Moth3r said:

I can't see how anyone could not be blown away by the power in hairy_hen's 70mm recreation for Star Wars. You should particularly listen to the dynamic range during sequences such as the Falcon's escape from Mos Eisley, or the section from Ben Kenobi's demise to the dogfight with the sentry ships .

When I downloaded DE 2.5, “Ben's Death and the TIE Fighter Attack” was the first scene I went to in order to check out the revised 5.1 track. This has always been one of my favorite Star Wars audio demo sequences from back in my laserdisc days because it is such a brilliant triumph of editing and sound design.*

The simple fact is, I'm just not as impressed with this sequence in its various post '04 Special Edition incarnations. And this isn't even a sequence that was changed from the original that I can recall. It's still entertaining… it's just that the more limited dynamic range and poor music mixing — and this is a standout cue in the score — severely blunted the impact of a scene that is more dependent upon its sound than most.

But when I watch the DE with hairy_hen's mix, it is as thrilling as it was all those times I was sitting in the theater in the spring of 1981. The dynamic shifts are more striking, music sounds more natural, and the final explosion is much more satisfying. All that makes the scene more effective, and just much more FUN, which, when you come right down to it, all of this boils down to anyway, right?

* — Also a brilliant dramatic beat in the film, giving the audience who are still assimilating the death of a main character an adrenaline jolt to set them up for the finale, but that's another topic entirely.