Any ideas on tweaking home theater sound ?

[Deschodt]

Couple of "sound" questions...

One thing that has always annoyed me with the 2 home theater systems I've had.... Whenever I watch a DVD, the sound effects are always nice enough, but I can't hear the actor's voices as well as I'd like, compared to the sound level of the effects. If I raise the volume for the dialog scenes, the upcoming sound effects the are way too loud... So I'm always raising and lowering the volume, it's a pain in the butt.... Practically all of my friend's home theaters I've listened to do that, so I'm not alone being clueless about setup.. What am I doing wrong ? Which channel should I boost/lower to equalize things?

Another thing while I'm on the topic... Is there anything that can control the output volume of the TV overall ? Ads seem to be 3x louder than whatever show I was watching, it's annoying as hell... wondering if I can regulate the output of the TV speakers to a specific sound level regardless of the source variation...

Just curious... it's OT after all..

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Which channel should I boost/lower to equalize things?

The center. Most dialog comes only from the center speaker. In home theater it is the most important speaker & worthy of extra $s.

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Ads seem to be 3x louder than whatever show I was watching, it's annoying as hell... wondering if I can regulate the output of the TV speakers to a specific sound level regardless of the source variation...

Liberal use of the mute button is the only thing that works.

Ian

[austin552]

I just found the best surround modes to cover the different inputs/issues. Matrix or 7 channel stereo works for me. With a sound meter you can set all channels evenly also.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

The center. Most dialog comes only from the center speaker. In home theater it is the most important speaker & worthy of extra $...

Is it just me, or does anyone else hate 5.1 mixes due to the above "feature"? Granted, my system isn't typical...it's "old school" with HUMONGOUS (170 lb) front speaker towers driven by 2000 watts, Large rears (driven by 400 watts), and a GOOD center speaker, but I just despise the 5.1 "mixes". Granted, I'm not a HT person per se, and 2 channel audio (music) is my thing, so I generally switch the interconnects around, split the signals, and run a 2 chanel mix through both the front & rear. My system is fantastic for music, but the "mix" for 5.1 just doesn't trip my trigger

[RickM]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

The center. Most dialog comes only from the center speaker. In home theater it is the most important speaker & worthy of extra $s.

Yup. Adjust the center up and it should be better.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by KC911

Is it just me, or does anyone else hate 5.1 mixes

You are right. And that’s because it is not real & has no relationship to reality. It’s all fake. Depending greatly upon what equipment is used & your listening room, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 10.2 etc etc are, at best, an attempt to recreate the movie theater experience. Somewhere along the line, it was decided that all dialog should be front & center since the movie patron is staring in that direction. To keep the dialog channel as distinct as possible, the music tracks were put L & R. A sub channel was needed for boom & crash & since it’s not directional, everything below 80Hz or so was sent there. The front 4 also get the lion’s share of the effects although this adds to dialog confusion. The side & rear effects channels are there to cocoon you in sound & since customers spent their hard-earned money on speakers back there, engineers steer some sound back to keep everybody happy. But it is just a recording studio’s creation & it has no real relationship to reality. There is no absolute right or wrong. It’s all right & it’s all wrong.

And for music . . . All of the music modes on equipment are some engineer’s attempt to synthesize an acoustical space. The key word being ‘synthesize’ since it is not natural but electronically created. Church mode or small club or stadium & even the DD or DTS mixes are all just digital mathematical recreations. On a chip. And then the studio engineer sits in his workspace twirling dials & sliders to lay down what sounds good to him, on his flawed system in his flawed room.

Then we sit at home & turn it all on. At its very best, you will experience decent home theater. Assuming you have great equipment that’s set up correctly (huge assumptions here), an acoustically acceptable room (more massive assumptions) & you are sitting in the ‘spot’, you will here what the engineer wanted you to hear.

Switch to music & it will typically all fall apart.

Ian

[TerryH]

Agree that the center channel is much under-rated and not the place to skimp when assembling a system. Some receivers have a center channel equalizer and you can sometimes adjust the tone to better hear the dialog. Almost all receivers will allow you to raise the volume on a single speaker. Check your manual.

Commercials? Have watched an entire commercial for years (okay, maybe the super bowl). Tivo/DVR will do that to you.


As for 5.1 mixes, I assume you mean concert sound? Definitely not realistic IMHO, how often do you hear music behind you while attending a concert? While it can sound good while encompassing the listener, multi-channel is made for movies and good old stereo is made for music.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

...And for music . . . All of the music modes on equipment are some engineer’s attempt to synthesize an acoustical space. The key word being ‘synthesize’ since it is not natural but electronically created. Church mode or small club or stadium & even the DD or DTS mixes are all just digital mathematical recreations. On a chip. And then the studio engineer sits in his workspace twirling dials & sliders to lay down what sounds good to him, on his flawed system in his flawed room....Ian

Yeah you right! I despise those...that's why I stick to unaldulterated 2 channel (with LOTs of gain ), and avoid the "processor crap" altogether. Put everything on a "good" system, and the flaws come shining through with all the "gimickry" imo.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by TerryH

...As for 5.1 mixes, I assume you mean concert sound? Definitely not realistic IMHO, how often do you hear music behind you while attending a concert? While it can sound good while encompassing the listener, multi-channel is made for movies and good old stereo is made for music.

I'm not much of a movie watcher, unless it's music based . Lots of music DVDs, etc. however and they don't work well at all in 5.1 mode.

[Porsche_monkey]

My new Sony TV has a volume adjuster built in for commercials and different channels. I have it enabled and it seems to work, although I have been known to use the remote the second a commercial starts.

[TerryH]

Also, the center channel should be aimed at the seating position. Often the center channel is mounted atop the huge tv putting it 2 or 3 ft above your ears. It may be necessary to raise the back a little to tilt down to ear level. I use three of those rubber door stop wedges. You can adjust the angle by positioning higher or lower on the rubber ramp.

[imcarthur]

As I’ve said before, I’m in the business. I really, really miss the glory days of 2-channel music. The passion we all had – the consumer, the store, the wholesale sales guy (that’s me), the manufacturers. Today, stores are closing & manufacturers are merging with holding companies as the US consumer moves away from actually listening to music. Yesterdays high-end boutique store, where massive tube amps used to power huge monolithic speakers, now count on distributed audio/video systems to pay the rent. Keypads & fancy remote based systems that require expensive (think profitable) programming. In-wall & in-ceiling POS speakers with 70 point margins. Installers who can pull wires have replaced the guru audiophile sales guys who used to weave their magic (mixed with a big dose of fairy dust of course). US consumers have almost totally given up quality for convenience & smoke & mirrors. It’s sad.

Ian