Harman Kardon HS100 Service Manual

Also see for HS 100: Brochure Brochure Owner's manual Owner's manual

Contents

Harman Kardon HS100 Service Manual Manual pdf 12 page image

10 INSTALLATION AND CONNECTIONSINSTALLATION AND CONNECTIONSInstallation and ConnectionsAfter unpacking the HS 100 controller unit and thespeakers, the first step is to place each speaker andthe HS 100 controller unit in its location in your listen-ing room. Consult the separate owner’s manual packedwith the speaker system for detailed information onphysical mounting of the speakers.When making any connections between speakers andthe HS 100, as well as between the HS 100 and otheraudio/video components, it is important that both theHS 100 and external components be turned off,preferably with the power removed from the AC outlet.This protects against accidental turn-on that mightcause damage not covered by the products’ warranty.When placing any speaker or the controller, make cer-tain that it is on a solid surface capable of supportingits weight, and make certain that there is a means forconnecting cables or speaker wires to reach throughthe back of any cabinets or shelves to the componentsthey are connected to. As important, please note thatdue to the weight of the speaker cabinets, particularlythe subwoofer, and the weight of and heat generatedby the HS 100 controller, there is the remote possibilitythat the rubber padding on the bottom of the feet ofthe system components may leave marks on certainsoft woods, wood veneers or carpets. Always use cau-tion when placing any speaker or electronic componenton a material that is soft or porous, or of a significantlydifferent color than the feet or rubber padding on thecomponent.Speaker PlacementIt is important that the speakers be placed in positionsthat enable them to do the best job of reproducing thesound as it was meant to be heard, regardless of theprogram content. Particularly in a multichannel 5.1 sys-tem, the placement of speakers can have a noticeableimpact on the accuracy of the surround process.When placing your speakers in a listening room, pic-ture an imaginary circle starting at the center of yourvideo screen that arcs around the room with the primelistening position, or “sweet spot” at the center of thecircle. Depending on the number of speakers in yoursystem, there is a recommended placement along thearc for each speaker, though the specific constructionof your room (taking into account the available walls,bookcases, or floor space at which the speakers maybe placed) will obviously have some impact on wherethe speakers are ultimately located. As a general rule,try to place all speakers so that they are positioned atthe same height as your ears when you are seated atthe prime listening position.Use the following suggestions as a guide, and makethe changes needed to fit the speakers to your room.Don’t be afraid to experiment a bit until you find theright combination of locations that works for you. Thereis no real “right” or “wrong” place to put the speakers;work to optimize their locations so that audio movesacross the front of the room smoothly, without seemingto jump from one speaker to another.Center Channel SpeakerThe ideal location for the center channel speaker is at“0 degrees” in our circle, directly in front of the primelistening position. Place the center channel speaker asclose to the top (or bottom) of the video screen aspossible so that when you position the front left/rightspeakers the tweeters of all three front channel speak-ers are within 24" of one another.Front Left/Right SpeakersThe recommended placement for front left/right speak-ers is to place them at the 30-degree position with ref-erence to the center channel speaker. The distancebetween them should be about the same as the dis-tance from the center channel speaker to the primelistening position.Although the natural tendency is to place the speakersso they are parallel to the wall behind them, and thus inline with the video screen, the preferred placement isto angle the speakers slightly (“toe in”) so that theypoint to the prime listening position.Surround SpeakersIn a 5.1 surround system, an additional pair of left/rightspeakers is added to the front left, right and centerspeakers. Although many believe that these speakersshould be placed at the rear of the room, the preferredposition for them is at the sides of the room, with rearplacement a second option when room conditions pre-vent the use of side-mounted surround speakers.When side-wall mounting is possible, place the left/rightsurround speakers at a point that is 110 degrees alongour circle from the center of the video screen. Thistranslates to placing them to the side and slightlybehind your preferred listening position. If possible,angle the speakers in slightly so that they are pointingtoward the listener’s ears.If it is not possible to place the surround speakers atthe sides of the room, the alternate position is at theback of the room, about 150 degrees on our circlefrom the center of the video screen. Another way tospot the optimal, alternate rear-wall mounting position isto place the left surround speaker on the back wall sothat it points directly at the front right speaker, and tohave the right surround speaker point directly at thefront left speaker. If possible aim the surround speakersso that they point “in” toward the listening area, ratherthan perpendicular to the walls.NOTES ON SPEAKER PLACEMENT:The limitations of your listening room, including theplacement of walls and furniture, may make it difficultto follow the speaker placement suggestions shownabove. Depending on the specific layout of the room,here are some ways to compensate for unusualconditions:• Try to follow the suggested placement, but movethe speakers within a few feet from the preferredlocations.• Regardless of where they are placed, always try tomake certain that the main surround speakers arethe same distance from the front speakers. (Forexample, try not to have the right surround speakerfurther back into the room than the left surroundspeaker.)• If it is not possible to wall-mount or place speakerson a shelf, consider the use of optional floor stands.Main Speaker ConnectionsOnce you have placed your left, center, right and sur-round speakers in the listening room, use the speakerwire supplied with the HKTS 7 speaker system to con-nect the individual speakers to the rear panel of theHS 100. Follow the instructions in the HKTS 7 owner’smanual concerning connection of the speaker wire tothe back of each of the main speakers.To simplify installation, the speaker wire included withthe HKTS 7 has a color marking tab at each end of thewire to indicate the channel the wire’s speaker is con-nected to. When connecting the wire to the speakers,we strongly recommend that you connect the wire incon formance with this color code, as it then makes iteasier to match the color code for the speaker termi-nals on the HS 100.The color coding is as shown below:Speaker Position Cable Color CodeFront Left WhiteCenter GreenFront Right RedSurround Right GraySurround Left BlueIf you wish to shorten the length of the speaker wires,a set of colored stickers is included with the HKTS 7owner’s manual. For consistency, apply the tab to theCenter SpeakerVideo ScreenFront RightSpeakerFront LeftSpeakerSide SurroundLeft SpeakerSide SurroundRight SpeakerAlternate position for surround positions110° 110°30° 30°12HS100 Integrated Home Theater System harman/kardon