Might be worth waiting for the Sun discount code to come out to get it cheaper. I dont think it will be long now, usually comes out around April/May time.
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2019: General Discussion
- Thread starter WL18
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Might be worth waiting for the Sun discount code to come out to get it cheaper. I dont think it will be long now, usually comes out around April/May time.
Duel is just waiting to be put out it’s misery. It was better pre “TLC” imo.
Alex2020
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Wicker Man
I sure hope not! That’ll be another dark ride gone from towers probably to be turned into another cheap up-charge attraction not worth the money they’ll be expecting to receive back.
Duel was better before it was Duel but I agree, the TLC changes made it almost more obvious that the ride needs a lot of work to bring it back up to scratch.
Matt.GC
TS Member
I can't face riding Duel in the state its in. At least before it's TLC you couldn't see as much of it. Now it's been cleaned up, all you can see is walls and mechanisms drenched in bright purple LED light. It's almost unridable. The best part is the facade and the queue line, the ride itself is now almost as bad as Tomb Blaster.
Dave
TS Founding Member
Bare in mind the old equipment used for the sound system was defunct to the point that a few years ago one of the sound boards failed and they couldn’t source new parts so had to have them custom made, I don’t think like-for-like was an option.
Sound engineers did the Hex refurb, though obviously their work has been debated a lot on here in the past. The vault though didn’t have any real changes to the format or set-up and the speaker quality is comparable (some would argue the new speakers are better). I really think the volume change is being over assessed here.
Alex2020
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Wicker Man
I totally get all that, and I agree with you! I’m more annoyed that merlin decide to waste money on rides that weren’t necessarily in need of it and others just sit and rot. Whilst the money that they do spend on improving things isn’t well spent when they cheapen out on the contractors they use. It is definitely a sound engineer issue with HEX for sure over the equipment but all I ask is that people do their jobs properly and that obviously isn’t happening.
ChristmasPud
TS Member
If I remember right I was told by the original team that did the Hex audio they went back and updated parts to keep the attraction going very shortly before the 2016 TLC job.
New models of Hex's original audio tech are still manufactured and used in many new theme park projects, but there's more advanced and flexible technology available today. It's a debate over which is necessary for the job, when both can produce the good results for the same purpose —one more limited but the other more expensive.
The TLC job was co-ordinated (and I think installed) in house by Alton Towers Entertainments on a small budget, and they used the newer technology. They also took the opportunity to replace the speakers with the manufacturer they preferred for event set ups (and since persuaded use for Wicker Man).
It could be said the Entertainments team wanted to make a point about the upkeep of the ride, compared to the maintenance team that had been in charge of Hex before (and now are once again). But in the Cinema, it arguably made the guest experience worse for whatever reasons.
Not sure if Alton Towers are aware of the issues because there's always a natural 'Ahh thats much better now' camaraderie with in-house projects, in any park. People put hard work into things, but it takes a bit of neutrality to see whether the guest experience really is better or worse.
There were certainly good repairs made to many parts of the attraction. It was very mixed overall, like their attempt with Duel last year. However it's probably a 'next best' solution when a proper maintenance plan and budget is not provided for. Duel is a much more complicated attraction too.
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Alsty
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Fury 325
The cinema seems quite harsh on the 's' sounds ("...from the woods to the Towers..."). I wonder if the new speakers are resonating on that particular frequency. There's not much you can do about that from a tuning perspective though.
Good point. When you invest time or money into something, it's hard to be neutral. It's like when people spend a fortune on expensive gold plated, oxygen-free cabling for their hi-fi... they will always convince themselves it's better
venny
TS Member
The sound on Hex is definitely worse than it was when working properly pre-refurb. It’s a shame because the score is superb and deserves the dramatic delivery that original system delivered.
As others have said, it’s been completed with the best intentions, but on a budget and without the professional support that something like this requires. The result is that, in places, the ham-fisted delivery has actually made the experience worse. Just like Duel.
As others have said, it’s been completed with the best intentions, but on a budget and without the professional support that something like this requires. The result is that, in places, the ham-fisted delivery has actually made the experience worse. Just like Duel.
Alex2020
TS Member
- Favourite Ride
- Wicker Man
That'll be because the new speakers have horn loaded tweeters where as the old ones didn't. Now in some respects that is much better as they'll cover a better frequency range but sometimes there can be issues with crossovers blah blah blah... and they can be too harsh etc if they're not tuned correctly. The old speakers however always used to have a distinctive sound that emphasised mids and lows over highs which some would say is worse but strangely meant that they played nicely with the acoustics of the rooms.
The frequency response of the speakers on the attached image between new (left) and old (right) aren't too different but 11,000hz can make a lot of difference in emphasising the higher frequency sounds. We don't need to worry too much about the lows as they'll be handled by separate subs anyway.
High End
(Approximately 5.2khz-20khz - Two Regions)
5.2khz up to about 12khz is the realm of dreaded treble control. This is where harmonics can really enhance your musical enjoyment. It's this range that affects the brilliance of music. Too much gives an unpleasant, harsh and "piercing" (painful) quality to your music.
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danni87
TS Member
imanautie
TS Member
One of two possibilities
1.its the new sub terror.
2.they just haven't finished a major overhaul yet.
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yoursilentface
TS Member
I asked them by email and they said June
Really good day at Towers today
Special mention to The Smiler and Galactica crews - excellent dispathches on both of them today. Smiler crew quick an efficient, and Galactica was walk on most of the day with both stations in use and three trains.
Towers is running so much better than this time last year.
Only thing to let the side down was one train operation in Nemesis.
Special mention to The Smiler and Galactica crews - excellent dispathches on both of them today. Smiler crew quick an efficient, and Galactica was walk on most of the day with both stations in use and three trains.
Towers is running so much better than this time last year.
Only thing to let the side down was one train operation in Nemesis.
It’s probably nothing but during my visit on Sunday. I was sat by Sub Terra where it sounded like effects testing towards the back end of the building. As in towards duel side of the building. I also overheard staff talking about how they could operate it but can’t because of one of the drops. Something along them lines but not 100% but that’s what it sounded like. But 100% mentioned operating and 1 drop. The cloth which covered the exit of Project 42 was open as well. Perhaps nothing but just thought it might interest a few people....
Chessy Shop
TS Member
Just got back from a two-day trip and I have to say that operations were surprisingly good.
Nemesis was running 2/2 trains and Galactica had both stations open with 3/3 trains. Both rides were walk-on the entire time (also no VR!). Thirteen and Rita were running a full service, as was Wickerman. The queue for Smiler was also moving noticeably faster than on previous visits and the ride seemed surprisingly smooth. The only one letting the side down was Oblivion. You spend an age waiting on the brake run - they really need to open both halves of the station.
Overall, I was very impressed. The park seemed busy but the longest we queued was 40 minutes for Wickerman. There were no breakdowns whilst we were there, the only downtime being when the staff had to spend 10 minutes looking for some guys phone which had flown out of his pocket on Rita.
Now for the negatives. The coaster selection is fantastic. But other than Hex, there's not really much else to do. Rather than investing in another big coaster, I really hope that Alton Towers choose to spend that money on more flat rides, water rides, dark rides etc. The park could do with a good clean as well; Dark Forrest and the Oblivion queue line/station were looking particularly tattered. The less said about Duel and the Rapids, the better.
Nemesis was running 2/2 trains and Galactica had both stations open with 3/3 trains. Both rides were walk-on the entire time (also no VR!). Thirteen and Rita were running a full service, as was Wickerman. The queue for Smiler was also moving noticeably faster than on previous visits and the ride seemed surprisingly smooth. The only one letting the side down was Oblivion. You spend an age waiting on the brake run - they really need to open both halves of the station.
Overall, I was very impressed. The park seemed busy but the longest we queued was 40 minutes for Wickerman. There were no breakdowns whilst we were there, the only downtime being when the staff had to spend 10 minutes looking for some guys phone which had flown out of his pocket on Rita.
Now for the negatives. The coaster selection is fantastic. But other than Hex, there's not really much else to do. Rather than investing in another big coaster, I really hope that Alton Towers choose to spend that money on more flat rides, water rides, dark rides etc. The park could do with a good clean as well; Dark Forrest and the Oblivion queue line/station were looking particularly tattered. The less said about Duel and the Rapids, the better.
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