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18
CONNECTIONS
There are different types of audio and video connections used
to connect the receiver, the speakers, the video display, and the
source devices. The Consumer Electronics Association has estab-
lished the CEA
®
color-coding standard. See Table 1.
Table 1 – Connection Color Guide
Speaker Connections
Speaker cables carry an amplified signal from the receiver’s speaker
terminals to each loudspeaker. They contain two wire conductors,
or leads, inside plastic insulation, that are differentiated in some
way, such as with colors or stripes.
The differentiation preserves polarity, without which low-frequency
performance can suffer. Each speaker is connected to the receiver’s
speaker-output terminals using two wires, one positive (+) and one
negative (–). Always connect the positive terminal on the speaker,
which is usually colored red, to the positive terminal on the receiver,
which is colored as indicated in the Connection Color Guide above
(Table 1). The negative terminals are both black.
The AVR 7550HD uses binding-post
speaker terminals that can accept
banana plugs or bare-wire cables.
Banana plugs are inserted into the
hole in the middle of the terminal
cap. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Banana Plugs
Bare wire cables are installed as follows (see Figure 2):
1. Unscrew the terminal cap until the pass-through hole is revealed.
2. Insert the bare end of the wire into the hole.
3. Hand-tighten the cap until the wire is held snugly.
Figure 2 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Bare Wires
Subwoofer
The subwoofer is dedicated to the low frequencies (bass), which
require more power. To obtain the best results, most speaker
manufacturers offer powered subwoofers that contain their own
amplifier. Usually, a line-level (nonamplified) connection is made
from the receiver’s Subwoofer Output to a corresponding jack
on the subwoofer, as shown in Figure 3. The AVR 7550HD offers
the option of connecting two subwoofers to independent outputs,
which enables the EzSet/EQ II process to configure each subwoofer
precisely to account for its unique characteristics and placement
within the room.
Although the purple subwoofer outputs look similar to full-range
analog audio jacks, they are filtered to allow only the low frequen-
cies to pass. Don’t connect these outputs to any other devices.
Figure 3 – Subwoofer
CONNECTING SOURCE DEVICES
TO THE AVR
Audio and video signals originate in “source devices,” including
your Blu-ray Disc or DVD player, CD player, DVR (digital video
recorder) or other recorder, tape deck, game console, cable or
satellite television box, MP3 player, USB drive or network device.
The AVR’s tuner also counts as a source, even though no external
connections are needed, other than the FM and AM antennas
and the XM antenna module.
Separate connections are required for the audio and video portions
of the signal, except for digital HDMI connections. The types of
connections used depend upon the capabilities of the source device
and video display.
Audio Connections
There are two types of audio connections: digital and analog.
Digital audio signals are required for listening to sources encoded
with digital surround modes, such as Dolby Digital and DTS, or for
noncompressed PCM digital audio. There are three types of digital
audio connections: HDMI, coaxial and optical. Do not use more
than one type of digital audio connection for each source device.
However, it’s okay to make both analog and digital audio connec-
tions to the same source.
NOTE: HDMI signals may carry both audio and video. If your
video display device has an HDMI input, make a single HDMI
connection from each source device to the AVR. Usually, a
separate digital audio connection is not required. Turn the
volume on your television all the way down.
Digital Audio
The AVR 7550HD is equipped with four HDMI (High-Definition
Multimedia Interface) inputs, and one output. HDMI technology
enables digital audio and video information to be carried using
a single cable, delivering the highest quality picture and sound.
The AVR 7550HD uses HDMI (V.1.3a with Deep Color) technology
and is capable of processing both the audio and video components
SubwooferPreout
12 3
+
Audio Connections
Left Right
Front (FL/FR)
Center (C)
Surround (SL/SR)
Surround Back (SBL/SBR)
Subwoofer (SUB)
Digital Audio Connections
Coaxial
Optical
Video Connections
Component Y Pb Pr
Composite
S-Video
HDMI
™
Connections (digital audio/video)
HDMI
Input Output
White Red
Green
Blue Gray
Brown Tan
Purple
Orange
Green Blue Red
Yellow
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