I am new to the forums (and to audio stuff in general) and am having an issue with volume levels. I am running a Denon AVR-590 to two P362s.
When I watch a movie, sometimes the dialogue is at a normal level but then either action or music comes on, and it sounds very loud. Other times, the movie seems to have a normal level of sound and then dialogue seems really quiet.
Do I need to adjust the HF sounds on the receiver? And what should I adjust them to/how?
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike, and welcome to the forums.
This is something that bothers and confuses every HT beginner -- as it did me. You see, DVDs and Blu-rays are encoded with a VERY wide what is called "dynamic range" which creates the effect you describe, whereby the dialogue is soft and then suddenly action and sound effects blow you through the wall. While that's the way the software is encoded, here is what I have found...
No matter what your two left and right mains and surrounds are set to dB level wise, try setting your center channel at least 2dB higher -- for example, in my system, my left and right mains are running at "+6dB" while my center is at "+8dB"; in a previous system because the room was so massive, I had that center channel at "+9dB" to hear dialogue OK. But never go higher than 3dB over the other channels for the center. Usually 2dB is OK.
In my system, we can hear dialogue this way without needing the master volume ridiculously high and effects aren't that blaringly different.
