Harman Kardon AVR 660/230, Service Manual

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4
ADVANCED FuNCTIONS
Much of the AVR 760/AVR 660’s performance is handled automatically, with
little intervention required on your part. The AVR 760/AVR 660 is capable
of being customized to suit your system and your tastes. In this Advanced
Functions Manual, some of the more advanced adjustments available are
described.
auDIo proceSSInG anD SurrounD
SounD
Audio signals output by sources are encoded in a variety of formats that can
affect not only the quality of the sound but the number of speaker channels
and the surround mode. You may also manually select a different surround
mode, when available.
analog audio Signals
Analog audio signals usually consist of two channels – left and right. The
AVR 760/AVR 660 offers three options for playback:
Analog Bypass Mode 1. : The 2-channel signal is passed directly from
the input to the volume control, without being digitized or undergoing
any processing for bass management or surround sound. To select analog
bypass mode:
The analog audio inputs for the source must be selected. If necessary, a)
press the Info Button on the remote and use the
KL
Buttons to scroll
to the Audio Input from source setting.
The tone controls must be disabled by setting the Tone Control to Off. b)
Press the Audio Effects Button to access the Tone Control setting.
The 2-channel Stereo mode must be selected. Press the Surround c)
Modes Button to access the STEREO line of the Surround Modes
submenu. Press the OK Button to select 2-channel Stereo.
NOTE : Audio from The Bridge II source is analog, and when 2-channel
Stereo mode is selected, the audio will be played in Analog Bypass mode.
Analog Surround Modes
2. : The AVR 760/AVR 660 is able to process
2-channel audio signals to produce multichannel surround sound, even
when no surround sound has been encoded in the recording. Among the
available modes are the Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx modes, the Dolby Virtual
Speaker modes, the DTS Neo:6 modes, the Logic 7 modes and the Stereo
modes.
Digital audio Signals
Digital audio signals offer greater capacity, which allows the encoding of
center and surround channel information directly into the signal. The result
is improved sound quality and startling directionality, since each channel is
reproduced discretely.
Even when only two channels are encoded, the digital signal allows for a
higher sampling rate that delivers greater detail. High-resolution recordings
sound extraordinarily distortion-free, especially at high frequencies.
Surround modes
Surround mode selection is dependent upon the format of the incoming
audio signal, as well as personal taste. Table A13 offers a brief description of
each mode and indicates the types of incoming signals or digital bitstreams
the mode may be used with. Additional information about the Dolby and DTS
modes is available on the companies’ Web sites: www.dolby.com and www.
dtsonline.com.
When in doubt, check the jacket of your disc for more information on which
surround modes are available. Usually, nonessential sections of the disc, such
as trailers, extra materials or the disc menu, are only available in Dolby Digital
2.0 (2-channel) or PCM 2-channel mode. If the main title is playing and the
display shows one of these surround modes, look for an audio or language
setup section in the disc’s menu. Also, make sure your player’s audio output is
set to the original bitstream rather than 2-channel PCM. Stop play and check
the player’s output setting.
For any incoming signal, only a limited number of surround modes are
available. Although there is never a time when all of the AVR 760/AVR 660’s
surround modes are available, there is usually a wide variety of modes
available for a given input.
Multichannel digital recordings are found in the 5.1-, 6.1- or 7.1-channel
formats. The channels included in a 5.1-channel recording are front left,
front right, center, surround left, surround right and LFE. The LFE channel is
denoted as “.1” to represent the fact that it is limited to the low frequencies.
6.1-Channel recordings add a single surround back channel, and 7.1-channel
recordings add surround back left and surround back right channels to
the 5.1-channel configuration. New formats are available in 7.1-channel
configurations. The AVR 760/AVR 660 is able to play the new audio formats,
delivering a more exciting home theater experience.
NOTE : To use the 6.1- and 7.1-channel surround modes, the Surround
Back channels must be enabled. See the Manual Speaker Setup section on
page 6 for more information.
The Digital formats are Dolby Digital 2.0 (two channels only), Dolby Digital
5.1, Dolby Digital EX (6.1), Dolby Digital Plus (7.1), Dolby TrueHD (7.1),
DTS-HD High-Resolution Audio (7.1), DTS-HD Master Audio (7.1), DTS 5.1,
DTS-ES (6.1 Matrix and Discrete), DTS 96/24 (5.1), 2-channel PCM modes in
32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz, and 5.1 or 7.1 multichannel PCM.
When a digital signal is received, the AVR 760/AVR 660 detects the encoding
method and the number of channels, which is displayed briefly as three
numbers, separated by slashes (e.g., “3/2/.1”).
AVR 660 -760, 230V Service Manual
Page 39 of 264