Center Speaker Dialog - Axiom Message Boards

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Hi all,
My center speaker has an intermittent problem of being over powered by F/L and F/R speakers watching digital cable TV on some channels also during some commercials with a lot of music. Is this natural for digital cable TV? Is it the TV signal? Can it be fixed?
Thanks!

It really depends what type of decoding or surround processing you're using for those channels. Can you give us a hint?

Have you calibrated your system yet using pink noise or built in receiver tones so all the speakers read the same SPL level, normally 75dB?

In addition, many people like to bump up the dB level of the Center Channel in the receiver settings a few dB's higher than the mains.

Position of the Center Channel speaker is also very important, as well as acoustics of your room.

I currently have a home theater in a box setup “bose.” Before I go with a full Axiom system/Denon receiver I would like to know if this problem will be corrected. I spend about 80% of my theater time watching digital cable.
Thanks!

Most likely, yes.

Yep, positioning of the center channel speaker is very important. I visited a guy's house once who had his vp150 sitting below his tv on the tv stand. It was pushed all the way to the back of the stand, so it had a good two feet of surface area right in front of it. simply pulling it out to the edge of the stand cleared up dialog completely.

OK, so I gather no one has this annoying problem watching cable TV using there nice Axiom’s and decent receiver. I thought this might be a cable TV specific problem.
Thanks for posts!

As long as all the speakers are calibrated with a sound meter or through your receiver I think you will be more than happy with an Axiom setup. I also had a Bose system with a Bose center, I thought it was good at the time until I purchased my Axioms, then I realized how much I had been missing all along, no comparision in center and surround sound.

I don't even really notice that I even have a center speaker, or left and rights.. it's like there is a wall of clear sound coming from the T.V..

As Bren has stated time and time again.

No Highs, No Lows, must be BOSE

No highs, no lows, must not have bipolar disorder

or Quadpolar.

I have had a similar "problem." As other have posted, my solution was to go into the receiver setup menu and set the center channel about 3 dB higher. Fixed it for me.

I am sure that many "experienced" listeners will tell you that the calibrations that you do on a sound system are only to get you started. You can modify the settings to your own personal taste from there. Many do it.

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I have had a similar "problem." As other have posted, my solution was to go into the receiver setup menu and set the center channel about 3 dB higher. Fixed it for me.
...

This is exactly what I would suggest as well. I don't think it is a cable TV vs. DVD vs. whatever problem - there is a HUGE variety of audio quality out there. It wasn't until I got into HT that I even realized why they have an Oscar for sound. Shortly after getting all this set up there were many times I wondered if my system was malfunctioning. But playing a different movie brought it 'back to live'. There are soooo many factors...

The quality and placement of your speakers
Accoustics of the room
Quality of your receiver and amps
Type of surround processing in use
Quality of the 'decoder' - DVD player, Sat/Cable box, etc.
Quality of the source material
...

-Brian n8wrl

Hi Drifter--

Everyone's given you excellent advice. So I would try those. But I have had an experience that sounds similar, and I *know* it is broadcast related, not the sound system or setup.

Here is when I have an issue:
When I am watching digital cable, and I am feeding the receiver/processor the digital audio signal for 5.1 processing, some broadcasts are very screwed up. Specifically, the two most common issues I experience are:
1) The 5.1 mix is just terrible. For example, last year during a few football games, sometimes the announcers were mixed incredibly low, but the fans in the surrounds sounded like they were on my sofa! While not always sporting events, live events seem to be the most common times I experience this sort of mix issue.
2) Going from a "national" commercial to a local air spot. Suddenly the receiver is processing a locally produced commercial and it is clearly a very different mix, and all of a sudden everyone is jumping for the remote to turn down the volume because it has become unbearably loud *and* distorted.

Are those the kinds of things you're experiencing? Or is it more general and common? If the latter, the prior recommendations should really help. If it is similar to my experience, I've got no advice other than keep the remote handy!

Seriously, if anyone has any ideas on how to help with the kind of issue I'm referring to, please chime in!

Regards,
Rich

Yeah, I do notice that commercials are generally boosted around 10 dB from the standard programming--I avoid this by having a TiVo.

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Yeah, I do notice that commercials are generally boosted around 10 dB from the standard programming--I avoid this by having a TiVo.

But not a Dish Network DVR, well at least in 29 days.

TiVo has been the technology of the last several years that has changed my life the most. Awesome!

I just had my DirecTV HD DVR with Tivo installed Tue., and I must say that I should have done it a year ago, unbelievable ease in recording and picture quality in HD vs my old VHS.
But I have come to the conclusion that the brand of HD satellite receiver does affect the sound and picture quality.
This is the 3rd HD box that I have had, the first being the Hughes box that I got when I originally setup my HD, I was getting sound (sync on some HD channels and sound dropping) and artifac problems with that box. I then switched to an RCA box which cleaned up all those promblems.
Now that I've gone back to a Hughes HD box for my DVR, the picture has gotten noticeably clearer, but I'm back to getting some lipsync and artifac problems on certain HD chanells. I also miss my onscreen caller ID that I had with the RCA, all that being said, I still won't change from my Tivo

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But not a Dish Network DVR, well at least in 29 days.

The injunction itself has already been stayed, so no worries (yet).