12
SPEAKER CONNECTION GUIDE
SPEAKER CONNECTION GUIDE
I
MPORTANT NOTE:
Before making
speaker connections, be certain that both
the HKSUB 12 and your receiver or audio
power amplifier are turned off and
unplugged from their AC power sources.
Speaker-Level Connection
Guide
Speakers and electronics terminals have
corresponding positive (+) and negative (–)
terminals. Most manufacturers of speakers
and electronics, including Harman Kardon,
use red to denote the positive (+) terminal
and black, the negative (–) terminal.
Newer Harman Kardon receivers conform
to the new CEA standard and therefore use
a color other than red or black for the posi-
tive (+) terminal to indicate some speaker
positions, e.g. surround left.
If you are using speaker-level connections
for the HKSUB 12, you should connect the
HKSUB 12 only to the front left and right
speaker terminals on your receiver or
amplifier.
Two-conductor speaker wire uses some
distinguishing feature, such as a stripe or
ridge, to indicate the positive (+) lead. It is
important to connect all speakers identically:
positive (+) on the speaker to positive (+)
on the receiver/amplifier and negative (–)
on the speaker to negative (–) on the
receiver/amplifier. Wiring “out of phase”
results in thin sound, weak bass and a poor
stereo image.
With the advent of multichannel surround
sound systems, connecting all of the
speakers in your system with the correct
polarity remains equally important in order
to preserve the proper ambience and
directionality of the program material.
To connect your speaker wires to the
speaker terminals on your HKL Series
speakers, or to the speaker-level terminals
on your HKSUB 12 subwoofer, unscrew
the binding-post collar until the pass-
through hole in the center post is visible
under the collar. Insert the bare end of the
wire through this hole; then screw the collar
down until the connection is tight. The hole
in the center of each collar is intended for
use with banana-type connectors.
Connection Options
The three alternatives for connecting the
HKSUB 12 subwoofer to your system are
described on the following pages. The
option you choose will depend on the
capabilities of your receiver or processor.
• Option 1: If your receiver or processor
does not have digital surround sound pro-
cessing, bass-management programming,
or a subwoofer or volume-controlled pre-
amp (line-level) output, follow the connec-
tion instructions on page 13.
• Option 2: If your receiver or processor
does not have digital surround sound pro-
cessing or bass-management program-
ming, and is equipped with an unfiltered
subwoofer output or volume-controlled pre-
amp (line-level) output, follow the connec-
tion instructions on page 14.
• Option 3: If your receiver or processor
has Dolby Digital, DTS or another digital
surround decoder and bass-management
programming, or if your receiver or proces-
sor has a filtered subwoofer output, follow
the connection instructions on page 15.
In all three cases, connections for a 7.1-
channel system are shown. However, you
don’t need to connect all eight speakers to
your receiver or processor. Typical systems
include (2.0) – front left and right speakers
only; (2.1) – front left and right speakers
and a subwoofer; (3.0) – front left, right
and center speakers; (3.1) – front left, right
and center speakers and a subwoofer;
(5.1) – front left, right and center speakers,
surround left and right speakers and a sub-
woofer; (6.1) – front left, right and center
speakers, surround left and right speakers,
single surround back speaker and a sub-
woofer; and (7.1) – front left, right and
center speakers, surround left and right
speakers, surround back left and right
speakers and a subwoofer.
If you are not using a subwoofer, refer
to the diagram on page 15, and make
only those connections that apply to
your system.
