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

[nube]

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (107.9dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (9.5Hz)
Dynamics - 4 Stars (27.24dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  Some very hot content from 15-35Hz, with other notable effects down to just below 10Hz.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Cat Run 2 (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 4 Stars (110.69dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (33.44dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.25 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  Legit content down to 4Hz through a lot of the movie.  Also, great dynamics for such a loud mix.  Don't watch it, though, as the ratings for this and the first one in the series are atrociously bad.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (5.1 PCM)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (108.74dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.83dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.25 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  Unusual sound design.  That legendary scene with very high level < 2Hz content notwithstanding, there's also a scene with very strong 10Hz content, and one effect that's completely full bandwidth.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

The Terror Live (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 4 Stars (110.74dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.11dB)

Execution - 5 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.75 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  This is from the Korean Region A disc, Korean language track.  Almost all of the bass effects are completely full-bandwidth, with zero filtering, and the big stuff on screen is appropriately weighty below 20Hz in almost all cases.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Crank (7.1 PCM)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (108.08dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.7dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  A single effect earns this movie its 1Hz rating.  Otherwise, it's a 20Hz extension movie.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Crank: High Voltage (7.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 4 Stars (111.02dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (31.17dB)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.5 Stars

Recommendation - Tossup (by poll)

 

Notes:  Lots of full-bandwidth effects, with many effects having more below 20Hz than above.  One odd section of long, REALLY LOUD noise below 1Hz.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

The Railway Man (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 2 Stars (105.37dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (38.62dB!!!)

Execution - 4 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  Holy shit, look at that dynamics score - highest recorded yet!!!  Not really a bass movie, but when it does have bass, it legitimately reaches into the single digits.

 

PvA:

 

[maxmercy]

I may have to check this one out.

 

JSS

[MemX]

The Terror Live (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 4 Stars (110.74dB composite)

Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (29.11dB)

Execution - Will poll

 

Overall     - TBD

 

Recommendation - Will poll

 

Notes:  This is from the Korean Region A disc, Korean language track.  Almost all of the bass effects are completely full-bandwidth, with zero filtering, and the big stuff on screen is appropriately weighty below 20Hz in almost all cases.

 

PvA:

 

TheTerrorLive-PvA.PNG

Is that this one?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Terror-Live-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B00HSJHJD2/

 

I can't find it on Amazon UK!

 

 

The Railway Man (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 2 Stars (105.37dB composite)

Extension - 5 Stars (1Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (38.62dB!!!)

Execution - Will poll

 

Overall     - TBD

 

Recommendation - Will poll

 

Notes:  Holy shit, look at that dynamics score - highest recorded yet!!!  Not really a bass movie, but when it does have bass, it legitimately reaches into the single digits.

 

PvA:

 

TheRailwayMan-PvA.PNG

Ooh, that looks like a prime 'surprise' disc for scaring unsuspecting visitors with

[nube]

Yeah, that's it.  It's available at YesAsia for cheaper, but I wouldn't recommend buying it just yet.

 

As for The Railway Man, it's not scary, even with the huge dynamics score.  Pretty ho-hum movie.  Not the style that most people here like, and I'd say it's only marginally worth watching.

[MemX]

Cool, cheers for the link

 

I meant scare as in they won't be expecting a massive hit of sofa-rumbling bass if it's mainly a speech movie

[SME]

So I had to edit my post again about "The Fifth Element" and "OZ The Great and Powerful".  It turns out that *neither* film advertises a copy of the theatrical mix.  I'm not sure how I got this wrong in my memory for Oz.  In the case of The Fifth Element, both a PCM and True HD mix are included.  I probably ascertained that the PCM mix was a theatrical mix by how bright it sounded without an X-curve applied.  Nevertheless, the True HD mix sounds just as bright.  The levels also appear to be similar if not identical.  It's close enough that I wouldn't argue for any difference without looking at the data to confirm.

 

So having established that neither disc necessarily contains a theatrical mix, I have nothing to compare at this point.  Is anyone aware of any Blu-ray discs that do explicitly advertise inclusion of the theatrical mix?  I know I've seen (either here or elsewhere) speculative discussion that the DD 5.1 mix on Prometheus is a theatrical mix, based on the subjectively substantial difference between it and the lossless mix, with many commenting that the DD 5.1 mix sounds better and has more bass.  Of course, I read reviews of "The Fifth Element" that claimed either the PCM or True HD mix to be superior when in fact they may be identical.

 

All this makes make more eager to get at the audio data on the discs to do some loudness measurements.  If/when I get around to doing this, I'll gladly share my methods and results.

[MemX]

Project X used an 'octaver' function on the music at times and boosted the octave down content by 10-20dB. It is a POWERFUL effect! Too bad 99% of all cinema-goers did not experience it.....

 

JSS

I re-watched this yesterday morning at anywhere between -6 and Reference to get my pre-work bass hit

 

Has some great depth, loads deeper than just about any other music track I've heard, bar bass test tracks!

[MemX]

So I had to edit my post again about "The Fifth Element" and "OZ The Great and Powerful".  It turns out that *neither* film advertises a copy of the theatrical mix.  I'm not sure how I got this wrong in my memory for Oz.  In the case of The Fifth Element, both a PCM and True HD mix are included.  I probably ascertained that the PCM mix was a theatrical mix by how bright it sounded without an X-curve applied.  Nevertheless, the True HD mix sounds just as bright.  The levels also appear to be similar if not identical.  It's close enough that I wouldn't argue for any difference without looking at the data to confirm.

 

So having established that neither disc necessarily contains a theatrical mix, I have nothing to compare at this point.  Is anyone aware of any Blu-ray discs that do explicitly advertise inclusion of the theatrical mix?  I know I've seen (either here or elsewhere) speculative discussion that the DD 5.1 mix on Prometheus is a theatrical mix, based on the subjectively substantial difference between it and the lossless mix, with many commenting that the DD 5.1 mix sounds better and has more bass.  Of course, I read reviews of "The Fifth Element" that claimed either the PCM or True HD mix to be superior when in fact they may be identical.

 

All this makes make more eager to get at the audio data on the discs to do some loudness measurements.  If/when I get around to doing this, I'll gladly share my methods and results.

I am still confused which I should be choosing if there are different mixes on a disk

 

My AVR defaults to DTS-HD Master if it's an option, but I watched something the other night in PCM Lossless rather than the other, dolby digital 5.1 mix on the disk, and I think it sounded better than the DD option when switching between them.

 

Which is 'better'??

[maxmercy]

So I had to edit my post again about "The Fifth Element" and "OZ The Great and Powerful".  It turns out that *neither* film advertises a copy of the theatrical mix.  I'm not sure how I got this wrong in my memory for Oz.  In the case of The Fifth Element, both a PCM and True HD mix are included.  I probably ascertained that the PCM mix was a theatrical mix by how bright it sounded without an X-curve applied.  Nevertheless, the True HD mix sounds just as bright.  The levels also appear to be similar if not identical.  It's close enough that I wouldn't argue for any difference without looking at the data to confirm.

 

So having established that neither disc necessarily contains a theatrical mix, I have nothing to compare at this point.  Is anyone aware of any Blu-ray discs that do explicitly advertise inclusion of the theatrical mix?  I know I've seen (either here or elsewhere) speculative discussion that the DD 5.1 mix on Prometheus is a theatrical mix, based on the subjectively substantial difference between it and the lossless mix, with many commenting that the DD 5.1 mix sounds better and has more bass.  Of course, I read reviews of "The Fifth Element" that claimed either the PCM or True HD mix to be superior when in fact they may be identical.

 

All this makes make more eager to get at the audio data on the discs to do some loudness measurements.  If/when I get around to doing this, I'll gladly share my methods and results.

 

 

The Bourne Legacy has Theatrical and Home mix on the disc.

 

JSS

[nube]

I re-watched this yesterday morning at anywhere between -6 and Reference to get my pre-work bass hit

 

Has some great depth, loads deeper than just about any other music track I've heard, bar bass test tracks!

 

I just finally got Project X measured, so it'll be posted in the relatively near future.

[SME]

I am still confused which I should be choosing if there are different mixes on a disk

 

My AVR defaults to DTS-HD Master if it's an option, but I watched something the other night in PCM Lossless rather than the other, dolby digital 5.1 mix on the disk, and I think it sounded better than the DD option when switching between them.

 

Which is 'better'??

The answer is: it depends.

 

If all tracks came from the same master, then the only differences will be due to the encoding itself, in which case, PCM should be identical to DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD, and these should be superior (if only subtly so) than the Dolby Digital encode.  I have heard it stated that DD mixes have infrasonic bass rolled off, but I've never seen this claim verified.  Note that when comparing the mixes subjectively, don't be fooled by different levels arising from use of Dialnorm in one of the tracks, usually the DD one.  If used correctly, Dialnorm will lower the playback level of the track so that it its plays at a level consistent with other properly Dialnormed tracks.  In order to make the comparison fair, the non-Dialnormed track should be level matched against the one that is DIalnormed.

 

There may however be Blu-rays in which different tracks come from different masters.  One obvious case of this would be a 5.1 DD mix accompanying a 7.1 mix in a lossless format.  There may be other cases, such as a theatrical master in DD format being bundled along with a lossless near-field master.  Unfortunately, when the tracks come from different masters, it's becomes harder to judge which track is better.  For example, if the near-field mix was done particularly badly, then it is at least possible that the DD track might sound superior to the lossless one.  How often this occurs in practice is unclear.  It may be fairly rare, so that in most instances, it's still almost always better to choose the lossless track if it's available.

[MemX]

Thanks very much for your detailed reply

 

If there is a choice then I guess one could listen to one track then re-watch the film with the other track, to see which is better / more preferred, but that does take quite a lot of time... lol

 

I think I will look through my collection and see if I have any that have a choice of audio tracks, and will spend some time doing some comparisons, perhaps!

 

 

 

I just finally got Project X measured, so it'll be posted in the relatively near future.

Sweet!  I will look forward to it, thanks for doing it for us

[MemX]

Phantom:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level - 5 Stars (115.4dB Composite!)

Extension - 5 Stars (8Hz)

Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.1dB)

Execution - 4 Stars by Poll

 

Overall - 4.75 Stars

 

Recommendation - RENT.

 

This film is riddled by clipping.  Attached is how much.  Clipping is in red.  Channels are L, R, C, LFE, SL, SR.

 

Very impressive PvA, a little something for everyone in it.  

 

 

JSS

I'm late to the party on this one (mainly because I refuse to spend more than £6 on a blu-ray unless it's exceptional or 3D, so get things months after they come out ) but I'd agree with the ratings on Phantom - nice balance of vocals and big dynamic hits, with some super-deep stuff you can feel, through to some 'woah!' hits   Couldn't really turn it up as downstairs was in, so will be rewatched at a suitable point!

 

Acting/story was slightly cheesy/cliché at times but the history behind the story and the ending was sobering. 

 

Overall, worth a rental or cheap buy, definitely.

[nube]

Captain America - The Winter Soldier (7.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 4 Stars (110.62dB composite)
Extension - 5 Stars (6Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.52dB)

Execution - 5 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 4.75 Stars

Recommendation - Buy (by poll)

 

Notes:  Lots of effects down to 12Hz, with some very strong 20Hz content.  Two effects even dig to 5Hz at high amplitude - see if you can find them!  Most of the big stuff is around 30Hz, but it's nice to see the goodies aren't completely filtered out.  Solid movie, and very good overall audio - you can tell this one was designed and mixed by Skywalker Sounds.

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Brick Mansions (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (108.29dB composite)
Extension - 2 Stars (24.5Hz)
Dynamics - 4 Stars (26.9dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 3 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Die Another Day (5.1 DTS-HD MA)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (107.72dB composite)
Extension - 1 Star (25.1Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (28.58dB)

Execution - 2 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 2.75 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

PvA:

 

[nube]

Domino (5.1 TrueHD)

 

Level        - 3 Stars (109.45dB composite)
Extension - 2 Stars (22Hz)
Dynamics - 5 Stars (27.92dB)

Execution - 3 Stars (by poll)

 

Overall     - 3.25 Stars

Recommendation - Rent (by poll)

 

Notes:  Steeply filtered starting at 30Hz.  Lots of really loud effects centered there, tho.

 

PvA:

 

[grantisgrant]

Awesome, I was hoping that it might mean a return to form for Marvel! Hopefully the next few will continue the trend.

[Reefdvr27]

Not even close. My top bass films have to be watch-able, and more importantly, re-watch-able. In other words, it has to be a good film, or a bad film with over-the-top visuals and sound to make up for it.

 

I can't order them, but my top bass films (right now):

 

TIH - best overall bass film, IMO. It is almost too much, dynamics suffer.

TF2 - best use of above 20Hz effects, tremendous slam, even more than TF1.

Scott Pilgrim - no faults except nothing below 16Hz

Rush - great film, soundtrack was perfect for imagery

Attack the Block - surprising low end

Battle:LA - another bass assault, like TIH.

9 - hard to beat in any regard

Dredd - sleeper film, great sound, tremendous visuals, could have used a better bad-guy cast, but true to the comics

Star Trek - warp booms.....engage.

HTTYD - if your system can do this justice, there is no need to upgrade, EVER, except for TF1 where Megatron blasts Jazz

Thor - best mid-bass slam in last 3 years in my room.

 

They each have something they bring, bass-wise. No film is perfect.

 

This data-bass is an objective compilation, with only 25% subjectivity.

 

The phrase 'how much total bass' is so broad it has to be delineated much more fully. The easiest way to see if a film has more 'total bass', is simply to take the area under the curve of the Avg graph for every film and whichever one is biggest wins, factoring in film length.

 

Otherwise, it's just all the opinions thrown out at AVS.

 

You cannot imagine how much resonances affect the list above, or any review anyone posts. One person's 'best' can easily be another's 'meh' because of it.

 

JSS

The only other films I would put on that list is Lone Survivor and Oblivion. Lone Survivor is probably my all-time favorite sound track. Hell of a movie to boot.