Installation

Before beginning to connect the various components to the receiver, turn off all devices, including the AVR 3550HD, and unplug their power cords. Don’t plug in any of the power cords until you have finished making all of your connections.

The receiver generates heat. Select a location that leaves several inches of space on all sides. Avoid completely enclosing the receiver inside an unventilated cabinet. Place components on separate shelves rather than stacking them directly on top of the receiver. Some shelf surface finishes are delicate. Try to select a location with a sturdy surface finish.

Step One – Connect the Speakers

Place your speakers as described in the Speaker Placement section.

Connect all of the loudspeakers to their corresponding speaker terminals on the AVR 3550HD. See Figure 17. Maintain the proper polarity by always connecting the positive and negative terminals on each speaker to the positive and negative terminals on the receiver. Use the Connection Color Guide on page 18 as a reference.

AVR 3550HD

FR	FL	SR	SL
	SBR	SBL

Figure 17 – Speaker Connections

Step Two – Connect the Subwoofer

Connect the Subwoofer Output on the AVR 3550HD to the line-level input on your subwoofer. See Figure 18. Consult the manufacturer’s guide for the subwoofer for additional information.

When the system has two subwoofers for a 7.2-channel system, use a Y-Adapter (not included) with one male RCA plug and two female RCA jacks. Connect the male plug to the Subwoofer Output, and connect each female jack to a cable that is then plugged into the line-level input on each subwoofer.

AVR 3550HD

SUB

Figure 18 – Subwoofer Connection

Step Three – Connect the Antennas

Connect the FM and AM antennas to their terminals. Connect an optional XM antenna module designed for an XM Ready device. To enjoy XM Radio, remember to purchase a subscription and activate your antenna module. More information is available at www.xmradio.com. See Figure 19.

AVR 3550HD

Figure 19 – Antenna Connections

Step Four – Connect the Source Components

A source is a device where the audio and video signals originate. Some sources, such as CD players, only offer audio, while sources used for watching movies or broadcast-television programming deliver a video signal as well.

There is a section of 8 buttons near the top of the remote designated “Source Selectors”: Cable/Sat, DVD, Media Server, Radio, TV, Game, The Bridge and AUX. See page 12. Each button corresponds to a “source input”. The AVR 3550HD’s flexible design allows you to use almost any combination of audio and video connections for each source device.

NOTE: This is not true of The Bridge II and the tuner, which use dedicated audio source signals, and a dedicated video signal when applicable for The Bridge II.

Write down the audio and video inputs used for each device in Table A5 in the appendix. Table A2 indicates the default input-connection assign- ments, any of which may be changed to match the actual connections in your system.

The precise connections depend on the capabilities of the source device and your video display (TV). Select the best audio and video connections for each source, in order of preference:

HDMI Connections

•Choose the HDMI connection if it’s available on your source device and your TV. An HDMI connection carries both digital audio and video, enabling a single-cable connection from the source device to the AVR. No other audio or video connections are usually required.

NOTE: If your DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD player is not capable of outputting multichannel digital audio through its HDMI output, make additional 6-/8-channel analog audio connections.