[bigshot]

I was referring there to TV shows. I think he is talking about dialogue in TV shows and movies. I've heard that complaint from people before. The obvious mistake might be that he has patched into the left and right channels of a 5.1 mix and not folded down the center and rears. The other option is that the fold down is favoring the music and effects. Using a plain stereo track might fix that since it was designed to be heard in stereo. Imbalanced fold downs don't seem to be a problem when listening to Apple's spatial audio with AirPods. They have a different way of folding down the multichannel mix that seems to work better.

With music, the 5.1 mix is generally completely different than the stereo mix. With TV shows and movies, the rears are used more for effects and ambience and the center is generally dialogue. If dialogue is too weak for him, the center is probably the source of the problem.

 

[Davesrose]

I was referring there to TV shows. I think he is talking about dialogue in TV shows and movies. I've heard that complaint from people before. The obvious mistake might be that he has patched into the left and right channels of a 5.1 mix and not folded down the center and rears. The other option is that the fold down is favoring the music and effects. Using a plain stereo track might fix that since it was designed to be heard in stereo. Imbalanced fold downs don't seem to be a problem when listening to Apple's spatial audio with AirPods. They have a different way of folding down the multichannel mix that seems to work better.

With music, the 5.1 mix is generally completely different than the stereo mix. With TV shows and movies, the rears are used more for effects and ambience and the center is generally dialogue. If dialogue is too weak for him, the center is probably the source of the problem.

We seemed to get sidetracked about Apple's marketing of spatial audio (which I know you've had impressions from Apple headphones vs my Atmos speakers). When it comes to that, it seams Atmos speakers does get real 3D audio vs the headphones which seems to be unimpressive.

Now when it comes to TV: fundamentally, we're not disagreeing....I'm just trying to cover current technologies: IE if you're listening with stereo speakers, you may be more likely to be having issues with sources being 5.1 not being down mixed well to 2.0. What I was bringing up, is that with more digital sources, the standard source is becoming 5.1. So if your source is a cable box....many current cable boxes do have an optical out (which you can find a converter from optical DD 5.1 to analog 2.0). With streaming services on devices, I am finding there are sources that are only 5.1 with no 2.0 track: so that would be another example of having a device that can convert 5.1 to 2.0 if your TV is not doing the job.

 

[bigshot]

Yeah, I agree. Just trying to figure out the OP problem. He's having problems hearing dialogue clearly on TV shows listening with headphones. I've heard it before, and it seems that low volume dialogue can have several different causes.

 

[sander99]

@bigshot, the OP is talking about .mp4 recordings he made using a Samsung Galaxy S8 cell phone, then transferred them to his laptop. Using his laptop he hears the sound correct over headphones, but not over his laptop speakers.

 

[bigshot]

Ah, I got derailed when he started talking about TV. I really don't understand anything about what he's doing to experience this, and I don't know if it is attenuated sound or no sound at all. There's just too many variables and too little information.

 

[jmg999]

In an effort to provide a bit more clarity, I've uploaded one of the files I've been referring to. It can be accessed here. In this video, you'll see me filming the ceiling of my apartment. The tenant upstairs had a 150 pound dog that would run on the floor, and jump off the furniture. The sound in the video is of the dog running on the floor, and it can be heard on headphones just as it was the day that I recorded it. However, when playing it back on my laptop, I can't hear that sound that's created by the dog running on the floor.

So, I looked around my place, and I couldn't find my computer speakers. I believe that they're in storage. However, I do have a receiver and stereo speakers, so I'm going to be using those. The receiver is rather old, though. It's a Denon DRA-425R. In this manual, if you refer to the sixth page, you can see the connections on the back panel. I've also taken a picture, so it's clearer. What I'd like to do is connect the receiver and laptop via an HDMI-to-RCA cable or converter. Does anyone have any recommendations for which one I should choose? I found a number of them on Amazon.

 

[bigshot]

OK. I get it now. The sound of the dog romping around is a low frequency thumping sound. Your laptop has a tiny little tinny speaker in it that just can't reproduce that kind of bass. I listened to it on my iMac and I could hear the thumping. Your stereo speakers should be able to reproduce it better. In fact, you can probably goose the bass when the landlord comes over and get the plaster to peel off the walls! Or you can play back your recorded thumps at the same time the upstairs ones are happening and balance the volume and bass to make it sound just the same. The receiver doesn't matter. What you have will work. Any HDMI to RCA adapter should work for your purposes.

 

[jmg999]

lol...I see. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this me. I greatly appreciate it!

 

[bigshot]

If it's a St Bernard, maybe you can convince it to bring you the keg of whiskey he wears around his neck.

 

[jmg999]

lol...I wish! I hated reporting it, b/c it's not the dog's fault; it never is. It's the inconsiderate owner.

 

[bigshot]

You'd hate my dogs. They're little and they skittle around and bark. But I live in a house. The only person they annoy is me! If you get to hug and enjoy the dog's company, you put up with it. Downstairs neighbors just get the raw end of the deal. They only get the bad part.

 

[castleofargh]

OK. I get it now. The sound of the dog romping around is a low frequency thumping sound. Your laptop has a tiny little tinny speaker in it that just can't reproduce that kind of bass.

That's probably it.

 

[danadam]

That's probably it.

Hm... I could swear I saw that explanation before.