Be aware that early home video releases of GoldenEye have the level for the LFE channel set incorrectly. After recently having done some careful subwoofer calibration on my system, including room equalization with a miniDSP 2x4 HD, I can confidently state that the bass is absurdly loud and totally unbalanced.
I have compared the special edition DVD and the ultimate edition, and the early release just sounds ridiculous. It’s obviously wrong, the low end overwhelms everything on the old release, while the newer version is correctly balanced. The LFE itself is exactly the same effects, they just haven’t been boosted to crazy levels on the ultimate edition. I haven’t measured exactly how much the difference is, but I’d estimate it’s probably around 6 dB, which is quite a lot.
The old version may sound okay if you’re not using Audyssey Dynamic EQ, which boosts subwoofer levels to compensate for the Fletcher-Munson curves (ie, the decreasing ability of human hearing to clearly perceive bass at lower listening levels), but only the new version sounds correct when the correct frequency balance is restored in the room.
If anyone is able to send me the theatrical mix from the DTS CD-ROM’s, I would love to give it a direct comparison to the existing home video releases.
Thanks for the input!