HD Audio Level

[photoeye]

Why is the HD Audio level on HD's and Blu ray's movies so much lower
than standard dvd's or music cd's?

on my AVR(volume goes from -70dB to +4dB), I've noticed the following:

music cd's -30dB

SD -20dB

HD or BD -15 to -10dB

This are fairly loud, comfortable listening levels.
I'm in a small room 21x13x9 and sit about 10' from the front speakers.

When you increase the channel level in the AVR's setup, let say to
+3dB or more, does that increase distortion dramatically?

There is really no fix for this other than increasing the channel level
that becomes an annoyance if you switch from movie to cd's.

just curious why the levels are so low.

thx

 

[j_garcia]

It is different for every piece of media. There is no standard level, so saying that ALL BDs or ALL CDs are roughly the same would not be accurate.

Are you using the same device via the same connections for each?

 

[photoeye]

Are you using the same device via the same connections for each?

yes

okay, I should not say ALL, SOME

point being for movies, the volume has to be cranked up so much more.

that's all.

 

[cjsiv]

I am not an engineer or even remotely educated in the realms of audio tech, but I am gonna take a shot at this (a guess if you will). My observation with my particular setup has been that TrueHD and DTS HD tracks have much more active surrounds. The effects are also much more isolated and localized. Many standard DVDs I have watched, I would only get isolated effects here and there. (I purchased my first dvd player with dolby digital when dvd players hit $200 so I have watched quite a few in my day!) I remember really only hearing gunfire, rain, etc. here and there. HD audio blew me away when I first heard it on bluray. There is constant presence, more discrete sounds and atmosphere. Now, your receiver has to drive those speakers. More sound requires more power from your amps. I'm gonna guess that unless you are running a high end setup with separate power amps, the more speakers you drive, the less watts/channel you are putting out, requiring more volume to get the same perceived effect. Like I said, I am by no means a professional, just taking an educated guess. Someone with more technical know how could probably give you a better answer.

 

[Highbar]

I don't listen to cd's on my surround rig but I notice that movies are louder that tv. Though I don't really notice any difference between Blu-Ray and standard dvd's. I don't care what the number is, I just enjoy

 

[adwilk]

HD audio blew me away when I first heard it on bluray. There is constant presence, more discrete sounds and atmosphere.

HD audio doesnt "add" any sounds, it just uses more bandwidth for the sound. Any digital signal will have essentially the same effect.

OP, Just put it on "11" for everything

 

[Hi Ho]

The high resolution tracks on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs are capable of more dynamic range and are usually mastered with less compression. This tends to bring the average SPL down. Standard Dolby Digital and DTS tracks have less dynamic range and tend to have more compression which results in a slightly higher average SPL. How the tracks are mixed is really key but I have definitely found that Blu-Ray sound tracks are usually mixed with a lower average SPL. One can turn on dynamic range compression which is an option in most receivers to bring up the dynamic range and reduce the average SPL but that really defeats the purpose of a high resolution audio track in my opinion.

Here are a couple good reads about dynamic range and compression.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression

Don't worry about the numbers on the front of the AVR. As long as you aren't hearing distortion and over driving your amp you will be fine. There is no need to adjust the channel levels just for movies. Simply raise the master volume.