Harman-Kardon AVR 3550HD owner manual Step Four Setting Channel Output Levels Manually

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS

The Speaker/Channel Indicators on the front panel of the receiver (see Figure 64) display the speaker size settings. For each speaker configured numerically, a single box will appear in its position. For each speaker configured as LARGE, a double box will appear. If a speaker is config- ured as OFF, no box will appear. The subwoofer is indicated by a single box, or no box if no subwoofer has been configured. The letters inside the boxes appear when a digital signal is being received that has that channel discretely encoded. The letters flash when the signal is not present, such as when a DVD is paused. A line connects the SBL and SBR boxes when a 6.1-channel signal is detected, indicating that the same signal is playing through both speakers.

Adjust Speaker Distance Menu

Placing the speakers at different distances from the listening positions can muddy the sound, as sounds are heard earlier or later than desired.

Even if all of your speakers are placed the same distance from the listening position, do not skip this menu.

With up to seven main channels, plus a subwoofer, imaging becomes both more critical and more complex. The goal is to ensure that each channel is heard at the listening position with equal loudness.

EzSet/EQ calibration can handle this critical task for you, simply and automatically. However, the AVR’s Adjust Speaker Levels menu allows you to calibrate the levels manually, either using the system’s test tone or while playing source material.

1.Make sure all speakers have been placed and connected correctly.

2.Adjust the number of speakers, crossover, distance and sub mode for each speaker in your system as described in Step Three.

3.Measure the channel levels in one of these ways, and adjust the channel levels using the Adjust Speaker Levels menu:

a)Preferably, use a handheld SPL meter set to the C-Weighting, Slow scale. Adjust each channel so that the meter reads 75dB.

b)By ear. Adjust the levels so that all channels sound equally loud.

On the Manual Speaker Setup menu, move the cursor to the Distance line and press the OK Button to display the Adjust Speaker Distance menu. See Figure 69.

c)If you are using a handheld SPL meter with source material, such as a test disc or an audio selection, play it and adjust the AVR’s master volume control until the meter measures 75dB.

Press the AVR Settings Button to display the menu system, and then navigate to the Speaker Setup line. Press the OK Button to display the Speaker Setup menu. Select Manual Speaker Setup, press the OK Button, and then navigate to the Level Adjust line. Press the

OK Button to display the Adjust Speaker Levels menu. See Figure 70.

Figure 69 – Adjust Speaker Distance Menu

Enter the distance from each speaker to the listening position, as measured in Step Two – Measure Speaker Distances and recorded in Table A4 in the appendix.

The default unit of measurement is feet. To change the unit to meters, return to the main AVR menu. Select the System Settings menu, then scroll down to the General AVR Settings section and select the Unit of Measure line. Press the OK Button to change the setting.

Select a speaker, then use the ‹ / › Buttons to change the meas- urement. The values vary between 0 and 30 feet, with a default of 10 feet for all speakers.

NOTE: If the surround back channels are assigned to the multi- zone system, you will not be able to adjust their delay settings.

Step Four – Setting Channel Output Levels Manually

For a conventional 2-channel receiver, the balance control affects the stereo imaging by adjusting the relative loudness of the left and right channels.

Figure 70 – Adjust Speaker Levels Menu

All of the speaker channels will appear with their current level settings.

Reset Levels: To reset all levels to their factory defaults of 0dB, scroll down to this line and press the OK Button.

To set your levels using the AVR 3550HD’s internal test tone, adjust the TEST TONE line as follows:

Test Tone: Determines whether the test tone is active. To begin, press the OK Button repeatedly to select the OFF, AUTO or MANUAL setting. Manually moving the cursor out of the channel listings area of the screen, automatically stops the test tone.

When this setting reads AUTO, the test tone will automatically circulate to all channels, pausing for a few moments at each channel and then moving to the next channel several seconds later, as indicated by the highlight bar. Adjust the level for any channel when the test tone is

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