Found a new movie last night to test a sound system. War of the Worlds rocks. From seperation on really quiet section to house shaking it is excellent.

It also has a really nice starfield for a black test at the very end.

Still looking forward to seeing this... glad to hear it has good sound!

It wanted to default to digital 5.1. Had to go in and change to DTS. They extensively use the surrounds and back surround. Made me jump in a few places where sound came from somewhere that you wern't expecting and at a volume that you definately were not expecting.

Hello,

You weren't kidding about War of the Worlds...

I was using certain tracks on other movies to demonstrate my audio system's capabilities for some friends (Underworld, Chronicles of Riddick, Star Wars 3). They don't nearly stretch the ability of my system like this movie...

I just watched "War of the Worlds" last night and was amazed by the audio quality used. I was very impressed by the (soundstaging) way the speakers disappeared and sounds came from everywhere around the room.

I live in a suburb where my neighbor's house is 20' away... It makes it tough to watch movies at 2:00am (unless they want to hear {and feel} them too). I had to get up and reduce the volume on my subwoofer 3 times - lest my ears bleed. In the movie, when there is a low rumble and Tom Cruise is looking at the cracks in the ground, he says "did you feel that?". I said, "YES - so did everyone else within 100 feet of my house..."

Although it isn't a favorite movie for me, I will be buying a copy to use for sampling my system. This is, so far, the most challenging movie I have found to test my home theater audio capabilities.

Truly and eye (ear) opener...

Bonz

I agree, the movie was a bit of a letdown, but the SOUND is absolutely amazing.

I would be interested to know if there are any other dvd movies out there that compare to this one (war of the worlds) for sound quality and incredible dynamic range.

Some I have tested are: Fifth Element (superbit), Shaun of the Dead, Underworld, Star Wars (all), TLOTR (all), Aliens vs. Predator, Pixar (all)...

All of these movies show an attention to audio detail. I have found many horror films seem to be recorded with this attention to audio as a larger priority than other types of films...

Has anyone else noticed this???

Bonz

Don't laugh but an old favorite of mine to take to installs is "Total Recall". I know what you are thinking...lol. But it has parts in it that really rock the house.

Hello again.

I finally got the opportunity to test my system with tracks from "War of the Worlds" during daytime hours...

I put on the same track as listed on my previous post (playing in DTS). I let the volume play at a moderate level (Sub - Mirage SS-1500 set at about 10:30 on dial). WARNING - I CRACKED MY WALL!!!

No kidding, I really have a crack along a drywall seam about 2-1/2' long. I have heard of this happening in home theaters before, but never really took it seriously...

I will wait til after the Superbowl party to repair it - gotta show off the damage - lol.

Bonz

My 3 yr old received Polar Express DVD for Christmas. After watching the beginning of the movie where the train arrives outside the kids bedroom, I had to re-mount pictures on the walls!

The plane crash scene (and the buildup to it) in FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX is a true sound spectacular! It gives both BPS400 subs a real workout. But I agree WOTW is great fun, too.

Also, don't miss this forum...

[Link: remotecentral.com]

Doug,

I will have to check out "Flight of the Phoenix"...

Do you mind if I ask how you have (2) BPS400 subs hooked up on your system? Do you use an external crossover?

I just recently picked up a second SS1500 sub (also Mirage) and am trying to figure out how best to set it up for music and home theater. I thought about running the first thru the low level inputs & outputs on the sub plate to my amps running the main front speakers - The second sub would connect to the subwoofer out connection of my receiver (for home theater). I use rotel amps for my front L/R channels and my receiver (Marantz SR7200) for my processor & other channel amplification.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bonz

Bonz, don't forget that the processor will not output the LFE from the front outputs, unless you switch it to "no sub", which will kill the LFE output. I would run the processor with "no sub" selected, and wire your two subs to the front channels in stereo, one channel to each sub.

With "no sub" selected, the LFE track will be added to the front outputs (set to "large", of course) in mono, and the left and right main channels' bass will be reproduced in stereo at the same time. This is how I run my Def Tech's with built-in powered subs.

the movie sahara has an awsome boat chase scene.....

Larry,

Thanks for the response.

The only problem I have encountered with switching to the "no sub" option is that I have to turn "Source Direct" off and let the receiver (Marantz SR7200) process the signals. When doing this, I have experienced a noticeable sound quality reduction.

In source direct mode, my LFE is automatically off and the signal from the source (cd player, dvd player, etc...) is clean. Am I doing something wrong to cause this noticeable sound difference when not in "Source Direct" mode on my receiver settings?

Thanks again,
Bonz

Bonz, sorry for the delay. It seems you have made progress in your situation regardless. I hope you can work it all out

In my situation, I use a Yamaha RX-Z1 receiver, which replaced an RX-V1, both of which have separate left and right outputs for LFE/subs. I was surprised to find on one of the Dolby Digital system tuneup DVD's (or maybe it was in the DTS mode, I can't remember) that the bass output of these really is directed left and right depending on the source material. I had suspected it was just 2 sub outputs of the same signal. ...and it may very well be in some situations. I have not experimented to see what does what. I do have both front mains set to "LARGE".

I use the receiver crossover, by the way.