We all know the modern complaint: movie sound sucks now unless you have a high-end sound system. Frantically turning down the volume after turning it up to hear the dialogue only to need to turn it up again can be frustrating. Now, this doesn’t solve the underlying problem, but why not have a “Volume A” and “Volume B” you can easily set and toggle between with the simple press of a button?
Does a high end sound system actually solve the problem? Or does having a high end sound system just mean you no longer give a shit about annoying other people. Like the people who rev their engine so all their neighbours know how much they spend on their car.
I have a 7.2 stereo plugged into my computer. Sound levels are entirely dependent on what service the sound is coming from and what format(mono/stereo/surround). Netflix tends to be quieter than the others. I should say netflix dialog tends to be too quiet and explosions and other loud noises are too fucking loud.
other than the compressor the other comment mentioned, having a proper AV with multiple channels can also help with a lot of media, at least stuff that was mastered properly. Usually the center speaker carries mostly the dialogue and not much else, so I boost it like 7-8dB, this works pretty well for most things on Netflix and co, but Stereo (no center channel to boost) and shitty mastering (too much noise in center channel) still have the same issues
There is a hardware device, called a compressor that would solve the problem. Basically it reduces the loudest parts of audio on a gradual curve, which allows you turn up the overall volume.
Affordable ones range $100-$250, which should get the job done. Personally, I wouldn’t go either direction out of that range, more expensive ones will be overkill and cheap ones could sound bad or lack the controls to set it up right)
If you can get analog audio out of the TV in to a speaker/sound bar, it’s easy to setup.
So with a cheaper sound bar and a compressor, you could accomplish this for about $250-$400 depending on how much money you can to throw at the problem,
I run a software compressor on my sff PC that I use as a media player. No expensive sound system required.