Installation And Connections - Harman Kardon AVR 340 Owner's Manual

INSTALLATION AND CONNECTIONS

INSTALLATION AND CONNECTIONS
System Installation
After unpacking the unit, locating it in a place with ade-
quate ventilation and placing it on a solid surface capable
of supporting its weight, you will need to make the con-
nections to your audio and video equipment.
IMPORTANT NOTE: For your personal safety and to
avoid possible damage to your equipment and speakers,
it is always a good practice to turn off and unplug the
AVR and ALL source equipment from the AC outlet
before making any audio or video system connections.
Audio Equipment Connections
We recommend that you use high-quality interconnect
cables when making connections to source equipment
and recorders to preserve the integrity of the signals.
1. Connect the analog outputs of a CD player to the
CD Audio Inputs £.
NOTE: When the CD player has both fixed and
variable audio outputs, it is best to use the fixed
output unless you find that the input to the receiver
is so low that the sound is noisy, or so high that
it is distorted.
2. Connect the analog Play/Out jacks of a cassette
deck, MD, CD-R or other audio recorder to the
Tape Input Jacks . Connect the analog
Record/In jacks on the recorder to the Tape
Output Jacks on the AVR 340.
3. Connect the output of any digital sources such as
a CD or DVD changer or player, advanced video
game, a digital satellite receiver, HDTV tuner or
digital cable set-top box or the output of a com-
patible computer sound card to the Optical and
Coaxial Digital Audio Inputs fif*(. We
recommend connecting the coaxial digital audio
output of your DVD player to the Coax 1 Digital
Audio Input f, since that digital input is
assigned to the DVD source by default. The Video
2/Cable/Sat source defaults to the Optical 1
Digital Audio Input fi. If your cable television
set-top box or satellite receiver is equipped with
an optical digital audio output, we recommend that
you connect it to this input to obtain the benefits
of higher-quality digital audio (such as PCM, Dolby
Digital 2.0 or Dolby Digital 5.1 signals when broad-
cast by your cable or satellite provider).
NOTE: If you wish for your digital source device to
be available for use by the multiroom system, you will
need to connect its analog audio outputs to the appro-
priate inputs on the AVR 340, as the multiroom sys-
tem is not capable of distributing digital signals to the
remote zone.
4. Connect the Coaxial or Optical Digital Audio
Outputs de on the rear panel of the AVR 340 to
16 INSTALLATION AND CONNECTIONS
the matching digital input connections on a CD-R or
MiniDisc or other digital recorder.
5. Assemble the AM Loop Antenna supplied with the
unit so that the tabs at the bottom of the antenna
loop snap into the holes in the base. Connect it to
the AM Antenna Terminals .
6. Connect the supplied FM antenna to the FM (75-
ohm) Connection ¡. The FM antenna may be an
external roof antenna, an inside powered or wire-
lead antenna or a connection from a cable TV sys-
tem. If the antenna or connection uses 300-ohm
twin-lead cable, you must use an optional 300-
ohm-to-75-ohm adaptor to make the connection.
7. With the AVR 340 turned off, connect the optional
Harman Kardon The Bridge to The Bridge
TM TM
Player (DMP) Connector j. Your compatible
The Bridge
iPod may be docked in when you wish to
TM
use it as an audio source device. Video materials
stored on the iPod may not be viewed via
8. Connect the front, center, surround and surround
back speaker outputs ⁄¤‹› to the respec-
tive speakers.
To ensure that all the audio signals are carried to your
speakers without loss of clarity or resolution, we sug-
gest that you use high-quality speaker cable. Many
brands of cable are available and the choice of cable
may be influenced by the distance between your
speakers and the receiver, the type of speakers you
use, personal preferences and other factors. Your dealer
or installer is a valuable resource to consult in select-
ing the proper cable.
Regardless of the brand of cable selected, we recom-
mend that you use a cable constructed of multistrand
copper with a gauge of 14 or smaller. Remember that
in specifying cable, the lower the number, the thicker
the cable.
Cable with a gauge of 16 may be used for short runs
of less than 10 feet. We do not recommend that you
use cables with an AWG equivalent of 18 or higher,
due to the power loss and degradation in performance
that will occur.
Cables that are run inside walls should have the appro-
priate markings to indicate listing with UL, CSA or other
appropriate testing agency standards. Questions about
running cables inside walls should be referred to your
installer or a licensed electrician who is familiar with
the NEC and/or the applicable local building codes in
your area.
When connecting wires to the speakers, observe
proper polarity. Note that the positive (+) terminal of
each speaker connection may carry a specific color
code, as noted on page 8. However, many speakers
still use a red terminal for the positive (+) connection.
Connect the "negative" or "black" wire to the same ter-
minal on both the receiver and the speaker.
NOTE: While most speaker manufacturers adhere to
an industry convention of using black terminals for
negative and red ones for positive, some may vary
from this configuration. To ensure proper phase and
optimal performance, consult the identification plate on
your speaker or the speaker's manual to verify polarity.
If you do not know the polarity of your speaker, ask
your dealer for advice before proceeding, or consult
the speaker's manufacturer.
We also recommend that the length of cable used
to connect speaker pairs be identical. For example,
use the same length piece of cable to connect the
Digital Media
front-left and front-right or surround-left and sur-
round-right speakers, even if the speakers are a
different distance from the AVR 340.
The Bridge . 9. The connections to a subwoofer are normally
TM
made via a line-level audio connection from the
Subwoofer Output • to the line-level input of a
subwoofer with a built-in amplifier. When a passive
subwoofer is used, the connection first goes to a
power amplifier, which will be connected to one
or more subwoofers. If you are using a powered
subwoofer that does not have line-level input con-
nections, follow the instructions furnished with the
speaker for connection information.
10. If an external multichannel audio source with 5.1,
6.1 or 7.1 outputs such as an external digital
processor/decoder, DVD-Audio or SACD player
is used, connect the outputs of that device to
the 6/8-Channel Direct Inputs
Video Equipment Connections
Video equipment is connected in the same manner as
audio components. The use of high-quality interconnect
cables is recommended to preserve signal quality.
1. Connect a VCR's, DVD recorder's, personal video
recorder's or other video source's audio and video
Play/Out jacks to the Video 1 Audio/Video and/or
S-Video Input Jacks
Audio and Video Record/In jacks on the recorder
should be connected to the Video 1 Audio/Video
and/or S-Video Output Jacks
Although any video device may be connected to
these jacks, we recommend connecting your video
recorder to take advantage of the fact that the
.
on the rear panel. The
on the AVR 340.