Harman-Kardon AVR 430 Stereo Receiver User Manual


 
OPERATION
30 OPERATION
Lower Display Line $. Next, use the /¤
Navigation Button o on the remote or the /
Button on the front panel H to change the setting
as desired. The unit will return to normal operation
within five seconds after the setting is changed.
• For private listening, simply place a standard
1/4" stereo headphone plug or adaptor into the
Headphone Jack B behind the door 9 on the
front panel. The speakers will automatically mute
and a two-channel stereo signal will be sent to the
headphones. The
Lower Display Line $ will read
DOLBY H: BP, indicating that the headphone
output is in the Bypass mode, and to confirm that
no processing is being used.
• When the headphones are in use, you may take
advantage of the Dolby Headphone modes to bring
added spaciousness to headphone listening. Press
the
Dolby Mode Select Button g or the
Surround Mode Selector 3 to cycle through the
three Dolby Headphone modes to select the one
that you prefer.
Surround Mode Selection
One of the most important features of the AVR 430
is its ability to reproduce a full multichannel surround
sound field from digital sources, analog matrix
surround-encoded programs and standard stereo
programs.
Selection of a surround mode is based on personal
taste, as well as the type of program source material
being used. For example, motion pictures or TV pro-
grams bearing the logo of one of the major surround-
encoding processes, such as Dolby Surround or DTS
Stereo may be played in either the Dolby Digital,
Dolby Pro Logic II Cinema, DTS Neo:6 Cinema, or
Logic 7 Cinema surround modes, depending on the
source material.
NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with matrix
surround information, it retains the surround information
as long as the program is broadcast in stereo. Thus,
movies with surround sound may be decoded via any
of the analog surround modes such as Pro Logic II
Cinema, Logic 7 Cinema or DTS Neo:6 Cinema, when
they are broadcast via conventional TV stations, cable,
pay-TV and satellite transmission. In addition, a growing
number of made-for-television programs, sports broad-
casts, radio dramas and music CDs are also recorded in
surround sound. You may view a list of these programs
at the Dolby Laboratories Web site at www.dolby.com.
Even when a program is not listed as carrying intentional
surround information, you may find that the Pro Logic II,
Logic 7 Enhanced or DTS Neo:6, VMAx and the Hall or
Theater modes often deliver enveloping surround pre-
sentations through the use of the natural information
present in all stereo recordings.
Surround modes may be changed at any time by
using either the front panel or remote control. To
select a new surround mode from the front panel, first
press the
Surround Mode Group Selector Button
2 until the desired major surround mode group such
as Dolby, DTS or Logic 7 is selected. Next, press the
Surround Mode Selector Button 3 to choose the
specific individual surround mode.
To select a surround mode using the remote, press
the button for the major surround mode group that
includes the mode you wish to choose from:
Dolby
g, DTS Digital f, DTS Neo:6 e, Logic 7
h, Stereo d or DSP Surround g. The first
press of the button will show the current mode from
that group if it is already in use, or the first available
mode if you are currently using another mode. To
cycle through the available modes in that group,
press the button again until the desired mode appears
in the
Lower Display Line $ and the on-screen
display and in the front-panel
Surround Mode
Indicators
%.
The Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS 5.1, DTS-ES
Matrix and DTS-ES Discrete modes may only be
selected when a digital input is in use. In addition,
when a digital source is present, the AVR 430 will
automatically select and switch to the correct mode,
regardless of the mode that has been previously
selected. For more information on selecting digital
sources, see the Digital Audio Playback section below.
When the 6-Channel/8-Channel direct inputs are in
use, there is no surround processing, as these inputs
take the analog output signals from an optional, exter-
nal DVD-Audio or SACD player, or another source
device and carry them straight through to the volume
control without any further digital processing.
To listen to a program in traditional two-channel
stereo, using the front left and front right speakers
only (plus the subwoofer, if installed and configured),
press the
Stereo Mode Select Button until
SURROUND
OFF appears in the Lower Display
Line
$.From the front panel, press the Surround
Mode Group Selector
2 until the Stereo
modes
appear in the on-screen display and
Lower Display
Line
$. Next, press the Surround Mode Selector
Button
3 until SURROUND OFF appears in
the on-screen display and
Lower Display Line $.
Digital Audio Playback
Digital audio is a major advancement over older analog
surround processing systems. It delivers up to six dis-
crete channels, and each channel reproduces full fre-
quency range (20Hz to 20kHz) and offers dramatically
improved dynamic range and significant improvements to
signal-to-noise ratios. In addition, digital systems have the
capability to deliver an additional channel that is specifi-
cally devoted to low-frequency information. This is the
“.1” channel referred to when you see these systems
described as “5.1,” “6.1” or “7.1.” The bass channel is
separate from the other channels, but since it is inten-
tionally bandwidth-limited, sound designers have given it
that unique designation.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is a standard part of DVD, and is available
on specially encoded LD discs and satellite broad-
casts and it is a part of the high-definition television
(HDTV) system.
An optional, external RF demodulator is required to
use the AVR 430 to listen to the Dolby Digital sound-
tracks available on laser discs. Connect the RF output
of the LD player to the demodulator and then connect
the digital output of the demodulator to the
Optical or
Coaxial Inputs JK of the AVR 430. No
demodulator is required for use with DVD players or
DTS-encoded laser discs.
DTS
DTS is another digital audio system that is capable of
delivering 5.1 or 6.1 discrete or matrix sound field
reproduction. Although both DTS and Dolby Digital are
digital, they use different methods of encoding the sig-
nals, and thus they require different decoding circuits
to convert the digital signals back to analog.
DTS-encoded soundtracks are available on select DVD
and LD discs, as well as on special audio-only DTS
discs. You may use any LD or CD player equipped
with a digital output to play DTS-encoded discs with
the AVR 430. All that is required is to connect the
player’s output to either an
Optical or Coaxial Input
on the rear panel or front panel JK.
In order to listen to DVDs encoded with DTS sound-
tracks, the DVD player must be compatible with the
DTS signal, which is indicated by a DTS logo on the
player’s front panel. Early DVD players may not be
able to play DTS-encoded DVDs. This does not indi-
cate a problem with the AVR 430, as some players
cannot pass the DTS signal through to the digital out-
puts. If you are in doubt as to the capability of your
DVD player to handle DTS discs, consult the player’s
owner’s manual.
NOTE: Some DVD players have a default setting that
does not pass through the DTS signal. Before playing
DVDs with a DTS soundtrack, make certain that the
settings in your DVD player have been properly adjusted
so that DTS audio is passed through. Consult the
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