How Can I Improve The Clarity of My TV Audio?

LMintchip on 16/12/2021 - 22:31

Some shows have dialogue either super quiet or kind of muffled or both. Many are just fine, it seems to be mainly with movies or more cinematic shows, and it’s hit and miss between movies and platforms.

The setup:
TV - Panasonic 55” FZ950U
Speakers - Edifier R1280DB connected via optical from TV
PS4 / Xbox One X as source for the TV

The TV is about 5m away from the couch across a tiled floor with a rug in the middle. It and the speakers are on a TV stand next to the wall. The kitchen bench is also slightly off to one side of the TV area (just a metre or so) and we sometimes listen from there.

I’m not an expert in this field but some things my troubleshooting has suggested:

  • Forcing 2.0 sound - I believe I’ve set the relevant PS4 and TV settings but couldn’t figure out how to do this in any of the streaming apps
  • Dynamic range control - only found this for bluray, it helped a bit
  • TV audio balance settings - little noticeable difference
  • More furniture, maybe a panel on the wall behind the TV
  • Get a centre channel speaker / proper 5.1 setup

I don’t mind spending a little to fix things up, but I don’t know what to do first or if there are other settings tweaks I’ve missed. Any suggestions?

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • spackbace on 16/12/2021 - 23:12
    +1

    Can't imagine $100 speakers being amazing for that purpose, but I'm sure it's in the settings and you just have to dig deeper to make sure it's just 2 channel

  • Hybroid on 16/12/2021 - 23:18
    +3

    Maybe not use bookshelf speakers for TV audio?

    Yes your issue seems to be the centre channel. Remove optical and test audio via TV speakers to gauge. Time for an audio upgrade though.

    • spackbace on 16/12/2021 - 23:20
      +3

      I've never understood situations like this. Oled screen, series x, but then only finds $100 for the audio

      • Hybroid on 16/12/2021 - 23:23
        +1

        Yep. Also PS5/XSX and 23" 1080p monitor from 2001…

      • SF3 on 16/12/2021 - 23:24
        +2

        Similar to $2000 phone $1 phone case.

        • Axelstrife on 16/12/2021 - 23:28
          -1

          Most expensive cases are overpriced and unless it's a really thick case does nothing more than prevents scratches, I rather a $1 silicone clear case that feels great in the hand and shows the phone off any day.

        • avoidfullprice on 16/12/2021 - 23:52
          +1

          $2000 phone just to send texts

      • Mintchip on 17/12/2021 - 00:09

        The speakers were from a previous setup, bought before everything else was upgraded. On ozb recommendation, at that.

        • spackbace on 17/12/2021 - 00:12
          +4

          They're a recommendation for the price, not for a home theatre setup

  • TheBird on 16/12/2021 - 23:32
    +1

    If it works as intended most of the time, it's what you're watching. If only some are fine and most are bad, it could be a combination of your hardware and the media source.

    I suggest not watching shows where the audio doesn't suit to how you want to listen. Alternatively, adjusting the volume when it's quiet and lowering it when it's higher.

    There's a chance you could find something with some sort of compressor (where it evens out sounds to the same decibel level), but I doubt you'll find anything that you'll be happy with. Automatic mixers are more scam than a solution.

  • plmko on 17/12/2021 - 00:59
    +1

    It's because your TV is outputing some crap feed to the speakers or those speakers have some seriously crap input (components could favour bluetooth). So you want to reduce dynamic range as much as possible on every component in the chain of devices, TV, Speaker. This could be with midnight mode, dialogue preset, loudness equalizer or whatever your equipment offers.

  • AustriaBargain on 17/12/2021 - 01:07

    Hifi quality speakers. With good quality powerful speakers, whether they are just stereo or is a good surround Atmos setup, everything sounds good.

  • CheapAtTwiceThePrice on 17/12/2021 - 02:34
    +3

    99/100 that's the poor audio of the content not your setup.

  • Youfah Mizzum on 17/12/2021 - 08:16
    +2

    It's not your set up. I've got the same speakers - not hooked up via optical - just L & R RCA jacks.

    It's the production quality of whatever you're watching. I have the same issue - many movies and TV shows just have inaudible whispering or muffled mumbling. If I turn up the volume then the rest of the program is too loud.
    Sometimes I find the only option is to turn on subtitles as much as I hate doing that.

  • idonotknowwhy on 17/12/2021 - 09:51

    I think it's about the modern content.
    Back in the day, you could hear everything perfectly from a tiny mono speaker built-in to 19 inch CRT TV.

    Now they expect you to have floor standing speakers, a sub, etc.
    And even then, you end up with inaudible dialogue with sound effects loud enough to wake the neighbors.

  • CheapandUsed on 17/12/2021 - 10:13

    I would see if there is a setting on the TV to force "PCM" over the optical output (I can do this on my Hisense).

    This usually forces all audio into 2 channel mode and tends to be 'louder' for the same volume on an amplifier.

  • bazingaa on 17/12/2021 - 11:51
    +1

    Edifier R1280DB connected via optical from TV

    Does this speakers can decode Dolby ? I think if you select PCM in OPTICAL, it will output only two channels due to bandwidth limitation. You can get an used Onkyo AV receiver and setup a 5.1 audio setup in part by part. True Dolby 5.1 content (Blueray, DVB etc) sounds nice when you have rear speakers as well.

    I did setup a such setup at my parent's home a while ago, used SPDIF from TV (input to TV is mostly from a DVB-S2 STB) to Onkyo AV (got for around $70) and decoded Dolby for 5.0 output (It had a feature to use front & center instead of subwoofer for low frequencies.)

    Front speakers - From an old Sony HiFi setup $0 (looked similar to what you have already got)
    Center speaker - old Kenwood center speaker $20
    Rear speakers - Boxed speaker set made by me (3 speakers (woofer/mid/tweeter) + crossover circuit) - may be $100

  • AndyC1 on 17/12/2021 - 13:49
    +1

    I would bite the bullet and get either:
    a) TV soundbar
    b) Cheap AV receiver that supports HDMI 2 with ARC. Then hook the speakers up to this receiver. This is better than the TV soundbar and will support 5.1 if you buy the right one.

  • tonyjzx on 20/12/2021 - 14:53

    i'm very very very particular on sound quality on tvs… there hasnt been an acceptable sounding tv since say 2008 when they were thick

    nowdays they sound like shit… so much so that they are unlistenable, i cant even understand news because the voice legibility is so terrible

    hwoever i'm not a snob in this regard even though i do like hifi

    i'm entirely satisfied with a $50 logitech 2.1 system hooked up to a tv via 3.5mm if all its doing it basic tv broadcast… there's enough base and vocal clarity in even a cheap pc spk set like edififer, logitech etc.

    however above that for a proper system then yeah, i would go a medium spec receiver + really good bookshelf spks and a sub

    theres no end to how much money you can spend

    not too hung up on surround any more since i dont care too much for whats coming out on movies these days

    but one of my systems is a proper preamp + power amp via balanced to large bookshelfs or floor standers with 2 x sterero subs

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