That function exists generally in audio, and is called dynamic compression or just compression. I've seen some TVs with that functionality and I know Apple TV can do it, so I would guess you might have that option lurking somewhere in your system. When you turn that on, you're taking a wide dynamic range and squishing it, which essentially just pulls up quieter content, so you have to consider how pure and accurate you like your content playback to be when doing that. Well-crafted films in particular occasionally play with audio level for effect (Interstellar being a dramatic example of that), so you might subtly suck a bit of air from a director's intention which might matter to you.

If you have a nice 5.1 setup, try boosting your center channel, too. That might help.

That is almost definitely related to the center channel being either too low, not existing, or some element of the sound setup mixing the center into the left and right.

I have the same problem and I have not fixed it yet because I have yet to purchase a sound system with a center channel.

Most good quality receivers sold in the past decade have a volume limit setting. It also sounds like you might not have the gain set right on your center channel. Two things to check which might help!

> I wish my sound system had a "constant loudness" function that I could just engage and put the remote down.

Any half-decent A/V receiver has this option. My Marantz receiver for example can scale the compression automatically depending on volume. The more you turn down the volume, the more it will compress, if you turn it up to max there will be no compression.

Somehow I suspect that the same people who like overcompressed music (to drown out everything else) love a big dynamic range in movies (gut-shaking explosions when dialog is at comfortable listening volume) and that those who like music with silent parts really would not mind being able to leave a cinema without a minor tinnitus. It's a confusing world.

I have this problem too. I'm assuming it's because I don't have a center channel, just to big stereo speakers. Even with the receiver set to know that there isn't a center channel, it doesn't seem able to compensate. I guess movies are just mastered assuming 5.1 now and if you only rock stereo, you get compromised sound.

Just give her the remote.

This is what subtitles are for.