I find that I need to keep the CC a few dB "hot", as do many others here.

I noted that my new receiver even has a shortcut to raise the CC to increase intelligibility.

I liken the dialog mix to Hollywood's version of the loudness wars. Drop the dialog in the mix a bit and the explosions, etc., are louder in comparison.

Jeez, I just sounded old when I typed that.

::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::