Problems with center channel sound.

[mitty26]

Well i wrote in about 3 weeks ago complaning about the sound out of my center channel
and my sony receiver, so i went out and bought a new yamaha 550 receiver and the same distorted sound is still there.It only happens at certain frequencies but sounds very bad. So
this is where i am at now ,second sony DVD player (no change) , second reciever (no change) second center channel (no change). Does the gauge of the speaker wire have a big impact on sound ? Or am i being way to picky and should i just live with it or try a different center and dvd player again. Maybe it is the sony dvd player , being i never tried anything but sony. Sorry for the rambling, any help will be appreciated.

[uncooked]

maybe its the movie? have you tried it with a bunch of movies.

what kind of volume are you talking about when it distorts, if its cranked right up then the distortion is normal and the only way around this would be a more power ful amp and speakers that are more powerful. alot of mid level amps distort becuase there being worked to hard and since the centre channel is the most used speaker in a 5.1 movie it is the one that you notice the distortion from mostly.

if its not at really high volume levels, i would try set up, speaker size to small, and do all the settings and pay close attention to them. mayeb try the different crossover's and all that stuff thats in the yammies set up.

[Quagmire]

Well i wrote in about 3 weeks ago complaning about the sound out of my center channel
and my sony receiver, so i went out and bought a new yamaha 550 receiver and the same distorted sound is still there.It only happens at certain frequencies but sounds very bad. So
this is where i am at now ,second sony DVD player (no change) , second reciever (no change) second center channel (no change). Does the gauge of the speaker wire have a big impact on sound ? Or am i being way to picky and should i just live with it or try a different center and dvd player again. Maybe it is the sony dvd player , being i never tried anything but sony. Sorry for the rambling, any help will be appreciated.

Mitty,

I didn't read your post of three weeks ago, but unless you revealled more information about the problem in that earlier post, I'm afraid you're going to have to provide us with more information now. By your description so far, the range of things that could be wrong is too numerous to list. Try answering a few of these questions and I think you will get more useful advice, whether it comes from me or from others.

1. What do you mean by distortion? What does it sound like and when does it happen? You say it only happens at certain frequencies, what frequencies would those be? High, low, midrange? This could be due to something as simple as having the bass management or calibration level set incorrectly for your center channel speaker.

2. Has this problem always existed with this setup or did it suddenly appear one day? Did you make any changes to your system which coincided with the arrival of this distortion?

3. You mention the gage of the speaker wire - is there some reason you suspect this could be a problem? Usually the gage of speaker wire isn't too critical unless the run is very long and the wire gage is just absurdly small. There can be other problems with speaker wire, like poorly insulated wire in close proximity to power sources or poorly terminated connections at the speaker or amp. What kind and gage of speaker wire do you have and how do you have it terminated at the speaker and amp? Something as simple as a loose connection which vibrates at certain frequencies can be the source of the problem.

As far as being picky... you should never be satisfied to have poor sound and distortion. But I would advise you to stop throwing money at the problem and start doing some basic troubleshooting to actually find the problem. I'm certain that I or someone else here can help you, but only if you're willing to be more specific about the problem and then follow some simple directions to locate and eliminate it. The first thing anyone worth their salt will tell you is that you have to "isolate the problem": By answering a few of these questions you will be starting that process. The quicker you get back with a few of these answers, along with any other information you can provide about your equipment and how it's setup, the quicker someone will be able to offer you real assistance. Be as specific as you can because any little thing could be key in finding the answer. For instance, do you realize that you didn't even mention what kind of center channel speaker you have? That could be important. Hope to hear back from you soon.

Q

[mitty26]

Ok the first center speaker was a little pioneer center , the second center speaker is a quest with 2 6 inch mids and a big tweeter (6 ohm). I have the center set to large . This problem i talk about happens with all kinds of movies and is very noticeable with loud talking in the movies. The speaker wire i am using is 14 gauge with stripped ends tightened very tight with the screws on the speaker and the amp. My DVD player is DVP-NS-315 (sony) hooked up with digital co ax. This problem has plagued me through 2 dvd players 2 center channels and 2 receivers .

[Quagmire]

Ok the first center speaker was a little pioneer center , the second center speaker is a quest with 2 6 inch mids and a big tweeter (6 ohm). I have the center set to large . This problem i talk about happens with all kinds of movies and is very noticeable with loud talking in the movies. The speaker wire i am using is 14 gauge with stripped ends tightened very tight with the screws on the speaker and the amp. My DVD player is DVP-NS-315 (sony) hooked up with digital co ax. This problem has plagued me through 2 dvd players 2 center channels and 2 receivers .

Unless the speaker wire is defective or there is a problem with the binding post at either end, 14 gage wire is most certainly not the problem. The most obvious cause, based upon the limited information you've given me is that the bass management for the center speaker is improperly set. Setting it to "SMALL" will redirect the low frequencies to a sub or to the mains depending on the rest of your system setup and will most likely eliminate the distortion that you are hearing (unless the speaker has already been damaged). The fact that your center speaker houses two 6" mid drivers does not mean that it can be run as a "LARGE" speaker. This setting is determined by the speaker's low frequency capabilities and you will probably get better results by setting it to small. I have used a Klipsch KLF-C7 center speaker before, which houses two 8" mid drivers and a horn, and even with this very large speaker it was necessary to run it as "SMALL". This is not unusual for center channel speakers so don't be alarmed.

Another important factor which could be causing or at least contributing to the problem is an improperly calibrated center channel level. If you haven't properly calibrated the center channel level with an SPL meter, you could just have it turned up way too loud relative to the rest of the speakers. Making these settings by ear is unreliable, and, as in your case, having the center channel set to "LARGE" will just compound the problem if the setting is adjusted too high.

Based on what you've told me so far, I'd advise you to start by checking the two things I've mentioned so far - the bass management and calibration level for the center channel speaker. Hope this helps. Get back to us and let us know if this resolved the problem or if it didn't, so that we can decide what to try next.

Q

[mitty26]

Okay Thanks a lot for your help. I will try what you mentioned out tommorow, i got to go and do the fireworks thing with the mrs. tonight. I will let you know what happens

[mtrycraft]

Okay Thanks a lot for your help. I will try what you mentioned out tommorow, i got to go and do the fireworks thing with the mrs. tonight. I will let you know what happens

Sure sounds like your center speaker, either is faulty or your setting it to large is the cause with the low frequency capability.
As was suggested, try resetting to small.
Better yet, since you didn't mention problems with the front left or right speakers, why not just unhook one and substitute it tot he center position and see what happens, before you change setting of the processor, unless they are so different that they have no problem with the lower frequencies.