Magnavox 46" TV sound quality

Hi!

I believe you will find this is not a fault in the TV itself. You should check the audio settings in the set to see if any of those happen to be incorrect. I would recommend checking to make sure the set hasn't been set to receive the secondary audio program (SAP) or that any "effects" such as stereo expansion or the "smart sound" effect are turned off.

If you are watching through a set top or converter box, have you checked its audio settings to be sure they are correct? Perhaps the box is outputting the wrong type of audio for the speaker system you have.

This TV is probably capable of receiving stereo audio if it is being broadcast. Some broadcasters--for whatever reason--have their stereo audio messed up in the way you describe.

When you watch through the VCR, it's very possible that you are only watching with monophonic audio, especially if the VCR is outputting to the TV over its built in RF modulator. (Very few RF modulators output stereo audio.) This may be enough to defeat any audio processing that is being performed by your TV (most such schemes don't work on single- channel audio) or problems with the stereo audio coming from the station or source.

I've noticed that sometimes the effect of loud background noises and quiet foreground noises can be caused by playing multi-speaker sound (usually 5.1 channels) through a stereo speaker system.

William

The sound on my Magnavox LCD TV is poor unless you run it through a decent set of speakers :-( Feeding the audio out jacks of the TV to even a small CD player with larger (maybe 6") speakers makes a huge improvement in the lower frequencies. I think the problem is the small, thin speakers they use to keep the TV frame thin - good speakers have big magnets and the speakers are more than 1" thick.

Music louder than voice is something from popular music of the past

10-15 years - the "glitz" singers (where it was all about the show, not the singing) knew their voices were lousy and raised the music level to hide it. If people can't clearly hear them singing flat or the wrong note, then they don't get "couldn't carry a tune in a bucket" reviews. Once the fad started, lots of other groups joined in. Now the fans of that music are scoring movies and TV shows - with similar bad results. Less likely in movies with big stars, as they have the clout to get things changed.

John

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Simple. It's the surround processing done at the broadcast that's causing this. Two ways to fix:

1) Install a surround sound system making sure the center channel is working.

2) Put the TV in mono mode.

To be honest, the physical separation of the speakers doesn't throw much of a stereo soundstage anyway. When I repair or sell a TV that isn't used on a surround system, I always deliver it in "mono" All my TVs (not on surround) are in mono all the time. Trust me, you'll be much happier.

John

"Anon"

** The TV has some from of stereo enhancement in the audio system.

Go into the menus and disable it if possible.

.... Phil

Assuming that you have checked all the audio settings, and they are correct for your situation, having one channel speaker physically out of phase with the other may cause this problem. If you can get to them, try reversing the leads on one speaker ONLY, as see if the problem goes away.

On 1/21/2010 11:27 AM Klaatu spake thus:

I seriously doubt that an out-of-phase speaker would cause anything like what the OP is reporting. At most it would result in reduced volume.

--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

I believe you will find this is not a fault in the TV itself. You should check the audio settings in the set to see if any of those happen to be incorrect. I would recommend checking to make sure the set hasn't been set to receive the secondary audio program (SAP) or that any "effects" such as stereo expansion or the "smart sound" effect are turned off.

If you are watching through a set top or converter box, have you checked its audio settings to be sure they are correct? Perhaps the box is outputting the wrong type of audio for the speaker system you have.

This TV is probably capable of receiving stereo audio if it is being broadcast. Some broadcasters--for whatever reason--have their stereo audio messed up in the way you describe.

When you watch through the VCR, it's very possible that you are only watching with monophonic audio, especially if the VCR is outputting to the TV over its built in RF modulator. (Very few RF modulators output stereo audio.) This may be enough to defeat any audio processing that is being performed by your TV (most such schemes don't work on single- channel audio) or problems with the stereo audio coming from the station or source.

I've noticed that sometimes the effect of loud background noises and quiet foreground noises can be caused by playing multi-speaker sound (usually 5.1 channels) through a stereo speaker system.

William

**** William, Thank you for your reply. I have experimented with the different settings available through the TV menus and the CATV menus regard audio settings a number of times. I again checked all settings; Smart Sound and other processing is Off in the TV, though it is set on Stereo. Even set on Mono the effect exists although it is slightly less noticeable over the poor quality overall sound. The VCR is a hi-fi stereo model and is wired in stereo using the RCA Composite jacks. Both the TV audio and the VCR audio is processed thru the Bose 1-2-3 Home system (which is a 5.1). (Alternately, I have turned off the Bose 1-2-3 and turned on the TV's Internal speakers and the effect still exists on TV broadcasts but not when tuning thru the VCR, played through the TV speakers.)

Thanks! Scott Dunedin FL

John,

Thank you for your reply. I am not using the internal TV speakers. All audio is fed thru Bose 1-2-3 Home surround sound system. Thanks! Scott Dunedin FL

Simple. It's the surround processing done at the broadcast that's causing this. Two ways to fix:

1) Install a surround sound system making sure the center channel is working. 2) Put the TV in mono mode.

To be honest, the physical separation of the speakers doesn't throw much of a stereo soundstage anyway. When I repair or sell a TV that isn't used on a surround system, I always deliver it in "mono" All my TVs (not on surround) are in mono all the time. Trust me, you'll be much happier.

John

**** John,

Thank you for your reply. Both TV and VCR are outputting to Bose 1-2-3 Home surround sound system. 1-2-3 does not have a separate center speaker but is created using a wave channel from each of the side speakers. Stereo or mono output from the VCR to the 1-2-3 does not have the effect. Only the mono or stereo TV audio output to the 1-2-3 has the effect.

Even in Mono the background sounds/music are louder than the voices, although the effect is slightly lessened.

Thanks! Scott Dunedin FL

Phil,

Thanks! I have rechecked all settings in the TV menus and the CATV menus and there were no audio enhancement features turned on. I have also reset everything to defaults and made sure those settings were turned off. Even in mono, the TV's background is much louder than any voices, on some channels.

Thanks! Scott Dunedin, FL

Klaatu,

Thanks! However would this affect the TV's audio output "without" the internal speakers? Even with the internal speakers turned off, the TV's audio sent thru the Bose 1-2-3 surround system, exhibits the louder background sound.

Thanks! Scott Dunedin, FL

David,

Thanks! When I flip between the audio sources (TV and VCR) on the Bose

1-2-3, with the volume levels set the same number, the Background sound stays approximately at the same level, but the voices (what I perceive as forground) goes from 50% as loud as the background from the TV to 50% louder than the background from the VCR, even on mono settings. Two other TVs in the house have normal audio with clear forground sound and background sound/music where it belongs, in the background. Thanks! Scott Dunedin FL

Hi!

You are welcome.

That's good information to have. I didn't know you'd done that. :-)

I was thinking at first that it might be worthwhile to check this system out and make sure it wasn't doing any processing to "create" surround sound out of a stereo source, but then I read further:

...and there went any hopes of an "easy" fix. I don't know what to think. There must be some difference in the way the VCR processes the audio that causes it to be played in what you consider a more correct manner.

I do hope that you can figure it out, but I think I've done all I can to help at this point.

William

It wouldn't, so there goes the phasing theory. Good Luck!

Klaatu

=A0Both TV and VCR are outputting to Bose 1-2-3 Home

is

Uh oh, get ready to duck. The Bose haters are warming up in the bullpen.....

The lack of a center channel is still causing this. I do this for a living, and deal with it constantly. Turn the TV speakers back on, put the TV in mono, adjust the TV level to match the Bose, and the problem will go away. It's not a perfect center channel, but it'll do.

John

One last thought.....if you are using standard RCA male to male plugs to run audio from the TV to the Bose, replace that cable. See if that helps.

On 1/24/2010 9:54 AM Klaatu spake thus:

How could that *possibly* affect the problem the OP reported?

--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

I've run across several "inexpensive" Chinese cables where not only the colors were wrong (red plug at one end, but black plug on the other...reversed) but also cables where the internal wiring was reversed at one end, on one side of the stereo cable. That was in a car stereo installation, and I had run the cable under moulding and carpeting, then had no bass and poor imaging when I fired the completed unit up. I was not pleased. Nothing else has helped the OP come up with a solution, it was just a suggestion.

Klaatu