I think that the receiver has this capability, also known as Dynamic Range Compression. On the HTR-2, there's a button marked N Lite which appears to cycle between 100 & 25% (with points in between) to set things up. I thought I saw it once over the weekend.
However, it appears to have ceased to function. All inputs, at present, are digital. Ideas?
I believe this only works for Dolby Digital although I haven't tried it yet. From the T 763 manual:
DYN. RANGE (25, 50, 75, 100PCT): You can select the effective dynamic range (subjective range from soft to loud) for playback of Dolby Digital soundtracks. For fully cinematic effect, always select 100PCT, the default. Settings of 75, 50, and 25PCT progressively reduce dynamic range, making soft sounds comparatively louder while limiting the peak loudness of loud ones; the 25PCT setting will yield the least dynamic range and is best for late-night sessions or other times when you wish to retain maximum dialog intelligibility while minimizing overall volume levels.
The T773 manual states that DYN RANGE is available for Stereo, HDCD, and pretty much everything except DTS. The manual is wrong -- it actually contains a number of errors.
DYN RANGE is only available for Dolby Digital signals (and only while the signal is live, not on pause). For Stereo and other modes though the manual shows it as available is not.
Interestingly, though the manual does NOT show it available for DTS when you press the L. Night button with a DTS signal the receiver shows DRC ON and DRC OFF. This implies "Dynamic Range Correction" which seems to show that (at least for the 773) some sort of compression is available for DTS.