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RP-404C Sounds Tinny


jtbreen

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Hey all, 

 

Looking for some advice. I've just purchased the RP-404C for my home theater and I just can't seem to get a good sound out of it. Dialogue sounds very thin and is often drowned out in louder scenes when the L/Rs are firing. The center is placed just below my projector screen and is on a stand. It's angled slightly up to the main listening position and is about 3" from the wall. I'm using a Sony STR DN1080 as my AVR and I've had the issue with all audio streams including TrueHD and DTS-HD. My old (and relatively cheap) Infinity speaker was far more clear and cut through the mix even in loud scenes. 

 

I've run the Sony Auto Cal multiple times, tried different calibration modes (Full Flat, Engineer, Front Reference) and have boosted the center trim level up to 3db above what the auto cal set it to. I've checked all levels with an SPL and have the center running slightly hotter than the rest. If I boost it higher, it's overpowering and really sticks out unnaturally in the mix. I've currently got the crossover set at 70Hz but have experimented with 60-100Hz and nothing sounds great. 

 

Any advice on getting a better sound? I really expected more and so far am quite disappointed with the performance. 

Edited by jtbreen
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@jtbreen,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Just my opinion based on my experience with 4" drivers.  

I really don't think a center channel with such small woofers, even though there are 4 of them, has the oooomph to have much impact in a HT setting unless the room is on the really small(12ft x 14ft max) side and the front mains are small also.  What size is your room and what are your left and right front speakers.

 

Bill

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,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Just my opinion based on my experience with 4" drivers.  

I really don't think a center channel with such small woofers, even though there are 4 of them, has the oooomph to have much impact in a HT setting unless the room is on the really small(12ft x 14ft max) side and the front mains are small also.  What size is your room and what are your left and right front speakers.

 

Bill

Thanks for the quick reply. The room is definitely small, 11x10 and listening position is about 8 feet away and is totally unobstructed. I'm using the RP-6000F has the L/R mains, which was recommended to me by several installers as the correct pairing with the RP-404C. Also, my previous center only had 3" drivers and again, cut through the mix. Really at a loss here! 

Edited by jtbreen
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What are your L/R speakers?

 

I would suggest moving the center farther away from the wall since it is rear ported.

 

Also, make sure you don't have anything on in your receiver such as Late Night mode or whatever it may be called which will reduce output. 

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31 minutes ago, wuzzzer said:

What are your L/R speakers?

 

I would suggest moving the center farther away from the wall since it is rear ported.

 

Also, make sure you don't have anything on in your receiver such as Late Night mode or whatever it may be called which will reduce output. 

 

RP-6000Fs. I'll try moving it out a bit more. Unfortunately because of the small room size, I can only move it out so far without it becoming an obstacle. How far would you recommend I move it out? Its about 3-4" right now.

 

I've turned off any of the dynamic compression and also experimented with it on just to see. Didn't make much of a difference. The Sony also has different calibration modes that apply different room correction. I've experimented with all 3 and turned it off completely and nothing really sounds that good. I'm just shocked that a center channel that was 3 times the price of my previous one can't output a decent sound. I've heard it on display and it was nice and clear and the reviews are for the most part fantastic. Really getting frustrated!

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I replaced my KEF center channel speaker almost two years ago with the  RP-404CA and the difference in quality was quite noticeable from the moments the 404 was connected. Maybe there is something defective withe your speaker. I run mine thru Yamaha AVR and run my center channel a tad louder than my mains because I like the dialogue centered on the TV but the 404 blends seamlessly with my Fortes. 

 

It is quite clear and sounds very very good but I dont boost the bass way up on the center channel speaker because my subwoofer gives me plenty of bottom end either listening to 2 channel audio or 7 channel surround.

 

Good luck with sorting out your 404 - 

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I would move it about twice as far as you have it now if you can. 

Also, try listening with all of the automatic setup stuff disabled.  With the receivers I've had that have Audyssey, etc, I've tried it both ways and prefer to adjust the sound manually.  There's just so much crap in modern receivers that can make everything sound like garbage if it's all turned on.

Plus, make sure you have the speaker wired in phase. 

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I pulled the unit about 7" from the wall and reran the calibration. Does seem to sound much better. Still not quite as good as what I was expecting though and found the dialogue still is a bit buried in louder scenes. Granted, I was watching The Dark Knight Rises and I know Nolan movies are infamous for buried dialogue, so will continue to test with other films. I calibrated the levels manually to 70db and bumped the center to about 72db. I find if I bump it much more than that, it sounds out of place in the mix and non-dialogue in the center like footsteps becomes far too loud. 

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  • 4 months later...
3 minutes ago, Rod Sheridan said:

I'm running the RP-404C with a pair of Lascala's.

 

With 6dB boost for the 404 it sounds just fine as a center channel.

 

Maybe there's something wrong with yours?

 

How does it sound if you hook it up as a main running alone? If it sounds bad there's something wrong with it.

 

It really boggles my mind when people have absolutely awesome, massively capable speakers like Lascalas and then throw in an inexpensive center speaker that bottlenecks everything.  You realize you don't need a center speaker, right?

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1 hour ago, wuzzzer said:

 

It really boggles my mind when people have absolutely awesome, massively capable speakers like Lascalas and then throw in an inexpensive center speaker that bottlenecks everything.  You realize you don't need a center speaker, right?

the 404C is not a very inexpensive center speaker and its actually very capable - I still think there is something not quite right with Rons 404C as mine made watching the TV much more enjoyable than the KEF center I had been using and dialogue much clearer and crisper than just using the fortes and running them phantom.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had the Sony 1080. I ran polk signature speakers with it. At near reference volumes everything sounded great but at lower volumes I always had to turn up the center. I since replaced my AVRs with Denon. I have a 504c which is paired with 8000fs which sound amazing. I'd say I always had issues with dialogue with all AVRs I had even my Denons unless I cranked it up. The great thing about the Denon is Dynamic Audio. Granted it adds some compression but it balances out the dialogue for every day listening and when I'm watching a movie I just turn it off and crank it up. The one thing I've learned over all these years is not all sources are equal in the audio/video world.

Sent from my KB2007 using Tapatalk

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