Troubles with hearing dialogue

Bgoodfella

@polrbehr what would shipping costs be to 85212?

Bgoodfella

I am still planning on sending it in to denon - just bbn haven't gotten a hold of them yet. It's hard to dedicate hours of phone wait time with a busy work schedule and I usually cant get a hold of them while on break

polrbehr

I'll let you know tomorrow.

Bgoodfella

Ok, sounds good - thank you

Bgoodfella

Ok so I got the SPL meter and tried it out today. With the front left and right towers set at +6.5dB, I'm getting a reading of 93 with the spl meter directly against the speaker. With the center also at +6.5 I am reading a 59( if I crank it all the way to +12, I read a 66dB)
I tried it at listening distance but it didnt pick up the center speaker

At the seating location, house reads a 50
Left tower 59
Center speaker 50
Right tower 58
Left surround 58
Right surround 58
Subwoofer 57

tonyb

Bgoodfella wrote: »

Ok so I got the SPL meter and tried it out today. With the front left and right towers set at +6.5dB, I'm getting a reading of 93 with the spl meter directly against the speaker. With the center also at +6.5 I am reading a 59( if I crank it all the way to +12, I read a 66dB)
I tried it at listening distance but it didnt pick up the center speaker

At the seating location, house reads a 50
Left tower 59
Center speaker 50
Right tower 58
Left surround 58
Right surround 58
Subwoofer 57

I'm not sure what your trying to accomplish. Having your speakers set to +6.5 is pretty darn high. Pumping up the volume to +12 is also asking for trouble.

Maybe post a pic of the room and we can better help you.

rooftop59

Bgoodfella wrote: »

Ok so I got the SPL meter and tried it out today. With the front left and right towers set at +6.5dB, I'm getting a reading of 93 with the spl meter directly against the speaker. With the center also at +6.5 I am reading a 59( if I crank it all the way to +12, I read a 66dB)
I tried it at listening distance but it didnt pick up the center speaker

At the seating location, house reads a 50
Left tower 59
Center speaker 50
Right tower 58
Left surround 58
Right surround 58
Subwoofer 57

You are going the opposite way that you should. Reduce all other speakers as much as you can (-12 I am assuming) and then try to level match the center.

delkal

Seems like you now have a new problem. Your dB meter. The test tone is supposed to be 75 dBs from your listening position. I have no explanation of why your "good" speakers are only giving +9 dbs over background and the center is doing nothing. But you can hear that. I would put the meter away for now and use your ears.

I rebalanced my Denon AVR this weekend. The hardest part was figuring out how to connect to the TV. Then go to the onscreen menu. First make sure your speakers are set correctly to large or small. If you have a decent sub it is usually best to set them all to small. Then go to channel level (or something like that). You will see a diagram of the speaker playing and the corresponding vol level of the test tone. I found it easier to use the manual mode so I could toggle thru the speakers when I wanted. You should clearly hear a difference by ear if it needs to be balanced. For fine tuning I used the SPL meter app on my phone (set it to C weighted, long time interval). I set every speaker to 70 db but just tuning by ear I was within 3dBs.

While you are in menu mode toggle thru ALL of the menu settings with your owners manual in hand. Make sure everything else is set right.

Bgoodfella

As far as speaker as speaker settings, tnats what audyssey had them set at so I didnt mess with it

Bgoodfella

Also this was using an app I downloaded with my phone, not sure how accurate it is

Bgoodfella

tonyb wrote: »

Bgoodfella wrote: »

Ok so I got the SPL meter and tried it out today. With the front left and right towers set at +6.5dB, I'm getting a reading of 93 with the spl meter directly against the speaker. With the center also at +6.5 I am reading a 59( if I crank it all the way to +12, I read a 66dB)
I tried it at listening distance but it didnt pick up the center speaker

At the seating location, house reads a 50
Left tower 59
Center speaker 50
Right tower 58
Left surround 58
Right surround 58
Subwoofer 57

I'm not sure what your trying to accomplish. Having your speakers set to +6.5 is pretty darn high. Pumping up the volume to +12 is also asking for trouble.

Maybe post a pic of the room and we can better help you.

I will take a couple of photos when I get home tonight and try uploading them

Bgoodfella

delkal wrote: »

Seems like you now have a new problem. Your dB meter. The test tone is supposed to be 75 dBs from your listening position. I have no explanation of why your "good" speakers are only giving +9 dbs over background and the center is doing nothing. But you can hear that. I would put the meter away for now and use your ears.

I rebalanced my Denon AVR this weekend. The hardest part was figuring out how to connect to the TV. Then go to the onscreen menu. First make sure your speakers are set correctly to large or small. If you have a decent sub it is usually best to set them all to small. Then go to channel level (or something like that). You will see a diagram of the speaker playing and the corresponding vol level of the test tone. I found it easier to use the manual mode so I could toggle thru the speakers when I wanted. You should clearly hear a difference by ear if it needs to be balanced. For fine tuning I used the SPL meter app on my phone (set it to C weighted, long time interval). I set every speaker to 70 db but just tuning by ear I was within 3dBs.

While you are in menu mode toggle thru ALL of the menu settings with your owners manual in hand. Make sure everything else is set right.

I dont think my sub is very good at all(I forget the model off top of my head but I think it's a polk psw505 or something of the like) so I've got the towers set to large, center is currently off since I cant get anything through it, and the surrounds are set to small

I'm not certain how accurate my app / phone is to set the speakers to 70 or 75 db, but the settings were self calibrated by the audyssey xt32 so I never bothered to mess with them.

polrbehr

Bgoodfella wrote: »

@polrbehr what would shipping costs be to 85212?

UPS with my own package is $18, and that's ground with estimated delivery of 6/4?
So the total would be $38.00, not sure if Monster Cables are worth that but it's your call...

And please don't turn your Denons volume up to +12, you will end up with more headaches than a wonky center channel.

delkal

Bgoodfella wrote: »

I'm not certain how accurate my app / phone is to set the speakers to 70 or 75 db, but the settings were self calibrated by the audyssey xt32 so I never bothered to mess with them.

Uncalibrated phone apps will never give you an exact dB reading. But they are surprisingly good at relative readings. Who cares if the speakers are putting out 70 or 75 dBs. You just want to know if they are all the same.

When I first calibrated my surround sound I did it by ear. When I played the white noise and checked on a phone app I was within +/- 2 dbs according to the meter. Close enough but I set then all from my phone a click or two. I couldn't really hear a difference.

The fronts and center should all sound the same when you toggle thru but subs are the hardest to set by ear. They play at a different frequency and it is hard to compare. This is where a DB meter might be useful. Even then how close you will get just tuning by ear is a matter of personal taste.

Bgoodfella

Bgoodfella

So right now I have the option where the amp can go to the right of center speaker (19" of room and amp measures at 17 1/2")
Or avr can fit in cabinet but I'm not sure if it would over heat.
If the receiver and amp are both o top of centerpiece of cabinet - I have about 38" center to center on the RCA plugs
If avr is set in the cabinet then they'll be about 24" or so center to center

Bgoodfella

polrbehr wrote: »

Bgoodfella wrote: »

@polrbehr what would shipping costs be to 85212?

UPS with my own package is $18, and that's ground with estimated delivery of 6/4?
So the total would be $38.00, not sure if Monster Cables are worth that but it's your call...

And please don't turn your Denons volume up to +12, you will end up with more headaches than a wonky center channel.

I dont keep it at +12, I was just trying that to see if it even registered with it cranked all the way up, but thanks for the advice! I'll take what I can get!

Bgoodfella

I may take those monsters off your hands and get some of the more expensive ones I've been offered just to hear the difference myself, and see what the fuss is all about

tonyb

Bgoodfella wrote: »

delkal wrote: »

I'm not certain how accurate my app / phone is to set the speakers to 70 or 75 db, but the settings were self calibrated by the audyssey xt32 so I never bothered to mess with them.

That's one problem, you should mess with them. Those auto calibration programs don't always get it right, and probably more times not.

To start, set the fronts to 0 and the surrounds. Boost the center maybe +2. Then sit in your listening position and adjust to what your ears tell you.

See if you can pull those front left and right speakers forward about 6 inches.

Most will tell you the fronts should be set to small, not large, and crossover in the receiver set at 80 to start off with. You can set them to large, but you'd have to see if your receiver has a double bass option, usually in the menu for the subwoofer. It might say subwoofer+. The crossover on the back of the sub should be set to it's highest value to take it out of the mix since your using the crossover in the receiver. Having 2 crossovers operating isn't a good thing.

Forget the Monster cables.....delete them from your vocabulary.

Double check your wiring, make sure everything is connected right. Make sure if your using bare wire ends that none of the plastic coating is stuck inside the posts on the speaker end or receiver end.

All said....that room looks to bleed out on the left side. Sound gets lost out there with no room boundaries to bounce off. The right front speaker is sandwiched between the wall and stand. Not an ideal room, but we all work with what we got.

polrbehr

Whatever, I'm just trying to give the guy options, and let him form his own opinion on what he hears for himself. But thanks for the vote of negativity.

Bgoodfella

theres not a whole lot i can do with the room i've got, but i am selling the house - and building a new one (they break ground tomorrow!) though that will also be wide open but the openings will be behind me instead of to the side. i shouldnt have any problems pulling the speakers forward a little bit, but for now it keeps the kids from trying to get behind where all the wiring is at so i can only go forward a little bit...

WLDock

Bgoodfella wrote: »

I have a long narrow room as well that opens to the kitchen. My couch and loveseat are arranged the same way. However, I have a long front wall so the speaker side spacing is open in both directions. There's not much that you can do however given your narrow front wall.

Building is cool! Will your new room be dedicated or a part of the main family space?

Bgoodfella

WLDock wrote: »

Bgoodfella wrote: »

I have a long narrow room as well that opens to the kitchen. My couch and loveseat are arranged the same way. However, I have a long front wall so the speaker side spacing is open in both directions. There's not much that you can do however given your narrow front wall.

Building is cool! Will your new room be dedicated or a part of the main family space?

It will also be part of the main family room, just bigger

Bgoodfella

I got the Paradound HCA 2205a all hooked up last night.

This thing is quite a bit louder at much lower levels.

I have a question for setting the levels of the speakers though

When I set them to 0 and sit in the listening position - what volume should I have the receiver at? That part was confusing me because I could boost the master volume along with the speaker levels...
The denon doesn't have volume listed in DBs so I am not sure of the 1 - 100 volume what it should at.
Thank you!

honestaquarian

Run the Audyssey again. Also you should really try to find a way to get that Denon repaired under warranty. Nothing worse than allowing something to go out of warranty being broken. Can you have someone else make the call for you if you don't have time to wait on hold?

Bgoodfella

I would have the wife do it but in the nicest way she is clueless - and with a baby and toddler at home she will never be able to hear the conversation
I do plan to send it in still - just dont know if I'll ever get through

honestaquarian

Well at least ya got a nice Parasound amp
Now get that bloody Denon fixed and then you can enjoy your system with a clear conscious and not having that hanging over your head.
I bet the Parasound sounds a lot better than the amps in the Denon though.

honestaquarian

https://www.parasound.com/vintage/hca2205a.php

Bgoodfella

Haha yessir! Will do
On a side note I'm not sure if I notice much of a difference as far as the brightness is concerned on these rti a7's, I never thought they were too bright in the first place - but I will say that the bass seems to have been woken up from a deep sleep and is ready for business.

Bgoodfella

I must say that it did surprise me as to how hig this amplifier actually is. It's almost 50% bigger than my denon receiver that I already thought was big haha