Mp3 Audio Playback; Tuner Operation; Station Selection; Preset Tuning - Harman Kardon AVR7300 Service Manual

AVR7300

MP3 Audio Playback

The AVR 7300 is one of the few receivers equipped
for onboard decoding for the MP3 audio format used
by computers and portable audio devices. By offering
MP3 decoding, the AVR 7300 is able to deliver pre-
cise conversion of the digital signals to an analog out-
put, along with the benefits of listening to the MP3
audio through the AVR 7300's high-power amplifier
and the speakers from your surround system, rather
than the smaller speakers and low-powered amplifiers
typically used with computers.
To take advantage of the AVR 7300's MP3 capabili-
ties, simply connect the S/P-DIF output of a comput-
er's sound card or the S/P-DIF output of a portable
digital audio device to either the rear panel Digital
Inputs ®† or the front-panel Digital Inputs
. When the digital signal is available, the Lower
12
Display Line $ will indicate that an MP3 bitstream
is present, and the audio will begin playing.
NOTES:
• The AVR 7300 is only capable of playing signals in
the MP3 (MPEG 1/Layer 3) format. It is not com-
patible with other computer audio codecs.
• The digital audio input signal may be either optical
or coaxial, but the signal must be in the S/P-DIF
format. Direct connection of USB or serial data
outputs is not possible, even though the signals
are in the MP3 format. If you have any questions
about the data output format from your computer
or a sound card, check with the device's owner's
manual.
• If your computer or sound card's digital output is not
capable of direct connection to the AVR 7300, you
may use an optional, external transcoder to convert
the USB output of a computer to a format compati-
ble with the AVR.
• Due to the wide variation in MP3 formats and
encoding speeds, it is possible that the AVR 7300
may not be compatible with all MP3 input signals.
Some may produce unacceptable results or may
not be decoded. This is not a fault of either the
computer or the AVR 7300, but rather a by-product
of the unpredictable nature of MP3 playback.
• Even when your computer does not have a digital
output that is compatible with the AVR 7300, you
may connect the analog audio output available on
virtually all computers to one of the AVR's analog
audio inputs using an optional adaptor cable that
converts the stereo mini plug commonly used for
computer audio connections to the left/right RCA
jacks used on the AVR. Connecting your computer
to the AVR will enable you to take advantage of
the high-quality audio reproduction possible with a
home theater system, as well as enable the use of
surround processing modes such as Logic 7, to
greatly enhance downloaded or streaming audio
playback.
IMPORTANT NOTES ON DIGITAL PLAYBACK:
• When the digital playback source is stopped, or
in a pause, fast forward or search mode, digital
audio data will momentarily stop, and the channel
position letters inside the Speaker/Channel Input
Indicators @ will flash and an UNLOCK mes-
sage may appear. This is normal and does not indi-
cate a problem with either the AVR 7300 or the
source machine. The AVR 7300 will return to digital
playback as soon as the data is available.
10
• Some source devices, particularly cable set-top
boxes, will switch back and forth between digital and
analog audio outputs, depending on the channel
being watched. To avoid losing sound with this type
of product, it is recommended that you connect
both the digital and analog audio outputs of the
source to the AVR 7300, with the digital audio input
set as the default following the steps shown on
page 23. The AVR will monitor the digital data
stream and when it is interrupted the sound will
mute briefly and possibly display an UNLOCK
message while it switches to the analog audio input.
This switching is not a fault of either the AVR or the
cable box, as it is caused by the use of different
audio technologies on different channels by the
cable company or program supplier.
• Although the AVR 7300 will decode virtually all current
DVD movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it may not be
compatible with future digital sources.
• When a digital source is playing, you may not be
able to select some of the analog surround modes
such as Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Hall,
Theater or Logic 7.
• When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,
it is not possible to make an analog recording using
the Tape Outputs ∂ and Video 1 or Video 2
Audio Outputs π∆. However, the digital signals
will be passed through to the Digital Audio
Outputs ϧ
11 13

Tuner Operation

The AVR 7300's tuner is capable of tuning AM, FM
and FM Stereo broadcast stations. Stations may be
tuned manually, or they may be stored as favorite sta-
tion presets and recalled from a 30-position memory.

Station Selection

1. Press the AM/FM Button
26
select the tuner as an input. The tuner may be
selected from the front panel by either pressing the
Input Source Selector 7 until the tuner is active
or by pressing the Tuner Band Selector 5.
2. Press the AM/FM Button
Selector 5 again to switch between AM and FM
so that the desired frequency band is selected.
3. Press the Tuner Mode Selector 8 l to select
manual or automatic tuning.
When the button is pressed so that AUTO or
AUTO/STEREO appears in the Upper
Display Line #, each press of the Tuning
Selectors 4w will put the tuner in a scan
mode that seeks the next higher or lower frequency
station with acceptable signal strength. An AUTO
ST TUNED indication will momentarily appear
when the station stops at a stereo FM station, and
an AUTO TUNED indication will momentarily
appear when an AM or monaural FM station is
tuned. Press the Tuning Selectors 4w again
to scan to the next station.
When the button is pressed so that MANUAL
or MANUAL/MONO appears in the Upper
Display Line #, each tap of the Tuning
Selectors 4w will increase or decrease the
frequency by one increment. When the tuner
receives a strong enough signal for adequate
reception, MANUAL TUNED will appear
in the Lower Display Line $.
4. Stations may also be tuned directly in either the
automatic or manual mode. To enter a station's fre-
quency directly, first select the AM or FM band as
desired be pressing the AM/FM Button
Next, press the Direct Button i. Within five
seconds of when DIRECT IN scrolls in the
Upper Display Line #, enter the station fre-
quency by pressing the Numeric Keys k. If you
press an incorrect button while entering a direct fre-
quency, press the Clear Button j to start over.
NOTE: When the FM reception of a station is weak,
audio quality will be increased by switching to Mono
mode by pressing the Tuner Mode Button 8 l
so that MANUAL/MONO appears momentarily
in the Upper Display Line # and then goes out.
.
This will also activate manual tuning mode.

Preset Tuning

Using the remote, up to 30 stations may be stored in
the AVR 7300's memory for easy recall using the
front-panel controls or the remote.
34 on the remote to
harman/kardon
OPERATION OPERATION
or Tuner Band
34
34 .
OPERATION OPERATION 39 39