Echo in left and right speakers, what the....?

I have the KEF egg surround speakers and the YAMAHA DSP-AX620 amp. When i need detailed sound out of the left or right speakers it sounds very echoey as if in a cave! Examples are people who are meant to be in the same room but are just off camera - when they talk it sounds as if they are miles away in a tunnel! The shot can pan across to that actor and they are right next to the camera!

Other examples are music tracks that may start in the centre speaker but then move to the side speakers to allow the dialogue to come in. When the music shifts it goes from sounding clear and full to sounding like it's being played in Wembley Stadium!

Does anyone else have this problem and if so any solutions??

My amp settings are on Enhanced (for Dolby or DTS depending on DVD).

 

Hi

Switch this OFF for starters, its more likely to be the cause of it. DSP Modes, complete waste of time IMHO.

 

Mmmm, i played around with the DSP modes the other day and while testing Straight Story i noticed that a thunderstorm in the movie sounds very impressive with Enhanced mode (deep, rumbling thunder that trails off into the distance - very impressive) but with all effects off the thunder was just a light clap. This seems odd as i'm sure the enhanced sounds seemed correct as they were very impressive (surely what my system should be like) not weedy!

 

Best thing is to test the same disc you had the echoey effects on with and without the DSP mode engaged. If its echoey with the DSP engaged and ok without, best leave it switched OFF. Most DSP modes add reverb to give the "impression" of a bigger room/whatever. Most, however, just bugger up the sound. When I had my Yamaha, I played with the modes for about 5 minutes then never bothered again!

 

It looks like i can either have punchy, vibrant sound but with echo in speakers at certain points or flatter sound without any echo. Seems a bit odd. I'll have another play around (by the way, will the DTS still work OK with all modes off?)

Thanks mate.

 

Yes, as long as you´re playing a dvd disc with a DTS track.

 

Second that, all the DSP modes do is mess with the delay times on your surrounds, they make a complete hash of things.

Two years ago I had the Yamaha A5 which I think the 620 replaced, so near enough identical, had great sound out of this, never weedy, I set speakers to small sent bass to the sub, never engaged any of the DSP modes, I was very happy with the results.

 

Cool thanks Bob. I though the bass automatically went to the sub?

My room is about 15x12 ft so i guess setting to small makes sense.

 

The bass goes where you direct it to in the amp setup. If you have KEF eggs set to large the amp will be redirecting bass to it that the eggs can't reproduce - hence weedy sound. It is only the LFE channel that is automatically sent to the sub so with all satellite speakers the amp should be set to small so that the bass and LFE is redirected to the sub.

 

Aha, the scales are falling from my eyes!

That may not only explain the general weediness but also help me tune my Sub more precisely. I have been twiddling with the settings on the sub to get a more refined bass sound (it seems all over the shop at the minute - in fact sometimes i can watch half a film then i get up to look at the sub and the light on the back is still on red meaning it ain't kicked in yet).

 

Sounds like you have selected the auto on/off function, leave sub on, if you are listening to a movie on a lowish volume sometimes the sub does not pick up a signal, hence it will not switch on.

If you haven't a SLM then set it up with a cd/movie you know well, one that has a good amount of bass, set crossover to max, volume to about 12o'clock then adjust volume via the amps bass management.

 

RE: The sub, if its brand new it could take time to run it. I was forever getting up to alter mine at first, then I gave up left it a few weeks and then set it up again. Since then I've never had to touch it again.

I also agree with the others on the DSP modes, leave them alone, once you get your system set up right i.e. speakers to small etc. then I think you will also agree that the DSP modes are only there to play with when your amp is new, you know the wow buttons to press faze.

 

FYI.
Yamaha DSP's are known as "echo armies".
They are quite crude (although undeniably effective if that is "your' thing").
I have also observed that they have a negative effect on the center channel (dialogue) which seems to harden up.


Steve.

 

A big thanks to everyone who replied to this thread. After spending a few hours over the weekend tweaking my system based on all the comments here, i have finally reached (what i believe to be) a satsifactory result from my system - and that includes NO ECHO - yippee!!!

Cheers