I have a Samsung flatscreen with a very basic extra 3 point speaker system attached.
It seems to me as if the TV’s sound system overemphasizes background music and deemphasizes dialouge. Sometimes to the point where it’s difficult making out what people have said.
Is there a way to adjust this? Just a minor tweak to turn one up and the other down without really messing too much with the overall quality.
Thanks
No. Not even with the fanciest stereo system money can buy. Your TV set isn’t what’s mixing the audio – that goes back to the original studio or sound producer. Then the audio signal gets compressed (sometimes multiple times) which muddies things even worse.
One thing you can try is to run your audio signal through a basic graphic equalizer, and set it to boost the vocal range (roughly 300-3,000 hz) while minimizing the higher and lower frequencies. But, as you can expect, you absolutely will be messing with overall quality.
Another suggestion, if you’re listening in Dolby, is to emphasize your center channel and de-emphasize the left, right and surround channels. Most video producers mix voices from both sides into the center. But results will vary pretty much scene by scene, and you’ll be minimizing the entire listening experience.
ETA: I generally hear the voices better on my old, mono, TV sets than I do with the newer, fancier stuff. I’ve turned off the Dolby entirely on my HDTV because it’s just too distracting for me.
I offer no solution, but I do feel your pain. Between whatever contemporary audio mixing styles are involved and the seemingly ubiquitous *mumbling* style of acting these days, I too have a hard time understanding dialogue.
I tell ya, trying to spend a relaxing evening watching television with my girls (daughters, ages 8 and 10; wife, age…never mind, I value my genitalia too much to tell) and parents (both age 90, with 90yo ears),is a never-ending exercise in futility:
Kids: “what’s fornicate mean”, “all our friends watch South Park, why can’t we?”, “where is ‘that special part of a man’s anatomy’, dad?”, ad infinitum.
Mom and Dad: “what’d he say?”, “what’d she say?”, “what’d they say?”, “did that dog just say something?”, “Is this a silent movie?”, ad infinitum.
Wife: “Why don’t you ever go to Jared’s for me!”, loop ad nauseum.
T.V from inception through the 80’s may have been lopsidedly trite and Pollyannaish, but at least you understood every word spoken and you could watch it with your whole family without fear of psychological trauma (mine). I’ll always opt for clarity and restraint over obsessive adherence to realism (assuming mumbling and no-holds-bar TMI is more realistic than clear speaking and civilized behavior).
What “kunilou” said about the production-end audio mixing. 
Suck it up, and turn on the closed captioning. 
We PBS-watchers do that for British regional accents even when we CAN hear the dialogue. 
I heard that. 
Can you tell us what model speaker system you have?
If by “3 point” you mean it has 3 speakers, try turning up the center speaker.
Try boosting the midrange. If it only has bass and treble controls, try turning them both down. That should boost the midrange relatively.
Some systems that only have front speakers will process the sound to try to simulate surround sound. That can reduce the clarity. If it has a “surround mode”, SRS or Trusurround, try turning that off.
There’s also often a built in audio compression mode designed for listening to a show without waking the neighbors. I can’t remember the name that’s normally given to it, but I find that it makes the loud sounds softer and the soft sound louder.
And I will point out that, when in the theater, the vocal sound is reportedly a lot better, so there must be something you can do. It’s just not just a factor of equipment.
Sorry about the delay in responding to this thread. Thank you all for your comments.
Three point as in two speakers and the bass base (fun with homonyms!).
I’ll check out the system tonight and see if it’s on surround sound.
I work in the broadcast industry and the complaint you make is an increasingly common one. But I’m afraid to inform you it’s usually connected with hearing loss! Certain frequencies tend to go before others. Hence the tendency of older people to make this complain and very few younger viewers.
Here’s a link to an investigation the Voice of the Listener & Viewer Trust have been making into exactly this phenomena In February (please note this is a pdf download not a web page): ibs.org.uk - This website is for sale! - ibs Resources and Information.
The broadcast industry, in Britain at least, as been thinking hard about this and the BBC in particular have altered the guidelines they give to their producers.
I’ve considered hearing loss, but other younger people say the same thing, that dialog is quiet and music and explosions are too loud.
I’m wondering if 5.1 sound has anything to do with it, are people’s televisions properly converting the 5.1 to stereo? I know on many DVDs I play stereo (or 2.1) isn’t an option.
And when it happens consistently on some shows and not on others, hearing loss isn’t the culprit.
I’m not old! I’m 33 and 364/365ths!
Though my wife has suggested I get my hearing checked so you all may not be entirely off base.
Oh, and yeah, the BBCA is a huge culprit in this.
I’ve actually wondered that as well. I do know that cheap DVD players would only output the first two channels to the TV, rather than remixing them.
I have a Samsung flat screen with a headphone jack (23"). I use a computer speaker with a subwoofer plugged into this and then use the digital equalizer that is built into the TV for clearer voice. The TV also has a choice of sound modes and “voice” is one of them. The other advantage to this is that the sound volume is driven by the TV remote.