Gotta tell you,, I have found many movies are not mixed that well all the time and the dialog is just killed by the other sounds sometimes even in a calibrated system.. However what I found that really seems to be the culprit in many cases is the match of the receiver or amp to the specific speakers used. I know its weird, but synergy comes into play with surround just as it does with 2 channel. I had an issue for a while with a very underpowered center it seemed. Well I pulled the speaker thinking it was just not efficient enough at lower volumes on movies as I don't listen to them at reference level, which most people do not, but then found I put it on a friends receiver and we were blown away how damn good the center sounded even with some questionable movies that were not always mixed that good. Otherwise you might have to get silly and try to do some type of room treatment or Center position, might have to build a shelf to get it up above the display and this will carry a more airy and clear dialog.
Do I need better center ch speaker-dialog unclear?
I currently have a PSB Image Series C9 center channel. I had though this was a decent enough speaker, but have grown increasingly frustrated. For example, today I was watching the new release of Chariots of Fire that has the DD 5.1 track. Maybe it is just the big echo-y ancient rooms they shot the film in, or maybe it wasn't miked well, but I cannot discern much of the dialog. There are many other movies I have had the same problem with.
Not being satisfied with the intelligibility of dialog in movies, I recently upgraded to a seperate 5-channel power amp, using my Sony DA4ES receiver as pre-amp. I do not use any soundfields or such, just straight DD or DTS. This helped the clarity vere minimally.
This not having helped all that much, I next upgraded the speaker cable to one of Paul Speltz' Anti-cables, which have received great reviews. This, again, may have helped just a tad, but I am still having the same problem with dialog.
I am now down to the point of nothing left, that I know of, other than to consider upgrading the center speaker.
So, does anybody have any other tips short of a new speaker?
If not, can anyone reccommend a significantly better center speaker that would integate at least decently with my Legacy Signature III front mains? I can't now afford to go with one of Legacy's centers.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Not being satisfied with the intelligibility of dialog in movies, I recently upgraded to a seperate 5-channel power amp, using my Sony DA4ES receiver as pre-amp. I do not use any soundfields or such, just straight DD or DTS. This helped the clarity vere minimally.
This not having helped all that much, I next upgraded the speaker cable to one of Paul Speltz' Anti-cables, which have received great reviews. This, again, may have helped just a tad, but I am still having the same problem with dialog.
I am now down to the point of nothing left, that I know of, other than to consider upgrading the center speaker.
So, does anybody have any other tips short of a new speaker?
If not, can anyone reccommend a significantly better center speaker that would integate at least decently with my Legacy Signature III front mains? I can't now afford to go with one of Legacy's centers.
Thanks in advance for any advice.