrounds and the bass was mostly used for when the house hit something. Dialog was very clear too.

Monster Inc (DTS-HD MA) - Reference
Reference mix too me. I've had Monster's Inc on SD for since it first cam out and it has always been great mix, but the lossless audio is just perfect. You could always hear the sounds of the factory, but never this clearly. Lots of ambiance throughout the movie that really has that hollow factory feeling of a big building that echos. There's off camera sounds everywhere and the bass is spot on.

G.I. Joe The Rise Of Cobra (DTS-HD MA) - Tier 1
This one was OK, and some of th eaction scenes had really good bass, but my main gripe is the lack of discrete souround use. Even the action scenes sounded good, but not great with the surounds. There are times when a helecopter or plane pans from bach to front, but there there are other times when a similar scene doesn't pan at all. To me it's just a tier 1 movie

G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra(DTS-MA) - Tier 0
Super active surrounds, they're on for nearly the entire runtime, everything goes from side to side, back to front...then back again, a couple of times the sound did get a little muddled though(it was probably[much] less than a minute total). Bass is ok, there are a few good deep pulses...but only a few.

Some differences from the theatrical experience that I remember, the intro scene sounded like Iron Man in theaters, it seemed to be lacking in the mids quite a bit for some reason. The guns in the training sequence sound light, as they did in theaters. The last 2 thirds sound more like the theatrical version, but everything seems to be lacking the sonic weight it had in theaters. I distinctly remember the two helicopters in the beginning sounded very realistic when they first followed the convoy. Also I think the little sci-fi sounds were more exaggerated in theaters, they are present here, but don't bring as much attention. All of the gunshots seem to have been "lightened" a little bit, I am specifically referring to the intro and the East Africa scene.

Overall though I'm satisfied, but I was expecting more.

Anybody have any thoughts about Jeff Beck - Live at Ronnie Scott's.

I thought it was amazing but don't trust my judgment enough to place in the groupings

Write a review and place a vote No reason not to trust your ears.

I own this title and it sounds excellent no doubt about it (I had a few minor complaints as I remember, but they were minor). I would vote tier 0 in this thread (not sure If I wrote a review or not), but I bet quite a few would vote reference as it seems many people love the audio on this one. Here is a thread about it......

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...+ronnie+scotts

Well, the day if finally here. Star Trek will be watched tonight. Although, since we're having friends over and will most likely be partaking in generous amounts of Romulan ale, I'm not sure it'll be a good time to listen to it critically.

I'm right there with ya! Well, not literally, but....you know.
Patiently waiting for "Brown" to drive up and drop it off. Then its down to my theater to drool....

+2.......I just blind bought this from BB Also bought Fight Club which I cant wait to hear!!

Ditto, only from Amazon, I also pre ordered Terminator: Salvation, both are blind buys, something I almost never do anymore.

I just picked it up from BB as well. From what I recall from the theater, this should be the best sounding BR of the year. You blind buyers should not be disappointed. Can't wait to fire it up.

Star Trek was good, but I wouldn't say the soundtrack was the best this year or even reference. Dolby TruHdand it seemed to gave that lower than "normal" volume issue and I had to crank up the volume several db's more than I normally would. I an going to watch it again tonight or tomorrow.

Wow. That's extremely disappointing. It was excellent in the theater, and after seeing it I thought it would be 'the disc' of the year. This is a movie I could watch multiple times as opposed to TF2.

I don't have any problems with adjusting the volume, or even that it's a TrueHD soundtrack, but if it's not reference, then I'm going to be let down.

Don't get me wrong, it maybe reference or at the very least tier 1. It it just from all the hype I guess I was expecting more. I need to rewatch again and I also am going to rerun the audyssey setup on my receiver.

I just read some of the reviews in this thread recommending reference. Two gave it extreme praise calling it the best of the year and flawless, but I think this review is more accurate and what I heard.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post17453783

"Detail was solid but not up there with the very best reference material."

I think most are going to give that to Terminator Salv. its just like IH. Personally I have extremely high hopes for D9 - talk about detail.

The first 12 minutes of Star Trek (right up until the title appears) is the most exhilarating sequence I've seen in a movie in quite some time. Demo worthy for sure.

Well, I'm watching bits and pieces of it before everyone gets here so I can get the volume levels and sub set up to my liking, and I must say that I'm extremely pleased with it.

Yes, it is recorded lower than other soundtracks. I'd say a good 8db or so. However, once turned up to make up for that.......nice. Very, very, nice. I'm not disappointed in least, but I haven't watched the whole thing yet. What I have heard so far, though, is an excellent and balanced (my favorite type) soundtrack.

P.S. I'm about to pour my first Romulan ale of the evening.

EDIT: I may run to Best Buy to pick up another BD player. I was supposed to get one after work, but chickened out. Now that I'm home and have been running the PS3 for over 30 minutes, IT'S LOUD AS HELL!!!!

Excellent, thank you for letting us know about the 8db differential. I normally watch at -12dbs give or take a couple dependent upon movie, but this I cranked to
-6 and will watch again maybe at -4. I admittedly watched most of the movie at -12 to -10, so my perspective about the audio will probably change.

I snuck out of the viewing to post this: Be careful with the volume increase. If you read my post above, I'd had it with the PS3 being so loud and rushed my ass to Best Buy to get an LG BD390. I'm bitstreaming now, and the volume difference is much less. Don't blow anything up based on my previous 8db difference reference. Apparently systems can vary on this.

^ Alright, we're taking a refreshment drink.

The sound in this one is incredible. Just incredible. The clarity, the balance, the surrounds, the LFE..... Wow. Also, the Buttkicker is picking up low frequency signals that my PB13 Ultra is not (in 15hz tune mode). We likey.

Dialog norm again... 4db.

I watch the majority of movies with the volume at -12 as well. That seems to be the average, with some higher and some lower.

There does seem to be a negative psychological effect when I have to crank it up to -6 or higher, like "what is wrong with this soundtrack"!?!

Heat (TrueHD) - Tier 1
Finally guns that eat up some of that high frequency(they're mostly white noise right?), they echo appropriately, they make a ripping noise and gunfights sound completely chaotic, the shootout mid way through still manages to impress(in terms of audio, its hands down the best shootout ever put on film). One issue - dialog can get very very soft at times(not often mind you), but I had to push this one past reference, not a big deal. Surrounds area used when appropriate.

You get some LFE with the jumbo jets, its a dialogue driven film and some of the effects do sound a bit dated. I would have liked to have newly recorded sound remixed into the movie, by the same team if possible.

I don't think anyone will be disappointed with this one.

Yes Rob, I agree. My first reaction is as you said, what is wrong with the track, especially now that several Tru HD tracks have lower volumes. My secondary thought is to wonder if my system is off somehow. I am not saying I prefer DTS-MA, but if anything with those tracks I have to turn my system down a couple of db's.

Star Trek [2009] (TrueHD 5.1) - Reference
It is true the volume knob will be spun a few turns to the right for this title, but I've never considered volume changes as part of the equation to ratings. Dialogue intelligibility is foremost and is my basis for making any changes in volume settings; I rate the track by how well the other sounds go with the voices, and I certainly have no qualms with clockwising the knob.

Volume setting aside, this track is easily my favorite on BD so far this year. With a top-notch sound design by the excellent Ben Burtt and a tight, aggressive mix, this TrueHD track certainly will knock the socks off a lot of feet. The surrounds are heavily employed, and the panning is seamless. Dialogue is very clear and well-recorded. Dynamics is incredibly wide, never faltering as some of the reference films do. And bass is deep and amazing (OMG, those warps each and every time made me wince due to their power!). Even punches pack... well, punch!

I love the sound design here as well. Just as immaculate as the aesthetics employed for the visuals, the sound design is every bit as clean. It employs sounds ranging from the deep end to illustrate power and foreboding doom to the shrillest of shrills that capture the essence of advanced technology. Though action-packed from beginning to end, the design manages to make the final scenes a refreshing listen. What's more, the music by Giacchino really plays on the psychological turmoil in the main characters as well as accentuating the action onscreen; brass is often heard to really amplify the sci-fi feel. I must say I didn't enjoy the music soundtrack alone, but coupled with the film, the music is memorable (that damn motif is stuck in my head now).

Star Trek is reference and an excellent audio demo track.

Star Trek (TrueHD 5.1) Reference

Yeah, what he said!! ^^^^^^^^^^^

I'm not throwing in my official vote yet, but something would have to change dramatically for me to not vote ST as reference. I plan to watch it again tonight without distractions, then post my thoughts on it.

Star Trek 2009 (TrueHD) Reference

This is one of the best overall tracks I have listened to. There is strange kind of subtlety with this one or something.....hard to describe. I noticed reading Ralph Potts review that he was trying to explain this as well. Most tracks there is something that stands out above the rest such as LFE or great surround use, but the great thing about this track is that there is no standout area as this is a VERY well balanced track.

Like sb1 mentioned, it seemed my BKs were picking up .1 info on occasion that my subs were not which is crazy and I am curious how deep some of this stuff went. LFE here is very well thought out(for the most part.....I had a few little nit-picks, but they were very few) and incredibly detailed. Some VERY powerful moments at times and a few demo worthy scenes for sure.

Surrounds are fantastic both in action and ambient scenes and really brought this world to life. There were a few moments when sounds seemed to be coming out of thin air right above my head......very cool

Dialog was perfect.

Dynamics were incredible.

No major complaints at all with this one and while not my absolute favorite reference track definitely belongs there.