[dangmoss]

I have an HK AVR 325 (or is it 525) I forget which. Anyway when were watching a movie even with the volume up to like -10db it's difficult to hear people talking or whispering but the gunshots and the music etc... will blow you out your seat... The HK has this EZSET thing I did that it made very little changes... +1db on a couple speakers on the left side.


I have a 7 speaker layout... large (in wall speakers)


I haven't played with adjusting the center channel up... I suspect thats what I need to do...

 

[Az Barber]

Time to calibrate your speaker levels. Do you have an SPL meter?


I would also check to make sure all the drivers in the center channel are working. Perhaps you scorched a tweet?

 

[dangmoss]

Speaker seems ok during the test mode...


Radio Trash spl meter ok to use?

 

[parcecaphalia]

Try setting Night Mode - it decreases the dynamic range of the audio track - louds are not as loud, quiets are a bit louder. My AVR 510 has the feature and I expect yours does too.

 

[happystick]

Radio Shack SPL will do the trick. Once you know what the speakers should be at, you can bump up the center volume if you still think its too low. Some movies seem to have been mixed with the center too low as well.

 

[parcecaphalia]

and some DVD players have the ability to reduce dynamic range as well .....

 

[Az Barber]

Sometimes when I have a hard time hearing the actors dialog it's because the non-actors are talking too much.


Don't cut your dynamic range to cover up your problem. Fix the problem. I don't know if it's mechanical or acoustic, but it's fixable either way. Dynamic range is a good thing.

 

[dangmoss]

tonight we watched scary movie... and I cranked the center to +10db and it seemed to fix the probelm... It's not really an issue for me but rather an issue for my inlaws (starting to have hearing problems)... I'll get the spl meter soon and see what it thinks about the situation...

 

[Kpt_Krunch]

I have the HK520 with a Polk CS400i center (used). I also have a Samsung HLN617W DLP. No way the center is sitting on top, so I have it underneath on the stand, with a couple of 1/2 inch wooden blocks under the two front corners to point the channel toward the listening area.


I still have to run my CC hot - +6db normally. However, I also have my mains plugged into an HK PA2000 amp, which pushes 100 watts, vs. the 70watts (or is it 75?) that the HK520 pushes the center at.


So, for me I think I have several 'issue's' causing me to run the center hot. However, there is no problem. At +6 I hear the dialogue fine, and when the front 3 run hot during a car chase scene, or shootout, or whatever, the center blends in nice with my mains and sub, so I have no complaint on it.


Oh, with my old setup (and an older and mismatched Yamaha center) my center channel sat on top of my T.V. (a direct view CRT) and I was about 5 feet closer to the T.V. with the mains out farther in relation to how it is set up now, and I had the mains at +1db for the right, +2 for the left, and all other channels at '0' including the center, and the dialogue was fine.


I guess it is all in the placement setup in relation to where you are sitting.