Having waited for so long for this movie to finally come to bluray i have to say i am very disappointed in the True HD soundtrack, it is the weakest sound i have ever encountered on True HD, espec when you compare it to say Spiderman 3 thats in True HD. I had to turn the volume up to -13.0 to even come close to good sound, it all sounded so quietly mixed, lacked bass weight, clarity, punch, it was so annoying, now when i compare it to the standard dvd version thats in plain ol Dolby digital 5.1 its fantastic, its got all what the True HD hasnt & thats all the above, its a far more superior soundtrack, i never thought i would prefer the DVD version for sound than a bluray True HD. Having said all that the pic quality of transformers is to die for! Has anybody else thought the same as me on this? And why would an uncompressed soundtrack sound weaker than a plain 5.1? Any ideas?
Transformers on bluray (weak sound) !
- Thread starter jase fox
- Start date
Hi
I have it in HD DVD as well and the sound is better on that than the new one with True HD which is very disappointing! but as you say the PQ is spot on.
Bc.
I have it in HD DVD as well and the sound is better on that than the new one with True HD which is very disappointing! but as you say the PQ is spot on.
Bc.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
I haven't yet heard BD's True HD soundtrack yet, but DVD's Dolby Digital soundtrack was pretty uneventful. It was all there, but just didn't do anything, lacking dynamics and any sort of impact. It'll be interesting when i do watch it this week or next week, and if it does sound as bad as you say, I'll try and pick up the HD-DVD version and give that a try and post my opinions. I personally use Yamaha amplification/processing and M&K speakers.
Got to agree with you on that one. My copy landed monday morning, i had a flick through in the afternoon and to be honest, i thought it sounded tame and gentle until i turned the volume up. I thought it might just have been my ears..but obviously you found it the same as i did. I cant comment on the dvd, i waited for the blu ray version and audio-wise, feel a bit let down
professorhat
Well-known member
asif:i thought it sounded tame and gentle until i turned the volume up
So when you turned the volume up it was okay?
So when you turned the volume up it was okay?
I THINK A MASS EAR CLEANING SESH IS IMMINENT GUYS I LOVED THE 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION AND THE SOUND IS AWESOME ?
Got mine from amazon well actually they sent me 2 hahahahahahaahha
Got mine from amazon well actually they sent me 2 hahahahahahaahha
got to agree with the comments here - the sound is dissapointingly very quiet. I have to turn up tp -0db on my onkyo 905 and dali ikon 6 set up to get an involved sound. I listen to most other movies at around -17db. Whilst it sounds good at -0db, is it recommended to watch a full movie at this level or do I risk damaging any component?
Thanks
Thanks
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
Using a Denon 2500 BD transport, Marantz 8003 pre/power, and M&K LCR150 package with MX250 sub. After being impressed by the system itself with a number of films I was quite looking forward to hearing Transformers. Yes, quite a let down really. at -20dB things were there, and that was it, just as in the DVD soundtrack. Moving up to -10dB, some nice bass notes were starting to emerge and we were getting a better 'edge' to the treble detail, but still not what I would expect at that sort of volume level. And considering the M&K's and Marantz produce some silly detail levels.......
I'm informed by a colleague that's a signature michael Bay soundtrack - busy, loud, but not much in the way of quality or finesse. Shame. I will reserve full judgement until I hear it at home, but I'm holding little hope of changing my mind.
I'm informed by a colleague that's a signature michael Bay soundtrack - busy, loud, but not much in the way of quality or finesse. Shame. I will reserve full judgement until I hear it at home, but I'm holding little hope of changing my mind.
Hi Prof, ive had another listen to the transformers bluray..through the denon 2500 bluray player and onkyo 905 amp. I dont think its a matter of turning the volume up. As an example, at the beginning of the film when the transformer apache helecopter is blowing everything up at qatar airbase, each of the explosions sounds fairly flat and without a great deal of depth..almost 2 dimensional. Turning the volume up, the quality of the explosions doesnt improve..it still sounds a bit flat but just louder. Obviously this is based on what my ears are hearing and its just my opinion..however a few individuals have now commented on this issue so maybe there is some substance to it.
Hmmm, will have to try this myself with my US copy but the 'reviewers' seem to disagree.
Quotes from DVD Talk Review:-
The big news from this Blu-ray release was that there was going to be a lossless audio track accompanying it, as opposed to the Dolby Digital-Plus treatment the HD DVD gave it. Again, no longer having the HD DVD to make the comparisons, I've got to say that the TrueHD soundtrack brings the goods, perhaps more than the HD DVD did. Prepare yourself accordingly, as the amount of bass in the film will get the cops over to your house. It starts when the V-22 "Osprey" plane is flying through the desert in Qatar, minutes before Blackout attacks the U.S. Army base. You want directional effects? When one of the other Decepticons fires a group of missiles in the battle in Mission City, your rear speakers pick them up prominently and distinctly. Dialogue levels are firm and consistent, and panning activity is smooth from channel to channel. You wanted reference quality, you got it.
And from HighDefDigest:-
The Audio: Rating the Sound
Paramount's previous HD DVD release of 'Transformers,' contained a high-res Dolby Digital-Plus Surround option. With this Blu-ray they've provided a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround track (48kHz/24-bit). It's hard to imagine a home theater mix that could sound better.
To say 'Transformers' is incredibly aggressive is an understatement. Discrete effects are relentless, but it is precisely this lack of subtlety that any fan of the film would want. Directionality, imaging, accuracy of localized effects, and the sheer depth of the soundfield are superb -- the "wall of sound" illusion is utterly transparent. Even the front soundstage is a stunner -- stereo effects are quite pronounced, and the first time you get to hear a Transformer "transform," it's about as cool as the first time you heard a lightsaber unsheathe in 'Star Wars.'
As you would expect, this is also the kind of disc your subwoofer will devour. Even at moderate volume levels I was blown away by the sheer low frequencies that were drummed out. Whether you're talking about the opening attack, the sequence in the desert with that weird "sand Decepticon," or the film's entire last 30 minutes, there's such a sustained low bass presence that it's almost like it's another character in the movie. The realism and texture to every sound -- from the effects to the score to the dialogue -- is reference-quality. Volume issues are also, thankfully, not a problem -- I was truly shocked that I didn't have to reach for my remote once, as dialogue is leveled nicely throughout.
Quotes from DVD Talk Review:-
The big news from this Blu-ray release was that there was going to be a lossless audio track accompanying it, as opposed to the Dolby Digital-Plus treatment the HD DVD gave it. Again, no longer having the HD DVD to make the comparisons, I've got to say that the TrueHD soundtrack brings the goods, perhaps more than the HD DVD did. Prepare yourself accordingly, as the amount of bass in the film will get the cops over to your house. It starts when the V-22 "Osprey" plane is flying through the desert in Qatar, minutes before Blackout attacks the U.S. Army base. You want directional effects? When one of the other Decepticons fires a group of missiles in the battle in Mission City, your rear speakers pick them up prominently and distinctly. Dialogue levels are firm and consistent, and panning activity is smooth from channel to channel. You wanted reference quality, you got it.
And from HighDefDigest:-
The Audio: Rating the Sound
Paramount's previous HD DVD release of 'Transformers,' contained a high-res Dolby Digital-Plus Surround option. With this Blu-ray they've provided a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround track (48kHz/24-bit). It's hard to imagine a home theater mix that could sound better.
To say 'Transformers' is incredibly aggressive is an understatement. Discrete effects are relentless, but it is precisely this lack of subtlety that any fan of the film would want. Directionality, imaging, accuracy of localized effects, and the sheer depth of the soundfield are superb -- the "wall of sound" illusion is utterly transparent. Even the front soundstage is a stunner -- stereo effects are quite pronounced, and the first time you get to hear a Transformer "transform," it's about as cool as the first time you heard a lightsaber unsheathe in 'Star Wars.'
As you would expect, this is also the kind of disc your subwoofer will devour. Even at moderate volume levels I was blown away by the sheer low frequencies that were drummed out. Whether you're talking about the opening attack, the sequence in the desert with that weird "sand Decepticon," or the film's entire last 30 minutes, there's such a sustained low bass presence that it's almost like it's another character in the movie. The realism and texture to every sound -- from the effects to the score to the dialogue -- is reference-quality. Volume issues are also, thankfully, not a problem -- I was truly shocked that I didn't have to reach for my remote once, as dialogue is leveled nicely throughout.
Guys you should get the US Version as it sounds like the UK Edition is rubbish , My friend has the US Version and its Region Free and i found the sound Amazing 
Give it ago and let me know what you think , Cheers
Give it ago and let me know what you think , CheersI've only heard the DVD version and thought it was pretty decent - good detail, effects steering etc, but perhaps a bit constrained dynamically. Sounds like the overall quality of the soundtrack on the Blu-ray version is a bit below par, but the fact that it is 'quiet' is not actually a problem in and of itself - quite the opposite in fact.
The greater the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds on the sound-track then (reletively) the quieter the majority of it (i.e. when the really loud stuff isn't happening) will sound. For instance if a DVD or Blu-ray disc has the potential for a dynamic range of 120db (not sure exactly what it is in either case) then if the quietest sound is someone whispering and the loudest sound is something exploding then perhaps there will be an 80db difference between these, someone speaking will come in nearer the lower end of that range. On a different disc if the quietest sound is someone whispering and the loudest sound is someone shouting then that might be only a 40db difference and normal speech is likely to come in nearer the top of the range.
In the first example clearly you will have to turn the volume up much further for the dialogue to be loud enough than in the second example. That's exactly how it's supposed to be, and a disc which requires you to turn the volume up further for the dialogue to be at the right level will have much louder sounds on it elsewhere. Basically set the volume wherever it needs to be for the dialogue to sound right and everything else will be as loud as it's supposed to be in relation to that.
Obviously if you do that with the transformers blu-ray and it still sounds pants, then that's definitely down to the quality of the sound track.
The greater the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds on the sound-track then (reletively) the quieter the majority of it (i.e. when the really loud stuff isn't happening) will sound. For instance if a DVD or Blu-ray disc has the potential for a dynamic range of 120db (not sure exactly what it is in either case) then if the quietest sound is someone whispering and the loudest sound is something exploding then perhaps there will be an 80db difference between these, someone speaking will come in nearer the lower end of that range. On a different disc if the quietest sound is someone whispering and the loudest sound is someone shouting then that might be only a 40db difference and normal speech is likely to come in nearer the top of the range.
In the first example clearly you will have to turn the volume up much further for the dialogue to be loud enough than in the second example. That's exactly how it's supposed to be, and a disc which requires you to turn the volume up further for the dialogue to be at the right level will have much louder sounds on it elsewhere. Basically set the volume wherever it needs to be for the dialogue to sound right and everything else will be as loud as it's supposed to be in relation to that.
Obviously if you do that with the transformers blu-ray and it still sounds pants, then that's definitely down to the quality of the sound track.
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