Home Theater Volume ?

Don't know if your reciever can do this, but you want to set the center channel volume louder while maybe even setting the mains lower (if need be). May also have the sub set too high, so replay bass heavy scenes and adjust phase and volume.

Practicing it makes perfect.

If you have a "Night Mode" or "Dynamic Range Compression" you could try turning these to ON.

These sudden bursts of volume are normal for Movie Tracks, they will have the dialogue at a normal level, but when stuff blows up, it is enough to send yer dogs running to another room. It gives more of a realistic feel to the movie. After all, gunshots and explosions are alot louder than a normal talking voice.

Your reciever may or may not have a Dynamic Range Compression toggle, this will smooth and even out the volume to keep the peaks from getting to loud. In some recievers this is also called a "Night mode" or "DRC"

I used to have a Technics SA-TX50, and i think i remember that feature being on that reciever.

Also, check your DVD player, most DVD players have Dynamic Range compression feature. Make sure it is set to on.

Personally i hate having the compression on, i like it when machine guns go off and the whole house shakes. of course, this can be a serious problem if you have sleeping children or live in an apartment.

Is your center channel in a poor location? Is that why it is hard to hear dialogue? I would bet that upgrading the center would do wonders for clarity. Take your paradigm to a local dealer and compare it to a better model.

Slappy's got it right...check for dynamic range compression or 'night mode' and turn it on. With this off, dvd becomes more like the theater experience where loud is very loud and quiet is too quiet. Also check your center channel...I've seen several systems with the center channel above the TV, aimed into dead space. If that's where yours is, be sure to angle it down so the dialogue doesn't get lost. Good luck

Most action movies are mixed with a huge amount of dynamic range. Big changes are normal.

If you can't hear the dialog at low volumes you have a problem of some sort (speaker placement and acoustics are candidates when the system is properly calibrated) with your setup.

I had to individually adjust my center channel up a few dB's above the rest of the speakers with my H/K receiver. I had a limit of +10dB's and I used all of them. Backed the sides down to about +7dB and now movies sound great.
Combine that with the Dynamic Range compression feature and you should be good to go.
The problem was only in Dolby Digital.

Correct me if I'm wrong here:
Setting all of the gains up so high is like using an equalizer with all the frequencies boosted to give extra gain. I was always taught to try to stay around 0 gain to keep the truest/cleanest signal.
From what I was taught, I would have the sides at about-1db and the center at +2. You may have to use more volume that way to get the same decible level but you will be using the amplifier to get the increased volume instead of circuitry to get the added gain. Just my 2 cents.......I'd love to hear some feedback here!

Elevick is right, keep it as close to 0 gain(or flat) as possible. Remember that for every 2dBs that you increase, your amp has to work twice as hard(or something along those lines).

Power doubles for every 3dB, although assuming you don't exceed the speaker's power handling (not likely) and don't have audible distortion it's not an issue.