Movie Dialogue sounds like crap (1 Viewer)

[dsdetor]

A couple years ago I bought Definitive Technology ProCinema 6 D speakers. They sounded great in Best Buy. I also bought a pioneer receiver, (which fried after 2 years.) A few months ago I bought the Denon AVR S760H. My problem from day 1 has always been with these speakers the dialogue always sounds like crap and you have to struggle to understand what is being said. This system is specific for movies I'm not concerned about listening to music through it. Looking for any advice to improve movie dialogue without losing immersive sound. I don't know if it's me setting up and doing something wrong, or if it's the limitations of the speakers. This is how I have the front speakers setup. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Dave

 

[JohnRice]

Did you run any calibration (Audyssey on Denon) and would you provide a little more specific description of what’s bad with dialog?

There are a LOT of things that can be wrong, so it might take some time to track it down. Dialog problems are a common complaint.

 

[dsdetor]

I did run Audyssey several times. The dialogue is hard to understand clearly. I have increased center channel and reduced front channels but it's still not very clear, and I have to turn volume up to hear dialogue and the sound effects are obnoxiously loud when they kick in.

 

[Malcolm R]

Are you using the dialogue enhancer feature on the AVR? I find that helps on my Yamaha system.

 

[dsdetor]

Yes I have it on medium.

 

[TheBat]

I find the recent Dolby surround can go back and fourth on sound in the center. I have the denon 950. sometimes I can hear it at 30 on reference and other times not so much.

atmos does a great job with balance more then the old way when the surround would overpower the soundtrack.

Jacob

 

[JohnRice]

I did run Audyssey several times. The dialogue is hard to understand clearly. I have increased center channel and reduced front channels but it's still not very clear, and I have to turn volume up to hear dialogue and the sound effects are obnoxiously loud when they kick in.

OK, first turn down the volume equally on all the surround channels. If effects are still too loud, turn them down more. Then go into the EQ settings and increase the level for the center channel around 1-2KHz. You can also turn up the center channel more. Also, make certain that dialog is actually coming from the center speaker. If the sound mode is wrong, you might not be getting dialog from the center speaker at all.

These are all common complaints.

When all of these things are adjusted correctly, virtually any soundtrack should have intelligible dialog, unless the soundtrack is mixed poorly.

I've never used any kind of dialog enhancer. Sometimes those things makes the problem worse.

Finally, you said your old receiver died after two years. Is it possible the tweeter on your center speaker is damaged or fried? If it is, nothing will fix the problem other than a new speaker or getting it repaired.

 

[xx Brian xx]

After running Audyssey did you turn on Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ? Try setting Dynamic Volume at medium. Also, what is the crossover set to in the Denon and how did you set up the subwoofer.

 

[dsdetor]

After running Audyssey did you turn on Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ? Try setting Dynamic Volume at medium. Also, what is the crossover set to in the Denon and how did you set up the subwoofer.

Dynamic EQ is on and Dynamic Volume is light. Sub is LFE It looks like crossover for front and center is 150hz and Sub 120hz. I can only view it if I go into manual setup not Audysseyt

 

[John Dirk]

Is it possible the tweeter on your center speaker is damaged or fried? If it is, nothing will fix the problem other than a new speaker or getting it repaired.

This would be my guess. I would suggest swapping the Center speaker with one of the Front channel outputs and playing something dialog intensive. Keep it at moderate volume so as not to damage the speaker but if the problem remains in the Center then you have your answer.

 

[xx Brian xx]

First, test the center speaker as the two John's stated above.

If it tests good, I would make sure the crossover on the subwoofer is turned all the way up, change Dynamic Volume to medium and then I would bring the crossover in the Denon down to 100hz. Play some dialog and see if it sounds better.

 

[OLDTIMER]

Bear in mind that a lot of modern actors cannot enunciate properly. Some barely open their mouths! My wife and I often have to watch some movies with the subtitles on. Listen to the dialogue from some of the trained actors of the '30s and '40s - you won't miss a word.

 

[Brian Hatton]

I’m not being sarcastic - are you losing some of your hearing sensitivity? This will start at higher frequencies, so the harmonics in speech will be affected. I have this problem.
I also find centre channel invariably needs boosting to some degree with dts soundtracks and sometimes with atmos. A quick tweak on my Arcam AV40 usually gets me what I want.
Are you sure your speakers are all in correct phase as that can diffuse the sound if the left and right speakers contain some of the dialogue/centre mix?
At what level do you listen? Those speakers look a bit on the small side and may struggle to cope with higher volumes with projection into the room. Is it a big space?