wierd home theater sound thingy

[freezen1979]

hello,

im a noob at this stuff and this is my first post....

so I am experiencing a weird sound phenomenon with my new home theater set up.

let me try and explain....

every now and then during a "drama scene" while there are say two people talking....it sounds like all the background noise is cutting out between people speaking.....

even in a silent room you still have ambient background noise....

this is not effecting any of the people talking....no important sounds you are supposed to hear are being dropped....but the background noise is going 100% dead.....

this is actually VERY noticeable when watching a movie.....it's almost like someone is putting earplugs in your ears and pulling them out when there is something you are supposed to hear...

the last three movies i have watched it's happened in one scene each.....but goes away with the scene change..i think...

anyone ever experience this??????? ideas????

the set up is pretty simple......sound bar ->hdmi cable->tv


Samsung - 300W 2.1-Ch. Soundbar

Samsung - 50" 720p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

 

[scott911]

interersting.. i don't have an answer, put I would try to narrow down the options. can you run sound through TV speaks only and see if it's happening there. or perhaps you could listen to aidio through a headphone jack and try to make sure it's not just part of source material?

 

[freezen1979]

interersting.. i don't have an answer, put I would try to narrow down the options. can you run sound through TV speaks only and see if it's happening there. or perhaps you could listen to aidio through a headphone jack and try to make sure it's not just part of source material?

good idea. i will.

im 99.9% sure it will sound "normal" if i do this...

i noticed if i switch to virtual surround it doesn't seem to happen.......

i usually run with the virtual surround off....

 

[Tiguron]

I am guessing it has to do with using a 2 channel set up. With 3 channels up front the dialog is mostly coming from the center channel, and the extra audio tends to come from the front L and R. Most likely the receiver/soundbar is dropping the audio. That would be why is sounds fine on virtual surround. It is combining the front 3 channels and spreading them out over the 2 it has available.

 

[freezen1979]

I am guessing it has to do with using a 2 channel set up. With 3 channels up front the dialog is mostly coming from the center channel, and the extra audio tends to come from the front L and R. Most likely the receiver/soundbar is dropping the audio. That would be why is sounds fine on virtual surround. It is combining the front 3 channels and spreading them out over the 2 it has available.

hmmmm is this common of these kind of systems or do you think my samsung product aint so great??

im pretty happy with the sound for what i paid ($500 open box special). im just getting into this stuff so i'm not looking to go nuts yet.

i can still return it......

 

[Phil Taylor]

Do you not like the virtual surround mode? I thought that was the primary purpose of a soundbar setup - to simulate actual surround without the extra speakers and wires. Sure some folks just get them to augment their TV speakers but if you like virtual surround leave it on.

As for the cause - it's probably what Tiguron said above - odd that ambient sound totally goes away though... perhaps that is a limitation of your particular brand/model. The only sound bar system I've heard in a home setting is the Yamaha YSP-800 and it sounded damn good with realistic surround effects positioning.