Home theater help!

[swifttal]

Need help from the smart people on here in troubleshoting problem- here's what's goin on...

When I'm whatching movies on my home theater, when things start getting busy with sound, my system tends to make the background/surround noise quiet- voices still stay loud though- yet when I'll watch the same movie on my friends $200 sony home theater system, eveything is loud- What's goin on with my system? To equate it to a car audio system, it almost sounds like I need a capacitor. Here's what I'm using for HT audio...

DVD- Mitsubishi DD-8020
Receiver- HK AVR 525
cable- Nordost flatline- speakers, regular sony optical for interconnect (for now anyway)
Speakers- B&W 600 series (FR-604s, C-600, Sr-602s)
Sub- Velodyne HGS-12

Now here are some of my guestimates, let me know if any would make sense-

1) Am I using to much power on one circuit breaker which is starving my system?
2)Is my receiver not powerful enough for my main LR speakers? Do I need to add amps for my main LR?
3)Is something wrong with either my receiver or dvd player?

Any help greatly appreciated- it's driving me nuts with the money I've spent on my system, I shouldn't be having this problem!!! Thanks!

[paul_pci]

Adding an amp may be a good idea, but more for properly powering your front mains, but that wouldn't have anything to do with what you are speaking of. Your problem immediately brings to mind an unbalanced sound field, so I would ask you if you have match the speaker levels with a test disc and an SPL meter. If not, then you definitely need to do so. If you already have, then I'm outta ideas.

[enrique]

Did you calibrate your system like speaker settings,level and distance.Also with spl meter.Maybe his is just plain loud with no calibration or settings or visa versa.

[paul_pci]

Oh, I just thought of something else: maybe your friend's system is on "all channel stereo" which will make it sound all around loud, meaning that there won't be a distinction between sounds coming from the front as opposed to sounds coming from the rear, including the intensity of the sounds. Some people actually prefer that to discrete 5.1 sound tracks. I don't and I don't get why they do, but there you have it. Now I'm officially out of ideas.

[kexodusc]

Power should not be a concern for you with those speakers and that receiver. Plenty of juice to get loud there.
If your receiver is plugged into the wall and not into some other device, your current draw isn't anything to worry about either.

I like the idea of checking levels with the SPL meter to make sure the volumes are matched. Might be that. rear speakers are often less efiicient than front mains and center channels.

[Tarheel_]

[QUOTE=swifttal]

DVD- Mitsubishi DD-8020
Receiver- HK AVR 525
cable- Nordost flatline- speakers, regular sony optical for interconnect (for now anyway)
Speakers- B&W 600 series (FR-604s, C-600, Sr-602s)
Sub- Velodyne HGS-12
QUOTE]


I have the same receiver...do plug it into an outlet, the HK needs plenty of current.

Most important the HK comes with tons of bass management features. Go into your on-screen menu - Speaker Setup - and move your cursor to the right - this should put you at the bass cutoff Hz - make sure your not out of balance here. Next, goto the Speaker Level menu - check the rear speakers at your rear numbers.

Also, like mentioned before, get a calibration disc. Sound & Vision can be bought at best buy for $20.

[swifttal]

[QUOTE=Tarheel_]

DVD- Mitsubishi DD-8020
Receiver- HK AVR 525
cable- Nordost flatline- speakers, regular sony optical for interconnect (for now anyway)
Speakers- B&W 600 series (FR-604s, C-600, Sr-602s)
Sub- Velodyne HGS-12
QUOTE]


I have the same receiver...do plug it into an outlet, the HK needs plenty of current.

Most important the HK comes with tons of bass management features. Go into your on-screen menu - Speaker Setup - and move your cursor to the right - this should put you at the bass cutoff Hz - make sure your not out of balance here. Next, goto the Speaker Level menu - check the rear speakers at your rear numbers.

Also, like mentioned before, get a calibration disc. Sound & Vision can be bought at best buy for $20.

I live in an area with frenquent power outages (very frequent)... because of that all my stuff is plugged into two surge protectors ($30 ones, not monster, etc... one for the receiver, one for everything else)... will it screw up my HK in the event of a power outage if plugged directly into the wall?

Thanks everyone for the fast reply- I've done a basic calibration but not with an SPL meter- Is there a place that will rent them, or do I pretty much need to buy one or pay someone for the service? Thanks again!

[GMichael]

Does this receiver have a night listening mode? Is it possible that this is selected?

[enrique]

I bet your speaker level/distances are not set properly.You may also check you dvd connections make sure it's dig(coax/opt)and dvd player set to PCM..

[paul_pci]

I live in an area with frenquent power outages (very frequent)... because of that all my stuff is plugged into two surge protectors ($30 ones, not monster, etc... one for the receiver, one for everything else)... will it screw up my HK in the event of a power outage if plugged directly into the wall?

Thanks everyone for the fast reply- I've done a basic calibration but not with an SPL meter- Is there a place that will rent them, or do I pretty much need to buy one or pay someone for the service? Thanks again!

You can get either an analog or a digital spl meter at Radio Shack.

[pajr2179]

Hello,

I used the Avia guide to home theater for my setup with a Radio Shack SPL and both the ]
audio and video improved dramatically on my system. The disc is about $50.00. You have some pretty awesome speakers. I would not equate loudness with sound quality.

Pete

[Aldo WIngate]

Need help from the smart people on here in troubleshoting problem- here's what's goin on...

When I'm whatching movies on my home theater, when things start getting busy with sound, my system tends to make the background/surround noise quiet- voices still stay loud though- yet when I'll watch the same movie on my friends $200 sony home theater system, eveything is loud- What's goin on with my system? To equate it to a car audio system, it almost sounds like I need a capacitor. Here's what I'm using for HT audio...

DVD- Mitsubishi DD-8020
Receiver- HK AVR 525
cable- Nordost flatline- speakers, regular sony optical for interconnect (for now anyway)
Speakers- B&W 600 series (FR-604s, C-600, Sr-602s)
Sub- Velodyne HGS-12

Now here are some of my guestimates, let me know if any would make sense-

1) Am I using to much power on one circuit breaker which is starving my system?
2)Is my receiver not powerful enough for my main LR speakers? Do I need to add amps for my main LR?
3)Is something wrong with either my receiver or dvd player?

Any help greatly appreciated- it's driving me nuts with the money I've spent on my system, I shouldn't be having this problem!!! Thanks!

With gear like the stuff you have now, I'd say you need a lot of help.

Does the word "hopeless" mean anything to you?

Who's your DADDY???????

[swifttal]

Hello,

I used the Avia guide to home theater for my setup with a Radio Shack SPL and both the ]
audio and video improved dramatically on my system. The disc is about $50.00. You have some pretty awesome speakers. I would not equate loudness with sound quality.

Pete

By loudness, I didn't quite mean it like that- what actually happens is the background gets quiet... then when the action scenes are over, the soundtrack goes back to normal

[poneal]

I agree with Ken on plenty of power and needing to balance your speakers. If it still doesn't sound better then I would venture to say that its your speakers. The crossover may have the voicing set lower. The only way to really find out if this is the case is to take them to your local college or friend who has a measurement setup to measure them.