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Problem with Arcam or JM LABS

I have an Arcam AVR 250 with an Arcam DV78. The speakers are JM Lab 716S Chorus Line(mains) w/ a JM Lab 700S Chorus Line (center) and JM Lab 716S (rears). The front 3 spkrs have Rega cables. The problem is understanding the dialogue from the center channel when watching movies. We think we have everything hooked up correctly and every setting set proberly. We have adjusted and readjusted every setting many times with little or no improvement. I have been running the mains on 0-5 with the center at 6 and the rears around 2-4. I purchased a sound level meter and set the levels correctly. No help. The voices coming from the center sound thick at times and slurred. We have tried the center at 5' and 2' with no improvement. The odd part is that I can understand every word coming from my TV during a broadcast when it is coming out of the center. Is there anything I can do to brighten the sound or is it just the British sound that I will have to learn to deal with. Thank you for your time.
kypride
mtrot
804 posts
 
My wife and I have had the same ongoing problem with the intelligibility of dialog in 5.1 movies. Maybe it is that we are both getting north of 50 yrs now. I have a decent center speaker, cables, and receiver and amp, but still sometimes have to turn on the subtitles to understand all the dialog.

I think part of it is just the mix they create, with a lot of effects going on all over the place, which can obscure the dialog a bit. I do have the center channel bumped up just a tad, which helps some.

Another problem is some of these actors just mumble and mutter a lot in some movies. And another problem occurs when they are recording in some old mansion with huge echoing rooms.

You may be interested in this thread I started some time ago on the same subject. A lot of folks offered various types of advice.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1110503464&openmine&zzMtrot&4&5#Mtrot
kypride OP
18 posts
 
THANK YOU SO MUCH Mtrot!! I have been waiting for someone to mention this. I am also just north of fifty and share the same feeling about the muttering. It's not just in movies though. Talking to young people these days is like pulling teeth with all that mumbling. Whatever happened to enunciate? You and all the others have been very helpful. I am going to upgrade my CC cable and do a few tweeks and be done with it. Maybe I should run down to Wal-Mart and see if they sell hearing aids. Thanks to all
kypride OP
18 posts
 
Is there a digital coaxial lead and center channel cable that really helps with dialog? I have been told by some that it doesn't make a lot of difference especially on the coaxial lead. Thanks
everest_audio
285 posts
 
Try something different than the Rega cables. As much as I think in general that Rega is a good brand, I was not impressed with their cables at all when I heard them. On the system I heard them in initially, I was not impressed with the system until the cables were swapped out for another brand. The difference between the two brands in terms of sound quality and overall clarity was huge. Borrow some other speaker cables from a friend to try.

To answer your other question, the coaxial digital interconnect can definitely make a difference ... without a doubt. In a system like this, it is one of the most crucial cables since absolutely everything for the home theatre audio signal is riding on this cable. I'm not sure what digital interconnect you're using, but definitely try the different speaker cables.
rick_da
1 posts
 
i have the same problem which i posted in ht forum..http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?p=3108718&posted=1#post3108718
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