Harman Kardon AVR 260 Owner's Manual

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Harman Kardon AVR 260 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 30 page image

30OPERATIONSurround mode SelectionOne of the most important features of the AVR 260 is its ability to reproducea full multichannel surround sound field from digital sources, analog matrixsurround encoded programs and standard stereo or even mono programs.Selection of a surround mode is based on personal taste, as well as the type ofprogram source material being used. For example, CDs, motion pictures or TVprograms 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 orIIx Movie (with movies) or Music (with music) surround mode, with any DTSNEO:6 mode or with Harman Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7 Movie Mode, to createa full range 5.1 channel or (with Logic 7 and DTS NEO:6) even 7.1 channelsurround signal from surround encoded programs, with a stereophonic leftand right rear signal, just as it was recordedNote 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 anydigital 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 5.1channel surround sound even from those recordings.To create wide, enveloping sound field environments and defined pans andflyovers with all analog stereo recordings select the Dolby Pro Logic II Musicor Emulation mode or Harman Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7 Music mode fora dramatic improvement in comparison to the Dolby Pro Logic (I) mode offormer times.NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with matrix surround information,it retains the surround information as long as the program is broadcast instereo. Thus, movies with surround sound may be decoded via any of theanalog surround modes such as Pro Logic II or IIx Cinema, Logic 7 Cinema orDTS Neo:6 Cinema, when they are broadcast via conventional TV stations,cable, pay-TV and satellite transmission. In addition, a growing numberof made-for-television programs, sports broadcasts, radio dramas andmusic CDs are also recorded in surround sound. You may view a list of theseprograms at the Dolby Laboratories Web site at www.dolby.comEven when a program is not listed as carrying intentional surroundinformation, you may find that the Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx Music, DTS NEO:6Music or Logic 7 Music or Enhanced modes often deliver enveloping surroundpresentations through the use of the natural surround information present inall stereo recordings.However, for stereo programs without any surround information the 5/7CHStereo modes should be tried (effective particularly with old ”extreme” stereorecordings). And when you use only two front channel speakers you shouldselect any of the Dolby Virtual Speaker surround modes, delivering a virtuallythree dimensional sound space with two speakers only.Surround modes are selected using either the front panel controls or theremote. To select a new surround mode from the front panel, first press theSurround Mode Button ER to enter the Surround Modes Menu. Then usethe KL Buttons 4F to select the signal type that you want to modifyand confirm with the OK Button to open the list of available Surround Modesfor this signal type. Again select the desired Surround Mode and confirm withthe OK Button. Press the Back/Exit Button FN to exit the menu.Note that the Dolby Digital or DTS modes may only be selected when adigital input is in use. In addition, when a digital source is present, the AVRwill automatically select and switch to the correct mode (Dolby Digital orDTS), regardless of the mode that has been previously selected. For moreinformation on selecting digital sources, see the following section of thismanual.When the 6-Channel/8-Channel direct inputs are in use there is no surroundprocessing, as these inputs take the analog output signals from an optional,external DVD-Audio or SACD player, or another source device and carry themstraight through to the volume control.To listen to a program in traditional two-channel stereo, using the frontleft and front right speakers only (plus the subwoofer, if installed andconfigured), select 2 CH Stereo in the Surround Modes Menu.Digital audio SignalsDigital audio signals offer the benefit of greater capacity, which allowsrecording artists to encode center and surround channel informationdirectly into the signal. The result is improved sound quality and startlingdirectionality, since each of these channels is reproduced discretely.Alternatively, the artist may encode only two channels, but the digital signalallows for a higher sampling rate that delivers greater detail. High-resolutionrecordings usually sound extraordinarily distortion-free at all frequencies, butespecially at high frequencies.Multichannel digital recordings usually are found in the 5.1-, 6.1- or7.1-channel formats. The channels included in a 5.1-channel recording arefront left, front right, center, surround left, surround right and LFE. The LFEchannel is denoted as “.1” to represent the fact that it is not full-range, beinglimited to the low frequencies.6.1-Channel recordings add a single surround back channel, and 7.1-channelrecordings add surround back left and surround back right channels tothe 5.1-channel configuration. New formats, such as Dolby TrueHD, DolbyDigital Plus, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio, are available in 7.1-channelconfigurations. The AVR 260 is able to play the new audio formats, deliveringa more exciting home theater experience.Note: To use the 6.1- and 7.1-channel surround modes, the AVR 260 must beconfigured so that the Surround Back channels are enabled. See the ManualSetup section on page 22 for more information.Digital formats include Dolby Digital 2.0 (two channels only), Dolby Digital5.1, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, DTS-HDMaster Audio, DTS 5.1, DTS-ES (6.1 Matrix and Discrete), DTS 96/24, 2-channelPCM modes in 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz, and 5.1 or 7.1 multichannelPCM.When a digital signal is received, the AVR 260 detects the encoding methodand the number of channels. The number of channels encoded will appearbriefly in the front-panel display as three numbers, separated by slashes (e.g.,“3/2/.1”).