twopecker,
LOL Somehow did my brain manage to completely forget that you are using the Elite 43TX receiver!!!
Yes, the volume knob on the Elite receivers is in fact based on the dB scale. When you get the receiver into the NORMAL calibration mode, the volume knob automatically resets itself to 0dB, and the receiver sequentially sends a reference pink noise to each channel. You set the channel levels (as you said you did) so that the reference tone reads at 75dB (C-curve) at the listening position. The test tone should feel fairly loud but well tolerable, did it?
Once you do this, the numbers on the volume display represent a literal dB deviation from the Dolby reference level. If the 43TX is just like my 45TX, it should go from -90dB all the way up to +12dB.
Now, did you say you usually watch movies with volume knob set at around -50dB??? My friend, that's an awfully low listening volume indeed! Movie dialogs are usually recorded at around 74dBA when you watch at the reference level (0dB). So, the volume knob set at -50dB, you are listening to dialogs at a flee loudness of 24dBA -- much softer than the most intimate whispers! No wonder you cannot hear it very clearly.
For your reference (pun intended), when we seriously watch a movie, we set the volume between -10dB and -5dB depending on the program. Now, this is VERY loud, but we like it loud anyway. Even when we watch in the middle of night, we set it at -20 to -25 dB or so, -30dB minimum.
