There is too much dynamic range in the audio of modern movies and TV...

[alkemyst]

TVs do not have decent speakers.

I want to know what TV he is talking about. lol

 

[imagoon]

Sounds like you have your subwoofer set to high in the first place.

Just because it goes to 11, doesn't mean it SHOULD be at 11.

My Paradigm I typically set to 4 of 11, iirc. You should be able to have the rest of the speakers quite loud before the house is rattling due to excessive subwoofer usage.

QFT.

It is amazing how many people think it is "strange" that my get up has the sub at -3db. "0 treble, +1 mid, 0 bass"

Low tones travel farther and many people use a strange crossover setting of say 80hz with the sub, Bass at +10db and the sub's volume knob set to max. Then dick with the volume all day because the voices are too quiet.

Duh. You have the sub maxed, and the cross over set to more than triple the volume 15hz-80hz. Of course the explosions are loud.

 

[destrekor]

QFT.

It is amazing how many people think it is "strange" that my get up has the sub at -3db. "0 treble, +1 mid, 0 bass"

Low tones travel farther and many people use a strange crossover setting of say 80hz with the sub, Bass at +10db and the sub's volume knob set to max. Then dick with the volume all day because the voices are too quiet.

Duh. You have the sub maxed, and the cross over set to more than triple the volume 15hz-80hz. Of course the explosions are loud.

I'm not sure about needing low crossover. If you manage the volume and levels correctly, having a good sub with high crossover can help fill in the sound, especially if the speakers aren't up to snuff at the low-mids. A properly setup subwoofer doesn't need to pound, but it will add texture and atmosphere.

I had mine set at max crossover, but I also did that for another reason: I used the auto-calibration on my Marantz receiver (and will do it again when I move and set it up once more), so the receiver will help balance levels and crossover settings according to the room itself.

 

[imagoon]

I'm not sure about needing low crossover. If you manage the volume and levels correctly, having a good sub with high crossover can help fill in the sound, especially if the speakers aren't up to snuff at the low-mids. A properly setup subwoofer doesn't need to pound, but it will add texture and atmosphere.

I had mine set at max crossover, but I also did that for another reason: I used the auto-calibration on my Marantz receiver (and will do it again when I move and set it up once more), so the receiver will help balance levels and crossover settings according to the room itself.

The 80hz thing on the sub channel is just something I have seen a lot for some reason when ever I hear people complain about quiet voices and loud bass. 80hz with Bass set to +10 (max) tends to indicate a fairly sharp angle at the cross point which tends to amplify the ultra loud explosions with whispered voices. Obviously it should be set to match the speakers.

On a pink noise this would look like a huge spike in volume normally somewhere around ~120hz with 15~20hz being 10-20db louder than the ~120hz and above region (+some accounting for the sub channel being boosted + the volume knob on the speaker).

IE at talking levels, the "bass track" is set to be as loud as a 1970's garbage disposal and then people wonder why they have to dick with the volume all the time.

 

[purbeast0]

QFT.

It is amazing how many people think it is "strange" that my get up has the sub at -3db. "0 treble, +1 mid, 0 bass"

Low tones travel farther and many people use a strange crossover setting of say 80hz with the sub, Bass at +10db and the sub's volume knob set to max. Then dick with the volume all day because the voices are too quiet.

Duh. You have the sub maxed, and the cross over set to more than triple the volume 15hz-80hz. Of course the explosions are loud.

yeah i have the gains on my amp for both channels powering both of my subs set as high as they can go, but the output on my avr for those channels is set to -6.0db i believe. and i can easily shake my entire house.

 

[alkemyst]

SPL meter for the win.

 

[TridenT]

I'm not a fan. I've been listening to podcasts recently and they don't have any dynamic range compression applied to them. So, sometimes it's whisper quiet and then "BWAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" and you can hear the audio clipping disturbingly well while your ear drums burst.

 

[Kneedragger]

The movies I have noticed are the worst for me are in DTS. I actually have my Sub turned down low and still have to turn the movie volume up and down at times.

New receiver should fix it for me..

 

[sdifox]

The movies I have noticed are the worst for me are in DTS. I actually have my Sub turned down low and still have to turn the movie volume up and down at times.

New receiver should fix it for me..

DTS boosts the bass to make people think it is better...

 

[purbeast0]

The movies I have noticed are the worst for me are in DTS. I actually have my Sub turned down low and still have to turn the movie volume up and down at times.

New receiver should fix it for me..

well if you are using a tv, you probably shouldn't be using the dts track lol.

dts-hd sounds incredible in a nice setup.

 

[Kneedragger]

well if you are using a tv, you probably shouldn't be using the dts track lol.

dts-hd sounds incredible in a nice setup.

NO.. I have audio ran to a 5.1 receiver. The sound most likely is great but I still have low center channel and loud everything else.

 

[purbeast0]

NO.. I have audio ran to a 5.1 receiver. The sound most likely is great but I still have low center channel and loud everything else.

yeah, avr and/or speakers can fix that. i had that with my old setup, but my center channel speaker was like some $100 speaker i got back in 2001, and my avr was just a 5.1 yamaha i got back then too. it always sounded like my center channel was muffled compared to the rest of my system when i was running that.

now i have identical LCR speakers though, but also a much higher end setup than my previous one.

 

[Rubycon]

Once crest factor is flattened in the mastering process, it's gone forever!
Music has been this way for years unfortunately.

Proper gain structure management and processing can tailor the dynamics to your liking without mushing up the fidelity.

The Drawmer DL441 fits the bill nicely for us.

 

[Kneedragger]

yeah, avr and/or speakers can fix that. i had that with my old setup, but my center channel speaker was like some $100 speaker i got back in 2001, and my avr was just a 5.1 yamaha i got back then too. it always sounded like my center channel was muffled compared to the rest of my system when i was running that.

now i have identical LCR speakers though, but also a much higher end setup than my previous one.

I am due for a whole new Home Theater system but buying new stuff to fix a problem is lame. I have a baby on the way in February and was ready to spend money on a Denon receiver and some new front speakers but think it might go to waste since I probably won't be able to enjoy a movie for a while.

 

[purbeast0]

I am due for a whole new Home Theater system but buying new stuff to fix a problem is lame. I have a baby on the way in February and was ready to spend money on a Denon receiver and some new front speakers but think it might go to waste since I probably won't be able to enjoy a movie for a while.

well when your current stuff simply isn't that good, as my old system was, buying new stuff is the only way to fix it.

but i know your pain - my wife and i have our first on the way in april, and we already know we probably won't be able to watch as much stuff as loud anymore. but we have also discussed how we probably can, by putting the baby to sleep upstairs and our HT is in the basement, and just having a baby monitor on the baby to know what he's up to lol. you can definitely still hear it from upstairs though, especially the bass.

 

[Kneedragger]

well when your current stuff simply isn't that good, as my old system was, buying new stuff is the only way to fix it.

but i know your pain - my wife and i have our first on the way in april, and we already know we probably won't be able to watch as much stuff as loud anymore. but we have also discussed how we probably can, by putting the baby to sleep upstairs and our HT is in the basement, and just having a baby monitor on the baby to know what he's up to lol. you can definitely still hear it from upstairs though, especially the bass.

Very true I can probably figure something out once the baby is around.

 

[massmedia]

Is it possible to get decent surround sound with the couch pressed up against the back wall... and the side walls about 2' from the couch on the left and right?

 

[DigDog]

because TV technicians mix like it's for film. the morons.

 

[Tiamat]

Some mixes are simply bad. Other ones are great, but need a really low in-room noise floor <25db, properly calibrated system, and proper acoustics. Not cheap and hardly the norm for most households. Sadly, I gave up on this endeavor as it would cost over $60k in room construction alone. Noise isolation is very difficult in normal houses due to the high number of acoustic flanking leaks via hvac, stairs, doors, etc. When on screen whispers are 25 dB and explosions are ~100 db, this is much more enjoyable then 50 dB whispers and ~125dB explosions, the latter of which occurs in a normal family room type environment with lots of ambient noise.

 

[NoTine42]

because TV technicians mix like it's for film. the morons.

And worse, advertisers think their product is more meaningful than a movie's main action sequence.

 

[Gunbuster]

eh, i'm not really into extravagant setups. I either watch on a TV (with the built in speakers) or a laptop. Sometimes I use headphones which is a sad reminder for how much I'm missing audio-wise.

Jesus, you are using 1 inch speakers on a TV or Laptop. You don't get to complain about the audio mix until you get yourself a at least a setup with left, right, and most importantly a center channel speaker.

 

[Mixolydian]

I want to know what TV he is talking about. lol

I can't help but think that those who believe TV's have "terrible" speakers have unrealistic expectations from said speakers. This is a TV we're talking about, not a music system.

 

[imagoon]

I can't help but think that those who believe TV's have "terrible" speakers have unrealistic expectations from said speakers. This is a TV we're talking about, not a music system.

I expect a lot more. My old tube TV in the basement from 2002 has far better sound quality than any of the other flat panel TV's in the house. Hell my 60inch sounds like junk and they had plenty of room to fit something inside that didn't suck.

There used to be a time when a half decent set speakers and a half decent amplifier was standard in a TV bigger than around 19 inches. Then the market went all epeen on the "how thin it has to be" and the decent speakers get replaced with tiny cellophane or piezo style crap due to space constraints.

Then there is the "bounce off the wall" issue that most flat panels have now since many of them don't have room in the bezel to fire sound forward so all you get is the reflections from the wall because the speakers fire out the back which dulls treble and mids while leaving most of the lower mid and bass ranges intact.

Hell the AM mono single 6 x 9 in a 1970 Nova dashboard sounds better than lots of flat panel TVs.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

I can't help but think that those who believe TV's have "terrible" speakers have unrealistic expectations from said speakers. This is a TV we're talking about, not a music system.

I don't have unrealistic expectations of TV speakers. I expect them to be terrible and they are. It's exactly what one should expect based on their physical properties and the laws of physics.

You're on a tech forum; how far do you think your Luddite views are going to fly?

 

[OutHouse]

Welcome to multi-channel audio through stereo. How about upgrade your shit?

i have one and it doenst do anything.

the dynamic range sucks. turn it up to hear dialog then get suprised by a loud ass door slam or something "dramatic" and next thing i know im getting bitched at by the sleeping wife i just woke up and my parrots are screaming.