Is it dangerous to adjust speaker levels to +10db

It doesn't matter what the number is if the volume is good to you and distortion is within acceptable limits (e.g. you aren't clipping, etc.). It varies depending on all of your other stuff.. receiver, speakers, speaker/room setup, your listening point, your source itself (not just the hardware but the recording too), etc. It's not even possible to calibrate it except for a very specific set of criteria - the calibration would NOT hold for anything you watched or listened to. I mention this because every time I talk about how the volume control is relative - and it is - people come in with their favorite response, "Calibrate it!" Even if you calibrated it, if you just watch a different movie, or watch it from the couch instead of the chair, your calibration is no longer true and it becomes useless.

This applies to the speaker channel level adjustments also. They work the same way just that they are for individual channels and the number you set isn't shown on the front panel (but it will likely just change the maximum main volume such that the overall maximum gain is the same).
Edited by DonoMan - 2/26/13 at 11:37am

I don't think it makes a difference if you adjust all levels by +10. All that does is lower the max volume.

Try it and see if it works.


Sounds like you might need to look into headphones for your late night viewing.

If dialogue is where you are having the problem why not just adjust the center channel level up?

Increasing all speaker levels 10 dB is the same as turning up the volume 10 dB, a power increase of 10x. Might as well keep calibration and turn up the volume, but I assume that won't help with the night mode system.

If the majority of your listening is at night you could try bumping up just the center trim by 3-6 dB to enhance the dialogue, and/or tweak the center EQ (if possible in your AVR) to boost the upper voice bands, say 1 - 3 kHz, to give vocals more "bite".

Get your kids a fan or white noise source in their rooms. Or get headphones. Or soundproof the room (that is NOT the same thing as adding acoustic treatment to the walls; isolation is usually much more involved). Or play a movie every night so they get used to it and will sleep through anything. Which they will do anyway once they hit the teen years.
Edited by DonH50 - 2/26/13 at 4:13pm

He was saying that in surround sound mode, dialogue typically comes from the center channel, so adjusting the center channel to be louder than the others (say leave your other speakers at +0dB in individual channel adjustment and maybe +5dB or even +10dB for center only) should allow the dialogue to be more audible without increasing most of the other stuff. The center channel is not JUST for dialogue, but that is its main purpose.

You can play with the equalizer too if you want. That's personal preference.