Sony BluRay 2.1 home cinema system - can't hear dialogue

magimix_2

Hi,

I bought a Sony BluRay 2.1 Surround Sound home cinema system from John Lewis a couple of years ago. I've always noticed that the dialogue was quiet, and thought it was something I was doing wrong in setting it up, but having done some research, I understand this is a problem with the model. Blu Ray discs are generally coded to 5.1 (5 speakers + 1 subwoofer). As my cinema system is only 2.1, rather than converting the sound to work on 2 speakers + 1 subwoofer, it just cuts out some of the sound - in this case, the dialogue.

I would assume that this would qualify for "unfit for purpose" according to the Sales of Goods Act 1979, and so can claim a refund/replacement as it's within the last 6 years. However, I bought it in cash 2 years ago and no longer have the receipt as proof of purchase. Can I go to Sony for a refund/replacement, or is this a lost cause and do I have to give up on the wasted £330?

Jakg

I think you'll have a hard time stating it's unfit for purpose after 2 years if you've been using it for the last 2 years (read - accepting the goods).

As it is, your only recourse is with the retailer - you have no recourse with the manufacturer.

wealdroam

Firstly, it is John Lewis who sold the thing to you so it it is JL who you should look to for a Sale of Goods Act remedy.

Under Soga, you may be required to prove that the fault is inherent.
I.e. the fault existed at the time of sale but not necessarily apparent at that time.

If the fault is deemed inherent then the seller must provide a remedy which could be a refund, repair or relacement.
Effectively the seller's choice, and if refund is decided upon then that can be reduced to take account of the use you have had.

Don't JL offer a two year warranty on electronics?

Anyway, I cannot imagine you getting anywhere with this, either under warranty or SoGA, with no receipt or other proof of purchase.

Nilrem

I doubt it's that it's losing the sound completely, rather that it's not great at down mixing the sound to what is effectively stereo.

I've noticed it a lot with films played on our TV without surround sound, the dialogue is very hard to hear with some DVD's and blu-rays (and it's the same if I try them on my main set using a different blu-ray player, and without using my surround sound speakers).
It's basically down to the way the sound is mixed for the disc, where they haven't put the dialogue loud enough to be heard over the other effects when using stereo speakers, as one of the main reasons for surround is so that the speech can be kept audible whilst allowing for the big bangs from the other speakers.

It irritates me rather a lot when it happens, as it's usually a case of the sound being mixed without regard for stereo playback.
It used to be the case that you'd often find DVD's and Blu-rays might have had two English sound mixes available, one in stereo, and one in surround to get past this, but that seems to have died out.

Depending on your system it might have outputs that would let you connect up additional speakers (probably have to be self powered) fairly cheaply to convert it to full 5.1

You may also find there is some option in a menu to adjust how it deals with the mixing, or to change the sound profile to give more emphasis to the frequencies normally used by human speech (the same way you can choose from things like "rock", "pop", "classic" and "normal" on CD/MP3 players).

StrongWork

Yes, certainly unfit for purpose.

But seriously...