Home Theater Enclosure Problem?

An enclosure around your system will boost the bass response from the speakers (if you soffit mount). Pine wood would not be my first choice. My first choice would be heavy MDF board for cabinetry with a nice hardwood for the visible surfaces (for aesthetcis and such that it does not vibrate ...dead sound when rapped with your knuckles).

None of this will help with Mid range intelligibilty? Are you using phantom? The center channel information needs to go somewhere if youu don't physically have a center.

How is the ARCAM AVR receiving the 5.1 movie data - TOSLINK or digital coax?

What about TV - Toslink also?

Or are you using analog cabling?

I hope you aren't using any Y connectors to jumper two analog line level outputs together from different sources ???

{quote] It's only on DVDs that I miss words occasionally [/quote]

In that case it may be normal. Movies are often mixed so that they can be played at louder volume levels than a radio or TV program. They want those sound effects to really envelope you. Simply turn up the volume. What concerned me was you menioned muddiness in the sound....that is not normal.

Pride and Prejudice is an example of a movie where the vocals were mixed too low, IMHO.