Harman-Kardon Types of Home Theater System Connections, Speaker Connections, AVR 1650/AVR

AVR 1650/AVR 165

Types of Home Theater System Connections

Types of Home Theater System Connections

There are different types of audio and video connections used to connect the AVR to your speakers, your TV or video display, and your source devices. The Consumer Electronics Association has established the CEA® color-coding standard.

Connection Color Guide Table

Analog Audio Connection	Color
Front Left/Right	White/Red
Center	Green
Surround Left/Right	Blue/Gray
Subwoofer	Purple
Digital Audio Connection	Color
Coaxial (input or output)	Orange
Optical Input	Black
Optical Record Output	Gray
Analog Video Connection	Color
Component Video	Red/Green/Blue
Composite Video	Yellow

Speaker Connections

Speaker cables carry an amplified signal from the AVR’s speaker terminals to each loudspeaker. Each cable contains two wire conductors, or leads, that are differentiated in some way, such as with colors or stripes.

The differentiation helps you maintain proper polarity, without which your system’s low- frequency performance can suffer. Each speaker is connected to the AVR’s speaker- output terminals using two wires, one positive (+) and one negative (–). Always connect the positive terminal on the speaker, which is usually colored red, to the positive terminal on the AVR, which is colored as indicated in the Connection Color Guide Table, above. The negative terminals on the speakers and the AVR are black.

Your AVR uses binding-post speaker terminals that can accept bare-wire cables or banana plugs. Bare-wire cables are installed as shown below:

1. Unscrew Cap 2. Insert Bare Wire 3. Tighten Cap

Banana plugs are inserted into the hole in the middle of the terminal cap, as shown below:

A. Tighten Cap	B. Insert Banana Connector
	into Hole in Cap

Always connect the colored (+) terminal on the AVR to the (+) terminal on the speaker (usually red), and the black (–) terminal on the AVR to the (–) terminal on the speaker (usually black).

IMPORTANT: Make sure the ( + ) and ( – ) bare wires do not touch each other or the other terminal. Touching wires can cause a short circuit that can damage your AVR or amplifier.

Subwoofer Connections

The subwoofer is a speaker dedicated to reproducing only the low (bass) frequencies, which require more power. To obtain the best results, most speaker manufacturers offer powered subwoofers that contain their own amplifiers. Use a single RCA audio cable (not included) to make a line-level (non-amplified) connection from the AVR’s Subwoofer connector to a corresponding input jack on the subwoofer.

Although the AVR’s purple subwoofer output looks similar to a full-range analog audio jack, it is filtered so that only the low frequencies pass through it. Don’t connect this output to any device other than a subwoofer.

Source Device Connections

Audio and video signals originate in source devices (components where a playback signal originates) such as your Blu-ray Disc or DVD player, CD player, DVR (digital video recorder) or other recorder, tape deck, game console, cable or satellite television tuner, iPod or iPhone (docked in an optional The Bridge IIIP docking station) or MP3 player. The AVR’s FM/AM tuner also counts as a source, even though no external connectors are needed other than the AVR’s FM and AM antennas. Separate connectors are required for the audio and video portions of the source device’s signal, except for digital HDMI connectors. The types of connectors you use will depend upon the capabilities of the source device and of your TV or video display.

Digital Audio Connections – HDMI

There are two types of audio connections – digital and analog. Digital audio signals are required for listening to sources encoded with digital surround modes, such as Dolby Digital and DTS, or for uncompressed PCM digital audio. Your AVR has three types of digital audio connectors: HDMI, coaxial and optical. Do not use more than one type of digital audio connector for each source device. However, it’s okay to make both analog and digital audio connections to the same source.

Your AVR is equipped with four rear-panel HDMI input connectors and one HDMI monitor output connector. HDMI technology enables digital audio and video information to be carried using a single cable, delivering the highest quality picture and sound. If your TV or video-display device has an HDMI input connector, make a single HDMI connection from each source device to the AVR. Usually, a separate digital audio connection is not required.

The AVR’s HDMI Monitor Output connector contains an Audio Return Channel (ARC) that carries a digital audio signal from your TV or video display back to the AVR. It allows you to listen to HDMI devices that are connected directly to your TV (such as an Internet connection) without making an additional connection from the device to the AVR. The ARC signal is active when the TV source is selected. See System Setup, on page 23, for more information.

The HDMI connector is shaped for easy plug-in (see illustration, below), and HDMI cable runs are limited to about 10 feet (3m). If your video display has a DVI input and is HDCP-compliant, use an HDMI-to-DVI adapter (not included), and make a separate audio connection.

Digital Audio Connections – Coaxial

Coaxial digital audio jacks are usually color-coded orange. Although they look like standard RCA-type analog jacks, you should not connect coaxial digital audio outputs to analog inputs or vice versa.

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