Grizzog Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I've been noticing on some movies, it seems they weren't really paying attention to mic levels. Special effects/explosions sound awesome, but sometimes in scenes where there is yelling dialog, there will be crackling/clipping in the center channel. I don't listen above -17 on my receiver and my center is also set at -8. It is repeatable and happens in the same spot within the movie. Apparently some people can't hear this sound, but once you do, it is awful. The RP series is ruthless with showing poor recordings, so these sounds just can't hide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 My center never crackles or clipping... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Not gonna lie not a fan of the rp centers. What particular movie and clip are you noticing this on? I've noticed some poor recordings but no clipping or crackling from any centers I've owned. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 The RP are no more revealing than the Reference or Heritage line. There may be something going on with the speaker or avr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 Apparently some people can't hear this sound, but once you do, it is awful. You're not alone. A crap mix is just that, and where dialogue is concerned it's just that much more annoying to have to put up with. I feel your pain. It makes you curl up in your chair, grit your teeth in disgust, and has you quickly dropping anchor on the volume knob. Bear with it because there's nothing you can do with it at the source end. Cooked is simply cooked, no matter what. There's no bringing it back. The only positive is that the listening experience builds a sincere appreciation for a better mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) Tested it this morning on an iTunes movie. Watched it on my main system and could hear the overloaded mic sound. I then put it on my iPhone and through headphones: same part of the movie, same overloaded sound. It's just during yelling dialog in some spots. Edited April 13, 2016 by Grizzog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I'll try again. What movie? What spot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 Now...don't laugh at the movie choice, but I knew it had issues. Step Brothers. About 19 minutes in (19:20 on my counter), when John C Reilly yells "Hey, did you touch my drum set!?" and throws Will Ferrel's legs off the couch. That's the most noticeable part, but there are some more examples in that exchange they have. I also tried it on my computer setup, same issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I doubt the movie was mixed too hot. Though sometimes in movies the dialog can get buried in the effects mix. It sounds like it's simply a bad recording... Maybe it's a compression artifact related to iTunes? And if you're listening at -17, with a center that's another -8 dB down, then there's very little chance any "clipping" is taking place... particularly for a movie like Step Brothers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) Some movies drive me crazy with voices. Transformers 4 is mixed with too much midbass or low midrange in voices and when Tessa screams its just toe curlingly bad. Colombiana has voices so low they come out of the subs. Lots of movies are just kind of hot in general. Looper is very loud. American Sniper didn't really record Bradley Cooper's fake slang very well, hard to understand, have to turn it up to uncomfortable levels for it to be real clear. Edited April 13, 2016 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 I doubt the movie was mixed too hot. Though sometimes in movies the dialog can get buried in the effects mix. It sounds like it's simply a bad recording... Maybe it's a compression artifact related to iTunes? And if you're listening at -17, with a center that's another -8 dB down, then there's very little chance any "clipping" is taking place... particularly for a movie like Step Brothers. I don't mean the amp clipping, but the movie itself - such as overloaded mics. I noticed it on some blu rays as well. Some are amazing, some not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorm Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 I have crackling on my Jurassic Park Blu-Ray. I can repeat it on numerous other places, not just my system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 (edited) https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_-5nvuxy-j7UHRfekZLMDh1NzA It sounds like crap, but there isn't clipping I can see. He yelled so loud the microphone crapped itself. Edited April 13, 2016 by mustang guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 I have crackling on my Jurassic Park Blu-Ray. I can repeat it on numerous other places, not just my system. I think I noticed it in there as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 13, 2016 Author Share Posted April 13, 2016 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_-5nvuxy-j7UHRfekZLMDh1NzA It sounds like crap, but there isn't clipping I can see. He yelled so loud the microphone crapped itself. So I'm not crazy? [emoji38] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 I'm not saying you're not crazy. Actually I think you may be a bit crazy... But I like crazy peeps, so it's all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) I'll accept that. Distortion in any form drives me nuts. With my tinnitus, things like that are bone jarring. Edited April 14, 2016 by Grizzog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyrc Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 (edited) I doubt the movie was mixed too hot. Though sometimes in movies the dialog can get buried in the effects mix. It sounds like it's simply a bad recording... Maybe it's a compression artifact related to iTunes? And if you're listening at -17, with a center that's another -8 dB down, then there's very little chance any "clipping" is taking place... particularly for a movie like Step Brothers. I don't trust iTunes. The movie mixers are supposed stay below "full scale" (in a calibrated control room full scale is 105 dB through any speaker except the sub(s) which are allowed 115 dB). Anything over that will sound terrible. BUT, if the dialog elements, recorded at an earlier date, often in another studio, or on set, are delivered to them with microphone diaphragm crashing, or condenser mic electronic overload, there isn't much they can do about it, short of asking the money guys for a re-do. The better your speakers, the more distortion in the source will show up (unless they are High End speakers designed to veil both distortion and detail ). That being said, I have had better luck with Blu-ray discs than with any other medium. So far (about three years of seeing 2 movies per week) my impression is that DTS Master is marvelous almost every time. Edited April 14, 2016 by garyrc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzog Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 The DTS master of Star Wars was pretty awesome. Animated movies seem pretty buttoned up too, probably due to a very controlled environment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 The DTS master of Star Wars was pretty awesome. Agree. The Force Awakens had a tremendous mix on Blu-ray. Dialog was super clear (better than at the theater) and the music was dynamic, matching the action and had plenty of low end grunt for those of you who live for that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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