I still enjoy going to movies as events (or early screenings at the studios), like going up to one of the Arclight theaters in LA or El Capitan for big Disney films (like Wall-E). But in general, I find myself in the same boat as this thread.
Whenever we go to local theaters, we're almost always disappointed in the quality of their sound. So often it sounds like they're cranking up the system over the point to which they have it amplified, so you get a lot of that extra shrill harshness in the sound. (instead of adding more fullness with the volume)
