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

[Aj72]

A slow time for releases sees me catching up on movies I've had sitting on the shelf. Just watching Underworld Awakenings and WOW I am loving the bass in this! The Super Lycan scene has got to be the best foot stomping, guttoral growling I've ever heard. Her Uzi style hand cannons... Oh Yeah! Making my room come alive effortlessly great audio too. Not that this would be news to anyone as it's been out a while.

[MemX]

I think it's good to go back and re-watch older stuff, especially following upgrades - re-watching my collection after upgrading from a ported 2x12" to a sealed PPSL 4x18", some of the differences are night and day, and I've only got one of the two sealed boxes in place so far! 

[maxmercy]

^^^^^

THIS.

 

Re-visiting after an upgrade is great stuff.

 

JSS

[MikeDuke]

I don't have any time stamps, but any chance of doing an oldie like Dark City?  I also have to agree that 9 is 5 stars for sound all the way.

[maxmercy]

9 is such a sleeper. At first glance, you think 'kid's movie'. But it is far from it. Good story, great animation (the differences in the amount of shutter leaves for their eyes really imparts personality), and the sound was tremendous. Folks watching this with a less than capable system have no idea what they are missing out on.

 

JSS

[MemX]

+1 to that - I might have to rewatch it tonight!

[Aj72]

9 is one of my all time favourites. No doubt.

[MemX]

Well, I re-watched 9 as planned (although not as loud as I would have liked) - some additional depth that I hadn't felt before, plus it seemed tighter than before - the bass during the Machine's zapping sequences was a series of defined notes and sweeps rather than the general rumble it was previously!

 

I will have to re-watch Inception as well - that has some slightly weird bass sweeps/notes in it IIRC, so it will be interesting to note any differences!

[lfe man]

Talking about inception, the soundtrack is bass delight on blu-ray bonus.

[Aj72]

Any chance somebody could graph the scene at 46min:42sec of Underworld Awakenings? It's the scene where you first here the Super Lycan roar just before she goes upstairs to battle it and they all look up and the guy say's "what the hell was that". I watched this scene today and at considerable volume. It's the first time something strange has happened. Whilst my subs sounded awesome something in the chain "tapped out" during this scene. Normally I would have the ability to measure SPL but laptop died a while back and haven't replaced yet. Volume is at 70 out of 100 if that means anything. When played at 65 it's fine. Whole house shakes and I would guess I must be hitting around 120-125dB (possibly louder?) during this scene but not sure. Subs run maybe +3dB so a touch hot but again I'm guessing here that may well be +5-7dB. Anyway this scene causes the sound from my preamplifier to drop out then return a few seconds later. I noticed my Crown XLS 5000 (which powers one sub) clip lights don't come on at all. The other sub is powered by a Behringer EP4000 and it's clip lights go on full red for this scene which lasts less than five seconds. I've noticed the clip lights flickering before on certain scenes with the Behringer but without any issue before. Whilst I lose all audio for about three seconds the bass seems to be working during this time (maybe only through the Crown?) in some capacity as the scene is finishing. What an incredible scene! Seems like it's the Behringer clipping causing the shut down of audio and I know the Crown is a better match to the Captivators but anybody got any thoughts? I feel that the scene is close to port tune too around 18-20Hz as it's similar to the Hellboy 2 scene I requested earlier on in this thread.

 

Edit: I will try scene with just Crown running to see if this makes a difference.

 

Okay found the problem, it's my solid state power amp going into protection mode. The power cuts to it and the light flashes just like when you first turn it on then the audio comes back as it clicks back on. It's rated at a genuine 200 watts per channel (seven channels) and I've run things louder than this before so something must be wrong. Cuts out at 65 too now (but not 64). Does it without any sub involvement at all so not the subs. Probably should get another Crown anyway.

 

I would still like the graph of that dynamic scene!

 

Edit: Just checked the SPL using Ratshack meter (forgot I had it!) and at 90dB with no bass involved amp goes into protection mode. Klipsch speakers I use are efficient, 8Ohm load. A 200 Watt per channel Amp should be able to cope with 90dB level I would've thought? Sorry if a bit off topic here direct me to go somewhere else if inappropriate for this thread.

[nube]

Here's Underworld Awakening at the scene you spoke of  (0:46:42 - 0:46:46 Super Lycan Roar):

 

 

That one extends to 12Hz with powerful content, but as you can see, the big hit is right at 34Hz.  Sounds like your issue is the amp.

[Aj72]

Awesome! Thanks for that Nube. Yeah it's one of those really visceral scenes (and the fight scene that follows it) which seem to produce a big smile when played at higher volume. Like that scene in Lone Survivor where the chopper gets "cleared to engage" and lights up all the Taliban fighters towards the end. For me an addrenalin bass hit.

[nube]

Constantine (5.1 TrueHD)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (108.39dB composite)
Extension - 4 Stars (12Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.75dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4 Stars

Recommendation - Tossup (by poll)

 

Notes:  Tons of stuff down near DC, with hits at 11 and 13Hz, and a few other good effects below 20Hz.  Surprisingly decent bass in this movie.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

The Watch (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (108.29dB composite)
Extension - 3 Stars (17Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.25dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 3.75 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  No really big effects until near the end.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Babylon A.D. (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 2 Stars (107.29dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (9.5Hz)
Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.71dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 3.75 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

The Losers (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (108.29dB composite)
Extension - 3 Stars (17Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.78dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 3.5 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Man On Fire (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (109.33dB composite)
Extension - 1 Star (25.5Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.13dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 3 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Solomon Kane (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 4 Stars (112.1dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (4Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.94dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.5 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  Solid content all the way down, but most of the huge stuff is 25Hz and above.

 

PvA:

 

[maxmercy]

Here's Underworld Awakening at the scene you spoke of  (0:46:42 - 0:46:46 Super Lycan Roar):

 

UA-0.46.42-0.46.46-SuperLycanRoar.PNG

 

That one extends to 12Hz with powerful content, but as you can see, the big hit is right at 34Hz.  Sounds like your issue is the amp.

For anyone that wants to know, when an effect hits 50% on the scale at bottom right! that is 122dB at the LP at reference. 100% is 128dB.

 

JSS

[MemX]

Oh, cool, I hadn't thought of that!

 

 

 

Any chance somebody could graph the scene at 46min:42sec of Underworld Awakenings? It's the scene where you first here the Super Lycan roar just before she goes upstairs to battle it and they all look up and the guy say's "what the hell was that". I watched this scene today and at considerable volume. It's the first time something strange has happened. Whilst my subs sounded awesome something in the chain "tapped out" during this scene. Normally I would have the ability to measure SPL but laptop died a while back and haven't replaced yet. Volume is at 70 out of 100 if that means anything. When played at 65 it's fine. Whole house shakes and I would guess I must be hitting around 120-125dB (possibly louder?) during this scene but not sure. Subs run maybe +3dB so a touch hot but again I'm guessing here that may well be +5-7dB. Anyway this scene causes the sound from my preamplifier to drop out then return a few seconds later. I noticed my Crown XLS 5000 (which powers one sub) clip lights don't come on at all. The other sub is powered by a Behringer EP4000 and it's clip lights go on full red for this scene which lasts less than five seconds. I've noticed the clip lights flickering before on certain scenes with the Behringer but without any issue before. Whilst I lose all audio for about three seconds the bass seems to be working during this time (maybe only through the Crown?) in some capacity as the scene is finishing. What an incredible scene! Seems like it's the Behringer clipping causing the shut down of audio and I know the Crown is a better match to the Captivators but anybody got any thoughts? I feel that the scene is close to port tune too around 18-20Hz as it's similar to the Hellboy 2 scene I requested earlier on in this thread.

 

Edit: I will try scene with just Crown running to see if this makes a difference.

 

Okay found the problem, it's my solid state power amp going into protection mode. The power cuts to it and the light flashes just like when you first turn it on then the audio comes back as it clicks back on. It's rated at a genuine 200 watts per channel (seven channels) and I've run things louder than this before so something must be wrong. Cuts out at 65 too now (but not 64). Does it without any sub involvement at all so not the subs. Probably should get another Crown anyway.

 

I would still like the graph of that dynamic scene!

 

Edit: Just checked the SPL using Ratshack meter (forgot I had it!) and at 90dB with no bass involved amp goes into protection mode. Klipsch speakers I use are efficient, 8Ohm load. A 200 Watt per channel Amp should be able to cope with 90dB level I would've thought? Sorry if a bit off topic here direct me to go somewhere else if inappropriate for this thread.

If your clip lights are coming on on the Behringer, is that not showing the Input is clipping rather than the output?

 

Could it be that your pre-amp is shutting down briefly because you are sending it clipped signals and it doesn't like them?

 

What are your level trims on your AVR?

[Aj72]

Problem all sorted guys. School boy error on my part. Rear backs are moved when not in use and cable banana tips (positive and negative) were touching causing the power amp to cut out. The amp was just doing it's job protecting me from my own stupidity. Ran the same scene without issue at loud level. Very happy again. The Behringer definitely reaching its limit although no untoward sounds noticeable. AVR trims all about 0dB.

[MemX]

Nice, easy fix is good!

[nube]

Glad that's sorted for ya, Aj72. 

 

I have to give you a heads up that I have Divergent, Oculus, and NFS all measured and ready to post once I get home tmw. 

 

Also, a quick tip for those of you with kids that the upcoming release titled Bears has a ton of bass, delicious cinematography, and is a great family watch if you can get over the narrator.

[Thomasdk1405]

Hi !

I am legend was on TV the other day - wonder how it scores ? 

[steveo1234]

Looking forward to seeing the graphs!