Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Improving Speech Clarity w Quiet Scenes

I have completed my installation and it sounds excellent (Pioneer 1015TX, KEF HTC6001 Center & Ci160*2Qs in-walls, Velodyne DLS 3750R S/W).
The one area I am not yet happy with is the clarity of speech (center speaker) when there is a quiet scene (whispers or soft spoken words). If I turn up the volume to hear these parts, any subsequent action scene is too loud.

I used the auto set-up feature of the Pioneer, and then created a custom configuration where I varied the level and frequency equalization of the speakers, but I am not getting the clarity I want - the center channel sounds slightly "hollow" (echo?) on the quiet scenes. There are so many variables and permutatuions that I cannot be sure what helps. Also, I tried setting the DRC (Dynamic Range Control) to different settings, but still no magic.

The Pioneer has a "Dialog Enhance" mode, which "sharpens" things, but it seems to hurt the L/R surround effects, so I do not use it.

Any suggestions for how to better optimize my configuration?