New 5.1.4 but Dolby Atmos voices are muffled - Please help!!!

G

Golfx

Senior Audioholic
Hi all I had a curious glitch (perhaps illustrative) upon setting up a new denon avr a110. Everything worked great for a few days but I went on a ground loop (slight buzz) hunt unplugging items one at a time. Mine then stopped playing fronts and center but would play all 7.2.4 fine from HEOS music. I even went to manual speaker setup test tones still no center or fronts which was what I was hearing using HDMI inputs via Apple tv4k. Turns out my denon HDMI board got and stored a software glitch when I was unplugging stuff. The culprit was likely the denon keeping a charge longer than the 15 sec I gave it after unplugging. I never tried factory reset. So I unplugged it and turned off the audioquest 3000 power conditioner for about 20 min. Then exhausted all power on charges by repeatedly pushing start buttons on the denon and external anthem MCA 325. That seemed to fix it-verified by manual test tones. I’m still holding my breath though. I do get uneven atmos when listening to Netflix or Disney+ which I gladly attribute to clumsy attempts by them.
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
I'm pretty new to all this but I have done my homework... still can't resolve this issue. I have a Sony X900H 85" TV. When the audio out is on "Auto 1" or "Auto 2" the Movie plays in Atmos and sounds fantastic but voices are muffled. When I place it on "PCM" of course it's only on stereo... the movie is not immersive but the voices are CRISP over my 5.1.4 system. Should Atmos vocals not sound as sharp? or is there some setting I'm missing? Even people that come over mention how awesome the surround and bass are but the vocals sound muffled.

Yes, I do understand there are some equipment mistakes but this is what I have... based on budgets and black Friday deals:

Sony X900H connected via ARC with Zeskit 8K Ultra HD High Speed 48Gpbs HDMI Cable 10ft to Denon AVR-X3700H
All speakers are less than 50ft runs and are connected via 14-Gauge Audio Speaker Wire Cable - 99.9% Oxygen-Free Copper
Subwoofer connected via LFE - Mediabridge ULTRA Series Subwoofer Cable (15 Feet) - Dual Shielded with Gold Plated RCA to RCA Connectors
Sub - Klipsch SPL-150SW 15 Inch Powered Subwoofer
Left and Right - Klipsch RP-8060 FA Dolby Atmos Floorstanding Speaker
Center - Klipsch RP-504C Center Channel Speaker
surround - Klipsch RP-502S Surround Sound Speakers
rear Atmos - Klipsch CDT-5650-C II In-Ceiling Speaker

I've ran Audyssey from the receiver. I've re-ran Audyssey from AVR Audyssey app with and without "a curtain" at 500Hz. No matter what I do, when a movie plays in Atmos, my center speaker voices are just muffled! UGH....... Any suggestions?

Side note: When I ran Audyssey - numerous times, it would say my center channel and sometimes my rear heights polarity was reversed. I've double/triple checked and the wires are correct. I'm not color blind and its very simple to see red is connected to red and black to black. Is this a known issue?? (I selected "ignore" and continue).

Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide!
Start over from scratch. PCM is not "of course" stereo only.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
Don’t knock yourself out Andres314. The center will never sound exactly like the fronts. The 8060 will sound brighter/clearer. Just a different speaker. Turn off Dynamic Volume, Cinema EQ and Loudness Management. Check the crossovers. At what level are they set? Center? Set it at 80hz or higher. Hey, I’m tap dancin’ as fast As I can here. Good luck.
 
A

Andres314

Audiophyte
I'm pretty new to all this but I have done my homework... still can't resolve this issue. I have a Sony X900H 85" TV. When the audio out is on "Auto 1" or "Auto 2" the Movie plays in Atmos and sounds fantastic but voices are muffled. When I place it on "PCM" of course it's only on stereo... the movie is not immersive but the voices are CRISP over my 5.1.4 system. Should Atmos vocals not sound as sharp? or is there some setting I'm missing? Even people that come over mention how awesome the surround and bass are but the vocals sound muffled.

Yes, I do understand there are some equipment mistakes but this is what I have... based on budgets and black Friday deals:

Sony X900H connected via ARC with Zeskit 8K Ultra HD High Speed 48Gpbs HDMI Cable 10ft to Denon AVR-X3700H
All speakers are less than 50ft runs and are connected via 14-Gauge Audio Speaker Wire Cable - 99.9% Oxygen-Free Copper
Subwoofer connected via LFE - Mediabridge ULTRA Series Subwoofer Cable (15 Feet) - Dual Shielded with Gold Plated RCA to RCA Connectors
Sub - Klipsch SPL-150SW 15 Inch Powered Subwoofer
Left and Right - Klipsch RP-8060 FA Dolby Atmos Floorstanding Speaker
Center - Klipsch RP-504C Center Channel Speaker
surround - Klipsch RP-502S Surround Sound Speakers
rear Atmos - Klipsch CDT-5650-C II In-Ceiling Speaker

I've ran Audyssey from the receiver. I've re-ran Audyssey from AVR Audyssey app with and without "a curtain" at 500Hz. No matter what I do, when a movie plays in Atmos, my center speaker voices are just muffled! UGH....... Any suggestions?

Side note: When I ran Audyssey - numerous times, it would say my center channel and sometimes my rear heights polarity was reversed. I've double/triple checked and the wires are correct. I'm not color blind and its very simple to see red is connected to red and black to black. Is this a known issue?? (I selected "ignore" and continue).

Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide!
Thanks all for your advice... I swapped left and center. Played a movie and the channel was crystal clear... So it was the speaker. Klipsch has been closed for the holidays and opens tomorrow. I'm planning to get a replacement. Cup your hands over your mouth and speak... that's how the center sounds when people talk.

Thanks again - Mystery solved!
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
Hey, great attitude and energy. Hope you get a good one. Still have issues with a new one, well, you know where to go to for some advice even if it doesn’t help.:p
 

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