clarity of dialogue

joeygrand3

This may be a ridiculous question but I would appreciate some insight on this. In this observation I used the DVD movie "Miami Vice". If an AV receiver has the same specifications as another receiver, what in the receiver specifications determines the clarity of the dialogue. The reason I ask this is that when listening to a AV Harmon Kardon receiver at Fry`s utilizing the same speaker set-up(Polk monitor series) the dialogue was much clearer than my Yamaha. I did notice that the power output on the Harmon was about 25% greater than my 100 Watt per channel Yamaha. Can the additional wattage make much of a difference or is the Fry`s receiver much better. What would make it better? I would also mention that the Fry`s receiver was priced at several hundred dollars more than the Yamaha. Thanks for any advice.

liordra

clarity of dialog and clarity of music are basically the same thing. both are determined by 4 main components: source quality -> amplification quality -> wiring quality -> speaker quality. you found that using higher grade amplification ("receiver was priced at several hundred dollars more than the Yamaha") leads to better end sound quality. no big surprise there.
wattage: as a thumb rule more power usually means better quality, provided of course you match your speaker's specs. especially if you crank it up.
Monitor series and Yamaha: Not a good match (in my opinion) the current PolkAudio Monitor series is a little on the bright side. Yamaha (the ones I tested) are also a little bright. I think you'd be better off with a Denon, Matantz or a HK which (again in my view) darker and deeper.

Sansui

I noticed the same difference between my Onkyo TX-SR304 and my Dinon AVR-887.

Schwingding

There can be more to it than what has been listed.

It is WAY easy to set the center channel speaker too low. If this is the case, then the dialogue will be lost due to the surrounding speakers' volume.

Also, room characteristics might be at play. The frequencies at other than which dialogue occur might be dominant in the room, drowning out the dialogue. Additionally, the room might be causing dialogue reflections off of the walls which are causing your brain to reject some of the imaging problems it is having.

First thing to do is bump up your center channel volume. Then try adjusting its placement. Make sure the cones of the center are aiming directly at the listening area and not over your head, up towards a ceiling or down at the floor.