To the Bass Nuts....US version of "2012" audio reviw:-
From AVS forum:-
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This lossless DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is demonstration quality and is sure to please those who like to play their systems loud. This recording has wide dynamic range and boasts superlative clarity and high level detail that is truly impressive. Dialogue is definitive and appreciably lucid through the center channel as it reaches far into the room. It’s located just slightly in front of the left/right speakers within the acoustic space it occupies in the soundfield. I never had any trouble distinguishing even the slightest changes in the pitch or inflection of voices. Front channel separation and imaging was excellent. This drew out both large and small sound elements and allowed their directional correlation based upon the onscreen events to be definable. The mix makes effective and often aggressive use of the surround channels to elongate the front soundstage and reproduce the spatial and discrete sounds of this demanding soundtrack. The listening position is submerged in a rotating soundscape that is sometimes riveting as it bombards the senses with a combination of well placed sound effects and musical ambiance. The low frequency effects are applied authoritatively to underscore the bombastic and aggressive aspects of this soundtrack and it does so quite effectively. This mix delivers bass that runs the low frequency spectrum as it fills the room with refined bass quality that is appreciably superior and on occasion skin tingling. This is a sophisticated sound design that is loaded with various sound effects, spatial cues, music, and dialogue. Each was clearly represented with enriching clarity, detail and appropriate sound field placement.
From DVDTalk:-
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It
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kind of goes without saying that 2012's 24-bit, six-channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is about as close to reference quality as it gets. I mean, Roland Emmerich couldn't make a movie where a guy stubs his toe against the coffee table without working spastic split-surrounds and foundation-rattling bass into the mix, and this is a flick about the surface of the planet being shredded apart. The lossless audio really is spectacular. Some of the dialogue gets drowned out every once in a while, sure, but otherwise, every last element in the mix is sparklingly clear and distinct. The scale of all this destruction summons a hellish low-end...thunderous, devastating waves of bass. The surrounds are hyperaggressive too: cars tumbling off a collapsing overpass, the blast wave of a supervolcano leveling everything within who knows how many miles, a tidal wave flinging a battleship into the White House...even some oversized grinding gears once the climax rolls around. Lower-key moments are reinforced with a remarkably strong sense of atmosphere and directionality as well. I'm really not left with much of anything to gripe about at all...it's an astonishing effective soundtrack and easily the best thing about this Blu-ray disc.
From blu-ray.com:-
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2012 splashes onto Blu-ray with an exquisite DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Suffice it to say, 2012's Blu-ray audio presentation leaves most every other soundtrack in the dust, and there's rarely a dull moment to be heard, not to mention the more intense disaster and destruction scenes that positively rock the listening area to its foundation and leave every speaker in the 5.1 setup begging for mercy. This masterpiece of sound uses the entire stage to wonderful effect; surround speakers go ballistic, the fronts handle primary cues with unsurpassed ease and clarity, and the low end is as tight and invigorating as they come. Musical delivery is just one of the track's many strengths; the subtle yet haunting opening piece is delivered with a wonderfully precise low end and pinpoint clarity as it maneuvers through the soundstage and sets a wonderful tone for the movie that's never as scary or relevant as the music suggests, but does befit the material on a base level very well. Directional and surround effects are seamlessly delivered throughout; helicopters buzz through the sky in several scenes and by extension tear through the listening area with a prodigious presence, while the roar of jet engines send a screaming force through the soundstage that's as marvelously real and precise as they come. More subtle atmospherics add a sense of space and realism to the track, and again each effect is meticulously placed and realistically implemented into the overall sound mix; whether chirping birds, buzzing insects, or the rumblings and constant hum of a jet engine as heard inside its belly as it hurtles towards a safe location, all spruce the track up and create a sonic environment that consistently places the listener in the middle of every scene. Of course, it's 2012's massive-scale destruction sequences that define the track. Listeners can rest assured that every major disaster is packed with sonic goodness, from incredible bass to a symphony of surround activity that's all delivered with a clarity and precision that practically fools the senses into believing that the world is indeed collapsing all around and with an alarming accompanying collection of sound effects. Also featuring exceptional dialogue reproduction, 2012 delivers a dazzling and completely immersive listen that certainly suits the film and makes this a new reference-standard audio presentation.
So, for those already got the Speedy version and not satisfied with it....will you double dip???
This post has been edited by mpyw: Feb 24 2010, 11:52 AM