Troubles with hearing dialogue

Bgoodfella

Hey guys, I'm having some troubles these last few weeks with no luck figuring out what's going on. I have a 5.1 surround sound system with rti a7 mains, csi a6 center, and fxi a6 surrounds.
The receiver is a denon avr x4300h(maybe 4400 I forget)

Recently the dialogue has been lacking, and I first tried adjusting the center speaker level up incrementally all the way to +10, which wasn't fixing the problem. I also tried adjusting the mains down as far as a -5 and that didnt work either. Then I recalibrated with the xt32 Mic which didnt fix my problem either.
Do you guys have any other fixes I might try?

For some reason I have to crank the volume way up, to hear what is being said - but when doing that, the music and special effects are deafening from the other speakers.

I have pulled the grill off the center to verify that it is working, so I am at a loss.

Thank you in advance

BlueFox

Well, try swapping your center channel cable with one of the front speakers. If the problem follows the cable then it appears the amp has a problem. If the center is still bad after the cable swap then it appears the center has a problem.

F1nut

What he said.

daddyjt

What’s your source? Is the problem common to cable/satellite and DVD? Are you passing signal via HDMI?

It sounds like you might have a setting on the receiver askew, or a setting conflict between the source and receiver...

Bgoodfella

I will give it a try changing the wiring around.
As for the source it's a roku ultra with a 4k hdcp2.2 cable

Bgoodfella

Daddyjt, what kinds of settings could be causing this to happen? I'm assuming something under the audio selections but not sure what

BlueFox

First you need to determine if the problem is the speaker or the amp. If it is the speaker then, most likely, you are out of luck. If it is the amp then you might have messed up some setting.

Did you do anything before the problem started? Or was it just working fine, and then just started not working as it should?

Bgoodfella

I dont recall changing anything that could have caused it, but I do have a 3 yr old who certainly could have messed with something. I don't recall when we started noticing it but it wasn't too long ago

Bgoodfella

I'll try the wiring out tomorrow morning and see where that leads , I am curious...
Fortunately it looks like the demon avr-x models have a 3 year warranty so I'll still be covered

BlueFox

Three year old children do have the potential to mess up audio gear.

daddyjt

My intent was not to take away from anyone else’s advice. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve had issues where the source is sending a 5.1 signal, and somehow the receiver gets set to “NEO DTS”, or some other phantom channel setting, and the center info gets dropped.

Definitely try the speaker/cable movement to rule out amp/speaker issues. Then make sure your receiver is set to Auto Format Decode (AFD), and see what that does.

The HDMI settings and menus can be a real bear, but typically that’s a first time setup problem - if this all just started, then that’s likely not the issue....

mdaudioguy

daddyjt wrote: »

Definitely try the speaker/cable movement to rule out amp/speaker issues. Then make sure your receiver is set to Auto Format Decode (AFD), and see what that does.

Just an FYI - "Auto Format Decode (AFD)" is a term only used by Sony, AFAIK. Most brands have a surround setting usually referred to as just "Auto" or something like that. Just didn't want the OP losing his mind going through his Denon AVR's settings looking for that exact description.

daddyjt

Good point - sorry for any confusion.

Here’s the one you want for your Denon:

Bgoodfella

Ok so I tried plugging my center speaker wires into the front right, and the center speaker was loud and clear as it should be, and the front right speaker was very quiet.
I'm assuming that means my center amp is shot?

Bgoodfella

As for now, leaving the receiver in "stereo" appears to work so I can hear what's going on.

daddyjt

Not necessarily- what you did there was verify your center SPEAKER is not at fault.

BlueFox

Bgoodfella wrote: »

Ok so I tried plugging my center speaker wires into the front right, and the center speaker was loud and clear as it should be, and the front right speaker was very quiet.
I'm assuming that means my center amp is shot?

Yes, the problem is with the amps center channel. Whether it is bad, or something messed up the configuration needs to be determined.

daddyjt

Do you have any kind of external amp available? If you run the center pre-out to an outboard amp, then connect your center speaker to that amp, the results should tell you if it’s in the processing or the amp section of the receiver.

honestaquarian

Don’t forget what @BlueFox said above and try swapping the cables. Take the cable going to the center speaker and move it to one of the other front channels. You have determined the center speaker is working. Now see if you have a problem with the cable going to it. If the problem follows the cable, you have your culprit. If not then it is with the Denon.

Bgoodfella

@daddyjt no I do not have an external amp yet, I have been trying to land one but have not yet had the opportunity to pick one up.

I almost had 2 different parasound amps but they both got snagged before I was able to meet up with the sellers.

Bgoodfella

@BlueFox and @honestaquarian I will try that out and see what the results are. I'll keep everybody posted with the findings

Bgoodfella

Ok so update : plugged in different wires and still having same issue. After taking the wire from the left front and swapping it with the center wire (both at avr and speaker) the center is pumping out such minimal volume.

I guess I need to find me an amplifier or get this big boy down to a denon repair shop
Have you guys dealt with demon for warranty service? How have they been?

honestaquarian

Okay so it’s definitely the Denon.
Let’s hope it’s something simple.
Is the unit still under warranty?

honestaquarian

Bgoodfella wrote: »

@daddyjt no I do not have an external amp yet, I have been trying to land one but have not yet had the opportunity to pick one up.

I almost had 2 different parasound amps but they both got snagged before I was able to meet up with the sellers.

Parasound is very good kit. Also B&K, Adcom, Carver, Rotel, Sunfire, Denon and Onkyo also make decent multichannel amps as well for not a lot of money.

daddyjt

I seriously doubt it’s an issue with the internal center channel amp in your Denon. Newer receiver amps rarely fail in such a manner that they don’t crash the entire power supply for all amp channels. Further, the fact that you still have output leads me to believe that the amp is functionally fine. I know - there are exceptions - however, what you are describing sounds like a setting issue in the menus of your receiver. I read briefly about a “dialogue enhancer” in the manual - have you adjusted this? I would really suggest you explore all the surround settings and controls before you go to the headache of warranty service. Just my .02

Here’s a link to your manual, in case you don’t have it...

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX4400H/NA/EN/index.php

honestaquarian

Yeah
What he👆🏾 said

mdaudioguy

Just follow the procedure to reset factory settings.

Bgoodfella

I've gone through just about all the options in the menu looking for things that could be adjusted but dont recall seeing a dialogue enhancer, but I'll look into it.
I do think its weird that the other speakers can get up to deafening levels and the center is so quiet I have to touch the speaker to verify it is in fact putting out anything. I'm thinking I'll call denon tomorrow if I cant find anything else in the menus...

I did find a local emotiva xpa7 gen 3 which has piqued my interest, but I keep reading that they dont work so hot with the rtia line so I'll probably pass on it.

I do see a rotel rmb 1095 within a few hours of me (I live in mesa az, amp is in tucson) no parasound, adcom, sunfire local currently but I'll keep my eyes peeled locally for the others

Do you have amp recommendations for the rtia line, that will work well for the lsim line as well?(planning to upgrade within the next year or so)

pitdogg2

If that 1095 is in good shape and priced right I'd still look into it. I also agree to a factory reset. Look down at the drop down how to reset if you're not aware of the buttons sequence.


https://www.google.com/search?source=android-browser&q=How+do+I+reset+my+Denon+AVR+x4300h?&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVucTH_oXiAhUFOa0KHXUfCtgQzmd6BAgOEAo&biw=360&bih=566&dpr=2

Bgoodfella

I'm still new to the amp world, but what would be a fair price range for the 1095? Its listed around 800 so I'm not sure of its value vs asking price

Clipdat

pitdogg2 wrote: »

If that 1095 is in good shape and priced right I'd still look into it. I also agree to a factory reset. Look down at the drop down how to reset if you're not aware of the buttons sequence.


https://www.google.com/search?source=android-browser&q=How+do+I+reset+my+Denon+AVR+x4300h?&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVucTH_oXiAhUFOa0KHXUfCtgQzmd6BAgOEAo&biw=360&bih=566&dpr=2

Agreed, factory reset will likely solve the issue.