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Safety Information

Cleaning

When the unit gets dirty, wipe it with a
clean, soft, dry cloth. If necessary, wipe it
with a soft cloth dampened with mild
soapy water, then a fresh cloth with clean
water. Wipe dry immediately with a dry
cloth. NEVER use benzene, aerosol
cleaners, thinner, alcohol or any other
volatile cleaning agent. Do not use
abrasive cleaners, as they may damage
the finish of metal parts. Avoid spraying
insecticide near the unit.

Moving The Unit

Before moving the unit, be certain to dis-
connect any interconnection cords with
other components, and make certain
that you disconnect the unit from the AC
outlet.

Important information for the user

NOTE:

This equipment has been tested

and found to comply with the limits for 
a Class-B digital device, pursuant to Part
15 of the FCC Rules. The limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions,
may cause harmful interference to radio
communication. However, there is no
guarantee that harmful interference will
not occur in a particular installation. 
If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television recep-
tion, which can be determined by turning
the equipment off and on, the user 
is encouraged to try to correct the inter-
ference by one or more of the following
measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving
antenna.

Increase the separation between the
equipment and receiver.

Connect the equipment into an outlet
on a circuit different from that to
which the receiver is connected.

Consult the dealer or an experienced
radio/TV technician for help.

This device complies with Part 15 of the
FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) this device
may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) this device must accept interference
received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.

NOTE:

Changes or modifications may

cause this unit to fail to comply with 
Part 15 of the FCC Rules and may void
the user’s authority to operate the 
equipment. 

Unpacking

The carton and shipping materials used
to protect your new receiver during ship-
ment were specially designed to cushion
it from shock and vibration. We suggest
that you save the carton and packing
materials for use in shipping if you move,
or should the unit ever need repair.

To minimize the size of the carton in
storage, you may wish to flatten it. This
is done by carefully slitting the tape
seams on the bottom and collapsing the
carton down to a more two-dimensional
appearance. Other cardboard inserts may
be stored in the same manner. Packing
materials that cannot be collapsed
should be saved along with the carton in
a plastic bag. 

If you do not wish to save the packaging
materials, please note that the carton
and other sections of the shipping protec-
tion are recyclable. Please respect the
environment and discard those materials
at a local recycling center.

Typographic 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 that is visible on the front panel
information display 

1

– (number in a square) indicates a

specific front panel control

a

– (number in an oval) indicates a

button or indicator on the remote

¡

– (number in a circle) indicates a

rear panel connection

A

– (letter in a square) indicates an

indicator in the front panel display

6

Summary of Contents for AVR 55

Page 1: ...al VID 1 REC SPK MODE SURR OFF VID 2 SURR MODE NIGHT Volume Contour Bass Treble Balance DVD VID 1 DIGITAL Subwoofer Level Surround Level Center Level PHONO TV VIDEO 2 R Video L Max Min Max Min L Audio R RF COAX OPT FRT REAR DIGITAL INPUT TAL URCE 2 D EC ...

Page 2: ...ctions 10 12 Installation and Setup 13 14 Remote Control Programming and Operation 15 16 System Configuration 17 21 Operation 22 26 Source Selection 22 TV Auto On 23 Surround Mode Selection 23 24 Dolby Digital 24 Night Mode 24 PCM Audio Playback 25 Tuner Operation 25 26 Tape Recording 26 Troubleshooting Guide 27 Technical Specifications 28 1998 Harman Kardon Incorporated 250 Crossways Park Drive W...

Page 3: ...er or custom installer They are your best local source of information Introduction 4 Description and Features The AVR55 is a full featured A V receiver incorporating a wide variety of listening options In addition to Dolby Digital decoding Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby 3 Stereo are available for compatibility with the tens of thousands of movies and tele vision programs encoded with analog surround in...

Page 4: ...ectrode NOTE TO CATV SYSTEM INSTALLER This reminder is provided to call the CATV Cable TV system installer s atten tion to article 820 40 of the NEC that provides guidelines for proper grounding and in particular specifies that the cable ground shall be connected to the ground ing system of the building as close to the point of cable entry as possible Installation Location To assure proper operati...

Page 5: ...This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 this device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation NOTE Changes or modifications may cause this unit to fail to comply with Part 15 of the FCC Rules and may void the user s authority to op...

Page 6: ...e Control Subwoofer Level Adjust 3 3 Center Level Adjust 3 4 Surround Level Adjust 3 5 Information Display 3 6 Remote Sensor Window 3 7 Numeric Keys 6 7 8 9 0 AVR 55 Speaker Headphones TUNE VID 1 REC 1 2 3 4 5 SPK MODE SURR OFF FRT REAR VID 2 SURR MODE NIGHT Volume Contour Bass Treble Balance MEMO DVD VID 1 DIGITAL INPUT DIGITAL Subwoofer Level Surround Level Center Level FM MODE AM FM CD T MON PH...

Page 7: ...the out position When the speakers are turned off sound will continue to be heard through the headphone jack 8 AM FM Press this button to select the tuner as the AVR55 s input source When it is first pressed the last station tuned will appear Press it again to change between AM and FM bands 9 Tuning Button Press the left side of the button to tune lower frequency stations and the right side of the...

Page 8: ...he Vid 1 or Vid 2 input only ˆ Night Mode Press this button to activate the Night mode pre venting a loud playback when the digital modes are in use Video 2 Inputs These jacks may be used to temporarily connect an audio video source such as a video game or camcorder to the AVR55 To select these jacks as the input press the Vid 2 Front Rear button until the red LED above that button is illuminated ...

Page 9: ...use The number that appears above the indicator is the number of minutes remaining before the AVR55 will return to the Standby mode F Main Information Display This display shows messages relating to the status input source surround mode tuner volume level or other aspects of unit s operation G Preset Indicator This indicator illuminates when one of the stations entered into the preset memory is tu...

Page 10: ...ion Input d CD Input e Phono Input f Coax Digital Input g AC 3 RF Input h Front Channel Preamp Outputs i Front Channel Main In Amp Inputs AM Antenna Connect the AM loop antenna supplied with the receiver to these terminals If an external AM antenna is used make connections to the AM and GND terminals in accordance with the instructions supplied with the antenna FM Antenna Connect an indoor or exte...

Page 11: ...onnect the audio and video PLAY OUT jacks of a VCR DVD LD Satellite system or other video source to these jacks a Video Monitor Output Connect this jack to the video input of a TV or video projector to view the selected source b Remote Control Extension Output This jack may be con nected to other compatible Harman Kardon products so that they will receive infrared commands captured by the AVR55 s ...

Page 12: ...P RDS DISP TUNE SEARCH m n o p q r s t u v w y MEMO CLEAR P SCAN x z b c e g h i k l a d d f j a Use Learn b Source Power c Main Power d Audio Source Selectors e Video Source Selectors f Night Mode g Delay h Digital Audio Input Selectors i AM FM j Select k Test Tone l Channel Select m Speaker Level Adjust n Main Volume o Display p Mute q Transport Controls r Tune Search and Fast Forward s Preset D...

Page 13: ...put levels A test tone will circulate among the speakers Press this but ton to select the individual channels for output level adjustments see page 19 l Channel Select Press this button to view the output level for the surround or center channels When the Test Tone button k has been pressed so that the Tone is audible pressing this button will change the channel available for adjustment see page 1...

Page 14: ... buttons serve as a ten button numeric key pad to enter tuner preset positions They are also to be used to select channel numbers when TV has been selected on the remote or to select track numbers on a CD DVD or LD player depending on how the remote has been programmed x Stereo Selector Press this but ton to turn the surround processing off and listen to an input in traditional two channel front l...

Page 15: ...tions on the AVR55 rear panel The Optical and Coaxial digital inputs f may be used with either a Dolby Digital AC 3 source or the output of a conventional CD or LV player s PCM S P DIF output The AC 3 RF input g may ONLY be connected to the special AC 3 RF output of a laser disc player 5 Assemble the AM Loop Antenna sup plied with the unit as shown below Connect it to the AM and GND screw terminal...

Page 16: ...r or video projector System and Power Connections The AVR55 is designed for flexible use with external control components and power amplifiers These connections are easy to make during an initial installa tion or at a later date should you choose to upgrade your system Remote Control Extension If the receiver is placed behind a solid or smoked glass cabinet door the obstruc tion may prevent the in...

Page 17: ...mote Control Range The remote will operate at a range of up to 15 feet from the unit when the batter ies are fully charged The remote will also operate at an angle of up to 30 to either side of the unit Always point the remote transmitter at the front of the unit when issuing com mands If you find that remote com mands are not being received by the remote it may be necessary to use a remote IR sen...

Page 18: ...n it indicates that the remote s memory is full or that the remote codes from the transmitting remote are not compatible with the unit s signal format 6 Continue to program any additional remote commands required using steps 2 through 5 When you have finished programming the remote slide the Use Learn switch to the left so that it is in the Use position Clearing the Remote Memory In normal operati...

Page 19: ...on for the front speakers in your particular installation Don t be afraid to move things around until the system sounds correct Optimize your speakers so that pans across the front of the room sound smooth and that sounds from all speakers appear to arrive at the listening position at the same time with out delay from the center speaker as opposed to the left and right speakers Surround speakers s...

Page 20: ...o appear and blink to indicate the current setting Release the button for a second and while the current choice is still blinking in the display press the Speaker Mode Selector Ó again until the word describing the type of center speaker installed in your system appears Select LARGE if your center channel speaker is a traditional full range speaker capable of reproducing frequencies below 100Hz Se...

Page 21: ...Take a minute to listen to the test noise from each speaker as the location indicated in the display changes Check to make certain that for example when the display reads TEST FRONT L that the test noise is coming from the front left speaker If the test tone s loca tion does not match the display for any channel press the Test Tone button k to end the adjustment and turn the unit off using the Mai...

Page 22: ...st buttons m 10 When you are satisfied that all channels have the same output level press the Test Tone button i to return the AVR55 to normal operation Delay Settings One aspect of the surround modes is the delay of audio signals between the front speakers and the rear speakers Each surround mode is factory preset with a specific delay time but it is possible to individually adjust the delay timi...

Page 23: ...eaker further away from the listening position If repositioning of the speakers is not possible adjust the center delay time so that you add one millisecond of center channel delay for each foot that the dis tance to the center speaker lags behind the front speakers For example if the front left right speakers are each 10 feet from the listening position and the center channel speaker is 8 feet aw...

Page 24: ... to these inputs first press the Vid 2 Input Selector e and then press the Vid 2 Front Rear button When the front panel inputs are selected a red LED will illuminate above the selector button When an audio source is selected the last video input used remains routed to the Video 1 and Monitor Outputs a This permits simultaneous viewing and listening to different sources During a listening session y...

Page 25: ...ing that input is not active To disable this feature follow steps 2 and 3 above but toggle the buttons so that the words AUTO OFF appear in the Information Display F Surround Mode Selection One of the most important features of the AVR55 is its ability to reproduce a full multichannel surround sound field from Dolby Digital sources analog matrix surround encoded programs and stan dard stereo progr...

Page 26: ...the type of digital input used A red LED will light above the data type selected and a message will scroll across the Information Display F to confirm your choice Finally press the AC 3 Dolby Digital button z Û to select Dolby Digital The mode name will briefly scroll in the Information Display F and the Dolby Digital indicator B will illuminate NOTE If a Dolby Digital signal that matches the sele...

Page 27: ...s in a manual mode and will stop at each frequency increment in the selected band 4 To manually tune stations press the right side of the Tune button 9 to tune a station with a higher frequency or the left side to tune a station with a lower fre quency When the TUNEDindicator illuminates the station is properly tuned and should be heard with clarity To automatically search for the next station wit...

Page 28: ...ources while another source is being listened to through the unit s main amplifiers To make a video recording press the Video 1 Record button and observe the indicator dot at the far left side of the front panel Information Display 3 5 As you press the Record button the Video 1 Record indicator A will change to show which output is being sent to the Video 1 Out jacks The output may be either the c...

Page 29: ...sition Remote sensor is obscured Local interference SOLUTION Make certain AC power cord is plugged into a live outlet Check to see if outlet is switch controlled Make certain that all input and speaker connections are secure Press Mute button Turn up volume control Check speaker wire connections at receiver and speaker ends for shorts Contact your local Harman Kardon service depot Select a mode ot...

Page 30: ...on TIM Unmeasurable Rise Time 16 µsec Slew Rate 40 V µsec FM Tuner Section Frequency Range 87 5 108 MHz Usable Sensitivity IHF 1 3 µV 14 2dBf Signal to Noise Ratio Mono Stereo 70 68dB Distortion Mono Stereo 0 3 0 5 Stereo Separation 1kHz 40dB Selectivity 400kHz 65dB Image Rejection 98MHz 65dB Tuner Output Level 1kHz 75kHz Dev 500mV AM Tuner Section Frequency Range 520 1710kHz Signal to Noise Ratio...

Page 31: ...Staple or clip original invoice here ...

Page 32: ...6 7 8 9 0 AVR 55 Speaker Headphones TUNE 1 2 3 4 5 MEMO FM MODE AM FM CD T MON Power T 2 DIGIT SOU VID DVD TV VID 1 RE Printed in Korea Part 1111 AVR55REVOM 5707046840021 ...

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