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B&K and Martin Logan Theater i

I have a Laurier Odyssey entertainment center. I have placed my theateri on the very top instead of the bridge above the t.v., so my wife can use it for display. Once I got all of the speakers hooked up this weekend, I tried watching a couple of movies. The front L&R, effects, and sub were great, but the dialog from the center was less than
desirable. It sounded like the speaker was in a box--muddy, echoing, and dialog was not understandable most of the time.
Now, I have angled the theater down toward the listening position. It was shooting strait forward to begin with--over my head. It is better, but in my opinion it needs to be more crisp and clear. Especially, for a $2500 center channel speaker. I don't ever want to say "what did they say" during a movie again!!!!!
Does anyone have advice for tweeking my theateri using my B&K 507 avr w/ ref 3220 amp?
Music sounds really nice from the center I think! I have listened to 3 dvda disks--Dianna Krall, Look of Love; Eagles, Hell Freezes Over; and Manheim Steamroller, House of Mouse. Seamless integration with the rest of the system. On the other hand, the two DTSES movies I have tried just sound like crap--Seven & Osterman Weekend. I have played with room equilization, notch filters, and angling it down. How can music sound so good, and a movie sound like they are in a cave? Voices have echoes and they cut in and out--very difficult to hear. The speaker must be fine if music sounds so good. I need help with set up through my 507. I want audio from a movie to be crisp and pure. I want the actors to be in the room talking to me!
rynopr
rynopr OP
14 posts
 
I live in FL., so I have a typical FL. style house. our "great room" has a huge sliding glass door onto our patio. The kitchen is directly behind it with a half wall seperating, except where the fridge is, there it is encased by a full wall. The back wall in the kitchen comes to a peak at about 12' feet. I sent in my pictures and information to martinloganowners.com, so I guess they will be showing up there in the next month? I will post here to let you know, so you can take a look.
I have now moved it from the top of the unit to the bridge and I have angled it down toward the listening position even more. I am continuing to play with room equilization. We watched Chronicles of Riddick last night. It was better. I cut back on the volumes of the sides, backs, and sub. I have set the center louder while the rest are softer. I am getting there, but still would be open to whatever else you can think of.

Thank you
f1stserve
25 posts
 
I had the same problem with a set of RBH T-1's, where L/R speakers were wonderfully dynamic and transparent but the center was dull and lifeless, very muddy dialog. My set up was same as yours, with the center on top of a shelf above my TV. The answer for me was a center channel speaker stand, it was expensive ($150), as each speaker weighs 100 lbs, but it holds the speaker angled up towards the sweet spot about 9" off the ground...

My heavens, what a difference!!! Dialog, music, TV soundtrack, it was as though a blanket had been ripped off the speaker, all is now very clear. Before, I had my center 3-5dB hotter than the other channels, now I can hear and appreciate surround effects much better. A couple of sources for the stands are:

www.racksandstands.com

www.standsandmounts.com

www.dynamichometheater.com

Hope this helps,

John
drew_eckhardt
394 posts
 
By placing your speakers near room boundaries (the ceiling and front wall) and objects you've boosted the lower frequencies and introduced early reflections that confuse things. You also have them above furniture and people that will limit the sound bouncing off the back wall.

Using speaker stands a good distance (a couple feet will help but more is better) from anything does wonders for speakers designed for placement in free space. Frequency response is more uniform, the early reflections will be delayed and reduced in level, the ratio of direct to reverberant sound will increase...

I use short Sound Anchors center channel stand about 3' off the screen wall when running a center and have the mains about 4' out from the front wall and 2.5' from the side walls.
rynopr OP
14 posts
 
I guess the simple answer then is placing it on the floor, or on a stand and aiming it up instead of having it up high and aiming it down.
rynopr OP
14 posts
 
Music sounds alright to me. That is why I don't think anything is wrong mechanically.

I think I have a better explanation of what I have and what I am looking for. I was watching Chicken Run DTS ES w/ my 2 year old last night and it came to me.

Dialog will run together--dialog bleeding is what I will call it. It is not distinct what each word says. Often, I can't tell where one word ends and another begins. Maybe even a doppler type effect--waves? I guess it is too soft, or warm even.
I want each word to be crisp and well defined. I guess I want the parameters to be set so that dialog is clinical.

It is hooked up to my B&K 3220 amp with a Analysis Plus Oval 9.
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