Harman-Kardon AVR 154 owner manual Advanced Functions, Audio Processing and Surround Sound

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS

Much of the AVR 154’s performance is handled automatically, with little intervention required on your part. However, the AVR 154 is a sophisticated component, and is capable of being customized to suit your particular system and your tastes. In this section we describe some of the more advanced adjustments available on the AVR 154. You may save this section for later, when you have become more familiar with your receiver.

Audio Processing and Surround Sound

Audio signals generated by sources are encoded in a variety of formats that can affect not only the quality of the sound but the number of speaker channels and the surround mode. You may also manually select a different surround mode, although for certain types of audio signals, the modes available will be limited in certain ways, as described below.

Analog Audio Signals

Analog audio signals usually consist of two channels – left and right. While the AVR can handle 5.1-channel analog signals, their content generally is encoded with a proprietary surround scheme and it isn’t possible to adjust the surround mode for the AVR’s 6-Channel Inputs. The AVR 154 offers three basic options for playback of analog audio:

1.Analog Bypass Mode: In this mode, the 2-channel signal is passed directly to the volume control, without being digitized or undergoing any processing for bass management or surround sound. The requirements for selecting analog bypass mode are:

a)The analog audio inputs for the source must be selected. If necessary, press the Digital Button on the remote and use the ⁄/¤ Buttons to make the selection.

b)The tone controls must be disabled by setting TONE MODE to OUT. Either use the Input Setup menu in the full-OSD system to make this change, or press the Tone Mode Button and use the ⁄/¤ Buttons until the TONE OUT message appears.

c)The Surround Off mode must be selected. The easiest way to select the Surround Off mode is to press the Stereo Button on the remote until the Surround Off icon is lit (and the DSP icon is not lit) in the front-panel display.

2.DSP Surround Off Mode: The DSP Surround Off mode digitizes the incoming signal and applies the bass management settings, including speaker configuration, delay times and output levels. This mode is desirable when your front speakers are small, limited-range satellites and you are using a subwoofer. Both the DSP and Surround Off icons will be lit when this mode is active. Press the Stereo Button on the remote repeatedly to select this mode.

Digital Audio Signals

Digital audio signals offer the benefit of greater capacity, which allows recording artists to encode center and surround channel information directly into the signal. The result is improved sound quality and startling directionality, since each of these channels is reproduced discretely.

Alternatively, the artist may encode only two channels, but the digital signal allows for a higher sampling rate that delivers greater detail. High-resolution recordings usually sound extraordinarily distortion-free at all frequencies, but especially at high frequencies.

Multichannel digital recordings usually are found in the 5.1-, 6.1- or 7.1-channel formats. The channels included in a 5.1-channel recording are front left, front right, center, surround left, surround right and LFE. The LFE channel is denoted as “.1” to represent the fact that it is not full-range, being limited to the low frequencies.

6.1-Channel recordings add a single surround back channel, and

7.1-channel recordings add surround back left and surround back right channels to the 5.1-channel configuration. The AVR 154 is unable to play the surround back channels in these recordings, and will use 5.1-channel (or fewer) surround modes.

Digital formats include Dolby Digital 2.0 (two channels only), Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, DTS 96/24 and 2-channel PCM modes up to 96kHz.

When a digital signal is received, the AVR 154 detects the encoding method and the number of channels. The appropriate icon will light in the front panel for Dolby Digital and DTS signals. The number of channels encoded will scroll once across the front-panel display as three numbers, separated by slashes (e.g., “3/2/.1”).

The first number indicates the number of front channels in the signal:

“1” represents a monophonic recording, usually an older program that has been digitally remastered or, more rarely, a modern program for which the director has chosen a special effect.

“2” indicates the presence of the left and right channels, but no center channel.

“3” indicates that all three front channels (left, right and center) are present.

The second number indicates whether any surround channels are present:

“0” indicates that no surround information is present.

“1” indicates that a matrixed surround signal is present. “2” indicates discrete left and right surround channels.

3.Analog Surround Modes: One of the main benefits of a surround receiver such as the AVR 154 is its ability to process 2-channel audio signals to produce multichannel surround sound in a variety of modes, even when no surround sound has been encoded in the recording. Among the available modes are the Dolby Pro Logic II modes, the Dolby Virtual Speaker modes, the DTS Neo:6 modes, the Logic 7 modes, the Hall and Theater modes and the Stereo modes.

The third number is used for the LFE channel:

“0” indicates no LFE channel.

“.1” indicates that an LFE channel is present.

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