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3 INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Thank you for choosing Harman Kardon!
With the purchase of a Harman Kardon
AVR 520 you are about to begin many years of
listening enjoyment. Designed to provide all the
excitement and detail of movie soundtracks and
every nuance of musical selections, the AVR 520
is truly a multichannel receiver for the new mil-
lenium.
The AVR 520 has been engineered so that it is
easy to take advantage of all the power of its
digital technology. On-screen menus, fully color
coded connection jacks and terminals and our
exclusive EzSet
™
remote make installation fast
and simple. However, to obtain the maximum
enjoyment from your new receiver, we urge you
to read this manual. A few minutes spent
learning the functions of the various controls
will enable you to take advantage of all the
power the AVR 520 is able to deliver.
If you have any questions about this product,
its installation or its operation, please contact
your retailer or custom installer.They are your
best local sources of information.
Description and Features
The AVR 520 is among the most versatile and
multifeatured A/V receivers available, incorpo-
rating a wide range of listening options. In
addition to Dolby Digital and DTS decoding for
digital sources, a broad choice of Matrix sur-
round-encoded or Stereo surround modes are
available for use with sources such as CD, VCR,
TV broadcasts and the AVR 520’s own FM/AM
tuner.Along with Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS Neo:6,
Dolby 3 Stereo, and Hall and Theater modes,
the AVR 520 offers Harman International’s
exclusive Logic 7 process in both 5.1 and 7.1
versions to create a wider, more enveloping
field environment and more defined fly-overs
and pans. Another Harman Kardon exclusive is
VMAx, which uses proprietary processing to
create an open, spacious sound field even
when only two front speakers are available.
Finally, the AVR 520 is among the very few A/V
receivers that offer decoding of MP3 data, so
that you may listen to the latest music selec-
tions directly from compatible computers or
playback devices with the power and fidelity
you expect from Harman Kardon.
In addition to providing a wide range of listen-
ing options, the AVR 520 is easy to configure so
that it provides the best results with your
speakers and specific listening-room environ-
ment. On-screen menus make it simple to enter
settings for speaker configurations and bass
management, and the EzSet remote measures
a system’s sound levels and automatically cali-
brates them for perfectly balanced sound field
presentation.
For the ultimate in flexibility, the AVR 520 fea-
tures connections for six video devices, all with
both composite and S-Video inputs. Two addi-
tional audio inputs are available, and a total of
six digital inputs make the AVR 520 capable of
handling all the latest digital audio sources.
For compatibility with the latest HDTV video
sources and progressive scan DVD players, the
AVR 520 also features wide-bandwidth, low-
crosstalk component video switching.
Coax and optical digital outputs are available
for direct connection to digital recorders, and
both the front panel analog audio/video and
coaxial digital jacks may be switched to
outputs for use with portable recorders – a
Harman Kardon exclusive. Two video recording
outputs, preamp-out and main amp-in jacks,
and a color-coded eight-channel input make the
AVR 520 virtually future-proof, with everything
needed to accommodate tomorrow’s new for-
mats right on board.
The AVR 520’s flexibility and power extend
beyond your main home theater or listening
room. The AVR 520 includes a sophisticated
multizone control system that allows you to
select one source for use in the main room and
a different one in a second room. Complete
control over volume is possible with a separate
infrared control link.To make it easy to operate
the AVR 520 from a remote room, a separate
“Zone II” remote is included.
The AVR 520’s powerful amplifier uses
traditional Harman Kardon high-current design
technologies to meet the wide dynamic range
of any program selection.
Harman Kardon invented the high-fidelity
receiver more than forty-seven years ago. With
state-of-the-art circuitry and time-honored circuit
designs, the AVR 520 is the perfect combina
tion
of the latest in digital audio technology, a
quiet
yet powerful analog amplifier in an
elegant,
easy-to-use package.
■ Dolby* Digital and Dolby Pro Logic* II
Decoding, and the full suite of DTS
®
modes, including DTS-ES
®
6.1 Discrete
& Matrix and Neo:6
®
using the latest
24-bit, twin-core Crystal
®
DSP engine
■ Harman Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7
®
processing, available for the first time
with both 7.1 and 5.1 processing in
a variety of modes and two modes
of VMAx
®
■ MP3 decoding for use with computers
and digital audio players
■ remote automatically sets
output levels for optimum performance
■ High-bandwidth, HDTV-compatible
component video switching
■ Front panel digital inputs and coax
digital output capability for easy con-
nection to portable digital devices and
the latest video game consoles
■ Multiple digital inputs and outputs
■ Front panel analog A/V and coax digi-
tal jacks switchable to outputs for
easy connection to portable digital
devices and video game consoles
■ On-screen menu and display system
■ Complete multizone system with sepa-
rate “Zone II” remote included
TM
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTION: To prevent electric shock,
do not use this (polarized)
plug with an extension cord,
receptacle or other outlet
unless the blades can
be fully inserted to
prevent blade exposure.
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol,
within an equilateral triangle, is intended to
alert the user to the presence of uninsulated
“dangerous voltage” within the product’s
enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a
risk of electric shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral
triangle is intended to alert the user to the
presence of important operating and
maintenance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the appliance.