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MagicalMetaMagic t1_j26k2d3 wrote

Modern audio mixing is done by audiophiles with their heads up their ass. This is a common complaint and has been for over a decade now.

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"J-just get a surround setup!"
I have one, center channel and all. The whisper talking, the window shattering explosions, all of it is asinine and has nothing to do with your sound setup. It's increasingly a problem even in the theater.

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TheFinnishFrog t1_j28kkv0 wrote

>"J-just get a surround setup!"

This mentality of sound mixing also alienates like 90% of people living in cities who don't / can't set up a fuck off home cinema audio system in an apartment with neighbours

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dewayneestes t1_j27x82d wrote

A perfect recent example of how easy this is to fix was The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson.

Every bit of dialog was 100% crystal clear. Yes it’s a very simple and stage like show but my wife and I were stunned that we didn’t have to futz around with settings and subtitles to enjoy a movie for once.

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pardybill t1_j281bl8 wrote

I will say, the one glorious thing about surround on modern broadcasts is sports. The majority of the time you can just kill that center speaker to mute the commentators and just listen to the game live is great.

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LewManChew t1_j29qye1 wrote

As a sports mixer I support this. I’d rather never have announcers and just have the effects.

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suddenlyissoon t1_j28e5kk wrote

I have an awesome home theater and still find that most mixing is terrible. In fact, there's only one tv show I've ever seen that consistently used Atmos and space correctly and that is Black Summer on Netflix.

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AdmiralAckbarPlease t1_j27fmpe wrote

I’ve been to friends houses that have surround setup. I’ve noticed that sometimes they aren’t configured properly. In surround, all the dialogue is usually coming through the center channel. If your L+R and surround speakers aren’t placed right, it’s definitely possible that the mix isn’t always the issue.

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crashfrog t1_j27xtb0 wrote

Like, not everybody’s room can functionally support 5.1 audio, just based on geometry and materials and other architectural details beyond your control.

We should still get to watch TV too, though!

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AdmiralAckbarPlease t1_j27y8k6 wrote

Right. The flip side of this, is that maybe people should figure out how to turn up the center channel so they can get more of the dialogue

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crashfrog t1_j27yp3m wrote

They’re not mixing dialogue to the center channel anymore. It doesn’t help. Finding that out was $600 right down the fucking drain, by the way.

The one thing I’ve done that did help is get an Apple TV and two HomePods, which I placed right where we sit on the couch. Just physically being nearer to the speakers was a marked increase in intelligibility.

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healbous t1_j2836xe wrote

Turn your center channel up then. And your fronts down. Or turn night mode on.

Or you really don't have a center channel because your issues are really not issues to anyone with one.

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Delicious_Cicada_797 t1_j27nwxr wrote

I think it’s more that people are not realizing that they have slowly lost hearing over the years. Or more likely, refusing to accept it.

Audio engineers arent using compression correctly anymore, that’s true, but it’s also the use of earbuds becoming common, and people just getting old. The thing that pops out to me in OP’s title is “modern TV shows”… someone who has 100% of their hearing doesn’t say “modern” anything.

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robot_ankles t1_j27qiy9 wrote

Based on OP's description (and my own similar experiments) all variables are identical except for the specific show being evaluated. Same TV, speakers, service provider, viewing/listening location AND the same ears. And I have also experienced and read other's complain of this exact phenomenon. This topic was somewhat famously discussed a while back regarding Christopher Nolan movies as an example.

However, as for using the word "modern" you might be right. I was unaware that word existed until my 31st birthday when I was finally granted access to a whole book of unlocked words and phrases I was allowed to learn and begin using. So many fun words became available. Almost like getting a new DLC package.

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