Harman-Kardon AVR 435 owner manual Using EzSet/EQ, Night Mode Settings, System Configuration

System Configuration

Night Mode Settings

The Night mode is a feature of Dolby Digital that uses special processing to preserve the dynamic range and full intelligibility of a movie sound track while reducing the peak level. This prevents abrupt- ly loud transitions from disturbing others, without reducing the sonic impact of a digital source. Note that the Night mode is only available when the Dolby Digital surround mode is selected.

To adjust the Night mode setting from the menu press the OSD Button Lso that the MASTER menu appears. Then press the ¤ but- ton Eto access the AUDIO SETUP and press Set Fto select the SURROUND SETUP menu. Press Set Fto select the DOLBY menu (see fig. 5).

To adjust the Night mode setting, make certain that the › cursor is on the NIGHT line of the DOLBY menu. Next, press ‹/› Buttons E to choose between the following settings.

OFF: When OFF is highlighted, the Night mode will not function.

MID: When MID is in the highlighted video, a mild compression will be applied.

MAX: When MAX is in the highlighted video, a more severe compression algorithm will be applied.

When you want to use the Night mode feature, we recommend that you select the MID setting as a starting point and change to the MAX setting later, if desired.

Note that the Night mode may be adjusted direct- ly any time that Dolby Digital surround mode is selected by pressing the Night button B. When the button is pressed, the words D-RANGEfol- lowed by the current setting (MID, MAX, OFF) will appear in the lower third of the video screen and in the Main Information Display ˜. Press the ⁄/¤ buttons Ewithin five seconds to select the desired setting, then press Set F to confirm the setting.

On the DTS menu, the selection choices made with the ‹/ › Buttons Eon the remote are determined by a combination of the type of DTS program material in use and whether the 5.1 or 6.1/7.1 speaker output configuration is in use.

When the 5.1 configuration is in use the AVR will automatically select the 5.1 version of DTS processing when a DTS data stream is received. When the 6.1/7.1 mode is selected, the DTS-ES Discrete mode will automatically be activated when a DTS source with the ES Discrete “flag” is in use and the DTS-ES Matrix mode will be acti- vated when an ES-Matrix encoded audio track is received. In both cases the appropriate surround mode will be indicated in the Lower Display Line ˜ in the front panel display and on the screen. When a non-ES DTS disc is in use, when the 6.1/7.1 mode is chosen the unit automatically will select the DTS + NEO:6 mode to create a full eight-speaker surround mode. See page 33 for a complete explanation of the DTS modes.

On the Logic 7 menu, the selection choices made with the ‹/› Buttons Eon the remote are determined by whether the 5.1 or 6.1/7.1 speaker output configuration is in use. In either case, the selection of a Logic 7 mode enables Harman Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7 processing to create fully enveloping, multichannel surround from either two-channel Stereo or Matrix-encoded pro- gramming such as VHS cassettes, laserdiscs or tele- vision broadcasts produced with Dolby surround.

In the 5.1 configuration you may select the Logic 7/5.1 Music, Cinema or Enhanced modes. They work best with two-channel music, surround- encoded programs or standard two-channel pro- gramming of any type, respectively. When the 6.1/7.1 mode is selected, the Logic 7/7.1 Music or Cinema modes are available, but the output will be in a full eight-channel sound field. Note that the Logic 7 modes are not available when either Dolby Digital or DTS Digital soundtracks are in use.

On the DSP (SURR) menu, the selection choices made with the ‹/ › Buttons Eon the remote select one of the DSP surround modes that are designed for use with two-channel stereo programs to create a variety of sound field pre- sentations. The choices available are Hall 1, Hall 2, or Theater. The Hall and Theater modes are designed for multichannel installations. See pages 33 and 34 for a complete explanation of the DSP surround modes. Note that the Hall and Theater modes are not available when a Dolby Digital or DTS soundtrack is played.

On the STEREO menu, the selection choices made with the ‹/ › Buttons Eon the remote may either turn the surround processing off for a traditional two-channel stereo presentation, or select 5 Stereo or 7 Stereo depending on whether the 5.1 or 6.1/7.1 output is in use. The latter modes feed the stereophonic input sig- nal to both front speakers, to the rear speakers and to both surround back speakers (if in use), while the monophonic signal parts are spread over all speakers, also the Center. See page 30 for a complete explanation of the 5 Stereo and 7 Stereo modes.

To listen to an analog stereo source without any bass management, so that the left and right front speakers receive a full-range signal, straight through from the input gain section to the volume control, press the ‹/ › Navigation Button E so that SURROUND OFF appears in the high- lighted video. To listen to two-channel analog sources while taking advantage of the AVR’s bass- management system, press the ‹/ › Navigation Button Eso that SURROUND OFF+DSP appears in the highlighted video.

After the selections are made in the Dolby, DTS, Logic 7, DSP (Surround) or Stereo menus, press the ⁄/¤ buttons Eso that the cursor moves to the BACK TO SURR SELECT line and presss the Set Button F.

Using EzSet/EQ

The AVR 435 uses Harman Kardon’s EzSet/EQ technology to automatically configure your system to deliver the best possible performance based on your specific speaker selection, where the speak- ers are placed in the room and the acoustic influ- ences in your listening room. By using a series of test signals and the processing power of the Texas Instruments DA 610 digital signal processor, EzSet/EQ eliminates the need for manual adjust- ment of speaker “size”, crossover, delay and out- put level settings while it adds the power of a multi-band parametric equalizer to smooth out the frequency settings for optimal sound repro- duction.

In addition to making system setup quick and easy, EzSet/EQ is more precise than manual set- tings. With EzSet/EQ you are able to calibrate your system in a fraction of the time it would take to enter the settings manually, and with results that rival those achieved with expensive test equip- ment and time consuming procedures. The end result is a system calibration profile that enables your new receiver to deliver the best possible sound no matter what type of speakers you have or what the dimensions of your listening room are.

We recommend that you take advantage of the precision of EzSet/EQ to calibrate your system, but if desired you may also make any of the configu- ration settings manually, or trim the settings pro- vided by EzSet/EQ by following the instructions on pages 26–31.

Before starting the EzSet/EQ process, make certain that you have connected all speakers for your sys- tem and that you have both the EzSet/EQ micro- phone and the extender rod handy. If you have a standard camera tripod, attach the extender rod to the tripod, and then screw the microphone to the top of the rod. Place the tripod at your pri- mary listening position, at least one meter from the nearest speaker and adjust it so that micro- phone is at least one meter above ear level. If you do not have a tripod, simply screw the extender rod into the bottom of the EzSet/EQ microphone.

Next, plug the microphone into the EzSet/EQ Microphone Jack ( located behind the Front Panel Control Door. The microphone cable is approximately 6 meters long, which should accommodate most listening room situations. If required, you may use an optional extension cable, available at most electronics stores, for use in larger rooms. However, we recommend that you make every effort to avoid using extension cords for the microphone cable as they may adversely affect the test results.

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION 23