? regarding low sound output

[meatloaf]

I have a Kenwood 1080VR receiver. When I play a DVD or Cable TV thru the receiver the sound is very low, I have to turn up the volume allot to get the sound to a decent listening level. I have the outputs from the cable cox connected to the TV and also from the TV to the receiver. Would a Optical cable from the cable box to the receiver help?
Thanks

 

[Bloodstriker]

I'll take a stab at this one. What kind of cables are being used to connect from the DVD player or cable box to the receiver? Are you using RCA stereo? If so, make sure that the output device isn't outputting surround sound to the receiver.

Hmm.... or maybe you need to calibrate (level match) your speakers to a reference level?

 

[MDS]

I have the outputs from the cable cox connected to the TV and also from the TV to the receiver.

Which audio output on the TV did you use - fixed or variable? If you used a variable audio out then you have 3 volume controls in line: the cable box, the TV, and the receiver. You'd have to have the cable box and TV volume turned all the way up and then use the receiver volume control exclusively.

If you used fixed outs on both the cable box and TV then the neither of their volume controls would have any effect and the volume would be controlled solely by the receiver.

Ideally you should just connect all audio to the receiver and only video to the TV. If you want to use the TV speakers for viewing cable then just make sure you use fixed outputs - the catch however is that many TVs mute the audio outs if the internal speakers are on and you'd have to go into the TV menu and shut them off everytime you want to use the receiver instead of the TV speakers (if your TV behaves that way, but many do).

 

[meatloaf]

These are fixed level outputs, changing the TV volume does not effect the receiver volume output. When I listen to FM or CD's the receiver volume is at 55, when I try to listen to TV or DVD's, I have to crank up the receiver to 30 for the same volume level.
I am using RCA stereo cables.
Thanks

 

[MDS]

I assume you meant -55 and -30 but no matter.

Different sources have different average levels. FM is highly compressed as are most modern CDs. The average level of a current CD is between -10 dB and -12 dB (which is LOUD) but the average level of a DVD is around -30 dB. So that is one potential for difference right there and matches up rather well with the ~20 dB difference in your volume settings.

The average level of cable TV broadcasts are all over the map. Channels with analog audio only are far lower in average level than the digital channels.

 

[obscbyclouds]

Would a Optical cable from the cable box to the receiver help?
Thanks

As an aside, you may want to hook up your cable box this way. Many digital channels are broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1, which should sound better than using stereo RCA cables. Have you checked to make sure the cable box is set to output fixed audio? My cable box has a setting for dynamic range compression, which you want to make sure is off also.

How is your DVD player hooked up? Is it through the TV also?

 

[meatloaf]

Is there any type of amp that could be used to overcome this problem? I'll also check all the settings and connections this weekend. I'm also going to try an optical audio cable.
Thanks

 

[meatloaf]

I picked up an Optical Digital today and ran it from the cable box to the reciever and that cured the problem. Now I just have to get the DVD / VCR deck to work.
Thanks

 

[obscbyclouds]

I picked up an Optical Digital today and ran it from the cable box to the reciever and that cured the problem. Now I just have to get the DVD / VCR deck to work.
Thanks

How is your DVD player and VCR connected? What connection options are avaliable on them. If you can use another Optical Cable, or Digital Coax cable from the DVD player to the reciever, that is your best option.

 

[meatloaf]

I only have 1 input for the optic cable on the receiver. Is there some type of Y or splitter? The deck is a combo unit with digital audio out and component out jacks. There are also audio out jacks. I would like to have the option to watch a dvd with just the tv speakers on or run thru the receiver when I want good quality.
Thanks

 

[obscbyclouds]

This is what I've found after a quick search, it is a manual swith, so it requires you to make the switch yourself when you want to go from optical signal from the cable box, or optical from the DVD player.

3x1 optical toslink bi-directional switch

Your other option is to use digital coax from the cable box (if it has a digital coax output), which looks like any other RCA output, but it should be labled S/PDIF or digital output and usually is colored orange. Then you could use the optical output from your DVD player. Optical and Digital Coax carry the same digital signal, and should sound identical.

 

[meatloaf]

That switch would be perfect. Are there any retail stores that would carry them?
Thanks

 

[obscbyclouds]

That switch would be perfect. Are there any retail stores that would carry them?
Thanks

Possibly, though it's likely that you'll pay 4-5x as much, the same switch sells on Amazon for 19.99! As another aside, when you pay retail for cables and interconnects like this, they are usually quite overpriced.

 

[meatloaf]

Thanks, that would sure solve the problem. I'll check out the local electronics shops.