Parents prefer TV speakers

J

Joe Schmoe

Audioholic Ninja
My parents started out with a cheap HTiB, but complained that they couldn't hear the dialog clearly. I replaced it with a nice pair of Athena F1s and an Onkyo receiver. They liked how the music sounded, but still complained about the dialog. This weekend, I tried switching to the built-in speakers in the TV (a 27" SD Philips, about $250 when new 7 years ago.) Now they say that the dialog is clear, and prefer it to both of the other options.
Proof that being an audiophile is not genetic!:p
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
My parents started out with a cheap HTiB, but complained that they couldn't hear the dialog clearly. I replaced it with a nice pair of Athena F1s and an Onkyo receiver. They liked how the music sounded, but still complained about the dialog. This weekend, I tried switching to the built-in speakers in the TV (a 27" SD Philips, about $250 when new 7 years ago.) Now they say that the dialog is clear, and prefer it to both of the other options.
Proof that being an audiophile is not genetic!:p
It could be:D Just wait your turn for that gene to turn on:D

Maybe the TV speakers eliminate much of the other info but the dialogue, so they are happier. :D
 
dorokusai

dorokusai

Full Audioholic
I'm looking forward to the days when the TV sounds better. I might actually have some money at that time :D

Mark
Polk Audio CS
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
I listened to my television speakers up until about 2 1/2 years ago.
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
Did you ever give them a good cente channel speaker?
 
J

Joe Schmoe

Audioholic Ninja
Did you ever give them a good cente channel speaker?
That would require starting from scratch, as the Onkyo receiver is stereo and the HTiB reciever is a POS. Neither I nor they want to commit that kind of money, since they apparently don't care.:p
 
emorphien

emorphien

Audioholic General
I have the worst time spelling when I'm on this forum.
 
jcPanny

jcPanny

Audioholic Ninja
Athena center channel.

I have an Athena ASC 1.1 center channel I need to get rid of.
The TV speakers are probably getting about 10 Watts each, so if the HTIB can deliver more than that to the front 3 channels, then it should be an improvement.

PM me if you are interested.
 
J

Joe Schmoe

Audioholic Ninja
I have an Athena ASC 1.1 center channel I need to get rid of.
The TV speakers are probably getting about 10 Watts each, so if the HTIB can deliver more than that to the front 3 channels, then it should be an improvement.

PM me if you are interested.
Thanks. They are happy with the TV speakers, and I have my own system, so I think we will just leave well enough alone at this point. Not sure what the fate of the F1s will be (I could sell them, but they would be a pain to ship.)
 
M

matto1985

Enthusiast
Kinda similar story. My grandma has this giant I want to say 52' HDTV. The thing is beautiful really, but she doesn't have HD cable, she hardly watches DVDs let alone HD dvd. It's just a bigger picture to her. It blows me away.
 
mtrycrafts

mtrycrafts

Seriously, I have no life.
It blows me away.
It shouldn't:D Just accept that different preferences are the issues here. Maybe her eyes are not as good for the distance she sits? And, your turn may come down the line:D
 
N

niget2002

Junior Audioholic
It took me a while of fiddling with a poor quality center's EQ to get dialog to sound good... I think this is amplified if your parents are sitting off-axis quite a bit.
 
J

Joe Schmoe

Audioholic Ninja
The other day they were watching a music program when I went to visit them. I commented on the loud, obnoxious cabinet resonance. They looked each other and then shrugged and said "we don't hear anything". That is why anything better would go to waste on them.
 
jcPanny

jcPanny

Audioholic Ninja
Hearing performance

The frequency response of your ears gets worse over time, especially the highs so that might explain their TV speaker prefrence.
 
J

Joe Schmoe

Audioholic Ninja
The frequency response of your ears gets worse over time, especially the highs so that might explain their TV speaker prefrence.
They are both in their mid 70s so, yes, that could be it.
 
gmichael

gmichael

Audioholic Spartan
They are both in their mid 70s so, yes, that could be it.
My dad is 75. He doesn't like my audio either. I turned up the center channel and increased the dialog volume, but he still isn't happy with it. All the other sounds, like the sub and surrounds, are too distracting to him. He just wants to hear the people talking, coming from the TV.

I pay an extra $ every month to have HD TV but he still watches the std TV channels instead. I show him how to get the same shows in HD and he says, "wow, that does look better." But the next time he's watching, it's on the std channels again.
I gave up.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
My parents started out with a cheap HTiB, but complained that they couldn't hear the dialog clearly. I replaced it with a nice pair of Athena F1s and an Onkyo receiver.
Did you crank the center channel level 4 dB or higher than the other channels?:)
 
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