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OPERATION 33
Operation
• To set the output of the AVR so that the output
is “flat,” with the tone and balance controls de-
activated, press the Tone Mode button
8
once
or twice so that the words
ToneOffappear
momentarily in the Main Information Display
Ò
.To return the tone controls to an active con-
dition, press the Tone Mode
8
button once or
twice so that the words
ToneInmomentarily
appear in the Main Information Display
Ò
.
• For private listening, plug the 6.3 mm stereo
phone plug from a pair of stereo headphones
into the front panel Headphone Jack
4
.Note
that when the headphone’s plug is connected,
the word
DOLBYH:BPwill scroll once across
the Main Information Display
Ò
and all
speakers will be silenced. When the headphone
plug is removed, the audio feed to the speakers
will be restored.
• When the headphones are in use, you may take
advantage of the Dolby Headphone modes to
bring added spaciousness to headphone listen-
ing. Press the Dolby Mode Select Button
M
or the Surround Mode Group Selector
5
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 240 is its ability to reproduce a full multi-
channel surround sound field from digital
sources, analog matrix surround encoded
programs and standard stereo or even mono
programs.
Selection of a surround mode is based on person-
al taste, as well as the type of program source
material being used. For example, CDs, motion
pictures or TV programs bearing the logo of one
of the major surround-encoding processes, such
as Dolby Surround should be played in either the
Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx Movie (with movies) or
Music (with music) surround mode, with any DTS
NEO:6 mode or with Harman Kardon´s exclusive
Logic 7 Movie Mode, to create a full range 5.1
channel or (with Logic 7 and DTS NEO:6) even
7.1 channel surround signal from surround
encoded programs, with a stereophonic left and
right rear signal, just as it was recorded (e.g.
sound being recorded from left rear side will be
heard from that side only, for more details see
chart on page 30-31).
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 from
those recordings (see also "Dolby Digital" on
page 33).
To create wide, enveloping sound field environ-
ments and defined pans and flyovers with all
analog stereo recordings select the Dolby Pro
Logic II Music or Emulation mode or Harman
Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7 Music mode for a
dramatic improvement in comparison to the
Dolby Pro Logic (I) mode of former times.
NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with
matrix surround information, it retains the sur-
round information as long as the program is
broadcast in stereo. Thus, movies with surround
sound may be decoded via any of the analog sur-
round modes such as Pro Logic II or IIx 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 broadcasts, 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 Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx Music, DTS NEO:6
Music or Logic 7 Music or Enhanced modes often
deliver enveloping surround presentations through
the use of the natural surround information
present in all stereo recordings.
However, for stereo programs without any
surround information the Theater, Hall and 5/7CH
Stereo modes should be tried (effective particularly
with old ”extreme” stereo recordings) and for
mono programs, we suggest that you try the
Theater or Hall modes.And when you use only two
front channel speakers you should select Harman’s
patented VMAx mode, delivering a virtually three
dimensional sound space with two speakers only.
Surround modes are selected using either the
front panel controls or the remote. To select a
new surround mode from the front panel, first
press the Surround Mode Group Selector
Button
5
until the desired major surround
mode group such as Dolby, DTS or Logic 7 is
selected. Next, press the Surround Mode
Selector Button
9
to choose the specific
individual surround mode.
To select a surround mode using the remote con-
trol, press the button for the major surround
mode group that includes the mode you wish to
choose from: Dolby
M
, DTS Surround
N
,
DTS Neo:6
T
, Logic 7
O
, Stereo
S
or
DSP Surround
A
.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 Main Information Display
Ò
and the
on-screen display.
To select from the DSP modes (Hall 1, Hall 2,
Theater,VMAx Near or VMAx Far) press the
Surround Mode Selector
A
repeatedly to
scroll through the list of available modes.
As the surround modes change, a blue LED will
light next to the current mode in the Surround
Mode Indicators
(
list on the front panel.
Note that the Dolby Digital or DTS modes may
only be selected when a digital input is in use. In
addition, when a digital source is present, the
AVR will automatically select and switch to the
correct mode (Dolby Digital or DTS), regardless of
the mode that has been previously selected. For
more information on selecting digital sources, see
the following section of this manual.
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, external DVD-Audio or SACD player, or
another source device and carry them straight
through to the volume control.
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 Button
5
S
until SURROFF
appears in the Main
Information Display Ò.
Digital Audio Playback
Digital audio is a major advancement over older
analog surround processing systems such as
Dolby Pro Logic. It delivers five or six discrete
channels: left front, center, right front, left
surround and right surround and with DTS ES
(see below) even surround back (with identical
signals for left and right). Each channel repro-
duces full frequency 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
specifically 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 intentionally
bandwidth-limited, sound designers have given it
that unique designation.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital (originally known as AC-3
®
) is a
standard part of DVD, and is available on
specially encoded LD discs and satellite
broadcasts and it is a part of the new high-
definition television (HDTV) system.
Note that an optional, external RF demodulator is
required to use the AVR 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
NR*Ó
of the AVR.
No demodulator is required for use with DVD
players or DTS-encoded laser discs.