The Butterfly Effect killed my amplifier

[Rusty James]

Watching the movie late last night, so I didn't even have it on very loud. When the first "WHOMP!" happened, it nearly gave me a heart attack (if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about).

Lowered the volume after that, but then I couldn't hear the dialogue well, so I turned it up again. Then came the second "WHOMP!" and my receiver clicked off, never to start again.

Took it in to the shop today and was told a "power overload" had fried various circuits. I paid $500 for it four years ago (it was a Yamaha) and the repairs would run $200, so I'm probably just going to get a new one. Until I do, I won't know how the movie turns out.

Has anyone else been sucker-punched by the sound mix of that movie?

[gcribbs]

I might have to test it out this weekend on my Denon. I suspect it will hold up just fine :)


If not I will come in and let you know :(

[Tarantino]

My Yamaha handled it, but I agree, those WHOMPS came out of nowhere. Great sounding movie though.

[Tony Dvdfan]

First time i watched it was late at night in an apartment, and it does get really loud quickly! Had no problem with my Onkyo though.

[Bill Geiger]

I had no issue with my Sony! It is freakin loud though!

I remember someone saying this about their Punch Drunk Love killing their sub.

[hoyalawya]

I agree that the DVD of this movie has plenty of dynamic range especially for the LFE. Were you using your receiver to power the sub?

[skipnet]

My sub loved it. Amplifier is a small Pioneer Elite.

Skip

[FuzzyBallz]

Wow, sounds awesome. I'm gonna rent it from BlockBuster tomorrow and test it out on my headphone rig (Headamp Gilmore V2 + Audio-Technica A900).

[Jeff L]

Can anyone tell me what times these sounds occur, so I can expect them? :)

Thanks!

Jeff

[QuiGonJosh]

No probs on my Sony...sorry bout that...Sue New Line! :)

[DVD Josh]

Didn't have a problem on my G/F's crappy Sony / KLH combo. I suspect your amp was about to blow anyway, it could have been Wizard of Oz in there. The fuses should have held up as well, which again, points to problems with the amp.

[clappj]

When the first "whomp" hit, it knocked a couple of CDs I had sitting on top of my sub off, onto the floor. Wow!

[movieking]

Definitely a demo DTS DVD. Awesome sound

[scott1598]

One of the only bright spots of the movie was the sound. I jumped nearly every "Whomp!"

[TomOpus]

Originally posted by Jeff L
Can anyone tell me what times these sounds occur, so I can expect them? :)
What and deprive you of the fun that everyone else is having? No way! :)

[Mok]

It's funny if you listen to the commentary the directors say something about wrecking peoples speakers with the sound mix.

[Abob Teff]

Maybe if you concentrate really hard, you can go back and save your amplifier . . . but then something else will go terribly wrong and your player will explode into flames causing a massive fire that will burn up your entire DVD collection . . . but that's OK, cause you could go back again and save your collection . . . but then the fire will spread out of control and burn down your entire neighborhood killing hundreds of people . . . but you could go back and save them . . . but then the population of your town will grow disproportionately and become a major metropolitan area and then be the site of the next terrorist attack! But if you went back and stopped that then you would stop . . .




Oh hell, just buy a new amp.

[DVD Josh]

And if you are going to buy a new amp, I highly reccommend the Onkyo 502. Best receiver for the money, hands down.

[DVD Smurf]

So I should get Butterfly Effect then? I am now curious about the film...

Sidenote: I wonder if my Onkyo could handle it.

[Tarantino]

The film is GREAT, flew under most people's radar.

Buy it.

[TomOpus]

The film has it's faults but I found the film to be surprisingly good.

[movieking]

Count me in as a recommendation as well, both for the sound and the movie itself. I recommend the Director's Cut version over the theatrical.

[Mok]

I agree the DC is the one to watch.

[drjay]

I only watched the DC when me and the GF rented it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It definitely reeks of that whole Fincher-esque atmosphere (not necessarily a bad thing) which has been copied a thousand times, but I still enjoyed it.

[Artman]

Originally posted by Mok
It's funny if you listen to the commentary the directors say something about wrecking peoples speakers with the sound mix.

Yeah I caught that too! I have some shoddy wiring to begin with, so occasionally my left speaker cuts out - sure enough, the whoomph did it. I just hit my reciever and it comes back though.

Count me as pleasantly surprised by this flick. It's not great, but certainly better than the mediocrity I expected.

[nova]

The film and sound I thought were fantastic. Definitely a DTS Demo Disk.

[nightmaster]

I just watched it myself over the weekend, having wanted to go see it when it was in the theatres but never did so. This is one disturbing movie. I won't deny it's quality by any means, but...Se7en has nothing on this puppy. It's not something I'll watch again any time soon in spite of the fact that I think it's a good film.

[nightmaster]

I just watched it myself over the weekend, having wanted to go see it when it was in the theatres but never did so. This is one disturbing movie. I won't deny it's quality by any means, but...Se7en has nothing on this puppy. It's not something I'll watch again any time soon in spite of the fact that I think it's a good film.
Incidentally my Klipsch 4.1 THX speakers handled the thumps just fine :)

[dcprules]

That is so funny, as I was really surprised when the big sound first came in, too. I actually jumped. Needless to say, this is one awesome DTS mix. I don't think I had jumped quite like that since I heard the gunshots in Open Range.

Quick question about The Butterfly Effect. On the director's cut side of the disc, on the last scene before the credits, my player just was frozen. I tried watching it several times, but it kept flipping out. Did this happen to anyone else??? I tried playing the last scene of the theatrical cut on my player, and it played fine.

[mick0016]

I rented it via Netflix and had no issues with the disc. My amp (Outlaw 750) didn't have any issues, but the bass from my sub (SVS 20-39CS+) definitely rattled the glasses in kitchen as my house is pretty open.

I found my self constantly grabbing the remote and turning down the volume everytime he grabbed his notebook for fear of breaking a glass. I shattered one glass when I first bought the sub doing a Phantom Menace pod race demo and have been cautious ever since.

I thought the movie was a lot better than I expected and with the great sound, I'm definitley going to add this disc to my collection as soon as it goes into the Previously Viewed at Hollywood Video.

[celluloidbuff]

If you listen to the commentary, the directors laugh about specifically designing the sound for those particular moments to really challenge most systems.

[shawagg]

Dude take em to court and sue! LOL! "Sir can you prove they intended to ruin your system?" "Yes your honor, listen to this commentary." Ha! That'd be a riot, and you know the media would just blow it all out of purportion.