Hi,

 

New to home audio and just recently purchased the 4C and 4Ts a couple weeks ago.  I notice that the 4C is "quieter" than the 4Ts when playing movies.  I've played around with the settings on my DVD player and have increased the loudness of the 4C over the towers by 2dcb but I still feel like dialogue from the center is quieter than the the other two.

My receiver is set to 6 channel discrete input, I don't have an onscreen display to change the dcb level of the speakers individually in that mode except for a turnable knob for the center's volume in the back (which doesn't add much volume).  

 Does anyone have suggestions?

Boody,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your inquiry.

If you can tell me what receiver you are using, and how you have the DVD player connected to it (i.e, using HDMI?  Multichannel analog?, toslink?), I can probably give you some suggestions on what to check.

Without knowing more about your setup, I'm kind of shooting blind.

Thanks!

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Mark
Aperion Audio Guru

Sorry blkhks,

I am using a (dinosaur) Technics Receiver SA-AX610 (100watts/channe; Dolby Pro Logic II 5.1 Channels).  Unfortunately, it doesn't have HDMI as it is about 12 years old.  The DVD Player is a Sony about the same age. I've connected the DVD Player to my LCD HDTV (Samsung 6-Series) using Component Cables.  I've connected the Front L, R  and Center outputs on the DVD Player to the corresponding inputs on the receiver using standard RCA Cables.  Though I am only using 3 Speakers, I'm running 6 Channel Discrete Input as it sounds better than the standard Dolby Surround. No Sub or Surround Speakers yet.   I've watched both Taken and Indiana Jones Crystal Skull and the sound dialogue is kinda quiet.  I've cranked up the decibel level to 4 decibels higher but still notice a difference. 

When I play music, I do notice it gets quieter if I go to Dolby Surround in the center as opposed to 2 channel. 

Are centers typically the same loudness as the front speakers or is my equipment so old it needs to be retired?  Hope this provides good info.

Thanks,

Dave

Dave,

The 4C is slightly less sensitive than the 4T.  However, the difference isn't enough to have a major impact.

I found a manual for the SA-AX610 after digging and have read it over.  You're not going to be able to use 6 channel discrete if you want to boost the center using  channel level adjustments in the menu of the receiver.  You mention that you increased the center 4 dB, but that is actually adjusting the center channel for Dolby Pro Logic and has no effect for the 6 channel discrete.

It might be possible to increase the channel level outputs on the DVD player.  Not sure which Sony you have but since it has multi-channel outs is a pretty good indicator that it has some sort of level control for the outputs.  There are also some input level adjustments on the back of the receiver that might work too.

And during listening to two channel sources such as music, playing in Dolby Surround synthesizes the center channel sound information, so yes, it is quite possible that will be quieter.

Yeah, upgrading the reciever would be a great option too, especially if your DVD player has a digital output (either coax or toslink).  In which case, the audio connection is simple, and then the receiver will process the surround sound information and give you the best possible sound for the source.

Hope this helps.

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Mark
Aperion Audio Guru

Mark,

 

Thanks very much for your help!  After adjusting the DVD's center channel,  I notice improvement on the center's output.  Thanks for taking the time to read through the manual - that is incredible service!!!!

A couple more questions if you don't mind:

Does Aperion have minimum room dimension recommendations for the 4T Hybrid SD?  Noticing some boominess to the lower frequencies of the towers and center and am wondering if that has to do with my small room (10 x 10),  a window (5.5 x 3 and a foot off the floor and an accordian blind) that is close to one of the towers, or a combo of the two.  I'd like to complete the system but just want to make sure that I can make it sound alright in a tight space.  A gentleman on another forum had a nice recommendation that I get acoustic tiles, but I'm not sure I want to put them up in my room. 

Any ideas?

 Thanks, Dave 

 

Usually "boominess" is caused - at least in part - by having the speakers and sub too close to a wall or corner more than overall room dimensions.  We recommend trying to keep at least 2 feet from walls or corners.  You might want to increase it a bit if there is a window because they tend to reflect sound more than walls.

Try that first and see if there is an improvement in decreasing the boominess.  Acoustic devices work pretty well too, but you might not need them.

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Mark
Aperion Audio Guru

Hi Mark,

 Thanks again for your help.  I've noticed a difference when I moved the tower in a little closer to the tv (as close as I can get it to the tv).  I might have to do some furniture rearranging so that I can get the left tower away from the window.  I think that might help out a bit.

 

Thanks,

Dave