Is back ground sound too loud

[JoeP]

I am partially deaf, but my wife hears fine. She is complaining of the background music on most shows as being too loud..it drowns out the actual show talking in many cases. I have the HD recorder and am wondering if soemthing is wrong with it or something.

Any help would be appreciated.

Joe

[Athlon646464]

How is your sound system hooked up? Do you listen with 1, 2, 4 or 5 or more speakers?

If you listen with Dolby 5.1 or higher and a 5.1 speaker set up, it's possible that your front center speaker is not balanced properly with your left and right front speakers. In that case you would need to fix that with your amp/receiver.

If you are listening with just the speakers on your TV (one or two speakers), you may want to check two items:

1) Be sure in Setup/Audio/Dolby Digital that Dolby digital is set to OFF (on your DVR).

2) If your TV offers the option, adjust it's sound equalizer or settings so that midrange sounds are a little louder than the rest. If your TV is not that sophisticated, try turning the 'treble' setting all the way up and/or the 'bass' setting down.

In any case, we need more info - let us know about the equipment you are using to listen to your audio.

:scratch:

[dvdmth]

I think having programs produced in Dolby Digital 5.1 can cause this problem when not using surround equipment. Earlier this year I watched a Broncos football game on CBS in a room with a 7.1 surround setup and it sounded just fine. Meanwhile, my mother watched the same game in another house, on cable, watching plain-old analog channel 4 (down-converted by the cable company), and for her the play-by-play was almost completely inaudible, drowned out by the crowd noise and field action.

Since getting the surround system earlier this year, I've noticed that with sporting events there's quite a difference from one station to the next with regards to how loud the background audio is relative to the play-by-play (I have often wished there was an easy way on my audio receiver to adjust the back speakers' volume independently from the front speakers).

[MountainMan10]

Yes, the background music is loud. It seems that the court of public opinion has decided that in order to have the volume loud enough to hear conversation the background music, sound effects and commercials have to be loud enough to knock you out of your seat.

We finally found settings on our sound system to reduce the sound effects volume and it helped alot. If you just have the HR and a TV you are out of luck.

[billsharpe]

I watched most World Series games using my HR20-700 and Sony Bravia. The sound was fine. However, I saw parts of one game on my OTA Sceptre HDTV; there the crowd noise pretty much drowned out the announcers. I used the TV speakers in both cases.

I did not investigate the audio settings for the Sceptre TV, but the sound seemed fine on other OTA channels with this set.

[bnwrx]

I've noticed this too. On certain shows(The Mentalist,Numbers and a few others) the background music over powers the dialog. On other shows it seems fine. I do make adjustments to my 5.1 but I do get frustrated having to make these adjustments when changing channels. It is a small thing that I would think the networks could balance themselves.

[Athlon646464]

Properly balancing 5, 6 or 7 speakers by ear is very difficult, if not impossible. You should use a sound meter while 'white' noise is being played from each speaker.

I use this one, and tune my system about once a year:

http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2266249w345.jpg

It's Radio Shack's #33-4050

My Amp has a built in white noise generator. If your does not, one of the DVD's meant for tuning your home theater will supply it for you.

Trying to do it by ear while watching TV will only confuse your perception of where sounds are coming from and their various volumes. You will only have a small chance to 'make it right' for that particular show at that particular time during the show. Even then, odds are you will be way off, and then need to change it for each show you watch - as some say they need to here.

You are better off using an 'impartial' meter with with a stable sound source (white noise). Place the meter on a tripod (or other holder) near where you sit (at ear height) and use it to adjust each of your speakers. You'll be shocked as to how much you will need to change the volume of each speaker after trying it by ear!

After doing it this way, your system will be balanced and most shows will sound much, much better. One thing is for sure, you will hear it as the director/engineer at the source intended you to hear it.

You'll find, as I do, that what is intended to be dialog will be much more understandable, especially when watching a movie or a sporting event broadcasting in Dolby 5.1. A DVD with DTS will blow you away after a correct balancing procedure (Assuming your amp has DTS capability).

:alterhase

[bnwrx]

Properly balancing 5, 6 or 7 speakers by ear is very difficult, if not impossible. You should use a sound meter while 'white' noise is being played from each speaker.

I use this one, and tune my system about once a year:

http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pRS1C-2266249w345.jpg

It's Radio Shack's #33-4050

My Amp has a built in white noise generator. If your does not, one of the DVD's meant for tuning your home theater will supply it for you.

Trying to do it by ear while watching TV will only confuse your perception of where sounds are coming from and their various volumes. You will only have a small chance to 'make it right' for that particular show at that particular time during the show. Even then, odds are you will be way off, and then need to change it for each show you watch - as some say they need to here.

You are better off using an 'impartial' meter with with a stable sound source (white noise). Place the meter on a tripod (or other holder) near where you sit (at ear height) and use it to adjust each of your speakers. You'll be shocked as to how much you will need to change the volume of each speaker after trying it by ear!

After doing it this way, your system will be balanced and most shows will sound much, much better. One thing is for sure, you will hear it as the director/engineer at the source intended you to hear it.

You'll find, as I do, that what is intended to be dialog will be much more understandable, especially when watching a movie or a sporting event broadcasting in Dolby 5.1. A DVD with DTS will blow you away after a correct balancing procedure (Assuming your amp has DTS capability).

:alterhase

My ONKYO recv'r has this capability built in(a microphone you place in different listening positions) but even still different programs produce different results...

[dvdmth]

My ONKYO recv'r has this capability built in(a microphone you place in different listening positions) but even still different programs produce different results...

I think we have the same system (or similar at least). Works fine as long as that clock in the corner of the room doesn't chime the quarter-hour in the middle of the calibration, causing one back speaker to be adjusted very low compared to the others. I also found that, though the speakers are arranged symmetrically in the room, the calibration produced different results for the left speakers versus the right ones, causing a slight skewing of the audio until we went into the setup and adjusted each left/right pair to read the same on either side.

But this doesn't solve the problem of having different programs or channels sound differently with regards to foreground vs. background audio. Do I have to lean backward for some shows, lean forward for others, and get off the sofa altogether and sit on the floor for still others? (I'm too lazy to move the sofa.)

[Athlon646464]

I think we have the same system (or similar at least). Works fine as long as that clock in the corner of the room doesn't chime the quarter-hour in the middle of the calibration, causing one back speaker to be adjusted very low compared to the others. I also found that, though the speakers are arranged symmetrically in the room, the calibration produced different results for the left speakers versus the right ones, causing a slight skewing of the audio until we went into the setup and adjusted each left/right pair to read the same on either side.

But this doesn't solve the problem of having different programs or channels sound differently with regards to foreground vs. background audio. Do I have to lean backward for some shows, lean forward for others, and get off the sofa altogether and sit on the floor for still others? (I'm too lazy to move the sofa.)

Although I notice some difference from one program source to another (live sports vs. a well produced show for example), my 'reaction' to the difference is more like "FOX does a better job with 'surround' sound than CBS", or "Deadwood's sound quality is better than that of the local news". It's rare that I want to make an adjustment to my set up, if ever, in order to make it sound better in the middle of a program.

My mind is never drawn to one of the speakers, as the sound field is as it should be, part of the experience, and not in the way. If you find yourself looking at a speaker when listening, then something is wrong, and likely with your set-up. The sound field should be 'natural', and not have any holes or bright spots. Some sound fields from some programs will sound better than others, but unless you are watching something old or produced poorly, none should be a distraction. In a perfect set up, it would be very difficult in a blackened room to even tell where the speakers are, much like in a modern movie house.

I've not had the experience with the Onkyo feature, as I have never owned one. I now have a Yamaha.

As far as having your speakers arranged 'symmetrically', that could be part of your issue. The two rear speakers (in a 5.1 set-up), for example, should be just behind and just above ear level to your main listening position - and to the sides facing each other, not at the rear facing forward, or in a symmetrical circle around the room (like in a corner facing the center of the room). That is how the engineer mixing the sound track expects them to be set up in your room, and how therefore how they will sound the best.

If because of the design of your room, or the 'spouse factor', you cannot make that happen, then hopefully your amp can 'make up' the difference. For example, my main front pair are three times the distance from me than my front center speaker, so I have added the appropriate delay in the set-up menu for those speakers.

Also - the sound meter I referenced above will likely do a better job than the built in mike, as evidenced by the clock issue mentioned in a previous post.

You place the meter essentially where your ears will be when watching TV, and then adjust the volume of each speaker one at a time until the meter reads exactly the same db level from each. The only way to get the exact level at each is with a constant sound from each speaker, like a white noise signal from a reliable source.

Even if the clock begins to chime while doing your calibration, you will be able to tell while watching the meter the level the white noise is registering.

I've tried it by 'ear', and as good as I am at it, it's amazing how far off the volume is when tested by an instrument!

:eek2:

[ttubbiola]

I always experience the same thing. One thing I have noticed on my Onkyo receiver when changing channels is a Dialog Normalization setting that pops up with different values (-4, -3, -8, etc.). I assume that this setting is being pushed by the broadcast (I am listening in Dolby 7.1). It would explain why it is difficult to hear the dialogue on some shows.

I am going to look for a way to manually override whatever the broadcast is sending. Maybe then I will be able to hear the actors.

[armophob]

Whatever you do, don't do any testing using the ABC network. They have issues with their 5.1 DD and the background overwhelms the center.