The Low Frequency Content Thread (films, games, music, etc)

[SME]

 

Minions

(Atmos to Dolby True HD)

 

0:02:03

 

0:04:30

 

0:21:22

 

0:30:13

-most bass levels are weak like this

 

1:08:56

 

1:09:52

 

1:11:32

 

Screwy mix on this one.  A few strong transients but most of the mix is very weak in level.

See waveform analysis here: http://data-bass.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/425-analyzing-waveforms-of-heavy-hitting-movies/?p=11778

 

I'll comment on this one when I get around to seeing it, but I thought the first "Despicable Me" had a better soundtrack with better bass than its sequel.  I also liked the first film more than the second.

[maxmercy]

Sicario - Dolby Digital 5.1 (Lion's Gate cheapness strikes again)

 

Level - 2 Stars (105.59dB composite)

Extension - 3 Stars (16Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (32.02dB!)

Execution - TBA

Overall - TBA

 

Notes - Zero clipping, and no detectable compression or limiting on waveform analysis.  Can't wait to see this one.

[Shredhead]

Lone Survivor

DTS-HD MA 5.1

 

0:19:39

-This and 21:06 are the only notable scenes with ULF and the levels at 6.5Hz are far too high compared

to the rest of the soundtrack.

 

0:21:06

 

1:00:37

 

1-04-00

 

1-10-47

 

1:44:49

 

1:45:48

-The majority of movie's bass spread and level look similar to this

 

Big thumbs down on sound design and mix.

See waveform analysis for rant: http://data-bass.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/425-analyzing-waveforms-of-heavy-hitting-movies/?p=11801

[RunkePer]

I actually found Lone Survivor quite spectacular, not in terms of low bass but in terms of surround channel mixing and effects. 

[Rowan611]

I actually found Lone Survivor quite spectacular, not in terms of low bass but in terms of surround channel mixing and effects.

 

I agree. I don't get down to 6.5hz with my setup, but really enjoyed this mix.

[maxmercy]

Fantastic 4 (2015) - DTSHD-MA 7.1

 

Level - 4 Stars (110.97dB composite)

Extension - 4 Stars (12 Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (27.86dB)

Execution - TBD

Overall - TBD

 

Recommendation  - TBD

 

Notes - 'meh' overall.  No thing to really see or any new twists on anything that is the F4 franchise.  While the first F4 film was passable, the second was not so good and this one is about the same.  A couple of hard 20Hz hits, but that is about it.  Origin stories every 10 yrs are going to get old....quick.  Only I liked is that 'The Thing' looks better than the terrible makeup they put on Michael Chiklis.

 

JSS

 

 

[MKtheater]

That lone survivor scene is awesome in my room and a demo scene for me.

[minnjd]

I'll comment on this one when I get around to seeing it, but I thought the first "Despicable Me" had a better soundtrack with better bass than its sequel.  I also liked the first film more than the second.

Gotta agree.  All of the Despicable me movies sound nice, but the first one definitely had more balls than the other two.  Despicable Me 2 and Minions are actually almost identical in sound (overall low levels with just a few good bumps).

 

All three were done by the same guy (Chris Scarabosio) so it's a bit of a mystery why he dialed back after the first one.

 

On a side note: rewatched Edge of Tomorrow at near reference level, and man what a nice soundtrack.  Explosions and crashes had a nice, full bandwidth punch to them that hit quick and then got out of the way.

[Bossobass Dave]

 

Lone Survivor

DTS-HD MA 5.1

 

-This and 21:06 are the only notable scenes with ULF and the levels at 6.5Hz are far too high compared

to the rest of the soundtrack.

 

 

 

That lone survivor scene is awesome in my room and a demo scene for me.

 

Yeah, and all you need is an SVS PB-13 Ultra because that 6.5 content is exaggerated by +20dB in SpecLab. Awesome.

[MKtheater]

I know, it is the movie I calibrate to since it shut down my 20 amp breaker running hot! It uses some juice and lasts a long time. It is the most realistic helicopter scene on bluray to date! My screen usually vibrates with loud bass, it waves like water with this scene running hot.

[minnjd]

Not sure if there were plans to do a poll on this one, but here's what The Martian looks like:

 

 

Not all that impressive and most of the movie is pretty bass free (although very good)

 

One interesting quirk though that you can see on this graph:

 

 

This section has no audible bass for the most part outside of a thump or two as it isn't an action scene (this is around 13:30 in the film), but check out that 9Hz rumble.  It's at a decent intensity and it ends up running for over a minute!  This happens at a few other points in the film so it has to be intentional.......In addition there's a few spots where a ULF only 'hit' will occur centered around 6Hz.

 

So despite the low volume there's some crazy unfiltered ULF moments in this film.

[Shredhead]

The Last Witch Hunter

DTS-HD MA 5.1

 

0:02:45

 

0:06:03

 

1:09:51

 

1:12:15

 

1:13:53

 

1:30:20

 

1:31:30

 

1:32:19

 

See waveform analysis here: http://data-bass.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/425-analyzing-waveforms-of-heavy-hitting-movies/?p=12015

[minnjd]

The Martian-20th Century Fox

 

DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1

 

Sound Design/Supervising Sound Editor: Oliver Tarney

Sound Design: Michael Fentum

Mixing: Paul Massey, Mark Taylor, Dafydd Archard

 

Level - 3 Stars (109.29dB composite)

Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (33.46dB)

Execution - TBA

Overall - TBA

 

 

Ridley Scott's newest Sci-Fi soundtrack is a lot like Prometheus in that the bass is restrained and often subtle, but unlike Prometheus it makes up for it's low level with some semi strong ULF rumbles down in the 10Hz region.  These rumbles appear to be deliberately placed as they accompany most of the 'uncomfortable' scenes in the movie (such as when Matt Damon operates on himself).  Most of the 'big' effects (such as they are) are full bandwidth and extend all the way into single digits with virtually no rolloff.  No clipping on any channel and the dynamic range is pretty good, so if the low level is an issue, just bump your sub by a few dB.

 

0:13:00

 

1:56:00

[minnjd]

2012-Sony

 

DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

 

Sound Design/Supervising Sound Editing: Paul NJ Ottosson

Mixing: Jeffrey Haboush, Michael Keller, Rick Kline

 

Level - 3 Stars (109.24 dB composite)

Extension - 1 Star (26Hz)

Dynamics - 4 Stars (27.17 dB)

Execution - TBA

Overall - TBA

 

 

Ouch, what a shame.  This movie had so much potential for some awesome ULF, with scenes of entire cities collapsing into the ocean and a mile high tsunami wiping out Washington DC.  In many regards the soundtrack delivers; it's fairly dynamic, doesn't clip, and has some great surround effects.  But then we come to the low end, and at no point is it anything other than pathetic and underwhelming.  The level rating comes from a few quick transient effects and some moderate action in the 40-50 Hz region, but as the PvA graph shows, there is virtually nothing of any power below 45Hz, and entire scenes of massive devastation pass with little more than a burp from the subwoofer.  There's no doubt about it, this one falls into the same ignominious company as Battleship and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

 

0:45:00

 

0:59:00 (spoiler: this is when the Yellowstone caldera erupts from the vantage point of a character a few miles away.  Yes, that graph is correct)

[Toe]

I will never forget watching 2012 on blu for the first time excited at the potential considering the material. I still consider it in the top 2 or 3 most disappointing LFE films ever with Hobbit part 1 and Revenge of the Sith being the other 2.

[minnjd]

I'd take Revenge of the Sith any day over the other two.  ROTS at least had some bass, and on a few occasions it was even decent.  Although a huge letdown compared to the first two prequels, you could easily turn up your sub and still get a good experience.  Hobbit and 2012, on the other hand, don't benefit at all from additional volume as there's no bass there to reproduce in the first place.

[RunkePer]

I'm not particularly impressed by the sound design of the Star Wars prequels at all. The pod race in EP1 is the standout in that trilogy, having a good deal of fun bass albeit nothing super deep. 

EP3 was a massive let-down. I found the bass neither extended nor hard-hitting and expected much more from the sound mix overall. It just seemed dull to me, lacking in dynamics and scale. The opening shot with the Star Destroyer engines roaring is a muddy mess of >40hz noise when it should be clean and felt through your body. The drums clearly lack punch as well.  

 

EP4 is the LFE winner of the saga.

[Infrasonic]

Sorry but both Phantom and Clones will eat New Hope for breakfast when it comes to bass.

[minnjd]

Yeah out of all of the original trilogy only ROTJ comes close to the first two prequels in terms of bass. I agree the sound design of the prequels was a bit lazy in places. I can't count the number of times I heard one specific explosion effect repeated throughout all three.

[maxmercy]

I think you have to compare the prequels with what was around at the time (WotW was a ways off).  Ep1 really only competed with The Matrix and Fight Club at the time.  Ep2 turned the ULF up a notch, and some of the lightsaber effects in Ep1 and 2 had lots of energy in them.  Lots of folks tested their systems with the ship approach intro in Ep2, which had lots of midbass and ~20Hz content, but the explosion right after was a 'roar', not a 'blast'.  Compared to those 2 films, Ep3 was a total mail-in.  But lets face it, they all are really un-watch-able nowadays, ULF or not.

 

JSS

[Infrasonic]

I still enjoy Phantom a bit. It's fun! Clones and such are much harder for me to watch. Gotta do it with a rifftrax or something.

[minnjd]

They all have their moments, but it's really hard to watch them all the way through.  Sound wise, The Phantom Menace probably had the best mix in terms of dynamics and overall 'smoothness'.  The bass may not have had the same extension or overall level of AOTC, but I found it a lot less overbearing.  Sometimes raw volume isn't everything.  Episode III seemed to forget just about everything that made the first two good.....

 

On a side note: Figures are upcoming for Super 8, which will finally put an end to the debate on whether it's filtered (yes, it is), how rampant the clipping is in loud sections (pretty bad), and open a whole new line of arguing over where and how JJ lost his way 

[RunkePer]

The bass in Phantom is fine and the Pod race is fun demo-material if you're OK with not having that much ULF. AOTC I just found a bit bloated with a lot of mid-bass, won't say too much though as I didn't watch the entire film with a good subwoofer. Oh, and I hate the movie. I think it's worse than the first one. Christensen is just embarrassing and so are all the green screens and Monsters Inc-looking CGI creatures. Plus, the plot is a gigantic bore. 

[Toe]

Sorry but both Phantom and Clones will eat New Hope for breakfast when it comes to bass.

 

 

Exactly. Phantom and Clones are definitely the two best for bass out of the six films. Between those two, I have always been partial to Clones.

[Shredhead]

Here's a sneak peak at The Martian.  Just giving a heads up on this one: it's unfiltered.  Haven't run across anything that is at a crazy high level yet but there seems to be a lot of 10 and under rumble for extended periods that might get some folks into trouble if you run things hot. 

 

0:04:42

 

0:11:50

 

0-14-37