Fluctuating loudness (1 Viewer)

[mmcl26554]

On some movies and TV programs my loudness fluctuates vastly. What I mean is if you have the volume set so you can hear speech then when a loud scene, such as a gunfight, the loudness just blasts. If you turn the volume down so that scene is tolerable, then you cannot hear the scenes which are quieter. I contacted Sony the manufacturer of my home theater equipment but of course they were of no help.
My equipment is a Sony HT-DDW900 5.1 system. The sound comes from my Vizio TV analog left & right port. I do have an optical cable hooked up but I use the analog output because I can control the sound level with the TV remote. Anyway if I use the optical input to the Sony it has the same problem. Is there a solution for this? What causes it.
Michael

 

[schan1269]

A stereo system with a "late night" mode.
Or check your source for DRC.

 

[mmcl26554]

There is no "late night mode". But, I don't know what DRC is, so please define it for me.
Michael

 

[schan1269]

Dynamic Range Compression

 

[schan1269]

By the way, that has DRC. It says so right in the manual how to turn it on...
http://www.docs.sony.com/release/HTDDW900_OM.pdf

 

[schan1269]

It has three settings...
Comp Off
Comp STD
Comp MAX

 

[schan1269]

It even has sound effect levels...
EFCT MIN
EFCT STD
EFCT MAX

 

[mmcl26554]

Sam,
Thank you so much for the information. I have attempted to study the manual, but there is so much information it was difficult for me to see the forest for the trees. You have pointed me in the right direction and I understand better now. I have found that Forums like this one tend to be very helpful for all sorts of endeavors and I have learned a lot of useful information for all I belong to. This certainly is no exception. I have made changes to my Amp and we will see if it solves the problem.
Also thank you for the link it is always nice to have the electronic version of the user's manual.
I often wonder why technical support people, like the one I contacted at Sony, aren't more knowledgeable about the equipment they support. In my experience the most difficult part is getting them to understand just what the problem is. This is not just with Sony but everyone I contact. It's almost a joke how misinformed they are.
Again thanks for helping.
Michael

 

[mmcl26554]

I have studied the manual and made the appropriate settings to help the fluctuation of sound volume levels, with some success. I still have some questions. There seems to be a lot of differences with programs relative to the emphasis placed on certain sounds. Let me explain. This evening we were watching the football game on our local CBS affiliate using over the air signal. It seemed the sounds of the crowd,and the team calling signals were way louder than that of the announcers. In fact it was difficult to hear what the announcers were saying as they were being drowned out by the crowd. Similarly I find that often the loudness of supposedly background music will drowned out the voice. During the football game today I started to play with the different sound programs or fields, none seemed to help until I switch to plane stereo output which effectively turned off the Dolby. So my question is it usual to have to play with sound programs or fields for every channel? Is it normal to have to switch to plane stereo and turn off Dolby to improve the relationship of background music and voice? I am a bit of a beginner with surround sound but trying to learn. Any help would be appreciated. Michael

 

[schan1269]

Live programs suck. Trying to figure out why all off a sudden the crowd drowns stuff out...or you hear the occasional "Your mother dresses you funny"... You'll pull your hair out. Also, TV studios typically don't adhere to "Dolby Guidelines" like movie sound editors do for transcribing to disc.