Difficulty hearing vocals

[Calvert]

Need to emphasize vocals
Due to hearing loss I have a very difficult time adequately hearing TV and movie vocals. My hearing loss is corrected by new generation hearing aids as much as possible. Our Infinity Alpha 5.1 speaker system is set up using Auduseey. Audio output format is set to multi-channel to get more audio, especially vocals, to the entire room. Life has gone from the thrill of a 5.1 setup to multi-channel just so I am able to understand what is being said. I'm very willing to test and adjust my system per recommendations. My wife has no hearing issues. Her seating position is 8 feet from the midpoint of the system. My seatin position is 11 feet from the system's midpoint. Due to the terrible layout of our livingroom I get the best benefit from the surrounds. My seating position is 9 feet from the right surround and 6.5 from the left.

The only other alternative to our long beloved 5.1 is possibly a soundbar. Really do not want to go that route but I'm exploring all options. Your recommendations for high performance, strong vocals soundbars with subwoofer would be appreciated.

Sincerely need knowledgeable help with my situation. Will be glad to provide any further information needed. A photo of the entertainment center is attached. As I stated earlier our open concept living room is terrible for proper speaker placement.

Thanks in advance.

EQUIPMENT:
Sony HDTV KDL-46HX750, Denon AVR 1912, DirecTV HD DVR Genie HR44, DirecTV AM21 OTA Rcvr, Panasonic Blu-ray DMP-BD65, Infinity Alpha Speakers 50's, 20's, 10's, 37c, Velodyne VRP-1000 Sub, Panamax M4300-PM, Harmony Ultimate One Remote, Monoprice AV Cables
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[BoredSysAdmin]

Have you moved ANYTHING in the room after you ran audyssey multeq last time? If the answer is yes (which I guess it is) you need to rerun the setup
After it's done make sure speakers are set to small.

but yeah - having HT in the corner is really bad. I'd even go and try disconnecting the center speaker - despite it's counter-intuitive, trust me - it makes sense. Run audyssey setup each time you make changes - such as moving speakers and/or large furniture.

 

[Calvert]

Have you moved ANYTHING in the room after you ran audyssey multeq last time? If the answer is yes (which I guess it is) you need to rerun the setup
After it's done make sure speakers are set to small.

but yeah - having HT in the corner is really bad. I'd even go and try disconnecting the center speaker - despite it's counter-intuitive, trust me - it makes sense. Run audyssey setup each time you make changes - such as moving speakers and/or large furniture.

.......Nothing has been moved since running Audyssey some years ago.
.......By disconnecting the center you are suggesting I have a phantom center.
.......With a phantom center would you recommend I continue to use Multi Channel?
.......Would I need to rerun Audyssey if I disconnect the center channel? Hope not.

 

[TheWarrior]

^ this, and...

The close spread of Left, Center, Right is also causing cancellations along with the distance to the back wall being variable. You must reorient your speakers so they play well with the room.

Also try to increase your center channel volume and/or decrease L and R towers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

.......By disconnecting the center you are suggesting I have a phantom center.
.......With a phantom center would you recommend I continue to use Multi Channel?
.......Would I need to rerun Audyssey if I disconnect the center channel? Hope not.

Yes, a phantom center
Yes, 4.1 is still surround
After disconnecting center you ether change the settings yourself or re-run Auto setup again.

 

[Calvert]

^ this, and...

The close spread of Left, Center, Right is also causing cancellations along with the distance to the back wall being variable. You must reorient your speakers so they play well with the room.

Also try to increase your center channel volume and/or decrease L and R towers.

...........Believe it or not moving the speakers is an impossibility due to numerous issues,

Yes, a phantom center
Yes, 4.1 is still surround
After disconnecting center you ether change the settings yourself or re-run Auto setup again.

I'm very familiar with my Denon AVR. Simple to change the speaker configuration. Thanks.

 

[Calvert]

One far, far possibility close off the fireplace, remove the mantel assembly then imove the entertainment center and equipment onto the hearth. That would allow good r&l seperation and sub placement. The problem may then be the surrounds. If I had to run a 3.1 system would Audyssey reconfigure so vocals are good? Wha sound mode would be best to use?

It would be a real long shot getting my bride of 36 years to agree to this move.

 

[Calvert]

Soundbar. Given what I have told you would a soundbar even be a possible solution for the vocals? The whole idea of a soundbar came up as a way to get rid of the big speakers, sub and AVR. To declutter the room.

 

[KEW]

I don't see any reason that a sound bar would sound clearer. It may be that a specific sound bar emphasizes the exact frequencies you are missing, but that is a trial and error listening process.

 

[KEW]

Need to emphasize vocals
Due to hearing loss I have a very difficult time adequately hearing TV and movie vocals.
... I'm exploring all options.

I would investigate two options:
1) An equalizer to see if emphasizing certain frequencies will improve things. Of course with your hearing aid, there is no way to know what will work except to just try and play with it. Unfortunately you need a record out loop to use an EQ and I don't believe your AVR has that.

2) Horn loaded speakers - I recently got a set of Klipsch speakers for my HT. I find the effect of the horns improves speech intelligibility. The horns seems to throw the sounds so they seem at my ears (almost like headphones). You might want to read through this thread to see if you think the Klipsch sound "speaks" to your situation.
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/klipsch-rf62-ii.95251/#post-1088658

Unless you have a local dealer with these in stock and very good customer policies, the easiest way to investigate this would be to buy a pair of RB-51ii or RB-61ii speakers from Amazon. If the order is "fulfilled by Amazon", Amazon will allow you to return within 30 days and email you a shipping label to cover return shipping cost, so it will cost you nothing.
http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Reference-Bookshelf-Loudspeakers-Cherry/dp/B0040LP6JK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1446531935&sr=1-1&keywords=klipsch+rb

I suggest the bookshelves to test the idea and make shipping easy. If they are worthwhile, you then can decide which speaker to buy permanently.

 

[fmw]

OP, I've read this issue hundreds of times on the internet and experience it myself. The solution is incredibly simple. After running the calibration software, just increase the center channel level manually by about 6db or whatever makes it easier for you to hear the dialog.

 

[PENG]

OP, I've read this issue hundreds of times on the internet and experience it myself. The solution is incredibly simple. After running the calibration software, just increase the center channel level manually by about 6db or whatever makes it easier for you to hear the dialog.

Agree, plus try turning on the dialog enhancer feature.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

OP, I've read this issue hundreds of times on the internet and experience it myself. The solution is incredibly simple. After running the calibration software, just increase the center channel level manually by about 6db or whatever makes it easier for you to hear the dialog.

Agreed. That would be my solution. My Center channel is set +3dB above the rest of the channels.

 

[PENG]

Agreed. That would be my solution. My Center channel is set +3dB above the rest of the channels.

Don't you find movies are the issues, TV shows seem much better.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Don't you find movies are the issues, TV shows seem much better.

I'm not sure. These days I watch a lot more TV series than movies. When I watch movies, they are usually higher budget types. Some shows & movies have better SQ than others.

Most TV shows have a lot less budget than big movies. I think a lot of TV shows have bad SQ.

What I am sure of is that with my Center channel @ +3dB above all other channels, I don't even notice any problems with dialogue intelligibility for movies or TV series.

 

[herbu]

The solution is incredibly simple. ...just increase the center channel level manually by about 6db or whatever makes it easier for you to hear the dialog.

Agree, plus try turning on the dialog enhancer feature.

My Center channel is set +3dB above the rest of the channels.

Bingo! The Mrs and I have the same issue w/ dialog. Even after 2 speaker upgrades, same issue. We found even with a VERY good Center speaker, we still have it set +6db in the AVR. Now nearly perfect. It works for TV and movies. Not a problem for music because I almost always use 2-channel stereo for that, (meaning the Center channel is not used).

When you say you use "multi-channel", what does that mean? Do you mean "multi-channel stereo"? If so, you're losing the dialog separation in a 5.1 configuration.

In 5.1, almost ALL voices are put in the Center channel. The L/R and Surrounds get other stuff. This lets you control voices independently of the other sounds by controlling the Center channel volume.

But when you use "multi-channel stereo", ALL the sounds are split into your Left and Right channels... voices, music, dogs barking, traffic, ALL sounds. All your Left speakers get the left, all your Right speakers get the right, and your Center speaker gets both. Then means you lose any control over voices independently of the other sounds. It sounds louder because your surrounds that normally get only a small portion of sound are now getting everything.

Put your AVR back into one of the Dolby modes... NOT Stereo or Multi Channel Stereo. Go into your AVR settings and increase the Center channel 6dB. If you want the whole thing louder, turn up the master volume. Play w/ your Center channel volume. Maybe 3dB is good, maybe 8dB. Put it wherever you want. Let us know.

 

[Calvert]

Agree, plus try turning on the dialog enhancer feature.

I do not believe my Denon AVR 1912 has a dialogue feature.

 

[Calvert]

Don't you find movies are the issues, TV shows seem much better.

Absolutely

 

[herbu]

I do not believe my Denon AVR 1912 has a dialogue feature.

That's OK. It mostly just increased the Center channel volume. You can do that manually.

 

[Calvert]

Going to reset to 5.1 then increase CC. Will update. Thanks all