It is not you, the sound really is getting worse

I can't remember it's been over 9months since coronavirus, and movies were closed in NYC.

The first movie I remember really having a problem with dialogue was LoTR and a small section of Frodo’s dialogue and the Elf Queen. Had to really dial in the EQ on the center channel before it popped out.

Later I learned final mixing was done by a studio that bragged about all B&W speakers. Since I don’t use B&W speakers I had to wonder just how specific the mixing was. Will be interesting to learn more about the final mix of Tenet.

OT:  The sound effects for fire in LoTR were garbage.

@twoleftears,

Yes, Nolan seems to be the current master of undecipherable dialogue.

Going by this article it seems to be a deliberate policy on his part.

Only box office receipts count, I guess.

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Hard to pardon: why Tenet’s muffled dialogue is a very modern problem

"In Nolan’s case, Price and Bochar are confident that the director does it intentionally. In a 2019 Reddit AMA, sound designer Richard King – who has worked with Nolan on seven films, including Tenet – said:

“He wants to grab the audience by the lapels and pull them toward the screen, and not allow the watching of his films to be a passive experience.”

It’s hard to imagine that Nolan is unaware of the criticism. Price suspects the director wants to make the audience work harder to understand the dialogue; he thinks Nolan believes this will make the film a more immersive, engaging experience.

But, Price says, “I think he is the only one in the world who believes that.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/03/tenet-dialogue-christopher-nolan-s...

Saw Does/Ferrari in the theatre. Understood every word and I can't watch HBO without rewind and/or headphones, for "what dey say?"
Of course, it got the Oscars for sound.

When I went to see "Mother", I had the same experience.  If it were not for the fact that the movie was so beyond brilliant, I would have left over the sound quality in the theater.  It was ear shattering noise.  Maybe that was the point during some of the later scenes of war, but it was hard to handle.  I was so enticed by the visuals and the theme that I let the noise take a back seat.