Home Theater/TV Sound Problems.. Help requested

[ccualumni]

My living room is two stories high and there is a rail upstairs about 4 feet tall. Above the rail is open space as well.

I have an LG TV and a Sony surround system.

My issue is that the TV and/or surround system are both louder upstairs than sitting right in front of the TV. My hearing is probably not as good as it used to be, so I have to turn it up a bit louder to be able to hear what people are saying. I have trouble hearing what people are saying as the background noise drowns out the words.

I have a basement underneath as well, so I cannot run wires to make it a true surround system. All 5 speaker are mounted on the wall beside the TV. The TV speakers kind of stink, but the surround sound system sounds great at higher levels. If my son is asleep, I have to keep the TV turned down.

We typically listen using the TV speakers only, but like I said, it can be hard to hear.

I went to Target today and they have a BOSE all in one surround sound system that sits on a TV stand below the TV. It had great sound and I am thinking that it would improve my situation, but with the issues I have had, I am not sure.

I am hoping the experts here can suggest a better setup or recommend what I need to do to improve the sound.

What are your thoughts:

1. Should I try the BOSE system?

2. Is there a way to "direct" the sound forward (not sure how to word that) so that it comes through better?4

3. Does anyone have a similar setup? What did you do to make it better?

Thanks in advance for your hep and suggestions.

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[fly_marlin]

Check to ensure everything is correctly hooked up in the back of the receiver/amp. If you have the center channel plugged into something else, that may lead to undesired effects.

 

[r0llinlacs 10+ year member]

If you're having issues with not hearing dialogue, there should be a setting somewhere something along the lines of "dynamic compression" or "auto volume" "volume leveling" "loudness equalization" there's a million terms for it, but try looking for it and turning it on.

Also you can try turning up the center channel since it handles most dialogue. Who set up and tuned the system?

 

[ccualumni]

Thanks for the response.

I did turn up the center channel and turned down the other speakers. That did make a difference.

I will look for the other setting as well. Thank you

 

[r0llinlacs 10+ year member]

Thanks for the response.
I did turn up the center channel and turned down the other speakers. That did make a difference.

I will look for the other setting as well. Thank you

Glad to help.