Digital Audio Playback; Surround Mode Selection - Harman Kardon AVR140 Service Manual

AVR140
OPERATION
appears in the Lower Display Line 5, and then
use the ‹› Buttons o to boost or cut the low
or high frequencies by up to ±10dB, in 2dB steps,
until the desired setting is achieved. You may also
totally remove the tone controls from the circuit so
that the output is "flat" at any time by pressing the
Tone Mode Button 5 and then pressing the
Button ) so that TONE OUT appears
in the on-screen display and the Lower Display
Line ı.
• For private listening, plug the 1/4" stereo phone
plug from a pair of stereo headphones into the
front-panel Headphone Jack 4 . When the
headphone's plug is connected, the phrase
HEADPHONES IN will scroll once across
the Lower Display Line Q and all speakers will
be silenced. When the headphone plug is removed,
the audio feed to the speakers will be restored.

Surround Mode Selection

One of the important features of the AVR 140 is its
ability to reproduce a full multichannel surround sound
field from digital sources, analog matrix surround-
encoded programs and standard stereo programs.
Selection of a surround mode is based on personal
taste, as well as the type of program source material
being used. For example, motion pictures or TV pro-
grams bearing the logo of one of the major surround-
encoding processes, such as Dolby Surround or DTS
Stereo, may be played in either the Dolby Digital, Dolby
Pro Logic II or IIx Movie, DTS Neo:6 Cinema, or
Logic 7 5.1 or 7.1 Cinema surround modes.
NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with matrix
surround information, it retains the surround information
as long as the program is broadcast in stereo. Thus,
movies with surround sound may be decoded via any of
the analog surround modes such as Dolby Pro Logic IIx
Cinema, Logic 7 Cinema or DTS Neo:6 Cinema, when
they are broadcast via conventional TV stations, cable,
pay-TV and satellite transmission. In addition, a growing
number of made-for-television programs, sports broad-
casts, radio dramas and music CDs are also recorded in
surround sound.
Even when a program is not listed as carrying inten-
tional surround information, you may find that the Dolby
Pro Logic IIx, Logic 7 Enhanced or DTS Neo:6, VMAx
and the Hall or Theater modes often deliver enveloping
surround presentations through the use of the natural
information present in all stereo recordings.
Surround modes may be changed at any time by
using either the front panel or remote control. Any
changes made to the surround mode for that source
will be retained in the AVR's menu, even after another
26 OPERATION
source is selected, or if the AVR is placed in Standby
mode. To select a new surround mode from the
front panel, first press the Surround Mode Group
Selector Button 7 until the desired major surround
mode group, such as Dolby, DTS or Logic 7, is select-
ed. Next, press the Surround Mode Selector Button
8 to choose the specific individual surround mode.
/
‹ ›
To select a surround mode using the remote, press
the button for the major surround mode group that
includes the mode you wish to choose from: Dolby
w, DTS Surround x, DTS Neo:6
Logic 7 y, Stereo
The first press of the button will show the current
mode from that group. To cycle through the available
modes in that group, press the button again until the
desired mode appears in the Lower Display Line
ı, the on-screen display and in the Surround
Mode Indicators ˆ.
The Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX and DTS 5.1,
DTS-ES Matrix and DTS-ES Discrete modes may only
be selected when a digital input is in use and a digital
signal in that format is present. In addition, when a
digital source is present, the AVR 140 will automatical-
ly select and switch to the correct mode, regardless of
the mode that has been previously selected. For more
information on selecting digital sources, see the Digital
Audio Playback section.
When the 6-channel/8-channel direct inputs are in
use there is no surround processing, as these inputs
take the analog output signals from an optional, exter-
nal DVD-Audio or SACD player, or another source
device and carry them straight through to the volume
control without any further digital processing.
To listen to a program in traditional two-channel stereo,
using the front left and front right speakers only (plus
the subwoofer, if installed and configured), press the
until SURR OFF appears in the
Stereo Button
Lower Display Line ı, or press the Surround Mode
Group Selector 7 until the Stereo modes appear in
the on-screen display and Lower Display Line ı.
Next, press the Surround Mode Select Button 8
until SURROUND OFF appears in the on-screen
display and Lower Display Line ¯.
When an analog audio source is in use, you may
activate an analog bypass Surround Off mode, if you
have removed the tone controls from the processing
circuitry by pressing the Tone Mode Button 5
and using the ‹/› Buttons )o until the
TONE OUT message appears in the Lower
Display Line ı.
Normally, the DSP icon will appear in the
Surround Mode Indicators ˆ, and the message
16
SURROUND OFF will appear in the lower line
of the semi-OSD display. When the DSP icon appears,
the incoming signal is digitized and any bass manage-
ment settings are applied. This mode is recommended
when your front speakers are not capable of repro-
ducing the lower frequencies and are thus used with a
subwoofer.
When the DSP icon is not lit in Surround Off mode
with an analog audio input in use, the AVR is in analog
bypass mode. The signal is being routed directly to the
,
volume control, without entering the digital domain and
or DSP Surround k.
without any bass management settings being applied.
This mode is desirable when your left and right speak-
ers are capable of reproducing low frequencies, and
when you wish to hear the analog source material in
its pure form.

Digital Audio Playback

Digital audio is a major advancement over older analog
surround processing systems such as Dolby Pro Logic.
It delivers five, six or seven discrete channels: left front,
center, right front, left surround, right surround and
optionally one or two surround back channels. Each
channel reproduces full frequency range (20Hz to
20kHz) and offers dramatically improved dynamic range
and significant improvements to signal-to-noise ratios. In
addition, digital systems have the capability to deliver an
additional channel that is specifically devoted to low-fre-
quency information. This is the ".1" channel referred to
when you see these systems described as "5.1, " "6.1"
or "7.1". The bass channel is separate from the other
channels, but since it is intentionally bandwidth-limited,
sound designers have given it that unique designation.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is a standard part of DVD, and is available
on specially encoded LD discs and satellite broadcasts
and it is a part of the high-definition television (HDTV)
system.
An optional, external RF demodulator is required to
use the AVR 140 to listen to the Dolby Digital sound-
tracks available on laser discs. Connect the RF output
of the LD player to the demodulator and then connect
the digital output of the demodulator to the Optical or
Coaxial Inputs *(·d of the AVR 140. No
demodulator is required for use with DVD players or
DTS-encoded laser discs.
harman/kardon