Harman-Kardon HK 3485 Speaker Connections, Subwoofer, Connecting Source Devices to the HK

CONNECTIONS

There are different types of audio and video connections used to connect the receiver to the speakers and video display, and to connect the source devices to the receiver. To make it easier to keep them all straight, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA®) has established a color-coding standard. Table 1 may be helpful to you as a reference while you set up your system.

Table 1– Connection Color Guide

Audio Connections

LeftRight

Front (FL/FR)

Video Connections

Composite

Types of Connections

This section will briefly review different types of cables and connections that you may use to set up your system.

Speaker Connections

Speaker cables carry an amplified signal from the receiver’s speaker terminals to each loudspeaker. Speaker cables contain two wire conduc- tors, or leads, inside plastic insulation. The two conductors are usually differentiated in some way, by using different colors, or stripes, or even by adding a ridge to the insulation. Sometimes the actual wires are different, one being copper red and the other silver.

The differentiation is important because each speaker must be connected to the receiver’s Speaker-Output terminals using two wires, one positive

(+)and one negative (–). This is called speaker polarity. It’s important to maintain the proper polarity for all speakers in the system. If some speakers have their negative terminals connected to the receiver’s posi- tive terminals, performance can suffer, especially for the low frequencies.

Always connect the positive terminal on the loudspeaker, which is usually colored red, to the positive terminal on the receiver, also colored red. Similarly, always connect the black negative terminal on the speaker to the black negative terminal on the receiver.

The HK 3485 uses binding-post speaker terminals that can accept banana plugs

+ or bare-wire cables.

Banana plugs are simply plugged into the hole in the middle of the terminal cap. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Banana Plugs

Bare-wire cables are installed as follows (see Figure 2):

1.Unscrew the terminal cap until the pass-through hole in the collar is revealed.

2.Insert the bare end of the wire into the hole.

3.Screw the cap back into place until the wire is held snugly.

1 2 3

Figure 2 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Bare Wires

Subwoofer

The subwoofer is a specialized type of loudspeaker that is usually connected in a different way. The subwoofer is used to play only the low frequencies (bass), which require much more power than the other speaker channels. In order to obtain the best results, most speaker manufacturers offer powered subwoofers, in which the speaker contains its own amplifier on board. Sometimes the subwoofer is connected

to the receiver using the front left and right Speaker Outputs, and then the front left and right speakers are connected to terminals on the subwoofer. More often, line-level (nonamplified) connections are made from the receiver’s Subwoofer Outputs to corresponding jacks on the subwoofer, as shown in Figure 3. The same full-range signal is output through both jacks. Thus, you have the option of connecting each jack to the line-level input on a separate subwoofer. If you have only one subwoofer with a single line-level input, connect it to the right Subwoofer Output on the HK 3485.

Subwoofer

Figure 3 – Subwoofer

Connecting Source Devices to the HK 3485

The HK 3485 is designed to process audio and video input signals, playing back the audio and displaying the video on a television or monitor connected to it. These signals originate in what are known as “source devices,” including your DVD player, CD player, DVR (digital video recorder) or other recorder, tape deck, game console, cable or satellite television box, or MP3 player. Although the tuner is built into the HK 3485, it also counts as a source, even though no external connec- tions are needed, other than the FM and AM antennas.

Separate connections are required for the audio and video portions of the signal.

Analog Audio Connections

Analog audio connections require two cables, one for the left channel (white) and one for the right channel (red). These two cables are often attached to each other for most of their length. See Figure 4.

Analog audio	L
cable (RCA)	R

Figure 4 – Analog Audio

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