colterphoto1 Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I saw the new Batman last night with Trey and Roger at the Hamilton County IMAX. The movie plot was very suspenseful, the acting superb, but the sound system far inferior to what I'm used to at home. This film has been raking in the dough, and I don't know if this particular theater owner thought he had to bludgeon his patrons with sound, but it was far too loud for my tastes. What looked like JBL surround speakers in the rear corners of the theater were not assisted with any rear or side wall surrounds, so it appeared that two large 15" 3-way systems were the only surrounds for a theater that seated probably 400-500 movie goers. The subs were fantastic and the explosion scenes were lifelike except that the system ran out of headroom during the peaks and distortion was rampant. By the end of the movie, we had totally lost the dialog either due to power compression, ear fatigue, or bad mix. Last night and this morning my ears are ringing like I was at a concert with no earplugs. I'll not be back to this IMAX theater ever again. It seems that they cut corners to make money at the expense of a true IMAX experience. [rant mode off] But it was fun getting out with my gang. [H] I do have a gang you know. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 How was it compared to "Shine a Light" at the IMAX ????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 the "worst" part of owning Klipsch speakers...spoils you for everything else...I used to like the Bo$e in my cars...[]...saw Ironman the other day...speakers at the theater sounded poor...rented Spiderman III (what, I've been busy...) and watched it at home...wonderful! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Did Trey and Roger share a gallon size soda with two straws again? Then they both have to get up and pee and usually miss a key part and you have to explain what they missed when they get back. The next thing you know is that Roger is not in his seast as he is out in the hall because he struck up a conversation with the projectionist and misses the second half of the freakin movie and those tickets ain't cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 Good call Buck, as you recall I gave Shine a Light a rave review even though we were in a nearly empty IMAX theater (this one at the White River Gardens downtown). In that case the sound levels were quieter than I would have liked overall, but at least the dynamics were preserved. I do recall seeing similar large 'surround' speakers at the rear corners of that room, but thought that there were more instruments on the side walls. But I could be wrong. Taxing these massive systems to their limits is a public health hazard. And a nuisance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 Did Trey and Roger share a gallon size soda with two straws again? Then they both have to get up and pee and usually miss a key part and you have to explain what they missed when they get back. The next thing you know is that Roger is not in his seast as he is out in the hall because he struck up a conversation with the projectionist and misses the second half of the freakin movie and those tickets ain't cheap. No, but Trey was late so we gave his ticket to a cute 17 yr old female oriental ticket taker named 'Mack'. Trey was seen stumbling around the stairs about 3:30 into the main feature carrying his motorcycle helmet, a backpack, a cell phone with dead battery, three packs of Marlboros, and two blondes. Roger and I were first in line at this sold out show and were dead center in the crowd. Not difficult to find, especially with the hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 ugh, S III- one of the suckiest movies of the last decade [+o(] I had to turn it off about 20 minutes into it as the plot still hadn't developed. Took it right back to the rental store and demanded 'a REAL movie'. the guy gave me one with a knowing nod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I have the same experience with local theaters, the levels are never matched correctly too much of one frequency and not enough of another. The sound is cranked to the distortion point and nothing sounds balanced. Bass is usually good with excellent impact. Klipsch has my ears spoiled! Typically go to the theater for the visual experience and not the audio quality. Wall-E was the last movie I went to see and it was actually a much better experience. Could be due to Pixar's quality visuals and audio though and not the sound board adjusters settings. I just made the jump to High Def at home and plan on Blu-ray in the fall so that will further decline my desire to spend $50 - $70 on the movie theater experience with my wife and daughter. Meet the Robinson's last night in Hi Def on StarzHD was amazing, better than my Denon DVD-2900's resolution but the sound was a bit more compressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I loved the Movie.. Loved the theater..although I agree, the speakers ran out of steam on occasion... Still.... WARNING!!!! THIS IS NOT A MOVIE TO TAKE YOUR SMALL KIDS TO... PERIOD! I enjoyed the plot throughout.. The blow up scenes were great and all the good things about Batman were back in style. Say what you want about Heath doing "The Joker" ......Heath was 100% dead on, as a crazed psychopath for sure. I gave it a solid 9... will be a 10 on my own home theater! hehehehehehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 Standing outside the theater doors and hearing the explosions of the final 20 minutes of the film, I mentioned to Roger 'this would sound better at home' even before we walked in. And it will undoubtedly. The sound effects was expertly steered through the soundscape, although the dearth of surround speakers lessened the impact it could have had. When effects went to the rear it was very prounounced and somewhat unnatural. Heath's performance was not acting. He was truly a madman (trust me I know). It made me sad to think that his illness took his life. Brilliant, devastating, sick all at the same time. Reminded me of the stories of Dennis Hopper in the midst of full-blown cocaine psychosis found crouching naked in the jungle during the filming of Apocalypse Now. Sometimes we go to far. Brilliant but sad. That's the way it is with art sometimes. Roger is quite correct- there are some scenes that adolescents SHOULD NOT WITNESS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Michael: You probably went to the Hamilton 16 IMAX in Nobelsville, right? I do believe that all IMAX theaters use the same basic sound setup with a 6-channel sound system. I do believe the speaker brands might vary but the basic setups have only two rear speakers, one in each rear upper corner of the room and several clusters behind the screen. A sub-bass unit is installed in the bottom of the "stage" beneath the screen. The IMAX system here in Dearborn, MI at The Henry Ford uses a sound system manufactured by Sonics Associates, Inc., a subsidiary of the IMAX Corporation. The Ford IMAX system sounds awesome, but it's never been too loud for me like the one you described. Knowing you as well as I do, Michael, I do trust your educated ears. What you described was definitely not the typical IMAX experience! Perhaps they had an off-day or maybe their theater was never calibrated properly? I think that is a pretty new theater. Sonics Associates, Inc. tends to use a combination of speakers from EAW (Eastern Acoustic Works, Inc. and JBL). I've included a PDF file that contains a technical paper written on the subject by EAW. You may find it interesting. -Glenn EAW-NewDesignTrends.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 Interesting paper on the asymmetrical disperson and how it applies to the new style of theater layouts. Thanks Glenn! Makes me wonder if Roy is going to take this skew horn thing to the next level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 you guys are lucky, IMAX theaters near me are at Manhattan and to get into the city costs around 5 dollars and the ticket would be 20 dollars..... and then 5 dollars back, (3 hours of the day, longer than the movie, wasted in transit) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Michael, Did you talk with the Manager? , or maybe you should send them an Email. I do this whenever I either get Good or Bad service............ Just an Idea. Bill H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I'll pile on here by saying......... That no matter which movie "house" I go to in my local area, it's always the same experience that Michael had - i.e. the sound system pushed to its very limits. I said something to a theater manager once and I got the "Really? Nveer heard that complaint before. I'll look into it". Of course, subsequent visits to that particular movie house was the same. So does anyone have a clue as to why they run the sound so dam loud?? He11....you can't even hear a cell phone over it!! I think this is one of the reasons why I hardly go to the movies anymore. Well......that and my 61" Samsung LED DLP, Cornwalls, and a bathroom and fridge being 25' away. [] Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 I think everyone equates loud with quality now and they want the loudest...... Or maybe thats the thinking and thats why movie theaters are going bankrupt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoreck Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Jay, it might be worth the trip... then again, I saw Dark Knight @ the Craddle of Aviation on LI instead of going to the city. The picture was awesome, but the sound was a little lacking. I was up at the top of the theatre and the surround definately didn't fill in the rear. Bass sounded ok. All the local movie theatres to me are disappointing in sound lately. Maybe I just expect to much. I definately want to hit the Clearview Ziegfeld up in midtown, but they have Mama Mia playing now, was hoping for Dark Knight..closest and most convienent theatre that uses Klipsch. Hopefully it will bring my hopes back up as I have good things about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alliclaytor Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I went to the Imax in Greenwood on opening weekend (Karasote Theaters). I noticed what seemed to be the exact config that Colter stated. The movie was amazing, but I felt that the sound did not blend as well as I would have expected...I could close my eyes and could point at the mouth of each horn during an explosion. The bullets/breaking glass/etc were very loud in comparrison to the dialoge...I doubt that the dynamic range will be so wide on the home release. All in all a worth experience, if not for the sound but for the sight and envelopement into the plot by the HUGE screen. I either pay $4/ticket at my local 1950's theater to see a movie brand spanking new or $15/ticket for IMAX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 I just saw Batman as well and noticed what sounded like clipping speakers too....though at the theater I was at, it certainly wasn't too loud. I almost wonder if the soundtrack to the movie is screwed up? Thinking about it right now....it would have to get insanely loud (like blood pouring from your head loud) if the speakers were actually run into clipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DU73 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I have seen this as well. Fantastic movie!!!!! I was thinking the same thing, DISTORTION, TOO LOUD. IMO it is hard to believe that it is a coincidence that we all think the same thing, maybe it is not the cinema/imax maybe it is the soundtrack. But this is a crazy thought – they would of invested heaps of money into this movie I cant imagine that the soundtrack is out. CAN’T BE RIGHT??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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