Terminator 2: Judgment Day on my home theater: freeway chase and steel mill

Terminator 2: Judgment Day has been my go-to demo for years, so last night I ran it start to finish on my home theater: Denon AVR-X receiver, Klipsch Reference speakers, an SVS subwoofer and Dolby Atmos with ceiling speakers. Here's how it actually felt in the room.

The Terminator theme Brad Fiedel's score is still my favourite thing about this film's sound. That metallic, industrial theme starts with a pounding anvil-like rhythm, and through the SVS sub each hit lands as a firm pulse in my chest. The clanging, machine-like percussion is spread across the front and surrounds, so it feels like a factory is running around the couch. It stays clean and punchy even when I push the volume up.

The freeway chase The engines are the first thing that hit me. John's dirt bike has a buzzy two-stroke snarl that darts across the front stage, while the tow truck's diesel rumble pushed through my chest and made the couch hum, with the sub adding weight without smearing. As the T-1000 chases him down the canal, the truck sweeps across the fronts and passes the surrounds behind me. I caught myself turning toward the left rear as it roared past. The Terminator's shotgun blasts crack sharply, and the low end follows a split second later as a thump in my ribs.

Gunshots and impacts The mall and Cyberdyne scenes show what a good centre channel does. Every round has a hard transient up front, with casings and ricochets scattering around the room. Dialogue stayed clean through the chaos, and Arnold's flat delivery sat firmly in the middle of the screen even when the gunfire was loud.

The T-1000 and the steel mill This is where the height channels earn their place. Steam hisses from above, metal creaks and groans in the surrounds, and the T-1000's liquid-metal effects are great: wet, squelching, metallic slurps as he reforms, and that soft "shink" of the blade arms. They seemed to hover right at the edges of the room. The grenade launcher hit lands with a hard bass punch, then the ambience falls away just enough to make the next clang feel huge. The molten steel has a hollow, bubbling roar that wraps around the couch.

Nitpicks Atmos overhead use is mostly ambient, and a few of the older recordings have a slightly dry, compressed top end at high volume. Some quiet dialogue also needed a notch more volume.

Still, between the theme, the engines and the liquid-metal effects, this is some of the most physical sound I have felt in my room.

My rating: 9/10 for how it sounds on my system.