Help with volume control (Home Theatre)

[Bob Loblaw]

I have what is probably a common probem for people with home theatre systems. I set the volume appropriately so I can hear the dialog but as soon as music, gunshots, explosions etc.. come on I am frantically reaching for the remote to turn down the volume (family sleeping up stairs). I've tried cranking the volume on the center channel speaker and that's helped a little but I'm still constantly turning the volume up and down. My tuner is a 4 year old Denon AVR-485. I've got 2 column speakers, a center channel, 2 rears and a sub (Boston Acoustics, Definitive sub). Can I set my tuner up to take care of this or is there a piece of equipment I can buy? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MDS]

The dynamic range of a typical movie varies greatly. If you have calibrated the levels of each channel appropriately you may still find that the explosions/loud passages are overwhelming. The only real solution to this is to employ the dynamic compression option of your receiver (often labeled 'late night mode' or similar). Late night mode will reduce the peaks, thus increasing the average level which will make the normal dialog level more intelligible.

Many people will prefer to leave things as they are and just deal with the large swings in dynamic range, but I find that I often use the 'late nite' mode to reduce the peaks.

 

[mouettus]

I think that my Yamaha has a silent/night mode. The last post best described what it does. I don't really use it because I live in a house but I'll be moving soon and it will probably be in an apartment. Habitually, when folks are sleeping here, I just turn down the volume a bit so it is fairly quiet and I put on the subtitles for the more delicate parts.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Thanks. I found the Dynamic Range Compression function in my manual and will give it a shot. I live in a house too (only 1,500 sq. ft. though). My TV is over the fireplace and my front speakers point right up the staircase. Even at normal volume you can hear it quite well upstairs. Sometimes I'll just put headphones on because it's hard to enjoy a movie when you're constantly adjusting the volume. Thanks again.