Madaeel

Don't get me wrong, first 1-2 times you see the films, it is good stuff.  But after a few views, the 'chapter forward' button gets pressed to get to the real action.  There are fanedits out there that just keep 'the good stuff'.

 

Bonus from this past weekend, The Expendables 2:

 

Level - 3 Stars (263dBHz)

Extension - 5 Stars (6Hz)

Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.4dB)

Execution - Will be added to the poll.  Didn't see this one entirely, busy doing other things, but essentially a throw-away action movie with the action stars of yesteryear. I hated the first one, prob would not like this one, but had some decent low end.  Not enough for me to want to watch the whole thing, though.

 

Overall - TBA Poll results.

 

Recommendation - TBA by Poll.

 

 

JSS

Well that's some good news since I'm waiting to watch this in my theater because it's one of the very very few releases in 11.2. Hated it that much huh Max? I figured the action made up for the complete lack of acting and predictable plot. Guess not haha.

Yah I only see one too Dave.

THIS IS AWESOME.

I can't wait personally for Wreck-it Ralph.....and Flight is in the queue.

It would be great if you could contribute scenecaps!

I will also develop a PvA tutorial over time, so others can contribute those as well, I have developed an easier-to-employ roll off correction function.

BTW - JapanDave has been putting in some overtime for the thread generating a tremendous Excel spreadsheet that will make graphing PvAs very easy.

Eventually I want to change the 'Level' category to only be based on the Z-weighted SPL captures from REW. That way movies like Brave will get the 5-Stars they deserve for Level. There will be a tutorial for this as well, eventually, so folks can contribute in one of three ways in the future.

Things here have to slow down for a while. I may get to graph a movie or two a week, but not the six I could do in the past, have to study for board exams. Things will kick into high gear late April/early May.

The queue is only 35 deep at the moment, so by late summer it should be caught up.

JSS

Thanks Max yah she is pretty awesome. She also listens LOUD. We watched Planet of the Apes when it came out and we were watching at -8MV and I asked if it was too loud and she said "nope, you can turn it up louder if you want". My sister is the same way. At least I know where we get it from.

Forgot about Wreck-it-Ralph. I'll watch it regardless of the bass it would just be amazing if it has anything close to some of the other heavy hitters.

I will definitely do some screen caps. I figure between you, Dave, and my bro I can figure it out. That's great news JapanDave is making it easier though. Thank you JapanDave!

Wow, I just added it up:

 

Over 75 films PvA graphed!

 

JSS

You're a beast Max. Thanks again for all the time and work you put into this. I promise as soon as I'm done with the theater and have everything dialed in, hopefully in like 4 months, I'll help with the graphs.

 

The scene where the witches house blows up is a full BW spread, high output effect to rival any I've experienced. I know it's just one scene in the movie, but it has me scratching my head on the 2 star level rating...

Man I've been saving this movie and now this has me excited. I was watching a clip of this at Ethan's house and I couldn't believe how good the visuals were and now to hear the audio is every bit as good just makes me that much happier I saved it for when the theater is done.

I'm with you on Brave, superbly crafted, quite enjoyable.

 

These animated/CG releases just don't get the love from many of the LF/ULF enthusiasts. When Joe Six-Pack/ "12 inch drivers are faster than any 18" sits down to enjoy his two hour movie time, the Pixar stuff just doesn't make the cut. I mean he's looking for the un-rated, directors cut with gun-play, drugs and explosions, Tarantino-esque inter-woven storylines, full frontal Sharon Stone style/grill on grill cooking.

 

So, staring at the Family Video shelf, there's Brave right by Bullet to the Head/Un-Rated Directors Cut, just it ain't happenin'    

 

All kidding aside, Brave really is well executed. Randy Thom, doing what he does. An entirely immersive experience.

 

Last weekend we enjoyed Flight, suprisingly good to me. I'd not seen much promo at all except the premise. Well cast, spot on w/Goodman, Washington, and after the film credits began rolling, thinking to myself how nice the sound was (some tasty rock-n-roll), there it was; Sound by Randy Thom.  

Good film.  

I agree with this as most adults see these as "kid movies". I know a lot of my friends take their kids to see them and usually enjoy the movie themselves. They just don't have the A/V gear to really appreciate what these movies are capable of or realize that these movies are designed for everyone to enjoy. The time and effort put into them is simply amazing and that's why some of my favorite movies are CG movies with HTTYD at the top of the list. Now I'm hoping Brave shares that spot. The funny thing is my mom and dad love these movies and actually will come over just to watch them on a larger screen and in surround. Actually my dad enjoys CG movies more then any other type. My mom is into any type and is a Star Wars fanatic. Gotta love em.

I heard flight was a good movie from a couple people and now this is just the icing on the cake. Thanks for the heads up on the sound.

No worries. The bottom of the pile needs to be populated as well.

The best part of getting a lower extending subwoofer system is feeling and hearing what you had been missing out on.....

And with the 115.1dB peak, it is a loud film.

JSS

Haha thanks for trying to make me feel better. I guess the loudness threw me off.

Looking forward to The Haunting.

Chronicle:

 

Level - 2 Stars (261.2dBHz)

Extension - 1 Star (25.2Hz)

Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.5dB)

Execution - 3 Stars - There's just no defending the highpass.  

 

Overall - 2.5 Stars.  It can be bumped up to 2.75 is enough folks want to call this a 4-Star Execution film.

 

Recommendation - RENT.  Decent film if you don't mind 'found footage' films, with shaky-cam throughout.

 

RMS Peak - 115.1dB

LeqZ - 93.9dB

 

 

JSS

Man who's the idiot that suggested that movie.???? To my defense my sub doesn't go down below 25hz. Maybe I'll wait till I get some real subs before I recommend another movie.

I think those ratings are accurate enough Max. Thanks for checking it out.

I agree with the RE rating Max. Almost every one of them has been the same: loud and repetitive.

It's sad too because I actually liked the RE movies. No they're not going to win any Oscars, but I love Zombie flicks and games so of course I enjoyed them. Except Retribution was awful. The action is always nice but the acting was so bad I laughed most of the time. Thank god Milla still looks good.

I can't wait to watch Looper now. A friend of mine told me he watched it yesterday and the bass was impressive. A 5 star though?!! Nice.

Hey Max do you think you could graph Chronicle when you get a chance? I watched it the other day and I forgot how much bass it had. I'm interested to see its rating.

Thanks again to you and Bosso for all the work.

Seriously man wtf?!! This is getting ridiculous. First movie I wanted to premiere with was Avengers which is a 30hz filtered pos and now TDKR is basically the same??? If it weren't for movies like U:A and ALVH we'd be SOL. I hope this trend doesn't continue....

 

 

I will add Superman Returns to my queue...and I am looking forward to The Man of Steel.

 

Happy Thanksgiving! I am going to go to bed now, long night on call.

 

JSS

Dammit. I meant The Man of Steel. Hope you didn't add Superman Returns because of me. That movie was awful.

You're a beast Max. Hope you enjoy you're thanksgiving or whatever day you have off.

Don't forget Superman. It looks like it will be a great movie and a great soundtrack. I hope.

Yah mine are too I was just hoping I could make it through the whole movie. Hopefully the 3D and bass will help me endure.

 

 

Posting tomorrow:

 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer

 

Put it on your list... the entire soundtrack is low end awesomeness.

What'd you think of the movie itself Dave? A friend let me borrow it for the 3D, so I'm excited I have good bass to look forward too, I was just concerned about it being...........watchable.

Good observation Max. They are very similar. I would expect them to be the same up until 20hz where Chap 4 should have a very noticeable increase. Also the average graph in Chap 4 is steady across the entire BW and then at 20hz drops off where it seems it should start to raise??

I also was looking at the TDK graphs and while it goes down to 2hz it doesn't do it that often and in the other graphs it barely goes below 20hz. I was just thinking it maybe should only be a 4 star in extension. Yes it goes down low, but not very often and most of it is centered around 40-50hz. When you compare it to WotW in extension I just don't think they should both be 5 stars. WotW has several scenes where the bass is centered below. I realize the criteria is whether or not it contains bass down low, but when it is just a few times and just a spot or two of bass I don't think it should be 5 star. Idk. What do you think MaxM and Dave??

Damn. I feel like I should be paying Max and Bosso to do this.

Max as far as execution ratings go I don't think anyone is gonna argue those. I'd say for the most part all of the guys here are on the same page. Every movie you rated low on execution deserved it. We have movies that clipped, had 30hz notes the whole stinking movie, and one filtered at 30hz. I say well done on your ratings and look forward to WotW in that chart.

Avengers, the biggest LF disappointment of all time, but also indirectly the reason this thread was started, so you have to give it that.

 

Tron:Legacy is next

 

JSS

You know what's even more disappointing?? After I finished building my theater I was going to open with that pos. I haven't even seen it yet so it was going to a great opener and now...........it's a rental. You're right though at least something came from it.

Thanks for the graphs Max.

I agree that we should keep it bass-centric. I have lots of movies (including The Natural) that I love to watch for various reasons, but they aren't ever gonna be graphed for this thread.

 

If we keep it bass-centric, then rent/buy/no buy is great. For example, I loved Prometheus, so I bought it even though the low end is anemic as heck. (Yeah, i saw others post at AVS that it had amazing/powerful bass, etc., but, if Max graphs it, it will become evident that that ain't so). That means there are indeed other factors that would go into that rating.

 

I vote we put you and Ethan in charge of this, after seeing the awesome job you did on your shootout thread.

Works for me. If anyone has any recommendations for what they'd like to see for the movie ratings lmk.

This is too cool. Just too cool.

 

Either way, this is shaping up to become one heck of a standard for reference.

Agreed.

 

 

I like the buy/rent/no-buy idea. Although to be truly honest, I will not purchase a film solely for ULF (although it does play a part). Afer all, the most watched film in my theater in the past 3 months is The Natural......but I am a basshead, no question. I make my recommendation on Immortals a 'rent' then....and if you like it, buy.

 

JSS

The Natural?? I'll have to check that out.

I agree it takes more then great bass to make a movie a buy. Would you want to make that a buy for those who just care about the bass in Immortals, and a rent for the actual movie? I wouldn't buy Immortals either nor would I use it as a demo. I did like the movie, but the movie isn't something you would watch over and over. So maybe we could rate them on bass first and foremost, and then as a side note whether it's worth a buy, rental, no buy as far as the movie goes just to give someone an idea of what to expect. Nothing too detailed.

Hey guys I gotta say everything looks awesome. I'm checking this thread everyday. Finally a low bass content thread dedicated to............low bass. What a crazy idea!

What do you think about the final rating being buy, rental, or no buy??? You could redbox it for $2 if the bass isn't top tier stuff(if they have it that is). Dave's graph of Prometheus showed some decent output down to 20hz-30hz so while its definitely not worth a buy it could be worth a rental. Idk just a thought. Carry on.