Harman-Kardon AVR 3550HD Connecting Source Devices to the AVR, Speaker Connections, Subwoofer

CONNECTIONS

There are different types of audio and video connections used to connect the receiver, the speakers, the video display, and the source devices. The Consumer Electronics Association has established the CEA® color-coding standard. See Table 1.

Table 1 – Connection Color Guide

Audio Connections

LeftRight

Front (FL/FR)

Center (C)

Surround (SL/SR)

Surround Back (SBL/SBR)

Subwoofer (SUB)

Digital Audio Connections

Coaxial

OpticalInput

Video Connections

Component	Y	Pb	Pr
Composite
S-Video

HDMI™ Connections (digital audio/video)

HDMI

Speaker Connections

Speaker cables carry an amplified signal from the receiver’s speaker terminals to each loudspeaker. They contain two wire conductors, or leads, inside plastic insulation, that are differentiated in some way, such as with colors or stripes.

The differentiation preserves polarity, without which low-frequency performance can suffer. Each speaker is connected to the receiver’s speaker-output terminals using two wires, one positive (+) and one negative (–). Always connect the positive terminal on the loudspeaker, which is usually colored red, to the positive terminal on the receiver, which is colored as shown in the Connection Color Guide (Table 1). The negative terminals are both black.

	The AVR 3550HD uses binding-post
	speaker terminals that can accept banana
+	plugs or bare-wire cables. Banana plugs
	are inserted into the hole in the middle of
	the terminal cap. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Banana Plugs

Bare wire cables are installed as follows (see Figure 2):

1.Unscrew the terminal cap until the pass-through hole in the collar is revealed.

2.Insert the bare end of the wire into the hole.

3.Hand-tighten the cap until the wire is held snugly.

1 2 3

Figure 2 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Bare Wires

Subwoofer

The subwoofer is dedicated to the low frequencies (bass), which require more power. To obtain the best results, most speaker manufacturers offer powered subwoofers that contain their own amplifier. Usually,

a line-level (nonamplified) connection is made from the receiver’s Subwoofer Output to a corresponding jack on the subwoofer, as shown in Figure 3.

Although the purple subwoofer output looks similar to full-range analog audio jacks, it is filtered to allow only the low frequencies to pass. Don’t connect this output to any other devices.

Preout Subwoofer

Figure 3 – Subwoofer

Connecting Source Devices to the AVR

Audio and video signals originate in “source devices,” including your DVD player, CD player, DVR (digital video recorder) or other recorder, tape deck, game console, cable or satellite television box or MP3 player. The AVR’s tuner also counts as a source, even though no external connections are needed, other than the FM and AM antennas and

the XM antenna module.

Separate connections are required for the audio and video portions of the signal, except for digital HDMI connections. The types of connections used depend upon the capabilities of the source device and video display.

Audio Connections

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 non-compressed PCM digital audio. There are three types of digital audio connections: HDMI, coaxial and optical. Never use more than one type of digital audio connection for each source device. However, it’s okay to make both analog and digital audio connections to the same source.

NOTE: HDMI signals may carry both audio and video. If your video display device has an HDMI input, make a single HDMI connection from each source device to the AVR. Usually, a separate digital audio connection is not required. Turn the volume on your television all the way down.

Digital Audio

The AVR 3550HD is equipped with three HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) inputs, and one output. HDMI technology enables digital audio and video information to be carried using a single cable, delivering the highest quality picture and sound.

The AVR 3550HD uses HDMI (V.1.3a with Deep Color) technology and is capable of processing both the audio and video components of the HDMI data, minimizing the number of cable connections in your system. The AVR 3550HD implements Deep Color, which increases by an order

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