Dialogue woes - upgrade center or receiver?

I'm frustrated with constantly having to adjust the volume while watching a movie. What would you upgrade and why? I'm wondering if a receiver with better room correction would help more over a better center.

Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR393 Center: Klipsch R-52C (looking at the R-34C for an upgrade) Listening postion is 13" away.

My main goal is to have a full sound without having to micromanage, and be able to watch a movie and not worry about waking up the kids, so a receiver with some sort of night mode would probably be valuable. Thanks for your input.