I have a 5.1 sound system that is all Axiom except for my sub which is SVS. Everything goes into a Pioneer Elite receiver. I seem to have an issue where I always have to turn my volume up to hear people speaking and then have to turn it down whenever there's any "action" going on because it's way to loud. Music is very loud as well. I have tried calibrating my system (both manually and automatic using the Pioneer receiver). Everything seems set fine, but yet...still faced with this issue. I guess my question is...is this normal if you only listen at low volume levels (I have a baby and a toddler so can't have it too loud at night), or is there something I should be looking at?

My receiver has all post processing turned off...basically shouldn't be attempting to utilize any eq settings.

If I need to provide more information, I'd be more than happy to.

Your center may be a little low. Try bumping it up 3db or so.

Sihing,

SRoode's suggestion is a good one. There should also be a setting on your Pioneer to adjust the dynamic range. This will make loud sounds quieter so that you don't wake up the little ones. This is called "night mode" on some A/V gear.

What centre are you using?

I can definitely try that with the center. I have the VP150...it's about 4 years old.

I basically made sure my center was equal to the other channels when I calibrated it.

My receiver doesn't have a night mode (that I know of). There is a drama mode which is supposed to enhance speech, but it doesn't make much difference.

Will try dialing up the center.

I found that having the center calibrated equal to the other speakers didn't work for me either, I have mine set +2.5db.

Most of us bump up the center a few dB's.

Hi KungFu,

When movies and shows are mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1, the dialog is often mixed too low because the director and sound engineers have heard it dozens of times and know it backwards, so they tend to bury it in the mix. The whole point of an adjustable center-channel level is so you can increase it for your room and system so it's completely intelligible.

I routinely run my dialog channel at +4 dB or +5 dB above the front left and right. You may also be running your surrounds much too loud, which new listeners to surround often do. They are for ambience and you shouldn't "hear" them in the conventional sense. They should just open up the spatial character of any scene and provide ambient cues when the latter are hard-mixed to a surround (sounds like a door opening off-camera or similar cues).

Regards,
Alan

I will disagree with the others here. I find it REALLY easy to notice when the centre is not matched, db wise, to the rest of the speakers. Sound effects coming from the centre channel stand out way too much and pretty much ruin the experience for me. This is a personal preference, just thought I would throw in my 2 bucks (CAD).

Look at the bright side, Robb, recent economic events have made your thoughts more valuable than ours in the states.

+3db on the center for me. There is occasionally source material that is recorded differently than the 'average' Dolby material during which I have to dial back the center, but for the most part, I leave it bumped up and find the change to be very helpful. (the effect on the wife's enjoyment when watching movies is noticeable as well...)