Steve,
As another guy who struggles to hear dialogue (in movies, parties, etc.)...
I have gone through similar problems with dialogue clarity. My experience is that the actual center channel speaker makes a HUGE difference in enjoyment of TV, movies, etc. I have found minimal positive effect to adjusting center channel EQ curves, some beneficial effect to just raising center channel volume, and a large beneficial effect to getting a center channel built for dialogue. To various degrees, I have been unimpressed with various center channels from B&W (entry level), Aerial CC3b (sounded like a blanket over the speaker, very disappointed given glowing reviews), Focal Chorus (nice for music, bad for dialogue), Martin Logan Motion 30 (could not understand males despite a "shouting" quality).
These speakers have been run by a variety of high-end amps, preamps, processors, speaker wires, and +/- room correction, but it seems that the actual center channel speaker is the overwhelming piece of the puzzle.
I have Salk HT-3 mains, and talked with Jim Salk about my problems. He built me the HT-3 equivalent center and it solved everything. Great dialogue at low and high volumes. Consider giving him a call to build a speaker, suggest an existing speaker from his lineup, or just give you some good advice. Who cares if the center "matches" the rest of the system if you cannot understand what is being said.
My 2 cents
DF
As another guy who struggles to hear dialogue (in movies, parties, etc.)...
I have gone through similar problems with dialogue clarity. My experience is that the actual center channel speaker makes a HUGE difference in enjoyment of TV, movies, etc. I have found minimal positive effect to adjusting center channel EQ curves, some beneficial effect to just raising center channel volume, and a large beneficial effect to getting a center channel built for dialogue. To various degrees, I have been unimpressed with various center channels from B&W (entry level), Aerial CC3b (sounded like a blanket over the speaker, very disappointed given glowing reviews), Focal Chorus (nice for music, bad for dialogue), Martin Logan Motion 30 (could not understand males despite a "shouting" quality).
These speakers have been run by a variety of high-end amps, preamps, processors, speaker wires, and +/- room correction, but it seems that the actual center channel speaker is the overwhelming piece of the puzzle.
I have Salk HT-3 mains, and talked with Jim Salk about my problems. He built me the HT-3 equivalent center and it solved everything. Great dialogue at low and high volumes. Consider giving him a call to build a speaker, suggest an existing speaker from his lineup, or just give you some good advice. Who cares if the center "matches" the rest of the system if you cannot understand what is being said.
My 2 cents
DF