When you invest in a proper surround sound system for your home cinema, the first thing you might notice is how much more immersive it is, as sound effects swirl around you with pinpoint accuracy. The next thing might be the finer details you can now pick out in favourite films that you’d never noticed before. But without a doubt, the most impressive thing you’ll notice – the thing that you’ll sit your friends and family down for, to show them just how good your new system is – is the extra bass you feel in those big action scenes.
It might not make your neighbours happy, but sofa-rumbling bass is the crowd-pleaser when it comes to home cinema, and we’ve picked out some of our favourite action scenes to give your sub a real workout. What are your favourites? We’d love to hear them in the comments.
The Dark Knight (2008) – the hospital scene
Anything that goes big on explosions is going to be an epic test for your subwoofer, and even though this scene in The Dark Knight is over 15 years old, it still looks (and sounds) as fresh as it did the first time we saw it.
You’ll feel the short sharp punch as the explosions trigger one by one, followed by the deeper rumbles as they start to overlap and build to a crescendo that raises the hospital to the ground. Heath Ledger’s crazed performance as the Joker, walking calmly away as the chaos he created unfolds, is the icing on this particularly bass-laden cake.
Super 8 (2011) – train crash scene
As a bunch of teens film a zombie movie, a train carrying fuel collides with a truck on the tracks and what follows is an extended and intense attack on your aural senses. Metal grinds against metal, carriages fly through the air and crash to the ground and – of course – there are plenty of pretty beefy explosions too.
This is a great one because the bass on show ranges from super low rumbles that you feel before you can hear, to the louder, crashier notes in the upper bass. With a good sub, this scene is enough to get your heart pounding.
Rambo (2008) – the final battle
The final battle scene of Rambo 4 serves up over five minutes of non-stop heavy gunfire, grenades, rocket fire and – yes you’ve guessed it – explosions. There’s little time to catch your breath between the onslaught, and we should probably put something of a content warning on the above clip. It’s pretty gruesome in spots.
However, if you want something that’s going to show your sub off to the best of its abilities, this is the clip for you.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – day one
While the soldiers get into their armour for the first battle scene of the movie, the whirrs and clunks of machinery give your sub a small taste of what is to come. Next, the foreboding big-bass soundtrack kicks in as the soldiers take their place on the aircraft, and then the sound of propellers fills the room as the helicopters take off – a sound that reaches low enough for you to feel it in the pit of your stomach.
As the mission quickly descends into chaos there are further opportunities for that sub-bass to shine, although it has to be said, none more than the very opening scene of the movie. Although it’s not officially an action scene, it is well worthy of a mention, because it will really show you what your sub is made of. Be ready though, it comes at you quick from the credits.
Iron Man (2008) – Jericho missile scene
It’s perhaps no surprise that Tony Stark showing off the Jericho Missile System offers up a superb opportunity for your sub to show what it’s made of. From the rockets powering up, clunking into place and then being fired, there’s plenty of bass to be had.
However, it’s really once the Jericho missiles separate and land across the landscape behind Stark, producing such an impact it creates something of a sonic boom, that your sub really getting the workout you want.
The Raid: Redemption (2011) – Rama defeats The Machete Gang
Ok, explosions are great and all, but what about some old-fashioned fisticuffs to put your sub to work? Ok, we’re not sure the incredibly talented (and brutal) martial arts fighting scenes in The Raid: Redemption quite come under that label, but they will still show you just how much legwork your sub is putting into the mix, with every punch, kick and elbow to the face that is landed.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – into the sandstorm
This film is a bit of a classic for anyone who tests home cinema kit as it ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to dialogue and surround sound effects, particularly Dolby Atmos. But bass also gets plenty of action, particularly as Nux drives into the sandstorm in chase of Furiosa, with Venom chained to his truck.
Not only is there a dramatic bass-filled soundtrack that keeps the tensions high, but it is joined by the deep roar of old engines racing against one another, the quite overwhelming sound of sand engulfing them as they drive into the storm, and several excellent explosions as the chase reaches its conclusion.
Ready Player One (2018) – the race
Tens of cars, trucks and motorbikes go head to head in a race on the streets of a virtual New York. Throw in a few trains and trucks that get in the way of said race (and are subsequently destroyed, obviously), wrecking balls out to smash into smithereens anything they touch and – what else? – an angry T-Rex and King Kong out for blood. If that doesn’t sound like a party where all LFE is invited, we don’t know what is.
From the roar of the different engines as they accelerate ahead of one another, your sub will have to turn its hand to all manner of different frequencies, and when King Kong starts crashing his way through the city in pursuit, it won’t get much of a break at all.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) – Nuclear Godzilla vs King Ghidorah
Two epic monsters have at it in a fight to the death, and the result is a whole lot of bass. Right from the off, the snarling Ghidorah rattles the lower register with a growl you’ll feel in your stomach, before Godzilla stomps into shot, glowing with a nuclear power that sets everything around him alight.
The fight between the two culminates in a massive thermonuclear explosion that vaporises Ghidorah into oblivion, but that’s not even the end, as the other Titans appear one by one to bow to Godzilla – snarling as they come. As Godzilla lets out a triumphant roar at the end of the scene, both you and your sub may need a little lie down to recover.
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