2. speakers
  3. 167107-151267

Balancing sound to sharpen dialogue?

I've got a really simple system: an Integra DTM7 and a pair of Totem Dreamcatchers. The Totems are really warm and have surprising bass depth, but when watching movies, dialogue never sounds as sharp as it should. And sometimes music feels bottom-heavy. The DTM7 has minimal EQ capabilities. I've tried simply dialing down the bass, which made my neighbors happier, but I'm wondering if there's some way to improve the balance -- speaker position? something else? -- so I get more clarity for speech.
jmk2
petg60
1,486 posts
 
Without having enough info of your speakers positioning i would suggest to move them a bit forward in the room and try to get them a bit closer together. From there you can listen if you want more toe in or not. 
As you do not have a sub and you receiver has basic eq features you can only play with speaker placement for getting a more enjoyable sound for both music and theatre. 
jmk2 OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see if I can move them further from the wall, and closer to each other.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
The Totems are really warm and have surprising bass depth, but when watching movies, dialogue never sounds as sharp as it should.
You’ve just got fat lower mids, which takes away from the diction of the speech.

Use the audio or bass/treble adjustment on the Onkyo and take the audio off movie and onto music/speech if it has it, or drop the bass a little with the EQ and this will bring up the "sharpness" of the speech.
Or bring the speakers well out from any walls, this also will fatten up the lower mids with excess bass
Cheers George
erik_squires
16,370 posts
 
Try tilting them up so the mid-woofer is firing at your head.

If that's hard to do, as an experiment, put them on their side and try the same thing.  if that works for you then you know you need to put them on stands that tilt them.
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,635 posts
 
In 5.1 get a better center where the dialogue is at. A simple compander helps like a dBx 117 or 119.
It's easier to optimize with seperate systems for A & V.
More to discover