I hope crossposting isnt a huge taboo... so here goes:



I have recently been upgrading my home audio/video equipment and in the process have really started to enjoy the live concerts/performances shown on HDNet and MOJO. However I am having an issue, or at least I think its an issue, with the volume of the shows.

I just bought a HK AVR 247 receiver, currently running Optical from the box to my receiver. I have to turn the receiver up to the -17db range to get any kind of volume out of it and that is still...... flat, the performance is just completely stale... I dont know any other way to describe it really.. I mean all the dynamics are there (kind of) but the volume just isnt where it should be. In addition, I get noticeable changes in volume when I switch from 2 channel, 3 channel and dolby digital... the only one even remotely reasonable is the dolby digital mode... (dts is unavailable) The other two are, well quiet, really.

For comparison, right now I am listening to my CD player with The Essential Billy Joel in, playing over coax and it is at a very comfortable level at around -29db. And that -29db is substantially louder than the -17 of the HD cable...

Anyone have any ideas on what could be going on or if I am doing something wrong?

I appreciate the help


oh and it is true for all the performances Ive recorded/played; Sheryl Crow, Breaking Benjamin, Chick Corea (spelling?), 3 doors down and Matchbox 20

Andrew,

Your cable box may be compressing the audio dynamic range.

1. Press the "menu" button once for the basic menu, then press it again for the advanced menu.

2. Scroll down to Audio: Digital Out. Ensure it is set to Dolby Digital.

3. Scroll to Audio: Range. Make sure it is set to Wide.

By default, some cable boxes are set to normal dynamic width or even narrow dynamic width. With wide dynamic range, you may have lower average volumes on Dolby Digital programming than on the analog tier. Nonetheless, it is preferable not to have the cable box compress dynamic range.

On another note, the output can be set to 480i or 480p instead of 720p, 1080i, or native pass-through. One of my wife's coworkers had a 1080p HDTV, but his cable box was set up for 480 output. I asked if I could have the remote for just a minute...
Jeremy was amazed by the difference when we changed the output to 1080i.

Moral of the story: the cable box may not be set up optimally from the factory. Don't trust the cable tech to set things up correctly either. Go into the menus and make sure your cable box isn't degrading quality unnecessarily.