Harman-Kardon AVR1550 owner manual Surround Setup, Delay Settings

System Configuration

To assist in making these settings, the icons in the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators P will change as the speaker type is selected at each position. When only the inner icon box is lit, the speaker is set for “small.” When the inner box and the two outer boxes with circles inside them are lit, the speaker is set for “large." When no indicator appears at a speaker location, that position is set for “none” or “no” speaker.

As an example, in the Figure below, the left front and right front speakers are set for “large,” the center, left surround and right surround speakers are set for small, and a subwoofer is set.

After the speaker setting has been made with one input, repeat as described above with all inputs you will use. In most cases, the speaker type will be the same and may be quickly entered by entering the same data used for the original input. But with some music sources you may prefer to listen to your surround system without using a Center speaker, particularily when a small Center is in use with an audio performance not matching perfectly with the main front speakers. With these sources selected the Center speaker will then be turned off automatically (enter NONE for the Center setting), while its signal will be fed to the left and right Fronts.

The speaker setting mode can also be changed at any time later, and the AVR 1550´s memory system will keep these settings for the input selected, until they are changed again.

L C R

SL LFE SR

Surround Setup

Once the speaker setup has been completed, the next setup step is to set the surround mode you wish to use with each input. Since surround modes are a matter of personal taste, feel free to select any mode you wish – you may change it later. The Surround Mode chart on page 20 may help you select the mode best suited to the input source selected. However, to make it easier to establish the initial parameters for the AVR 1550, it is best to select any Dolby Pro Logic II mode for most analog inputs and Dolby Digital for inputs connected to digital sources. In the case of inputs such as a CD Player, Tape Deck or Tuner, you may wish to set the mode to Stereo, if that is your preferred listening mode for standard stereo sources, where it is unlikely that surround encod- ed material will be used.

To set the surround mode you wish to use with the input selected, press the Surround Mode Selector button 7on the front or 9and the ⁄/¤ buttons Con the remote until the desired surround mode´s name appears in the Main Information Display M.

Note that Dolby Digital and DTS will only appear as choices when a digital input has been selected.

After the surround mode setting has been made with the current input, repeat the setting with all inputs you will use. The surround mode can also be changed at any time later, and the AVR 1550´s memory system will keep the settings for the input selected, until they are changed again.

Making Settings independent of selected Input

After the settings described above have been made for all input sources in your system, the fol- lowing settings, made with any input, will remain in effect independent of the input selected.

Delay Settings

Only for the Dolby Digital or Dolby Pro Logic II modes, you will need to adjust the delay time setting. Note that the delay time is not adjustable for any other modes.

Important Note: Once the delay time is set with any input it will be effective with all other inputs too. Moreover the surround delay time setting must be made only for either the Dolby Pro Logic II or the Dolby Digital mode. The other setting will be set automatically.

Due to the different distances between the lis- tening position for the front channel speakers and the surround speakers, the amount of time it takes for sound to reach your ears from the front or surround speakers is different. You may com- pensate for this difference through the use of the delay settings to adjust the timing for the specific speaker placement and acoustic conditions in your listening room or home theater.

The factory setting (see Surround Mode Chart page 20) is appropriate for most rooms, but some installations create an uncommon distance between the front and surround speakers that may cause the arrival of front channel sounds to become disconnected from surround channel sounds.

To resynchronize the front, center and surround channels, follow these steps:

1.Measure the distance from the listening/ viewing position to the front speakers in meters.

2.Measure the distance from the listening/ viewing position to the surround speakers.

3.Subtract the distance to the surround speakers from the distance to the front speakers and multiply the result by 3.

a. When setting the delay time for the Dolby Digital surround modes, the optimal delay time is the result of that subtraction. For example, if the front speakers are 3 m away and the sur- round speakers are 1 m away, the optimal delay time is figured as (3–1)x3=6. Thus, in this example, the delay time for Dolby Digital should be set at six milliseconds.

b. When setting the delay time for any Dolby Pro Logic II mode, take the result of the calculation above and add 15 to obtain the optimal delay time.

For example, if the front speakers are 3 m away and the surround speakers are 1 m away,

16SYSTEM CONFIGURATION