Harman Kardon AVR 7550HD Owner's Manual

Also see for AVR 7550HD: Worksheet Quick start guide Service manual

40ADVANCED FUNCTIONSMuch of the AVR 7550HD’s performance is handled automatically,with little intervention required on your part. The AVR 7550HD iscapable of being customized to suit your system and your tastes.In this section, some of the more advanced adjustments availableare described.AUDIO PROCESSING AND SURROUNDSOUNDAudio signals output by sources are encoded in a variety of formatsthat can affect not only the quality of the sound but the number ofspeaker channels and the surround mode. You may also manuallyselect a different surround mode, when available.Analog Audio SignalsAnalog audio signals usually consist of two channels – left andright. The AVR 7550HD offers three options for playback:1. Analog Bypass Mode: The 2-channel signal is passeddirectly from the input to the volume control, without beingdigitized or undergoing any processing for bass managementor surround sound. To select analog bypass mode:a) The analog audio inputs for the source must be selected. Ifnecessary, press the Info Button on the remote and use the1/5 Buttons to scroll to the Audio Input from source setting.b) The tone controls must be disabled by setting the Tone Controlto Off. Press the Audio Effects Button to access the ToneControl setting.c) The 2-channel Stereo mode must be selected. Press theSurround Modes Button to access the STEREO line of theSurround Modes submenu. Press the OK Button to select2-channel Stereo.When the Tone Control setting is Off, the front speakers willbe set to Large automatically. When the Tone Control settingis turned On, if you have set the front speaker crossover toa numeric setting, the front speakers will return to the Smallsetting.NOTE: Audio from The Bridge II source is analog, and when2-channel Stereo mode is selected, the audio will be played inAnalog Bypass mode.2. DSP Surround Off Mode: The DSP Surround Off modedigitizes the incoming signal and applies the bass managementsettings, including speaker configuration, delay times and outputlevels. Select this mode when your front speakers are small,limited-range satellites and you are using a subwoofer. To selectthis mode, use a digital audio input, or turn the Tone Controlsetting off, and select 2-channel Stereo mode.3. Analog Surround Modes: The AVR 7550HD is able toprocess 2-channel audio signals to produce multichannel sur-round sound, even when no surround sound has been encodedin the recording. Among the available modes are the DolbyPro Logic II/IIx modes, the Dolby Virtual Speaker modes, theDTS Neo:6 modes, the Logic 7 modes and the Stereo modes.Digital Audio SignalsDigital audio signals offer greater capacity, which allows theencoding of center and surround channel information directlyinto the signal. The result is improved sound quality and startlingdirectionality, since each channel is reproduced discretely.Even when only two channels are encoded, the digital signalallows for a higher sampling rate that delivers greater detail.High-resolution recordings sound extraordinarily distortion-free,especially at high frequencies.Surround ModesSurround mode selection is dependent upon the format of theincoming audio signal, as well as personal taste. Table A13 offers abrief description of each mode and indicates the types of incomingsignals or digital bitstreams the mode may be used with. Additionalinformation about the Dolby and DTS modes is available on thecompanies’ Web sites: www.dolby.com and www.dtsonline.com.When in doubt, check the jacket of your disc for more informationon which surround modes are available. Usually, nonessentialsections of the disc, such as trailers, extra materials or the discmenu, are only available in Dolby Digital 2.0 (2-channel) or PCM2-channel mode. If the main title is playing and the display showsone of these surround modes, look for an audio or language setupsection in the disc’s menu. Also, make sure your player’s audiooutput is set to the original bitstream rather than 2-channel PCM.Stop play and check the player’s output setting.For any incoming signal, only a limited number of surroundmodes are available. Although there is never a time when all ofthe AVR 7550HD’s surround modes are available, there is usuallya wide variety of modes available for a given input.Multichannel digital recordings are found in the 5.1-, 6.1- or 7.1-channel formats. The channels included in a 5.1-channel recordingare front left, front right, center, surround left, surround right andLFE. The LFE channel is denoted as “.1” to represent the fact thatit is limited to the low frequencies.6.1-Channel recordings add a single surround back channel, and7.1-channel recordings add surround back left and surround backright channels to the 5.1-channel configuration. New formats areavailable in 7.1-channel configurations. The AVR 7550HD is able toplay the new audio formats, delivering a more exciting home theaterexperience.NOTE: To use the 6.1- and 7.1-channel surround modes,the Surround Back channels must be enabled. See the ManualSpeaker Setup section on page 41 for more information.The Digital formats are Dolby Digital 2.0 (two channels only), DolbyDigital 5.1, Dolby Digital EX (6.1), Dolby Digital Plus (7.1), DolbyTrueHD (7.1), DTS-HD High-Resolution Audio (7.1), DTS-HD MasterAudio (7.1), DTS 5.1, DTS-ES (6.1 Matrix and Discrete), DTS 96/24(5.1), 2-channel PCM modes in 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz,and 5.1 or 7.1 multichannel PCM.When a digital signal is received, the AVR 7550HD detects theencoding method and the number of channels, which is displayedbriefly as three numbers, separated by slashes (e.g., “3/2/.1”).