@traubr thanks for all the detail in the Apple TV-X. That was really in depth and informative. I even learned something new about a new software update for Apple TV’s, passing the soundtrack through natively. Good luck with the center channel journey, you inspired me to look into trying my hand at building a new center channels I’ve got a Focal 800V center at the moment.
Optimized Center Channel
Many years ago, I bought a seven channel AV receiver and speakers and voila! home theatre. No matter that my room layout is far from optimal or the equipment was more mainstream than high end. Pop in a Blu-Ray and the system came to life. My system is now 7.2.4 with very good electronics, and despite technology improvements and investment in better equipment, my home theatre experience leaves me wanting just a bit. Don’t get me wrong, my system is very, very good, and I can hear Atmos at work much of the time, albeit limited by the audio track and ability of my processor to enhance it. However, it’s not like sitting in an IMAX theatre and having your visual and auditory senses titillated. But hey—my space isn’t the best and can’t change, my screen does not go from wall to wall, and I don’t have megawatts going into mega speakers and subwoofers placed all around the listening space to bombard me.
As DVDs have effectively disappeared, my HT entertainment is brought into my home via streaming. I attempted to maximize the process with ethernet to fiber converters, a high-end network switch, a highly modified Apple TV-X streaming box, and quality electronics and cables. Not the best money can buy (that’s not me or my budget) but pretty darned good.
HT constitutes 85% of my entertainment time, the remainder is audio. The audio side of my house has dramatically improved since I first dipped my toe into those waters. My latest and hopefully one of the last improvements on the audio side is a new amplifier, a Coda 16, which replaced a McIntosh MC152. I really enjoyed the Mac, but the Coda is another level altogether (at triple the price, it better be). The clarity, soundstage and power of the Coda puts a smile on my face every time I sit down for a listen. It has also added considerable weight, punch and presence to my HT experience driving the front L/R speakers. The dramatic improvement on the audio side made me wonder…
My hearing is nowhere near what it used to be, actors don’t enunciate, I watch too many shows from the UK (I suspect the problem is reversed when they watch American shows) and the dialog is not optimally recorded. As a result, I have subtitles on all the time. Surely there is a better way. Thus, and finally, my question to you in the Audigon HT community: how to overcome the dialog dilemma. Is a dedicated high-end/ audio quality amplifier to drive the all-important center channel the answer? My Marantz AV10 processor is by no means shabby, but do the Storms, Trinnovs or Lyngdorfs of the world smooth dialog’s rough edges? My center speaker is a Focal Kanta 2 connected to one of the three 300-watt outputs on an Emotiva XPA-11 Gen 3 amplifier.
I appreciate learning how others live with, or have overcome, the dialog issue. Thanks for your time and input,
Robert
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- 48 posts total
In light of the flurry of information and ideas in this thread, during my HT session last night I came to realize the system sounds pretty darned good. There is nothing wrong with tweaking and wringing all you can out of the system to overcome perceived deficits, and I am now armed with thoughts and strategies, so thank you all for that. I even felt the center channel worked well. Stuff to play with when the weather gets cold and I'm forced to play indoors... One of my takeaways from the ATVX thread was how impressed HTers with really nice OLEDs or projectors were after their investment. The pending Apple TV upgrade has me concerned because the new off-the-shelf device may bridge enough of the gap as to make an AVTX superfluous. I am eager to hear the engineer's thoughts, as I'm not likely to buy the new ATV and run a comparison. It's the problem we all face of rapidly changing technology: products purchased a few years ago are superseded by new and improved stuff at potentially lower cost. Interestingly, the engineer stated often in the thread that the ATV version he modifies is the best that Apple has produced, in a sturdy case that accommodates/ enables the modifications. A few months time will tell whether my TV streamer victory was pyrrhic. |
OP I had the same problem which you had. in my case, I just adjusted the DSP settings and re-arrange the position of the front channel. One thing I did differently is that I use REW to study the frequency response of the center channel at the listening position. this allowed me to visualize what I am hearing to what actually is being generated by the speaker. with that, i tweaked all the settings on auddesy and REW to guide me. problem solved good luck |
This got me thinking about the volume I listen to when my partner is awake in a room on the other side of the house. So last night I measured. Quiet dialog is about 45db and I can differentiate it virtually every word. In the natural flow of dialog it gets to 50 db... occasionally peaking at 55. Any quieter and I start loosing words. |
@joeycastillo, your info motivated me to get a microphone for REW. Once it arrives, I have to work out how to use the software Robert |
. I plan to also use the microphone for when I get Dirac, as they typically offer a Black Friday discount. Thanks,- 48 posts total