Dialog too low and then music and effects too loud

[BobD]

Bought a Panasonic Viera 54" plasma last year. Discovered that the sound from a flat panel is really bad. Bought a Yamaha surround sound receiver, a cambridge soundworks center channel speaker, and a Definitive Tech SuperCube® II. I owned a pair of Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series M80's so used those for fronts. Don't have rears or presence speakers.

My problem is that the dialog on a lot of movies does not seem to be balanced with the music and effects sounds. So you turn up the volume to hear the dialog and then then when music or an action scene comes up it's REALLY loud.

I've tried adjusting so that the center channel is all the way up and the fronts are turned down but it just doesn't seem to work. Could it be that the center channel is just not as efficient as the fronts and there for is softer?

Also, my receiver came with a microphone to use with some kind of calibration system. Should I just try that?

 

[Rickster71]

What center channel do you have, the MC305 or the MC155?
Do you have the center as close to ear level as possible and not inside a component cabinet?
They don't make the M80's anymore; though finding a used one for a center would help and sound consistent with your fronts.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Also, my receiver came with a microphone to use with some kind of calibration system. Should I just try that?

This is exactly what I was about to suggest. Human voice is a tough cookie, usually indication of severe room modes, auto-config could help to fix it partially.

 

[Rickster71]

Oh, I missed that last line.
Agreed, use the system calibration first.

 

[BobD]

OK, I'll try the calibration system and see if that helps. Thanks for the input.