Best movie to see what your HT AUDIO will do.

Another vote for Master And Commander mainly because of the native 7.1 sound track. Foley sound is such a stunningly underrated art form and in this film they are extremely well done.

I know what a cannon sounds like in real life but the sound of a spaceship blowing up in space is still a mystery to me.

How many Gladiators can rock the Violin?

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Master & Commander gets another vote. The sound is totally immersive. All of the minor ambient sounds are presented in great detail. Every time I watch that movie, I expect my house to be in total shambles and drenched in water when I turn the lights back on. You get a real feeling that you are actually on that ship.
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Another good one is the pod race in Star Wars Phantom Menace. Truly a good work out and test of the system...Star Trek too..the last two releases especially

I'm going to put it to the test (as a test disc) again on Monday night, as my HT system is getting an upgrade. UPS is bringing the last two maple platforms I ordered from dawnsplatforms on ebay. I have made major improvements to my 2-channel system by putting platforms under each component and separate power supply. UPS split the shipment and I only got one today, a 12"x12"x3" butcher block that I installed on mapleshade isoblocks to support the Lilliputian set-top box provided by ATT/Uverse. The receiver rests on triceratops bearclaws.The missing ones are a pair of 20"x15"x3.5" monsters to fit under the Blue-Ray player (currently a Denon BD3810, sometimes bring in the OPPO 95 from the stereo)and a Pioneer Elite SC-27 receiver.

While seriously disappointed that my project can't be completed until Monday, I am heartened by the improvements made already to the sound(Dolby Digital 5.1, compressed from ATT) and especially the video that comes from giving their crappy little mass-produced receiver a proper platform. The alien scenery in a recent episode of Dr. Who was breathtaking in the vast complexity of orbiting bodies swirling past an outlook point and triggered an attack of my own fear of heights. Colors are more vibrant and details are more precise. I can't wait to see what platforms do for Master and Commander after I get one under the Denon and the receiver.

Apollo 13. It has scenes that will test your system both for bombastic sound and subtlety. Plus it's a wonderful film.