Manual Setup; Step One - Determine Speaker Size; Step Two - Measure Speaker Distances; Step Three - Manual Setup Menu - Harman Kardon AVR 245 Owner's Manual

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS

Manual Setup

The AVR 245 is flexibly designed to be used with almost any loud-
speakers available. The flexibility arises from the AVR 245's capability to
be configured to match the characteristics of your particular speakers,
and to compensate for the acoustic characteristics of your room.
EzSet+ automatically detects the capabilities of each speaker, and the
room characteristics, and optimizes the AVR 245's performance in your
system. However, if for some reason you are unable to run EzSet+,
e.g., you have misplaced the microphone, or if you wish to make further
adjustments to the settings made by EzSet+, you may use the Manual
Setup on-screen menus as described in this section.
Before beginning manual setup you will need to have fully installed your
AVR, placed your loudspeakers in their correct locations within the room
(see Speaker Placement section on page 19), and connected them
to the AVR. You will need the specifications for each of your speakers,
which may usually be found in the owner's guide for the speakers or
on the manufacturer's Web site. If necessary, contact the manufacturer
to obtain the frequency range specification. Although the output-level
setting portion of manual setup may be performed "by ear," we
recommend that you purchase an SPL (sound-pressure level) meter
at a local electronics store.
Step One – Determine Speaker Size
Without using EzSet+, the AVR 245 can't detect how many speakers
you've connected to it; nor can it determine their capabilities. For this
part of the system setup, you will need to consult the speaker's technical
specifications.
The specification you're looking for is the frequency response, which is
usually given as a range, e.g., 100Hz – 20kHz (±3dB). This specifica-
tion tells you whether the speaker is able to play sounds that are very
high- or low-pitched, represented by the high and low frequencies. We
are concerned with the lowest frequency that each of your main speak-
ers is capable of playing, which is 100Hz in this example, typical for a
satellite speaker. Use the worksheets in the appendix to note this num-
ber as the crossover for that speaker (not the same as the crossover
frequency listed in the speaker's specifications).
The frequency response for your subwoofer will usually cover only the
very lowest frequencies, since the subwoofer is designed to play only
bass materials. A typical frequency response for a subwoofer is 25Hz –
200Hz. In this case, the higher number is most important and should be
noted in the worksheet.
The purpose of entering this information into the AVR 245 is to program
the receiver's bass management, which determines which speakers the
receiver will use to play back the low-frequency (bass) portion of the
source program.
If you send the lowest notes to small satellite speakers, you won't hear
these notes very well, and you may even damage the speaker by going
beyond its capabilities. If you send the highest notes to the special-pur-
pose subwoofer, you may not hear them at all.
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With proper bass management, the AVR 245 divides the source signal
at a crossover point. All information above the crossover point is played
through the satellite speaker (front left/right, center, surround left/right, or
surround back left/right), and all information below the crossover point is
played through the subwoofer. This enables each loudspeaker in your
system to perform at its best, delivering an enjoyable sound experience.
Step Two – Measure Speaker Distances
Ideally, all of your speakers were placed in a circle, each at the same
distance from the listening position. However, your room may not be
ideal, and you may have had to place some speakers a little further
away than others. This could affect the overall sound of the receiver,
as sounds that are supposed to arrive simultaneously from different
speakers blur due to different arrival times.
Fortunately, the AVR 245 has a delay adjustment that enables the
receiver to compensate for real-world speaker placements.
Before you begin making adjustments, measure the distance from each
speaker to the listening position, and note it in the worksheets in the
appendix. Even if all of your speakers are the same distance from the
listening position, you should enter your speaker distances.
Step Three – Manual Setup Menu
Now you are ready to program these adjustments into the receiver. It's
best to sit in the usual listening position and make the room as quiet as
possible. Don't worry if you make a mistake; you can always go back
and change these settings.
With the receiver and video display turned on, press the OSD Button on
the remote to display the Master Menu (see Figure 41). Use the
Button on the remote to move the cursor to the MANUAL SETUP line,
and press the Set Button to display the Manual Setup menu. See
Figure 80.
Figure 80 – Manual Setup Menu Screen
EzSet ACTIVATE: The first line in the Manual Setup menu indicates
whether you have run EzSet+ and whether the settings obtained by
EzSet+ have been activated as the starting point for manual setup.
If you have run EzSet+ but you wish to start the setup process from
scratch, use the / Buttons to move the cursor to this line, and
⁄ ¤
then use the ‹/› Buttons to change the setting to NO.
The next four lines of the Manual Setup menu are used to access the
four submenus used during the setup process. Each submenu's settings
¤