Responding to a concern posted by corellian77 in dark_jedi's v3 thread:
corellian77 said:
Regarding the sound on the V3s, I have a quick question: I only have a modest sound setup at the moment (2.1), but Hairy_Hen's mix seems "overblown" in parts when I play back ANH (the only one I've burned so far). Specifically, some highs/lows seem to really give my speakers a workout.
So, question is... is it just my crap system unable to handle the audio, or have others had a similar experience? I've never had a similar issue with commercial DVDs in the past, so I was just curious.
Without being able to hear exactly what you're hearing, I can't really answer this with absolute authority, but I can name some possible contributing factors. If by a 2.1 system you mean that you have stereo speakers and a subwoofer connected to a receiver with Dolby Digital decoding, then a likely explanation is that you may be unaccustomed to experiencing the full dynamic range of film soundtracks. Dolby guidelines specify that anything less than a full 5.1 system must engage Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) when decoding, which means that while the quiet sections of the mix will remain at the same level, the loud portions are significantly reduced in volume. This is not optional in nearly all consumer equipment--aside from a few high end Denon products, there is absolutely no way to disengage the application of DRC, aside from adding more speakers to obtain the full 5.1 layout. How much the peak volume is reduced depends on the amount of DRC specified in the AC3 stream. So on your system, which lacks a centre channel and rear channel speakers, you will pretty much always hear Dolby Digital tracks with a significantly reduced dynamic range compared to their 'true' sound.
These custom 5.1 mixes, however, were encoded with the DRC profile set to 'None', which means that the peak volume will never be reduced regardless of how many speakers the audio system contains. The 70mm mix had a very wide dynamic range, significantly stronger than any other version of the movie--I have done a fairly extensive comparison of it with the 1997 special edition mix, and found the SE to be often lacking in dynamics and power. (Steve Hoffman, the audio mastering legend, reported a similar impression when viewing a privately owned 70mm print a few years ago.) Despite having a somewhat 'smoother' sound, the '97 mix comes off as being a bit tinny to my ear, although compared to the awful 2004 version it is still extremely good. The 35mm versions are less dynamic still, though more satisfying than the SE since they are authentic originals.
The 70mm dynamics include very strong high frequency peaks in some places, which could be part of what you mentioned; and while there was no way for me to know exactly what the bass content would have sounded like originally, I think what I came up with is a pretty close approximation, based on extensive listening tests and everything I could find from people who have actually heard or were involved with the real thing. I guess one way to get another impression would be to take the dvd into a high end home theatre store (assuming there are still any left in business in your area at this point), and ask to demo the mix on a 5.1 system with a lot of amplifier power. Compare that to what you remember of its sound on your own system, and maybe you'll have a better idea of whether it's a preference thing or if your speakers are actually just distorting under the stress. Keep in mind, too, that room acoustics play a large part in determining how sound reaches our ears--bass frequencies in particular are notorious for getting bloated or cancelling each other out depending the the room layout and the placement of the subwoofer itself.
Anyway, I'm quite interested to hear more about this and whether I've properly explained it, or if it's caused by something else entirely. On my system, the mix sounds rather fantastic overall (though I certainly don't have the best equipment ever), but I recognise that not everyone may feel the same way. If you are getting significant distortion, you might be better off playing one of other mixes until you can upgrade your sound system.
But if you thought Star Wars had a lot of bass in it, just wait until you hear Empire. ;)