Center Channel Level?????

[JHDEFTECH]

I was wondering what level most people keep their center channel for movies?
I have calibrated all my speakers with a spl meter and set levels all the same. I noticed when watching movies that it is difficult to hear the dialoge without turning the volume up to a level that when action happens it blows you out of you seat. I have checked settings on my receiver and the dinamic range is turned off.




My System

Denon AVR-3805
Frts= Def. Tech BP20's
Cntr= Def. Tech CLR1000
Surr= Def. Tech BP2X
Rear= Def. TEch Studio Monitor 350
2 Subs= M&K MX200 & Def TEch Supercube 1

 

[j_garcia]

I have my center a +1dB from ref calibrated to help dialogue inteligibility for some movies. It really does vary from movie to movie, but for the most part, that setting works for me.

 

[supervij]

I've got all my speakers level matched, but I still had a bit of a problem hearing the dialogue clearly. I upped the level on the centre speaker by 2 dB, and that did the trick. Some DVDs are tricky though; the series Dead Like Me has very low mixed dialogue, so when I watch that, I up the centre by 3 dB. All DVDs are mixed differently, so you may have to settle for a nice middle ground somewhere. Experiment a bit and see which one works best for you. +2 dB is my happy middle ground.

cheers,
supervij

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Sounds like you are having some room and/or placement issues. You more than likely have a peak or null in the response of the center channel and will need to treat the room and/or eq it. Try moving it first to see if that changes anything either above the tv or below it. The center channel should be set at the same level as the rest of the system. Also, double check to make sure all the drivers in that center channel are working. You could have blown a tweeter. Post a pic of the system and maybe we can help further.

 

[Audioholics]

And now you know why we rate receivers and processors as having on-the-fly level trims or not. Very handy, though you may find you need to set the center channel +1 or +2 all the time as a base.

Believe it or not good room acoustics are the best thing for helping dialogue intelligibility.

 

[JHDEFTECH]

My center channel is setting on top of my tv tilted slightly down.
I will try to increase center about 2dbs to see the difference.
Here are a few pics of my setup.

 

[j_garcia]

Your mains are too close together and they should be pulled forward from the display slightly. For the center, make sure you pull it all the way out at least to the front edge of the display, if not hanging over slightly.

 

[goodman]

For increased clarity/intelligibility, I would move the three front speakers forward several inches, so that they are forward of the TV screen, not behind it as they appear to be now. In illustration, if you cup your hands on both sides of your mouth and sing, your voice is muffled. When you remove your hands from around your mouth, the intelligibility of your voice improves.

If you still have trouble hearing speech after you have moved the center speaker forward, by all means raise the volume of the center to where you can hear comfortably.

 

[JeffD2.]

Calibrate the center channel with pink noise FIRST, then the other speakers in relation to that. The other issues mentioned here are viable as well.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

One thing you may be experiencing is some slap-back from that back wall. You might want to consider treating it with diffusion or a little absorption or both. Take a look these charts. http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/roomacoustics/roomacoustictreatments.php

 

[dponeill]

I was wondering what level most people keep their center channel for movies?
I have calibrated all my speakers with a spl meter and set levels all the same. I noticed when watching movies that it is difficult to hear the dialoge without turning the volume up to a level that when action happens it blows you out of you seat. I have checked settings on my receiver and the dinamic range is turned off.

That's really the way it should be because of the wide dynamic range of the soundtracks. If you find that the center channel is always to quiet, a better solution might be to turn ON the dynamic range limiting in the receiver. This will limit the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds without giving undue emphasis to any one channel.

 

[Sheep]

Your mains are too close together and they should be pulled forward from the display slightly. For the center, make sure you pull it all the way out at least to the front edge of the display, if not hanging over slightly.

How is he going to POSSIBLY move the fronts apart more? hmm?

SheepStar
PS- Nice setup, you should post it in the systems forum along with a equip. list.