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Once you have your HT set up, what do you play?

G

glen

Lifer
I set up Audyssey, and then had to do a few tweaks such as changing the front speakers to small (high pass at 60hz and setting the Sub to 80hz) and increasing the gain on the sub a little.

Things sound pretty good right now. But, I think there must be some music which will highlight any imbalances. So, I don't need recommendation for stuff that sounds cool, but rather stuff that sounds terrible if your system is not dialed in just right. Songs are probably easier to come by than movies, and since all i want to test is the audio...
 
Music isn't a good way to test a HT setup IMHO. Definitely gotta stick to movies for that. Black Hawk Down is an excellent illustration of why I need a bigger/better sub...but that's not happening until I buy a house.
 
Black Hawk Down
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+1 for this.... Great movie normally, amazing movie with awesome sound.

Lately I've been hooking up my PC via HDMI and firing up BF3 (which has good sound), that way I can control when certain types of sounds happen - deep rumble of a tank, high pitched jet sounds, etc etc so I can tweak as I go instead of waiting for a movie's specific points.
 
All these suggestions are great, and I'll like to add "Inception" to the list. Probably some of the best LFE I've heard on BD.
 
The best music to use is music you are most familiar with. Be that as it may, I found using symphonic classical good for wide spectrum balance (bass drum, cymbals, trumpets, strings). I found good pipe organ recordings tested out low bass and midrange loudness. I found rock music (your standard electric bass, electric guitar, drums, and vocal) good for the upper bass, appropriate "kick", and balance (usually for setting up optimal distance of speakers from the wall behind them due to SBIR quarter wavelength cancelation effects.

If your system is capable for the space you have, these types of music will balance it in the absense of measuring equipment. Movies will stress test to make sure you bought enough subwoofer for the volume of your energized space. I generally spend 1-2$ per cubic foot of energized space (DIY is cheaper) in order to make sure I have enough subwoofers to handle the bass (>25hz) at reference levels. For less than 25hz, the cost goes up very quickly for reference levels.
 
Anubis said:
you have not seen Underworld Evoloution have you, it IS the new LFE reference disk
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I actually have that movie. I don't remember the LFE being that memorable, but I may have to give it another viewing since you brought it up. 🙂 I just remember the scene in Inception where the city started changing. My walls started shaking from the low frequency before I could even hear the sound. It was pretty awesome.
 
Aren't these suggestion things that probably sound pretty cool on most systems?
I am looking for something that sound terrible, unless the system is just about perfectly setup.
 
glen said:
Aren't these suggestion things that probably sound pretty cool on most systems?
I am looking for something that sound terrible, unless the system is just about perfectly setup.
Click to expand...

Most people don't look for that so suggestions might be slim pickins.
 
glen said:
Aren't these suggestion things that probably sound pretty cool on most systems?
I am looking for something that sound terrible, unless the system is just about perfectly setup.
Click to expand...

Anything with Charlie Chaplin. 😀


In all seriousness, I can think of two solid scenes that will help you ensure your surround sound is set up. One is the opening scene in Swordfish where the building blows up (I think it was a building? maybe not?) and the camera is panning around while things are in slow motion. If you watch it several times, you should be able to see where the debris are and hear them in the same place.

Another movie with lots of panning due to the speed of the sequence is the pod racing scene in Star Wars episode 1.
 
JackBurton said:
I actually have that movie. I don't remember the LFE being that memorable, but I may have to give it another viewing since you brought it up. 🙂 I just remember the scene in Inception where the city started changing. My walls started shaking from the low frequency before I could even hear the sound. It was pretty awesome.
Click to expand...

its because i had the wrong underworld movie

awakening has the incredible bass
 
Dadawa's Sister Drum will test your system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR4gbamtAB8


play it from an actual CD though.


Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJD3dL4diY


Your local library probably have some of this stuff.


Kodo O-Daiko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7HL5wYqAbU


Red Army Choir - Kalinka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ9q7N5e25c&feature=related

Echelon's Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuysoNnRiwk&feature=BFa&list=SPED53589A9486DD74


Piano is also hard to do well.
Martha Argerich playing Chopin - Polonaise No. 6 l'heroique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSEwfqs-VM

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsBzga6e7zQ&feature=related


Mozart K626 Requiem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1DsJ5YQr5s


1812 Overture if you like to torture yourself and your system. But don't get the re-created SACD/DVD-Audio from Telarc. Technically superior, musically disastrous. They forgot it is supposed to sound good.
 
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NutBucket said:
Music isn't a good way to test a HT setup IMHO. Definitely gotta stick to movies for that. Black Hawk Down is an excellent illustration of why I need a bigger/better sub...but that's not happening until I buy a house.
Click to expand...

DVD-Audio/SACD beg to differ.

there is a foobar plugin for DVD-Audio.
 
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