My Setup, Advice - Centre Speaker or not

randomshenans · 11 Oct 2013 at 08:23

Hey all,

I have a question;

My current setup is:

Onkyo TX-NR609,
Monitor Audio R45HDs at the front top,
Monitor Audio R90HDs at the top rear,
Old main front speakers (replacing with Monitor Audio RX6s)
Wharfedale Powercube SPC-10
(plus all crap that connects to it like tv etc)

Now the current front speakers I have are old, I bought them over 10years ago and they're way past due for replacing, which I am in the process of doing so. They're currently bookshelf ones, and down on the floor so far from ideal placement too.

One thing I notice on some films is the standard quiet voices, then loud action. I know a lot of the voice normally is set to come from the front, so do you think that the new RX6s will make a massive difference for this, or do you think that I should get a centre speaker as well?

If I got a centre speaker it would mean having to put the 60" on the wall, which knowing me would pull the thing down, but I don't mind doing it if it would be the key to the jigsaw.

Anyone with experience care to comment?

lucid · 11 Oct 2013 at 12:16

The centre speaker alone isn't going to solve your problem. That's because the huge swing in volume levels between dialogue and action is what was intended in the audio mix recorded on to the disc. However, a centre speaker will help you make better use of some of the tools you already have in the amp. That will definitely help.

In a 5.1 system something like 60~70% of all the sound you hear comes from the centre channel. Almost all of the dialogue is directed at the centre. The front L&R channels contribute a little to help with positioning as the actors move across the screen, but mostly they're used for music and sound effects. When you set your amp up without a centre channel speaker then all of that sound gets steered to the front L&R speakers instead.

A good centre speaker should have the frequency range and the headroom to handle all of the sound being directed at it. If the speaker can't cope then everything else is fundamentally compromised. So as you are planning on adding RX6's up front then you need a centre speaker as good or better than them. The RX Centre is an obvious choice.

Once you have a decent speaker then there you can now use some of the system controls to improve the sound and minimise the huge volume swings. First, have a look for the Dynamic Range control in the amp. Usually there's three settings: Min Std Max. Set it to minimum. This will limit some of the volume change. The feature only works for digital bitstream sources though. But seeing as TV programmes don't have the same huge dynamic range then that's not such a big problem. The second thing is the channel balances. This is in the speaker set-up menus. You can adjust each speaker. Try increasing the centre channel level by 1.5~2 dB. This will make the centre a little louder than the front L&R. Third, look at the sub level. It's often set a little too loud so it's impressive but a touch boomy. Try reducing the level. You might just find that there's enough bass, and it becomes tighter, and it doesn't dominate quite so much when things get going. BTW, all the above apply even if you used auto set-up.

The last thing is something you aren't expecting. It's room acoustics. A large part of the reason why people find that dialogue is hard to follow is because the room is adding too much echo. You get some sound direct from the speakers, but a lot also comes from reflections off the floor, ceiling and walls. Any large flat hard surface will add a reflection. It makes the sound less coherent. If you have a sparsely furnished room then adding a rug and some wall hangings will help. If the dialogue is easier to follow then the volume doesn't need to be as loud and so when the big explosions come then they're less likely to blow your head off.

There's a lot more that can be done with room acoustics, equipment positions and speaker positions that will really help the sound. Hope this helps.

413x · 11 Oct 2013 at 13:05

This is why I want a rug for the wooden floor. This room sounds worse thanmy old room even tho ugh the speakers are an upgrade!

The gf thinks I want it to look nice :-P

Raymond Lin · 11 Oct 2013 at 13:07

Or if you are like me, lazy, get an Anti-Mode helps.

randomshenans · 11 Oct 2013 at 20:47

Thanks, great advice. I'll slap a pano up of the room when it's not a state in here, but it's not got any window / door dressings like curtains or anything, so that might have an effect, but we have a rug and stuff on the walls. I think get the RX6s and centre, adjust and see how it is.

lucid · 11 Oct 2013 at 21:00

I'm not averse to using electronics to tweak room performance. However, I do feel that all reasonable steps to tame a room's response with furnishings and equipment positions and, if possible, room treatments should be explored first before throwing something in the signal path.