There was the same kind of note in the film cans of HAIR; there the music was MUCH louder than dialogue. Luckily for us, we had a compander in the system and we set to gently raise the quiet dialogue and keeping the music at a good full level but not ear splitting. But here again, I wasn't about to drive away my audience or break houselight filiments just to satify some distributor's memo.

quote:

---

You know, with all due respect to the directors, this business of "my movie or wrong" just doesn't play with me. OK he wants it loud but when my patrons are coming out of the theatre with their ears bleeding, or my speakers are being damaged, then he's treading on my turf. My concern is for my patrons, not for his ego.

---

Totally agree. I don't know when directors (and music mixers) lost the connection that it's dynamic range that causes impact, not overall sound level, which causes tedium.

(But I must admit that trailer levels have gotten better lately.)

And there is also the issue of hearing damage. Sound levels (especially in live music clubs) have gotten completely out of hand. OSHA Maximum exposure time at 90DB SPL (A-weighted) is 2hours, 31 minutes.

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

The director of a film may include a note telling the projectionist to play his movie at a certain level and I do take that into consideration BUT it is my booth and my audience and I and only I make the decision as to volume levels. After 34 yrs in the booth I feel emminently qualified to say wether a volume level is excessive.

 |  IP: Logged

quote:

---

We blew a center-channel HF diaphram while running "XXX".

---

Same thing happened to us last night. Brand new Dolby Digital CP-650 system.

Richard Folwer wrote:

quote:

---

We have had tweeters blown on three way systems in five locations on not wimpy, well powered systems. I have not seen the movie but a friend who is a film sound recording mixer has noted that the loud scenes appear to what quite a bit of high frequency information.

---

Mine was a JBL 2446H (HF section of a 4675-8LF loudspeaker system) driven by a QSC 1400. This is a bi-amped system with Smart crossovers. The Dolby CP-650 unit EQ'ed itself. The signal came in through an Ivie RTA.

"xXx" was only the second movie to run in this house. The CP-650 is now running in bypass mode in that house. We are running it in Dolby analog at another location and, if you ask me, this movie plays more comfortably in the analog room. It's loud and clear, but not deafening.

Oh yeah...who's gonna pay for all these speakers?

quote:

---

"Oh yeah...who's gonna pay for all these speakers?"

---

You are.

Let's not start another uproar like what happened that resulted in the original Dolby Digital Train mix and the original THX Cimarron mix removed from circulation. If your system was built and calibrated well enough to withstand running a movie like xXx and your speaker blew, then odds are your projectionist wasn't paying attention to a proper fader setting. If the movie was not being ran overly loud, and your system was built well enough, you can probably blame the damage on the automatic EQing you let the CP650 do, or on whichever tech went overboard in over-EQing the system manually. If the EQ job was fine as well as the fader setting, then the system was not designed properly. In the end, it's your problem not the studios.

I agree with Brad. I'm following this thread from the beginning and I cannot realize how someone can project a movie so loud to blow up an HF diaphram! I can understand a Subwoofer or a LF unit or a surround woofer... But if your system is well calibrated and designed the audience will become crazy before blowing up the HF diaphram!

Ya know....they do a LOT of drugs out there in California...

A whole LOT of drugs....

I wouldn't put anything past those Hollywood mixers who are all losing their hearing because they've been mixing so loud for so long. I can just see the director saying "I want this scene to rip the sound system to shreds!!!"