Audyssey DEQ off for movies = clearer dialogue?

shoot3r

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I was noticing a bit of muddiness in dialogue, especially male voices, so I turned off DEQ. It actually seemed to clear things up. Anyone else notice this? I'm only running 3.1, but when it's on, it seems like background noise and sound are louder than they should be in the center channel.

OTOH, I like it for music, but I use the reference offset of -10 dB.
 
I always leave it off but I don't have to worry about playing loud late at night. Seems to be a personal thing but to me it added too much compression.
 
I was noticing a bit of muddiness in dialogue, especially male voices, so I turned off DEQ. It actually seemed to clear things up. Anyone else notice this? I'm only running 3.1, but when it's on, it seems like background noise and sound are louder than they should be in the center channel.

OTOH, I like it for music, but I use the reference offset of -10 dB.
Have you tried DEQ off and Dynamic Volume on Light?
 
Have you tried DEQ off and Dynamic Volume on Light?

No, but I may give it a try. At this point, just turning off DEQ seems to be an improvement. Voice clarity really improves. I'm not too worried about the bass on TV shows, but I'm worried it might be a little weak on movies without DEQ. I could probably just bump up my sub a few dB.
 
Leave it off. Just adds compression.
 
No, but I may give it a try. At this point, just turning off DEQ seems to be an improvement. Voice clarity really improves. I'm not too worried about the bass on TV shows, but I'm worried it might be a little weak on movies without DEQ. I could probably just bump up my sub a few dB.
Dyn Vol on light with DEQ off is a good alternative and you won't lose any punchy bass
 
Leave it off. Just adds compression.
Turning it off can also 'shrinks' the overall surround effect and eliminate that movie theater room effect, where you feel totally immersed into the action taking place on the screen (kinda like watching with just tv speakers on)
 
Turning it off can also 'shrinks' the overall surround effect and eliminate that movie theater room effect, where you feel totally immersed into the action taking place on the screen (kinda like watching with just tv speakers on)

No it doesn't. The audio wasn't larger than it is if disengaging DEQ so how can you shrink it? The soundtrack was never mixed to use DEQ and the person mixing it has no idea how it sounds with it on. You hear it as intended if leaving DEQ off.

It is purely a matter of personal preference as to whether you use it or not, but most experienced users will suggest it is left off because it results in unbalanced audio that over emphasises the surround effects. The emphasised effects tend to dominate the soundtrack and make quieter aspects such as dialogue less audible if using DEQ.
 
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I was watching Suicide Squad the other night with DEQ on, and the bass was amazing, but way overblown, IMO. At the time, I didn't think to try turning it off, but I bet it would've helped.

I just got the Audyssey app and have been playing around with settings. I decided to set the filter cutoff to 500 Hz, so Audyssey doesn't do anything to my speakers above that freq. Music sounds much better this way, but movies/TV didn't sound quite as good. I kind of like the added bass and fullness that DEQ gives with music, but on TV shows especially, it seems to muffle the dialogue and throw the sound out of balance.
 
No it doesn't. The audio wasn't larger than it is if disengaging DEQ so how can you shrink it? The soundtrack was never mixed to use DEQ and the person mixing it has no idea how it sounds with it on. You hear it as intended if leaving DEQ off.

It is purely a matter of personal preference as to whether you use it or not, but most experienced users will suggest it is left off because it results in unbalanced audio that over emphasises the surround effects. The emphasised effects tend to dominate the soundtrack and make quieter aspects such as dialogue less audible if using DEQ.
Dyn Vol on light solves the dialogue problem. Also setting Audyssey on Flat rather than Reference helps avoud surrounds overpowering fronts and center
 
I remember reading a while ago now on the Audyssey website that they themselves recommend leaving Dynamic EQ on. I've tried it a number of times with it off and on and without it the sound is very flat, with it on its much better, full bodied and much more like the cinema.

I only ever turn it off if I'm watching something late at night and I don't want to wake the house and my next door neighbours.
 
I remember reading a while ago now on the Audyssey website that they themselves recommend leaving Dynamic EQ on. I've tried it a number of times with it off and on and without it the sound is very flat, with it on its much better, full bodied and much more like the cinema.

I only ever turn it off if I'm watching something late at night and I don't want to wake the house and my next door neighbours.
Same for me. DEQ off gives the sound a 'thin can' effect. Not ideal when watching the latest blockbuster film
 
I remember reading a while ago now on the Audyssey website that they themselves recommend leaving Dynamic EQ on. I've tried it a number of times with it off and on and without it the sound is very flat, with it on its much better, full bodied and much more like the cinema.

I only ever turn it off if I'm watching something late at night and I don't want to wake the house and my next door neighbours.
You're not hearing it as intended then. A bit like how some people think the bass that's in nightclubs is 'proper' bass. Each to their own mind.
 
You're not hearing it as intended then. A bit like how some people think the bass that's in nightclubs is 'proper' bass. Each to their own mind.
The bass at the movie theater is immense. Is that as intended?
 
I only ever turn it off if I'm watching something late at night and I don't want to wake the house and my next door neighbours.

Its purpose is to compress the dynamic range of the audio relative to the master volume so that the effects are still audible at lower than reference listening levels. You are in fact using DEQ to do the exact opposite to its intended purpose.
 
The bass at the movie theater is immense. Is that as intended?
The LFE will be mastered at a particular level. How the cinema calibrates its system is up to them really. But what we were talking about, in particular vocals, can and will be adversely affected by DEQ especially when surround effects are in the mix. There's no way a mixing engineer can take that DEQ into consideration.

Therefore having DEQ off will give you the most accurate representation of how the track was mixed. If it sounds 'weak' or 'flat' on a system, perhaps the calibration needs adjusting.
 
I like the added bass effect, but if it obscures dialogue, it's probably not worth it. I kind of wish I could disable DEQ on just the center speaker.
 
The LFE will be mastered at a particular level. How the cinema calibrates its system is up to them really. But what we were talking about, in particular vocals, can and will be adversely affected by DEQ especially when surround effects are in the mix. There's no way a mixing engineer can take that DEQ into consideration.

Therefore having DEQ off will give you the most accurate representation of how the track was mixed. If it sounds 'weak' or 'flat' on a system, perhaps the calibration needs adjusting.

Theatres calibrate their setups using the same standards the studios that mix the soundtracks use. This in turn is effectively the same as the setup all AV receivers calibrate themselves in accordance with except that the home setups tend to use a 75 as opposed to the 85db reference level the studios and theatres use.

Roku appears to be after is due to the acoustics of the space as opposed to anything at all to do with either the mix or the theatre's calibration. You may find this enjoyable, but the soundtrack was never mixed to create that effect. I can recreate that exact effect using one of my Yamaha receiver's DSP Programs. DEQ is not and never was intended to have the effect you suggest it has.
 
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I like the added bass effect, but if it obscures dialogue, it's probably not worth it. I kind of wish I could disable DEQ on just the center speaker.
All you have to do is either enable dynamic volume on light or increase dialogue level by 3 dbls
 
Theatres calibrate their setups using the same standards the studios that mix the soundtracks use. This in turn is effectively the same as the setup all AV receivers calibrate themselves in accordance with except that the home setups tend to use a 75 as opposed to the 85db reference level the studios and theatres use.
Agreed, sorry bad choice of my words, I was really referring to the LFE level that may be upped to give greater bass rather than the overall calibration.
 
That thread is a classic [emoji41]
 
Yeah, I read through that one as well. Seems to be a lot of good points made.
 
DEQ is only part of the equation, or problem, which ever way you want to look at it. Room accoustics, receiver and speaker quality all play a part. DEQ in itself cannot overcome poor components.
 

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