Harman-Kardon Harman Kardon AVR 445: User Manual for the AVR445 Stereo System

internal bass-management system. When this input is in use, the analog source is converted to digital so that you may use the same bass-management options for the direct input as are used for all other inputs. This input also mutes the unused input jacks to prevent unwanted noise from interfering with system performance.

•The 8 CH DIRECT input should be used when an input is connected to all eight 8-Channel Direct Inputs c and when the input source device has its own internal bass-management system. This input passes the input from the source directly through to the volume control without any analog- to-digital conversion.

•The 8 CH DVD AUDIO input should be used when an input is connected to all eight 8-Channel Direct Inputs c and when the input source does not have its own internal bass-management system. When this input is in use, the analog source is con- verted to digital so that you may use the same bass-management options for the direct input as are used for all other inputs.

Volume and Tone Control

•Adjust the volume to a comfortable level using the front-panel Volume Control ) or remote Volume Up/Down Buttons H˙.

•To temporarily silence all speaker outputs, press the Mute Button iß. This will interrupt the out- put to all speakers and the headphone jack, but it will not affect any recording or dubbing that may be in progress. When the system is muted, the word MUTE will flash in the on-screen display (except when HDMI, 720p or 1080i sources are in use) and in the Upper Display Line #; press the Mute Buttons iß again to return to normal operation.

•The unit’s tone controls may be taken out of the signal path by pressing the Tone Mode Button CV. The first button press will show a message in the on-screen display (except when HDMI, 720p or 1080i sources are in use) and Lower Display Line $ with the current status of the tone controls. The system default is TONE IN, which indicates that the bass and treble controls are active. Press the ⁄/¤ Navigation Buttons D© on the remote control or the ‹/› Buttons H on the front panel to change the setting to TONE OUT, which is “flat” response without the tone controls being active.

•When the tone controls are active, the amount of bass and treble boost/cut may be adjusted up to ±10dB in 2dB steps by pressing the Tone Mode Button CVtwo or three times until the desired setting (BASS MODE or TREBLE MODE) appears in the on-screen display and in

the Lower Display Line $. Next, use the

‹/› Navigation Buttons D© on the remote or the ‹/› Navigation Buttons on the front panel H to change the setting as desired. The unit will return to normal operation within five seconds after the setting is changed.

•For private listening, simply place a standard 1/4" stereo headphone plug or adapter into the Headphone Jack B behind the door 9 on the front panel. The speakers will automatically mute and a two-channel stereo signal will be sent to the headphones. The Lower Display Line $ will read DOLBY H: BP, indicating that the headphone output is in the Bypass mode, and to confirm that no processing is being used. To listen through the headphones using the Dolby Headphone mode, simply press the buttons on the remote or front panel as shown below for changing a Dolby mode. DOLBY H: DH will appear in the Lower Display Line when the Dolby Headphone mode

is in use.

Surround Mode Selection

One of the most important features of the AVR 445 is its ability to reproduce a full multichannel surround sound field from digital sources, analog matrix surround-encoded programs and standard stereo programs.

Selection of a surround mode is based on personal taste, as well as the type of program source material being used. For example, motion pictures or TV pro- grams bearing the logo of one of the major surround- encoding processes, such as Dolby Surround or DTS Stereo may be played in either the Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II Cinema, DTS Neo:6 Cinema, or Logic 7 Cinema surround modes, depending on the source material.

NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with matrix surround information, it retains the surround information as long as the program is broadcast in stereo. Thus, movies with surround sound may be decoded via any of the analog surround modes (e.g., Dolby Pro Logic II Cinema, Logic 7 Cinema or DTS Neo:6 Cinema) when they are broadcast via conventional TV stations, cable, pay-TV and satellite transmission. In addition, a growing number of made-for-TV programs, sports broadcasts, radio dramas and music CDs are also produced in sur- round sound. You may view a list of these programs at the Dolby Laboratories Web site at www.dolby.com.

Even when a program is not listed as carrying inten- tional surround information, you may find that the Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Logic 7 or DTS Neo:6, and the Hall or Theater modes often deliver enveloping surround presentations through the use of the natural information present in all stereo recordings.

OPERATION

Surround modes may be changed at any time by using either the front panel or remote control. To select a new surround mode from the front panel, first press the Surround Mode Group Selector Button 2 until the desired major surround mode group such as Dolby, DTS or Logic 7 is selected. Next, press the Surround Mode Selector Button 3 to choose the specific individual surround mode.

To choose a surround mode using the remote, first press the button for the major surround mode group that includes the desired mode. These buttons are the Dolby Mode Select g, the DTS Digital Model Select f, the DTS Neo:6 Mode Select e, the DSP Surround Mode Select 6and the Stereo Mode Select dbuttons. The first press of a button will show the current mode from that group if it is already in use, or the first available mode if you are currently using another mode. To cycle through the available modes in that group, press the button again until the desired mode appears in the Lower Display Line $, the on-screen display (when a 480i source is in use) and the front-panel Surround Mode Indicators %.

The Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS 5.1, DTS-ES Matrix and DTS-ES Discrete modes may only be selected when a digital input is in use. In addition, when a digital source is present, the AVR 445 will automatically select and switch to the correct mode, regardless of the mode that has been previously selected. For more information on selecting digital sources, see the Digital Audio Playback section below.

When the 6-channel/8-channel direct inputs are in use, there is no surround processing, as these inputs take the analog output signals from an external source device and carry them straight through to the volume control without any further digital processing.

To listen to a program in traditional two-channel stereo, using the front left and front right speakers only (plus the subwoofer, if installed and configured), press the Stereo Mode Select Button duntil SURROUND OFF appears in the Lower Display Line $. From the front panel, press the Surround Mode Group Selector 2 until the Stereo modes appear in the on-screen display and Lower Display Line $. Next, press the Surround Mode Selector Button 3 until SURROUND OFF appears in the on-screen display and Lower Display Line $.

Digital Audio Playback

Digital audio is a major advancement over older analog surround processing systems. It delivers up to six dis- crete channels, and each channel reproduces a full-fre- quency range (20Hz to 20kHz) and offers dramatically improved dynamic range and significant improvements to signal-to-noise ratios. In addition, digital systems have the capability to deliver an additional channel that is

OPERATION 35