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nube

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Everything posted by nube

  1. nube
    MKT, I'll take a look and add it to the measurements post if it's any good. If you or anyone else has other suggestions, I'll look at graphing those as well. tux, Your comment just reminded me that I wanted to mention that we're not really reviewers. I see a lot of references on AVS made to the "Data-Bass review of so-and-so movie" and I hope those people realize we're measuring, not reviewing.
  2. nube
    Oh, I also measured the Prisoners Blu-ray (5.1 DTS-HD MA), in case anyone was wondering about it. Supposedly a good movie, but it scored low on bass so I didn't think it should be included here. These are its measurements, for comparison's sake. Level - 1 Stars (102.4dB composite) Extension - 1 Stars (26Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (34.26dB) PvA wasn't even worth posting.
  3. nube
    I prolly was a little exuberant with my notes on Elysium, but I really liked it. It is not chock full of constant surround effects or bass, and since I'm merely 5.1, I don't know how the rear channels impact the sound. I only know that the bass was used quite well, and I overall liked the soundtrack quite a bit. I don't think it has the subtlety of some recent movies, but it also has a lot more low end than most decent 2013 releases. It's in my personal 2013 top 5 movies with bass. I don't feel like JSS and I are reviewing these titles so much as measuring them and adding a few of our own personal notes. As to actual reviews, they clearly prioritize the 30-50Hz region, likely because that's the most audible in their systems. Compare the AVS reviews of Pacific Rim or Man of Steel to Elysium (or even Oblivion) and you know what I mean. This isn't a pot shot at Ralph or others, it's just an acknowledgment that they're doing something wholly different. There's room for lots of different approaches in this world. As a final note, I would recommend everyone rent first and buy later, in almost every case. There are too many intangibles to definitively conclude whether or not you're going to like a movie before watching it. My perspective is I usually don't even look at movies below a 6.0 IMDb rating unless they're recommended by others. 7.0 and above are usually the only ones that get permanent places in my stable, and 8.0 and above are about the only ones that ever get re-watched. But, that's just me.
  4. nube
    Elysium (7.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 3 Stars (107.54dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.75dB) Execution - 5 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.5 Stars Recommendation - Buy (by poll) Notes: Another great release for fans of bass in movies! People who said Elysium was lacking for bass either have ported subs, terrible response that humps around 30-50Hz in their rooms, or they're deaf. Or they lack a pulse. Elysium is a monster, but it doesn't have any loud peaks above 22Hz, and the bass content levels are only average for an action film (about 5dB lower RMS than Oblivion, but with much better extension). Elysium has an absolute truckload of content below 30Hz. In fact, all the heaviest scenes are from 10-22Hz, but there's plenty from 5-10Hz, too. The movie is only average at best, but the sound mix makes it exceptional. Great use of surrounds with essentially no clipping outside of a couple of spaceship engine effects that seemed intentional. This one's got the goods. I'd say it needs a place in your library, and if its not loud enough or bassy enough, either turn it up or get better subs! PvA: Scenecap graphs (timestamps in the filenames):
  5. nube
    Kick-Ass 2 (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 4 Stars (110.73dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (2Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.34dB) Execution - 5 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.75 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Finally, something worth watching! Kick-Ass 2 follows in the original's footsteps with solid, unfiltered sound design that's pretty fantastic, although the film is a letdown compared to the first. I never thought I'd say this, but I missed Nick Cage in the 2nd one. This installment is really tired and forced in a lot of places, with the actors laboring to deliver anything meaningfully close to adequate performances. The fight scenes are especially terrible, with excessively fast cuts that look like each fight move prolly needed 10+ takes, and they just cobbled them together - there's no fluidity. Also, this is much more a teen movie, all the expletives, homophobic "humor," sexism and vagina references notwithstanding. Wait...I guess that's what high school is like, right? So, while I found the movie itself lacking, the sound design is exceptionally good. I'd say it only misses 5 stars because of a little level left on the table. Great use of the full bandwidth, pretty great sound design and artful use of effects used appropriately throughout. It doesn't have any really demo-worthy scenes, but is just overall really good. This one, while not the best movie, has a superb bass mix, and might be worth a buy for a lot of folks. PvA:
  6. nube
    Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (7.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 2 Stars (105.4dB composite) Extension - 2 Stars (21Hz) Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.49dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 2.75 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Compared to the first one, Sea of Monsters is a real disappointment. The PvA graph tells the whole story - a huge and steep decline after the sharp peak at 30Hz. It's also very low level, and has what I would consider very weak dynamics for such low level. The sound team left a lot on the table with this release, and it's noticeably badly designed compared to the first one. Many of the effects are repeated throughout. You'd think with the success of the first, they wouldn't mess with the recipe for the second iteration. Sadly, the lower quality ingredients make this one wholly unappetizing. It shouldn't have been served. PvA:
  7. nube
    The Family (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 2 Stars (106.4dB composite) Extension - 3 Stars (20Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.68dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3.25 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Following the trajectory DeNiro seems to have mapped for his sunset years, The Family is another snoozefest full of campy humor, telegraphed (and terrible) laughs, and a plot plucked from the toilet. In terms of the bass, it's about what you might expect for such a film. I guess we're just lucky it has any bass at all. This one's a rental fo sho. PvA:
  8. nube
    The Lone Ranger (7.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 3 Stars (108.5dB composite) Extension - 1 Stars (26Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.1dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Will update if I ever watch it. Doesn't look like a great bass track, however - steeply filtered. PvA:
  9. nube
    Lots of discs coming down the pipe this time of year, and I have no money to do fun stuff, plus it's cold and snowy out, so... The low levels don't bother me much either, but some people have said, essentially, "I set it and forget it and watch everything at reference." I think there's something to that, so you get a comparison that only varies by the mix. But, there's always also the ability to boost levels if they seem inadequate, and most everyone actually uses the volume on their remotes, right? Hell, even movie theaters adjust the sound settings per movie. (This is how they get them horribly wrong sometimes.)
  10. nube
    Dead in Tombstone (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 4 Stars (112.3dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (5Hz) Dynamics - 4 Stars (25.74dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.25 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: I've only been able to watch a bit of this so far. It looks to have a lot of content, although it's of dubious quality. The first 30min remind me of the sound design for The Man With the Iron Fists, which was pretty ham fisted. Or, should I say, iron fisted. Har Har Har. But, seriously, this has a ton of content that legitimately goes down to 5Hz, but it just seems overdone...with every movement on screen having an accompanying serious bass effect in the mix...it becomes more of an assault rather than a good experience. If all you're looking for is bass, but not bass used artfully or well-designed, this one might be for you, much like Frankenstein's Army, Getaway, or The Man With the Iron Fists. I wouldn't buy it, though. PvA: SpecLab scenecaps - it starts out fast and hard and deep and doesn't let up for the whole movie. (Timestamps in the file names.)
  11. nube
    Despicable Me 2 (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 2 Stars (106.5dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (8Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.4dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4 Stars Recommendation - Buy (by poll) Notes: Will update once I watch it. Looks to have great design, just low levels. PvA:
  12. nube
    Man of Tai Chi (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 2 Stars (106.3dB composite) Extension - 4 Stars (12Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.9dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3.5 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Whoa! Thanks, Keanu, for being an eternal joke. This one cheats on extension by having exactly 1 scene with exactly 1 effect that digs deep. The rest of the movie is a 30Hz fest. And it's a snoozefest, with generally boring design by this thread's standards, in bass content, surrounds usage, and its mediocre plot. Not much to see here. PvA:
  13. nube
    The Fast and the Furious 6 (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 4 Stars (111.1 dB composite) Extension - 3 Stars (19Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (27.97dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3.75 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: The RMS graph (red trace) below shows a mix that looks made precisely to coincide with a 20Hz ported sub. How uncanny, right? About the same as its forebears, the latest installment of Fast and Furious gets faster and furiouser. With pretty standard sound design that filtered out the super low stuff entirely, it's not a terrible track, but it does contain some clipped content in the LCR and sub channel. It's not egregious, but it's there on many of the high octane engine and tire squealing sounds. Guess this'll be the last in the series, with Paul's death. Oh well. Not my cup o' tea, anyway. PvA:
  14. nube
    Paranoia (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 3 Stars (108.1dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (8Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (32.71dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.25 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Looks like Liam's movies don't get the same HPF treatment as his older brother Chris (from The Avengers, Thor, etc.). And Liam's roles aren't as good! However, the bass is pretty legit. Good use of the entire LFE bandwidth in the movie, and great dynamics, though it was never very loud. There's real content below 15Hz pretty frequently, and the stuff used above that is also well-designed. I couldn't find any clipping in the bass content at all. I didn't think it was as bad as it's IMDb score of 5.1, but it also has zero rewatchability. This one's a rental, even for the last Gen X'ers that comprise its intended audience. PvA:
  15. nube
    When are you new speakers getting finished?!?
  16. nube
    tux, I'd say go for it if you're a fan of The Wolverine and/or X-men IP. In my case, I'm not terribly, but it's still pretty well made...with solid to really good sound design overall. That's how I felt about the X-men movies, too, and they're all in my stable.
  17. nube
    The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 3 Stars (107.57dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.02dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.25 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Yet another unfiltered release! I'm feeling lucky after seeing two in one week! Honestly, though, this movie leaves quite a bit on the table in terms of level, but doesn't suffer too much, with big amounts of ELF (extremely low frequency) content. There are many scenes that have strong content from 1-7Hz, but most of the hottest is from 1-4Hz, so only the fortunate few will be able to reproduce it. Not much ingenuity in the design other than that ELF content. As for the movie, it's a teen girl action flick trying to capitalize on the Twilight series' momentum. It's really not something I'd recommend for anyone other than the target demographic, and I doubt many of them read this forum. A definite rental! PvA:
  18. nube
    The Wolverine (7.1 DTS-HD MA Theatrical) Level - 2 Stars (105.22dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 4 Stars (27.44dB) Execution - See Below Recommendation - See Below Notes: The Wolverine has two releases - the theatrical cut and the unleashed extended edition, neither one of which seems to have an obvious filter - great job Hollywood! The theatrical is the one I viewed, and seems to have a solid mix with good use of LFE to support the on-screen action. The low level isn't really problematic - turn it up if you find it lacking. Overall a very good mix with generally appropriate dynamics, though a fair amount left on the table by the mixers. The movie isn't my thing, but it'll likely be an enjoyable ride for Xmen fans. PvA: The Wolverine (7.1 DTS-HD MA Unleashed Extended Edition) Level - 2 Stars (106.1dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (27.85dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4 Stars Recommendation - Buy (by poll) Notes: The extended cut scenes add a little more level overall, and bump the dynamics score up to 5 stars. It looks like the extended scenes are the only changes to the track, although one of them seems to cut some from a scene that's in the theatrical and replace it with "extended" content, removing that big 20Hz whomp, and but replacing it with scenes including greater extension. This is why you get the extended cut, in theory. PvA: Here's an animation showing both measurements. The theatrical has that big 20Hz peak, but the extended...has greater extension: Scenecaps: Hiroshima Nuke Explosion (Extended version)
  19. nube
    That pretty much sums it up, yep! I feel like the movie was made for technologically illiterate baby boomers.
  20. nube
    The Internship (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 2 Stars (105.00dB composite) Extension - 3 Stars (17Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.36dB) Execution - 2 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Finally got roped into viewing this one, then figured I'd measure it because it's got a few bass scenes. However, let me stress that it's not a bass film, and it's not very good. The bass scenes are either part of the score, or they're sound effects that are used and reused. The bass content is very, very low level and isn't used very artfully. Overall, a complete snooze-fest. I don't know if Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn were ever funny, but don't they realize what trash movies they've "starred" in for the last 10+ years? PvA:
  21. nube
    I don't know. I measured the Chinese version that is 130min long. I thought the 108min US version was coming out this Christmas?
  22. nube
    The Grandmaster (7.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 4 Stars (110.26dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.85dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.5 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: This is for the 130min Chinese version. Measurements don't lie, and The Grandmaster has a lot of bass, but it's used pretty subtly. It's almost entirely contained in the slo-mo fight scenes, of which there aren't enough. There's a minor amount of limiting/clipping in the center channel, but it's not too bad. The LF effects are used appropriately, and there are some fun moments. They can't redeem the movie, which is quite a long slog of alternating arthouse slo-mo in every fight scene, or bad Chinese melodrama. The kung fu isn't especially well done, either - nothing like other notables, such as Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, etc. Maybe the 108min US version will be better, but who knows about its mix. PvA:
  23. nube
    Red 2 (7.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 2 Stars (107.2dB composite) Extension - 2 Stars (21Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (32.45dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: Will update once I watch it. PvA:
  24. nube
    Getaway (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 5 Stars (112.5dB composite) Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz) Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.11dB) Execution - 4 Stars (by poll) Overall - 4.5 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: This movie has a ton of bass content - It's literally just one long car chase. There are some amazingly hot stretches that rival the amplitude of just about anything (see scenecaps below). However, it's not all good. There's frequent and annoying road noise LF/ULF that kills its execution. Some would have been OK, but they put it in most scenes in the middle of the movie, and it's very out of place. I'm not even sure why it's there most of the time - it's used in such a way that doesn't sound anything like real driving. Also, it's earned every bit of its 4.0 star IMDb rating! It's After Earth bad. PvA: SL Scenecaps
  25. nube
    2 Guns (5.1 DTS-HD MA) Level - 3 Stars (108.2dB composite) Extension - 1 Star (26Hz) Dynamics - 5 Stars (30.83dB) Execution - 3 Stars (by poll) Overall - 3 Stars Recommendation - Rent (by poll) Notes: The movie is pretty forgettable, especially without any serious bass. The only ULF in the movie is stuff you'd prolly miss if you weren't looking for it - a train rumbles by a couple of times and accounts for the 10-14Hz blip on this film's bass radar. I wouldn't recommend it, even if you like Paula Patton. PvA:
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