Problems with Movie Dialog-Just the normal?


Hi all,

This is my biggest pet peeve with my system and would appreciate any thoughts-

When I setup my system via spl meter, all channels matching levels, the vast majority of movies have very low dialog levels, or specific instances where I can't hear dialog clearly, in the center channel. Drives me absolutely nuts. I keep turning things up until the loud parts hit the neighbors at the end of the block come a knocking. The distance to listening position is equal across the front.

I have tried to setup a balanced system, see system link. Equal power to all channels, the center channel is the same exact driver set as front mains housed in a horizontal array.

I'm torn between "how the director wants things portrayed-THX standards" and feeling "less-than" by flat out turning up the level in the center channel. Sometimes I've tried the late night modes and almost enjoyed these more.

I don't think the center speaker is "broken" in any way, all drivers make noise...:)

Any ideas?

Thanks
Marty
marty9876
It may be a setting in your processor is screwed up, though I don't know what your system has in it. I used to have an NAD receiver/dvd player setup that was HT-capable but would occasionally get "confused" about whether it was supposed to be doing stereo or 5-channel sound from the dvd player. If it was set wrong, I got the exact symptoms you are describing- difficulty understanding voices, occasionally having them almost disappear altogether. It wasn't easy to find the menu page that dealt with the problem either. But look into it; this may be the problem.
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Many movies have a lot of dynamic range. If you play your dialog back at a reasonable level (say 70dB), the peaks can be very loud (up to 107dB from the LFE channel using the default encoder settings0.

Reduce the dynamic range via compression (this may only work on Dolby Digital tracks) aka "midnight mode" if you don't want the loud peaks.

Or improve intelligibility at lower volumes through speaker choice and placement (placement atop a TV is not a good idea).