Home Theater

[Colemont]

Hey everyone. I was recommended here by another member for computer questions. However, my first question is about my recent home theater purchase and setup. Ok. I have a Panasonic 50" WS LCD HDTV. I am having no problems with that. It is something else. I just purchased a Sony 5.1 componet HTIB system - in fact it is this one here - http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4782099?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG. I then managed to purchase two Polk Audio R15's on sale for $40 for the pair at Frys. I used them as my two front speakers running 16 gauge wire to them. I used the center speaker Sony provided and have NOTHING as the rear/surround speakers because I live in an apartment and am having a hard time setting that up. I just purchased a Sony DVD player with HDMI and progressive scan and HD up conversion - also found here - http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony-DVD...atOid/-12873/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do and that is my setup. I am running Matix Optical to the reciever from the DVD player - also found here - http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4661728?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Now. Here in lies my problem. When listen to a regular cd - the audio seems fine. I turn it up to around 30-35 on the reciever and can hear it fine. However, when I put in a dvd to the same player - the dvd audio is way low, and I almost have to max it out on my reciever to hear ANYTHING. This can't be good. I have it set to Dolby Digital on the reciever - but yet again, I am pretty much only using the two front speaker, the sub, and the center speaker - NO REAR SPEAKERS. Why is the audio so low? Am I missing a setting somewhere? Is it the Optical cables - since they are NOT monster cables?

All in all this is my first HT setup and I found a great deal on all of the equipment and did because I live in an apartment and cant really go with high high end right now - it would be pointless. Thanks for your thoughts and answers, and I hope to build a great relationship here.

 

[spidey07]

that's normal.

just make sure you are getting dolby digital and any special noise or night features are being used on your receiver.

 

[Kwaipie]

Are the DVDs you're playing kicking the receiver into a dd5.1 or DTS mode or some other home theater mode automatically?

 

[Colemont]

Originally posted by: Kwaipie
Are the DVDs you're playing kicking the receiver into a dd5.1 or DTS mode or some other home theater mode automatically?

I dont believe so. I have some weird settings on here. Is there some sort of setting I should have to make the audio normal - I hate that I have to turn it up so loud just to hear it, why is this?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

DVDs have more dynamic range to the sound than your typical CD. Whispers are whisper quiet while explosions are really loud. When you play a CD, it's pretty much loud the whole time.

Have you tried using one of the R15s for the center channel temporarily? It might be an issue that the sony center is not as sensitive as the Polks and your dialogue is even quieter than normal.

If you have a "night mode" or "midnight mode" or something else like spidey07 mentioned, this would help to reduce the dynamic range of a DVD and the volume would be more even.

When you say you're turning it up really loud, do you mean some sound is really loud and the voices quiet, or just the number on your receiver is different?

I tend to listen to music at about -20 and movies around -5.

 

[Nutdotnet]

^

Listen to that guy...he knows his stuff.

 

[SearchMaster]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I tend to listen to music at about -20 and movies around -5.

Hmmmm....I listen to music and TV about -35 and movies about -15. Does that mean my receiver is broken? :Q

 

[Colemont]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
DVDs have more dynamic range to the sound than your typical CD. Whispers are whisper quiet while explosions are really loud. When you play a CD, it's pretty much loud the whole time.

Have you tried using one of the R15s for the center channel temporarily? It might be an issue that the sony center is not as sensitive as the Polks and your dialogue is even quieter than normal.

If you have a "night mode" or "midnight mode" or something else like spidey07 mentioned, this would help to reduce the dynamic range of a DVD and the volume would be more even.

When you say you're turning it up really loud, do you mean some sound is really loud and the voices quiet, or just the number on your receiver is different?

I tend to listen to music at about -20 and movies around -5.

No, what I mean is, when I have to turn it up, its because I cant hear it at the same level as I would a cd.

 

[Kelemvor]

Is this for all DVDs?

Do you have a DVD that has the test function on it wher eyou can do a test of all the various sounds and such? I thnk the StarWars DVds all have it but not sure what else do...

Have you tried various audio settings that come pre-programmed into the sustem?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
I tend to listen to music at about -20 and movies around -5.

Hmmmm....I listen to music and TV about -35 and movies about -15. Does that mean my receiver is broken? :Q

Yes, go get a new one

Just wanted to give the OP an idea of the kind of dB range difference he might have to set for movies vs. music. :thumbsup:

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Colemont

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
DVDs have more dynamic range to the sound than your typical CD. Whispers are whisper quiet while explosions are really loud. When you play a CD, it's pretty much loud the whole time.

Have you tried using one of the R15s for the center channel temporarily? It might be an issue that the sony center is not as sensitive as the Polks and your dialogue is even quieter than normal.

If you have a "night mode" or "midnight mode" or something else like spidey07 mentioned, this would help to reduce the dynamic range of a DVD and the volume would be more even.

When you say you're turning it up really loud, do you mean some sound is really loud and the voices quiet, or just the number on your receiver is different?

I tend to listen to music at about -20 and movies around -5.

No, what I mean is, when I have to turn it up, its because I cant hear it at the same level as I would a cd.

If you watched a DVD that was all explosions, then you'd be able to listen to it at about the same volume level as a CD, but what you're describing sounds like normal DVD dynamic range vs CDs. If you're turning up the volume on your receiver to maximum and it's still not loud enough, then yes, you have a problem.

If you just need to turn the volume up when you watch DVDs, that's totally normal.

 

[spidey07]

I guess what I meant to say "make sure you are NOT using any special night modes".

As mentioned DVDs have incredible dynamic range - the difference between the softest and loudest parts. A common complaint is "I have to turn it up to hear anything". That's normal. Even better, that is GOOD. It's not uncommon to have to turn your receiver up to -15 to -20 to get a listenable level. zero is flat out rocking and generally how it would sound in a theater. But a CD at zero is "I can't hear what the person next to me is yelling" loud.

Well, that's how it was played in theaters. And if you want to get the most from your DVD, that's how you'll listen to it. If you can't do this because of neighboors or somebody sleeping you can use night mode to "even" things out a little bit. that is to bring the low parts up and the loud parts down. It works well for its intended purpose. But I don't/won't use it unless somebody is sleeping.

oh - and welcome to the forums.

 

[Colemont]

Do you also think having two Polk Audio speakers as the front left/right and a Sony center speaker is a good thing, or does this mess with the enternal settings with the reciever?

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: Colemont
Do you also think having two Polk Audio speakers as the front left/right and a Sony center speaker is a good thing, or does this mess with the enternal settings with the reciever?

Ideally your entire front sound stage (front left, front center and front right) should be matched (if not identical speakers then at least timbre-matched speakers from the same manufacturer). This is to ensure optimal sound balance and quality.

So from a sound quality perspective, no, it's not a good thing to have a mismatched Sony center speaker. That said, the setup won't affect any receiver settings.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Colemont
Do you also think having two Polk Audio speakers as the front left/right and a Sony center speaker is a good thing, or does this mess with the enternal settings with the reciever?

If your receiver has the ability to independently set levels for each speaker, then you should be able to correct for that.

If there is no option to do something like that, then yeah, it's going to be kind of messed up. If the Polks are more sensitive than the sony speakers, they will play louder than the center channel and tend to drown it out. If you want to see if this is part of your issue, you can try putting a couple of the sony speakers you're not using back to the front positions to try that out.

Upgrading your speakers is a step in the right direction. The center channel is by far the most used speaker for movie usage, so getting a matching center would be a good idea.

 

[Colemont]

So idealy, I need to just have all the sony speakers going on this system right? Btw, the center speaker is apparently the loudest as of right now, so I guess this isnt good for the setup - I should just take the Polk Audio speakers down?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Colemont
So idealy, I need to just have all the sony speakers going on this system right? Btw, the center speaker is apparently the loudest as of right now, so I guess this isnt good for the setup - I should just take the Polk Audio speakers down?

Ideally you'd be getting a polk center to have all three of your front speakers upgraded.

I just wanted to see if the polks were drowning out the center's sound and that's a reason you were having trouble hearing.

When you say the center is the loudest, do you mean playing test tones it's the loudest or when you're watching a movie / playing music?

 

[Colemont]

The tones coming out of the sony center are way overpowering to the Polk Audio speakers. Should I just stick with the all sony speakers?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Colemont
Do you also think having two Polk Audio speakers as the front left/right and a Sony center speaker is a good thing, or does this mess with the enternal settings with the reciever?

Nope, not a good idea, they don't sound the same so when you pan (car go from right to left) it sounds weird.