Harman Kardon AVR-255 manual

A VR 255/A VR 355 Audio/ V ideo Receiver OWNER’S MANU AL Composit AVR Info Resolution Audio Effects Video Modes Surround Modes Back/Exit Source List AB LK OK ENGLISH[...]

T able of Contents T ypographical Conventions In order to help you use this manual with the remote control, front-panel controls and rear -panel connections , certain conventions have been used. EXAMPLE – (bold type) indicates a specific remote control or front-panel button, or rear-panel connection jack EXAMPLE – (OCR type) indicates a message[...]

Introduction Thank you for choosing Harman Kardon! With the purchase of a Harman Kardon A VR 255/ A VR 355 you are about to begin many years of listening enjoyment. Designed to provide all the excitement and detail of movie soundtracks and every nuance of musical selections , the A VR 255/ A VR 355 are truly multichannel receivers for the new mille[...]

Safety Information I Dolby T rue HD , Dolby Digital Plus , Dolby Digital EX and Dolby Pro Logic* II and IIx Decoding, and the full suite of DTS ® modes , including DTS-HD Master Audio , DTS-HD and DTS-ES ® 6.1 Discrete & Matrix and Neo:6 ® I Seven channels of high-current amplifi- cation with two channels assignable to either surround back o[...]

Safety Information Installation Location I T o assure proper operation and to avoid the potential for safety hazards , place the unit on a firm and level surface . When placing the unit on a shelf , be certain that the shelf and any mounting hardware can support the weight of the product. I Mak e certain that proper space is provided both above and[...]

Front P anel Controls 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ) ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( Ó V olume Control System P ower Control P ower Indicator Headphone Jack Menu Navigation Buttons OK Button A VR Button Info Button Resolution Button Audio Effects Button Video Modes Button Source List Button Main Information Display Speak er/Channel Input Indicator Surround Mode Button[...]

1 V olume Control: T urn this knob clockwise to increase the volume , counterclockwise to decrease the volume . If the A VR is muted, adjusting volume control will automatically release the unit from the silenced condition. 2 System P ower Control: When the Main P ower Switch on the rear panel is “ON , ” press this button to turn on the A VR; p[...]

Rear P anel Connections 0 Z Q P 7 T S Y 5 B 9 a 8 X L J eK g I W 4V U DO F A E N G R C HM 1 2 3 b 6 c f d 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b c d e f g AM Antenna FM Antenna Analog 2 Audio IN Analog 2 Audio OUT Subwoofer Output Analog 5 Audio IN Analog 1 Audio IN Analog 4 Audio OUT Bridge II Connector (Stereo[...]

Rear P anel Connections 8 Digital Media Player (DMP) Connector (A VR 355 only): With the A VR turned off , connect the optional Harman Kardon to this proprietary connector , and dock your compatible Apple iP od. When the Digital Media Player source is selected, you may view your iP od’ s control and navigation messages on your video display (if o[...]

Rear P anel Connections O Surround Back/Multiroom Speak er Outputs: These speak er terminals are normally used to power the surround back left/surround back right speak ers in a 7.1 channel system. However , they may also be used to power the speak ers in a second zone, which will receive the output selected for a multiroom system. T o change the o[...]

Main Remote Control Functions A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a A VR Power On A VR Power Off Source Selectors (T he Bridge only on A VR 355) Audio Effects Button T r ansport Controls Menu Navigation LK M N Sleep Button Background Light Button (A VR 355 only) Main T uning Buttons Last Button Numeric K eys Video Mode Button Menu B[...]

12 MAIN REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS Main Remote Control Functions T he remote is capable of operating the A VR 355/A VR 255 and most Harman Kardon CD changers or players, CD Recorders and T ape decks , using the control codes that are part of the remote . å A VR Power On: When the AVR 355/A VR 255 is in the Standby mode , as indicated by the P ower I[...]

ZONE 2 REMO TE CONTROL FUNCTIONS 13 ENGLISH Zone 2 Remote Control Functions (Zone 2 Remote Contr ol only with A VR 355) A P ower Off B A VR Settings C Back/Exit Button D Source Selectors E Menu Navigation Buttons F V olume Up/Down G Mute H T ransport Controls I Sleep Button J Settings Info Button K Menu Button L OK Button M Zone Select Buttons NO T[...]

Zone 2 Remote Control Functions I Sleep Button: Press this button to place the unit in the Sleep mode . Each press of the button selects the amount of time that will remain before the unit will automatically go into the Standby mode , as shown in the Main Infor - mation Display # , in the following order: Holding the button pressed for some seconds[...]

After unpacking the unit, and placing it on a solid surface capable of supporting its weight, you will need to mak e the connections to your audio and video equipment. Audio Equipment Connections T here are two formats for audio connections: digital and analog. Digital audio signals are of higher quality , and are required for listening to sources [...]

Referring to drawing of the remote control on page 11,there is a section of 7 buttons mark ed C , (AVR 355: 8 Buttons) near the top of the remote designated “Source Selectors”: Cable/Sat, DVD, Media Server , Radio, TV , Game and A UX. Each of these buttons corresponds to a “source input”. T he A VR’ s flexible design allows you to use alm[...]

Installation and Connections 9. Connections to a subwoofer are normally made via a line level audio connection from the Subwoofer Output 4 to the line-level input of a subwoofer with a built-in amplifier . When a passive subwoofer is used, the connection first goes to a power amplifier , which will be con- nected to one or more subwoofer speak ers.[...]

Installation and Connections System and P ower Connections T he A VR is designed for flexible use with multi- room systems , external control components and power amplifiers . Main Room Remote Control Extension If the receiver is placed behind a solid or smok ed glass cabinet door , the obstruction may prevent the remote sensor from receiving comma[...]

ENGLISH INST ALLATION AND CONNECTIONS 19 Installation and Connections Speaker Selection No matter which type or brand of speak ers is used, the same model or brand of speak er should be used for the front-left, center and front-right speak ers. This creates a seamless front soundstage and eliminates the possibility of distracting sonic disturbances[...]

20 SYSTEM CONFIGURA TION System Configuration Subwoofers produce largely nondirectional sound, so they may be placed almost anywhere in a room. Actual placement should be based on room size and shape and the type of subwoofer used. One method of finding the optimal location for a subwoofer is to begin by placing it in the front of the room, about 1[...]

System Configuration ENGLISH SY STEM CONFIGURATION 21 Audio and Video Input Selection Please see T able A1 in the appendix for the fac- tory default input assignments for each source . Y ou may assign any av ailable input to any source using the Source Info menu, accessible either by pressing the A VR Settings Button Y and selecting the Setup Sourc[...]

NO TE : When the display has a DVI input which is connected to the A VR using an HDMI-to-DVI adapter , if the display is not HDCP-compliant, the picture will be distorted. In that case, a different video connection must be used (component, composite or S-video). Resolution from Source: T his line , which is informational only , indicates the video [...]

System Configuration Figure 6 Step 6: After you select “Continue”, the screen shown in Figure 6 will appear . Although the A VR may be used with up to eight speak ers, you may have elected not to install surround back speak- ers at this time , or you may have decided to use the surround back speak er channels to power speak ers in the remote ro[...]

System Configuration Manual Setup T he A VR 355/AVR 255 is flexibly designed to be used with almost any loudspeak ers available . T he flexibility arises from the A VR 355/AVR 255’ s capability tobe configured to match the charac- teristics of your particular speak ers, and to com- pensate for the acoustic characteristics of your room. EzSet/EQ a[...]

System Configuration Number of Speakers Move the cursor to the Number of Speak ers line and press the SetButton. See Figure 10. Figure 10 – Number of Speakers Menu T he Number of Speakers menu lists each of the speak er groups. Program the correct setting for each group: ON when the speak ers are present in the system, and OFF for positions where[...]

26 SY STEM CONFIGURA TION System Configuration Adjust Speaker Distance Menu As explained above in Step T wo – Measure Speak er Distances, sometimes the speakers are placed at different distances from the listening- position, which can muddy the sound, as sounds are heard earlier or later than desired. Even if all of your speak ers are placed the [...]

SY STEM CONFIGURATION 27 ENGLISH System Configuration Reset Levels: If you wish to start by resetting all of the levels to their factory defaults of 0dB , scroll down to this line and press the OK Button. T he levels will be reset. If you are using an external source to set your output levels , simply navigate to each channel, press the OK Button a[...]

Operation 28 OPERATION Surround Mode Chart MODE FEA TURES DOLBY DIGIT AL PLUS An enhanced version of Dolby Digital encoded more efficiently, Dolby Digital Plus has the capacity for additional discrete channels and for streaming audio from the internet, all with enhanced audio quality. Source material may be delivered via HDMI, or decod ed to Dolby [...]

Surround Mode Chart MODE FEA TURES DTS Neo:6 Cinema T hese two modes are available when any analog source is playing to create a six-channel DTS Neo:6 Music surround presentation from conventional Matrix-encoded and traditional Stereo sources . Select the Cinema version of Neo:6 when a program with any type of analog Matrix surround encoding is pre[...]

Operation Basic Operation Once you have completed the setup and configu- ration of the A VR, it is simple to operate and enjoy . T he following instructions should be followed for you to maximize your enjoyment of your new receiver: T urning the A VR On or Off • When using the AVR for the first time , you must press the Ma in Powe r Switch  on[...]

Operation HDMI-equipped multichannel disc player: • Connect the player’ s HDMI output to one of the A VR’ s HDMI Inputs . No other connections are necessary . • Assign the HDMI Input to both the Audio and Video Input F rom Source settings in the Source Info menu. HDMI-equipped multichannel disc player that does not output multichannel audio[...]

Operation Note that when Dolby Digital 2.0 signals (e .g. "D .D. 2.0" tracks from DVD), that are encoded with Dolby Pro Logic information, are received via any digital input, the Dolby Pro Logic II Movie mode will be selected automatically (in addition to the Dolby Digital mode) and will decode a full range 5.1 channel surround sound even[...]

Operation F or DTS-ES materials, the incoming bitstream will be displayed as 3/3/.1 ES-ON . When a PCM signal is received, the PCM message , followed by the sampling r ate of the signal (32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz), will appear in the front-panel display . In addition, the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators will indicate the number of channels di[...]

34 OPERATION Operation Night Mode Night mode is available with some Dolby Digital programs , if it has been encoded in the material. It compresses the peak sound levels , maintaining the intelligibility of the dialogue and quieter passages , while reducing the loudness of special effects and louder passages to avoid disturbing others . Night Mode i[...]

MUL TIROOM OPERA TION 35 Multiroom Oper ation Multiroom T he A VR is fully equipped to operate as the con- trol center for a complete multiroom system that is capable of sending one source to a second zone in the house while separate source is lis- tened to in the main room. In addition to provid- ing for control over the selection of the remote so[...]

36 MUL TIROOM OPERA TION Multiroom Operation T o operate the multizone system using the remote , slide the Zone Select Switch at the bot- tom of the remote to the “2” position or , alter- natively use the Zone 2 Remote Control (A VR 355 only). Press a Source Selector to select a source input for the remote zone . Adjusting the volume or mute co[...]

ADV ANCED FEATURES 37 ENGLISH Video Adjustments Video Adjustments T he A VR 255/AVR 355 includes sophisticated DCDi by F aroudja video processing that delivers enhanced video quality , even for older analog video source components , as well as upgr aded on-screen displays . When upscaling video materials from a lower resolution to a higher one (the[...]

Color: This control adjusts the hue of the colors in the picture , and may be set between 0 and 100. Select a setting in which people and objects on screen look natural. There is no “recommended” setting, and no harm in experimenting. Sharpness: Y ou may adjust the Sharpness setting from 0 to 100. We recommend leaving this setting as low as pos[...]

Resolution to Display: Select the highest resolution that your TV can show . If you use HDMI, resolution selection happens automatically . If you use analog signals , you must choose the proper resolution. Note: if you choose a resolution that is higher than your screen can show , the picture disappears . In this case , w ait for approx. 10 seconds[...]

T uner Operation T o select the built-in tuner: 1. Press the Source List Button on the front panel and use the K / L Buttons to scroll through the source list. T he last-used band (AM or FM) will be active . 2. Press the Radio Source Selector on the remote . Press this button again to switch bands (AM or FM). A screen similar to the one shown in Fi[...]

T uner Operation • The Program T ype ( PTY ) as shown in the list below . NO TE: Many stations do not transmit a specific PTY . The display will show NONE , when such a station is selected and PTY is active . • A “text” message (Radiotext, RT ) containing special information from the broadcast station. Note that this message may scroll acro[...]

T he A VR 255/AVR 355 is equipped with a pow- erful remote control that will control not only the receiver’ s functions , but also most popular brands of audio and video equipment, including CD players , TV sets , cable boxes , VCRs , satellite receivers and other home-theater equipment. Once the A VR’ s remote is programmed with the codes for [...]

Progr amming the Remote Example: One blink, followed by a one-second pause , followed by six blinks , followed by a one- second pause , followed by four blinks indicates that the code has been set to 164. F or future reference enter the Setup Codes for the equipment in your system here: DVD ____________ CD ________________ V I D 1 / V C R ________ [...]

Progr amming the Remote Activity Programming (Macr os) Activities enable you to easily repeat frequently used combinations of commands with the press of a single button on the A VR’ s remote control. Once programmed, an Activity will send out up to 19 different remote codes in a pre-determined sequential order enabling you to automate the process[...]

Progr amming the Remote Notes on Using the A VR Remote With Other Devices . • Manufacturers may use different code sets for the same product category . F or that reason, it is important that you check to see if the code set you have entered operates as many controls as possible . If it appears that only a few functions operate , check to see if a[...]

No . BUTT ON Name A VR A VR Zone 2 The Bridge FM AM DVD 01 A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On 02 A VR Power Off A VR Power Off A VR Power Off A VR P ower Off A VR Power Off A VR Power Off A VR Power Off 03 Device P ower On P ower On 04 Device P ower Off P ower Off 05 CBL/SA T INPUT SEL [...]

No . DVDR DMC250 DMC1000 TV CBL/SA T UR Function CD HDTV PVD VCR 01 AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On 02 AVR P ower Off AVR P ower Off A VR P ower Off A VR Power Off A VR P ower Off A VR Power Off A VR P ower Off AVR P ower Off AVR P ower Off A[...]

Function List A VR 255 4 3 2 1 5 12 15 16 17 21 22 23 24 41 44 45 46 47 4 8 49 51 52 53 54 55 5 8 50 35 36 37 3 8 27 29 2 8 31 30 33 32 34 42 43 39 40 25 26 1 8 19 20 13 14 67 8 10 11 9 48 FUNCTION LIST No . BUTT ON Name A VR A VR Zone 2 FM AM D VD DVDR 01 A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Power On A VR Powe[...]

Function List A VR 255 ENGLISH FUNCTION LIST 49 No . DMC250 DMC1000 TV CBL/SA T UR Function CD HDTV PVD VCR 01 AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On AVR P ower On 02 AVR P ower Off AVR P ower Off A VR P ower Off A VR Power Off A VR P ower Off A VR Power Off A VR P ower Off AV[...]

T roubleshooting Guide Processor Reset In the rare case where the unit’ s operation or the displays seem abnormal, the cause may involve the erratic oper a tion of the system’ s memory or microprocessor . T o correct this problem, first unplug the unit from the AC wall outlet and w ait at least three minutes. After the pause , reconnect the AC [...]

T echnical Specifications Audio Section Stereo Mode Continuous Average P ower (FTC) A VR 255: 65 W atts per channel, 20Hz - 20 kHz A VR 355: 70 W atts per channel, 20Hz - 20 kHz @ < 0.07% THD , both channels driven into 8 ohms 7 Channel Surround Modes P ower Per Individual Channel, with all channels driven F ront L&R channels: A VR 255: 50 W[...]

Appendix – Default settings, worksheets, remote product codes T able A1 – Recommended Source Component Connections Device T ype AVR Source Digital Audio Connection Analog Audio Connection Video Connections Cable TV , satellite TV , HDTV CBL/SA T HDMI 2 Analog 1 HDMI 2 or other device that delivers television programs DVD Audio/Video , SACD , DV[...]

T able A3 – Speaker/Channel Setting Defaults Audio Input All Digital and 2-Channel Analog Audio Inputs 6-/8-Channel Analog Audio Inputs* Y our Settings Left/Right Speakers ON ON Center Speaker ON ON Left/Right Surround Speakers ON ON Left/Right Surround Back Speakers ON ON Subwoofer ON ON Left/Right Speakers Crossover 100Hz Large * Center Speaker[...]

54 APPENDIX APPENDIX – SETTINGS W ORKSHEET T able A6 – Audio Effects Settings Default Cable/Sat DVD Media Ser ver Radio TV Game AUX T one Control Off T reble 0dB Bass 0dB LFE T rim Off Night Mode Off T able A7 – Video Modes Settings Default Cable/Sat DVD Media Ser ver Radio TV Game AUX Video Mode Processor Off Brightness * 50 Contrast * 50 Co[...]

APPENDIX 55 ENGLISH APPENDIX – SETTINGS W ORKSHEET T able A8 – Surround Modes Default Cable/Sa t DVD Media Server Radio TV Game AUX Auto Select Logic 7 Movie or native digital format Virtual Surround Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference Stereo 7 CH Stereo Movie Logic 7 Movie Music Logic 7 Music Game Logic 7 Game Center Width * 0 Dimension * 0 Panora[...]

56 APPENDIX APPENDIX – SETTINGS W ORKSHEET T able A11 – Zone 2 Settings Source Input Device T ype (if changed) Y our Settings Status Off Source Cable/Sat V olume -25dB Surround Back Amps Main Room[...]

APPENDIX 57 ENGLISH APPENDIX – SETTINGS W ORKSHEET[...]