Sony surround sound speakers hardly give the "surround experience" that they should do, please help.

Question

I have a Sony surround sound DVD player which comes with a 6 piece surround sound kit, it wasn't cheap and people haven't really got much bad to say about it, but mine hardly seems like a "surround sound" at all, i watch movies and play my Xbox 360 using them (yes, it is all correctly connected) and i rarely get wowed by the effect they give, 95% of the sound comes from the front 2 speakers whilst just around 5% comes from the back, so yes, occasionally i do hear the odd bullet fly past which is good, but surely whilst playing the xbox i should hear far more, especially with games such as call of duty 4, which is constantly praised on it's surround sound compatibility. The subwoofer seems to be doing it's job, it's just the 2 back speakers, they are connecting wirelessly with the front ones and the green light is always on signalling that they are working fine, but the surround sound effect is bad,... Thanks in advance

Picture of the Set : http://www.avland.co.uk/sony/davsr4w/davsr4w

Answer 1

Your receiver should have a setup menu system.  All Dolby Digital receivers must have a feature that lets you add/subtract some volume from the center and each rear speaker.  This offset is needed because we often sit at different distances to the center and rear speakers.

Get your manual out.  The setup menu is in there.  Add 2 or 3 db to the rear levels and see if that fix's it.

Thebetter way is to get a Radio Shack SPL meter and use test-tones that move from speaker to speaker and use the meter to get all speakers producing the same volume.

Answer 2

You just have to set the volume of the rear speakers higher

Answer 3

I too have a Sony surround sound system. It is a  DAV C-700 and is a piece of junk.  What I've learned from the pros is that it you want premium A/V stay away from the tv manufactures and go with the people who make receivers and speakers.   I've been doing some research and found that I can use an inexpensive VCR/DVD with an (optical 1) connector option.  The best receiver for the money seems to be the Onkyo TX-SR605 as rated by CNET. priced at 311.99 to 349.99.  Onkyo's next class up would be the TX-SR805 but the price about doubles at $599.98 at VANN's. Lots of great user reviews on this one.  

As for speakers, that is a personal choice. Experience some at your local sound equipment store. Some good names are Polk or Procin 600.  Once you decide go on line and look for the best price.   Good Luck    Yukon Jack