What's up with Jimmy Fallon show audio mixes?

BVX

Well-known member
For some reason the opening announcer mic is mixed way down to the point of being impossible to understand. Even when Fallon comes out it takes a few seconds to bring his mic up full as you can hear the transition happening. Last night's musical guest Toots & the Maytals had his great voice lower in the mix than what any self-respecting sound man would set. I've noticed this on several stereo TVs and with decent external speakers.

Once in a while I'll notice the same thing on sporting events where the crowd mic is brought up to the point of drowning out the announcers.
Is this some kind of "hip" new way to mix audio -- like, if you can't hear us, it's just because the crowd is so excited? Or maybe a byproduct of overzealous 5.1 mixes, stereo be damned?
 
A lot of the time a bands FOH mixer will mix the band live which might explain the bands sound, but who knows about the rest of the show.
I've noticed the same thing in the few that I've watched.
 
It could be a problem with your local station not decoding/encoding the 5.1 properly or the downmix to stereo isn't being done properly. Try calling the local station during normal business hours (the late night or weekend people probably can't do anything) and describe your problem. And don't be afraid to go through troubleshooting your end of things with them. Even if it's not your problem, it can help them diagnose things.
 
Yes you could be getting a 5.1 signal into your (possibly) 5.1 preamp, but only having stereo speakers. Dialogue comes through the center speaker primarily.
 
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