5th (Fifth) Element -No Bottom End Sound?

[denguy]

I have the remastered Blu-Ray version of The Fifth Element with the Dolby True HD audio track. I have read the review on this site and I read the Forum threads about the audio being outstanding. I have a Yamaha rx-v3900, a Velodyne sub, a 7.1 home theater set up, and no bottom end punch at all with this disc. All my other discs have a bottom end and sound as they should with my current speaker level settings, but not The Fifth Element. What am I doing wrong?

[trinireb]

have u tried only the dolby true cause there is also a pcm track that i thought was better out of the 2.

[doctorD]

Originally Posted by trinireb

have u tried only the dolby true cause there is also a pcm track that i thought was better out of the 2.

Yes, the PCM track is what everyone has raved about!

[denguy]

Originally Posted by trinireb

have u tried only the dolby true cause there is also a pcm track that i thought was better out of the 2.

I will try the PCM tonight and report back, and while the review on this sight does say the PCM is a more natural, robust soundtrack than the Dolby True HD in general, it goes on to say "Both tracks do provide amazing low frequency effects and a visceral improvement over standard Dolby Digital. The Fifth Element comes highly recommended."

It's the low frequency effects I'm not hearing. I expected this disc to go Badda Big Boom. It hasn't.

[FreddieFerric]

Try the PCM track. I looked at that movie just the other day and it had plenty of bottom end.

[denguy]

Originally Posted by BluRayFred

Try the PCM track. I looked at that movie just the other day and it had plenty of bottom end.

I tried the PCM track and shazam, there's the bottom end. Still don't know why the Dolby True HD would be so light on the lows, but the PCM packs the punch I was looking for. Thanks everyone for your help.

[SoCalTiger]

Originally Posted by denguy

I tried the PCM track and shazam, there's the bottom end. Still don't know why the Dolby True HD would be so light on the lows, but the PCM packs the punch I was looking for. Thanks everyone for your help.

Hmmm did you make sure that the Dolby dynamic compression (I forget the name for it) is turned OFF? This is a common mistake with Dolby tracks. The PS3, in particular, has this defaulted to ON for some stupid reason.

[sinister184]

good ol' PCM

[ryoohki]

If you bitstream DTHD to a amp, check the DRC inside it. It should be at AUTO, be sure it's at OFF. Most of the time it's at AUTO (you'll need a TrueHD track with for the option to go). I have absolutely no subwoofer problems with that title i can tell you..

[denguy]

Maybe it's the DRC setting you guys are talking about. I'll check that setting on my amp tonight and let you know. Thanks.

[kpkelley]

What player are you using? How is it connected? Has this happened on other TrueHD tracks?

If you are outputting pcm from your player, you may want to check the DRC setting on the player as well.

[TheZoof]

PCM is the best.

Everything else is just sound.

[SoCalTiger]

Originally Posted by denguy

Maybe it's the DRC setting you guys are talking about. I'll check that setting on my amp tonight and let you know. Thanks.

Yup, that's it! I myself have made this same mistake and left wondering why the soundtrack on a movie was so lackluster.

[denguy]

Turns out I already had the DRC setting to "Off" so that shouldn't be affecting the sound. Here's what I'm finding:

1. PCM rocks. Full surround soundfield plus room shaking low end. Example: Fifth Element.
2. DTS 5.1 HD rocks. Full surround soundfield plus earth shaking low end. Example: Chronicles of Riddick; Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer.
3. Doblyl Digital 5.1 and Dolby TrueHD is hit and miss. The Dark Knight and Bladerunner are great. But on other discs, I have to jack the volume and still NO FREAKIN' LOW END. Examples: Transformers, Fifth Element (using the Dolby TrueHD track) and especially Terminator 3. T3 makes me want to break the blu-ray disc into tiny little pieces and mail it back Warner Bros. What the f$%#?

[denguy]

To follow up, turns out I didn't have the audio output settings on my blu-ray player set to HDMI. I had it set to Coaxial/Optical, so it wasn't outputting full range of audio from the HDMI connection. I change the setting and like magic, I got the low end back on all discs, including Dolby Digital TrueHD tracks. How was I supposed to know to read the User's Guide?!