Hey everyone, I'm currently using an older (2007 - 2008ish) budget system I put together. I'm somewhat of a beginner here, but I know a bit about these systems.
My big problem is the old issue of my voices are too soft, and music/sound effects too loud. We're constantly turning the volume up and down. I've spent a long time researching and trying to fix this problem to no success.
Here's my system:
Sources:
- Apple TV
- Raspberry Pi running RaspBMC/Kodi (running my Blu-Ray rips)
- Verizon FiOS DVR
All run into my TV (a 2008 model LG) via HDMI, which them outputs the audio via optical digital audio into:
- Insignia (best buy brand) 5.1 receiver (supports Dolby and DTS) - with a 2.1 speaker system
- 2x Insignia bookshelf speakers
- Polk Audio Subwoofer
I'm exploring several options to fix this issue:
1. My receiver does not support "boosting the center channel" on the 5.1->2.1 downmix, which is the first suggestion I've found. The receiver is configured to only use the L/R + Sub speakers though, so it's not as if it thinks there are more speakers.
2. I'm not seeing the DTS or Dolby source lights turned on with the receiver, so I'm wondering if there's data being lost somewhere.
3. My Raspberry Pi/Kodi system does support boosting the center channel on downmix, which I've set to +30db. It doesn't seem to have any effect.
First off, does anyone see any issues with my current setup without changing anything?
If none of these work, I'm considering a new receiver for the system. I'd like to stay around $150. However, I'm not clear what features I need:
1. Boosting center channel on downmix? This doesn't seem to work with the Raspberry Pi, so I'm wondering if this is a feature I need.
2. Night mode/dynamic range compression? Many of the receivers I've seen only support this on certain DTS or Dolby sources, and I'm not sure everything I'm playing is encoded that way, so I don't only want to fix this on certain movies/TV shows.
The last option I've considered is getting a center channel speaker, but due to space that isn't a very good option.
Any ideas? I appreciate any guidance or direction on the best way to fix this!
My big problem is the old issue of my voices are too soft, and music/sound effects too loud. We're constantly turning the volume up and down. I've spent a long time researching and trying to fix this problem to no success.
Here's my system:
Sources:
- Apple TV
- Raspberry Pi running RaspBMC/Kodi (running my Blu-Ray rips)
- Verizon FiOS DVR
All run into my TV (a 2008 model LG) via HDMI, which them outputs the audio via optical digital audio into:
- Insignia (best buy brand) 5.1 receiver (supports Dolby and DTS) - with a 2.1 speaker system
- 2x Insignia bookshelf speakers
- Polk Audio Subwoofer
I'm exploring several options to fix this issue:
1. My receiver does not support "boosting the center channel" on the 5.1->2.1 downmix, which is the first suggestion I've found. The receiver is configured to only use the L/R + Sub speakers though, so it's not as if it thinks there are more speakers.
2. I'm not seeing the DTS or Dolby source lights turned on with the receiver, so I'm wondering if there's data being lost somewhere.
3. My Raspberry Pi/Kodi system does support boosting the center channel on downmix, which I've set to +30db. It doesn't seem to have any effect.
First off, does anyone see any issues with my current setup without changing anything?
If none of these work, I'm considering a new receiver for the system. I'd like to stay around $150. However, I'm not clear what features I need:
1. Boosting center channel on downmix? This doesn't seem to work with the Raspberry Pi, so I'm wondering if this is a feature I need.
2. Night mode/dynamic range compression? Many of the receivers I've seen only support this on certain DTS or Dolby sources, and I'm not sure everything I'm playing is encoded that way, so I don't only want to fix this on certain movies/TV shows.
The last option I've considered is getting a center channel speaker, but due to space that isn't a very good option.
Any ideas? I appreciate any guidance or direction on the best way to fix this!