Discussion
My hearing is shot these and wear hearing aids (yes I am now a fully paid up BOF). I'm finding it increasingly difficult to hear the speech in films and drama on the TV due to music, sound effects, etc. overpowering the actors voices.
Would a multi-speaker system help? Does speech come out of the middle speaker so would a simple 3 speaker system or 3+1 help?
Where do I start looking?
I'm also a tight fisted BOF so the cheaper the better.
Would a multi-speaker system help? Does speech come out of the middle speaker so would a simple 3 speaker system or 3+1 help?
Where do I start looking?
I'm also a tight fisted BOF so the cheaper the better.
It's a common complaint, unfortunately it's surprisingly hard to resolve. Many 3/5/7.1 systems have a non matching centre speaker and/or it is poorly located. I have found that having three fully matching front speakers does help greatly, however this does go against your 'cheap as possible' ethos a little. Usually the cheaper systems have a different centre, which exacerbates the issue you are having.
However, you may get away with buying three identical bookshelf speakers (again cost wise you may have to buy two pairs and 'waste' one speaker), or choose a brand that sells them as singles/has a fully matching centre. Just as important though is that you shouldn't jam the centre speaker low down in the TV cabinet. In fact if you can wall mount all three speakers in line below a wall mounted TV then this is likely to give a better result.
Driven by a separate AVR you could configure a 3.0 (or add a subwoofer for 3.1) and perhaps increase the level of the centre speaker a dB or two after the initial auto set up that most AVRs seem to have these days. Some AVRs have a 'night mode' which may also help, but sometimes they only function with 5.1 digital signals, so may not work with a stereo soundtrack from a TV.
This isn't the definitive method for resolving your issue, but cheaper options (such as soundbar/non matching LCR speakers) may just give you better overall sound, but you could still suffer the music/effects drowning out the dialogue.
I do occasionally have this issue with a small 4.1 set up I have in my conservatory (no room for a separate centre speaker as the left/right are so close together. I also sometimes find it gets annoyingly loud if my OH turns up the quieter channels, then changes to another louder one as it tends to start to sound harsh at higher listening levels (again going back to the comments above about soundbar/cheaper non matching LCR systems).
However, my main system which uses three identical LCR speakers never seems to sound overly loud, because it has so much headroom and sounds smooth/un-flustered so dialogue is always clear as I can comfortably listen at much higher levels to begin with.
However, you may get away with buying three identical bookshelf speakers (again cost wise you may have to buy two pairs and 'waste' one speaker), or choose a brand that sells them as singles/has a fully matching centre. Just as important though is that you shouldn't jam the centre speaker low down in the TV cabinet. In fact if you can wall mount all three speakers in line below a wall mounted TV then this is likely to give a better result.
Driven by a separate AVR you could configure a 3.0 (or add a subwoofer for 3.1) and perhaps increase the level of the centre speaker a dB or two after the initial auto set up that most AVRs seem to have these days. Some AVRs have a 'night mode' which may also help, but sometimes they only function with 5.1 digital signals, so may not work with a stereo soundtrack from a TV.
This isn't the definitive method for resolving your issue, but cheaper options (such as soundbar/non matching LCR speakers) may just give you better overall sound, but you could still suffer the music/effects drowning out the dialogue.
I do occasionally have this issue with a small 4.1 set up I have in my conservatory (no room for a separate centre speaker as the left/right are so close together. I also sometimes find it gets annoyingly loud if my OH turns up the quieter channels, then changes to another louder one as it tends to start to sound harsh at higher listening levels (again going back to the comments above about soundbar/cheaper non matching LCR systems).
However, my main system which uses three identical LCR speakers never seems to sound overly loud, because it has so much headroom and sounds smooth/un-flustered so dialogue is always clear as I can comfortably listen at much higher levels to begin with.
Try connecting the TV to a set of PC speakers. If you have a set already for your computer then try those, it'll be a free test. Just plug them into the headphone socket on the TV. Even fairly cheap ones will be an improvment over poor TV speakers (you haven't said what TV you have, some are better than others) and will make everything clearer, including the speech.
Sorry for the delay in response and thank you for the replies.
The TV is a 32" Panasonic LED/LCD and the sound isn't too bad. It's only when watching orchestras that the lack of bass is noticeable.
I don't have any old PC speakers as I currently use an iMac at home. I used two bookshelf speakers and a separate amp with my last PC but they are too big to go either side of the TV which is mounted on a swinging bracket. At a pinch I could get one speaker on the right hand side.
Perhaps I should contact the BBC and get their options. If anythings comes from it I'll let you know.
P.S. I've just had a look at the "Action on Hearing Loss" (used to be RNID) website and it seems to have been an issue for years. Deafness appears to be the forgotten disability.
The TV is a 32" Panasonic LED/LCD and the sound isn't too bad. It's only when watching orchestras that the lack of bass is noticeable.
I don't have any old PC speakers as I currently use an iMac at home. I used two bookshelf speakers and a separate amp with my last PC but they are too big to go either side of the TV which is mounted on a swinging bracket. At a pinch I could get one speaker on the right hand side.
Perhaps I should contact the BBC and get their options. If anythings comes from it I'll let you know.
P.S. I've just had a look at the "Action on Hearing Loss" (used to be RNID) website and it seems to have been an issue for years. Deafness appears to be the forgotten disability.
I have exactly the same problem. The Panosonic in the living room is average and the one on the wall in the bedroom is a waste of time soundwise.
What I do and it works perfectly is a set of wireless headphones. Plug into the headphone socket, they do also need a power supply but once on you can even go make a cup of tea or take the dog out in the garden for a wee and still hear the sound perfectly. Think it is the clarity of the speakers and the concentration of sound cutting out the outside world.
Mine are Sony over the ear type.
What I do and it works perfectly is a set of wireless headphones. Plug into the headphone socket, they do also need a power supply but once on you can even go make a cup of tea or take the dog out in the garden for a wee and still hear the sound perfectly. Think it is the clarity of the speakers and the concentration of sound cutting out the outside world.
Mine are Sony over the ear type.
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