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OPERATION 25

Once you have completed the setup and configu-
ration of the AVR, it is simple to operate and
enjoy. The following instructions should be
followed for you to maximize your enjoyment of
your new receiver:

Turning the AVR On or Off
• When using the AVR for the first time, you must
press the Main Power Switch 1 on the front
panel to turn the unit on. This places the unit in a
Standby mode, as indicated by the amber color of
the Power Indicator 3. Once the unit is in
Standby, you may begin a listening session by
pressing the System Power Control 2 or the
Source button % on the front panel or the
AVR Selector

5. Note that the Power

Indicator 3 will turn blue. This will turn the unit
on and return it to the input source that was last
used. The unit may also be turned on from Standby
by pressing any of the Source Selector buttons
on the remote 

4567 or the Source

button % on the front panel.

NOTE: After pressing one of the Input Selector
buttons

4 (except VID4) to turn the unit on,

press the AVR Selector

5 to have the remote

control the AVR functions.

To turn the unit off at the end of a listening ses-
sion, simply press the System Power Control
2 on the front panel or the Power Off Button
3 on the remote. Power will be shut off to any
equipment plugged into the rear panel
Switched AC Outlets

 and the Power

Indicator 3 will turn orange.

When the remote is used to turn the unit “off” it
is actually placing the system in a Standby mode,
as indicated by the orange color of the Power
Indicator 3.

When you will be away from home for an extend-
ed period of time it is always a good idea to com-
pletely turn the unit off with the front panel
Main Power Switch 1.

NOTE: All preset memories may be lost if the unit
is left turned off with the Main Power Switch
1 for more than two weeks.

Using the Sleep Timer
• To program the AVR for automatic turn-off,
press the Sleep Button

9 on the remote. Each

press of the button will increase the time before
shut down in the following sequence:

The sleep time will be displayed in the Main
Information Display ˜ and it will count
down until the time has elapsed.

When the programmed sleep time has elapsed,
the unit will automatically turn off (to Standby
mode). Note that the front panel display will dim
to one half brightness when the Sleep function is
programmed. To cancel the Sleep function, press
and hold the Sleep Button 

9 until the infor-

mation display returns to normal brightness and
the Sleep indicator numbers disappear and the
words S L E E P O F F appear in the Main
Information Display ˜.

• To select a source, press any of the Source
Selector buttons on the remote 

46.

NOTE: After pressing one of the Input Selector
buttons

4 to turn the unit on, press the 

5 to have the remote control the

AVR functions.

• The input source may also be changed by press-
ing the front-panel Input Source Selector but-
ton %. Each press of the button will move the
input selection through the list of available
inputs.

• As the input is changed, the AVR will auto-
matically switch to the digital input (if selected),
surround mode and speaker configuration that
were entered during the configuration process for
that source.

• The front-panel Video 3 Inputs Ô, Optical
Digital 3 Input * or the Coaxial Digital 3
Input Ó may be used to connect a device such
as a video game or camcorder to your home
entertainment system on a temporary basis.

• As the input source is changed, the new input
name will appear momentarily as an on-screen
display in the lower third of the video display.
The input name will also appear in the Main
Information Display ˜ and a blue LED will
light next to the selected input’s name in the
front-panel Input Indicators ˆ.

• When a pure audio input (CD, Tuner, Tape,
6/8 Channel Input) is selected, the last video
input used remains routed to the Video Out-
puts

 and Video Monitor Output .

This permits simultaneous viewing and listening
to different sources.

• When a Video source is selected, its audio signal
will be fed to the speakers and the video signal for
that input will be routed to the appropriate
Monitor Output Jack

 and will be viewable on

a TV monitor connected to the AVR. If a component
video source is connected to the DVD

 or Video

 Component Inputs, it will be routed to the

. Make certain

that your TV is set to the proper input to view the
appropriate video signal (composite, S-Video or
component video, see Notes for S-Video on page
13).

• There are two input choices available for use
with sources such as a DVD-Audio or SACD play-
er that are connected to the 8-Channel Direct
Inputs

. Select the appropriate input accord-

ing to the way your system and source equipment
is configured:

• The 

6 C H DIRECT INPUT

should be

used when the SBR and SBL inputs are NOT in
use and the input source device has its own inter-
nal bass management system. This input passes
the input from the source directly through to the
volume control without any analog to digital con-
version and it mutes the unused input jacks to
prevent unwanted noise from interfering with
system performance.

• The 

8 C H DIRECT INPUT

should be

used when an input is connected to all eight 
8-Channel Direct Inputs

 and when the

input source device has its own internal bass
management system. This input passes the input
from the source directly through to the volume
control without any analog to digital conversion
and it mutes the unused input jacks to prevent
unwanted noise from interfering with system
performance.

Note that when the 6-Channel or 8-Channel
Direct Input is in use, you may not select a sur-
round mode, as the external decoder determines
the processing in use. In addition, there is no
signal at the record outputs or bass management
when the 6-Channel or 8-Channel Direct Input is
in use and the tone or balance controls will not
function.

26 OPERATION

• Adjust the volume to a comfortable level using
the front panel Volume Control ı or remote
Volume Up/Down 

) buttons.

• To temporarily silence all speaker outputs press
the Mute button 

(. This will interrupt the out-

put to all speakers and the headphone jack, but it
will not affect any recording or dubbing that may
be in progress. When the system is muted, the
word 

MUTE

will blink in the Main Infor-

mation Display ˜. Press the Mute button
( again to return to normal operation.

• During a listening session you may wish to
adjust the Bass Control  and Treble
Control Ú to suit your listening tastes or room
acoustics. Note that these controls (and Balance)
will not function when the 6/8 channel direct
input is in use.

• To set the output of the AVR so that the output
is “flat,” with the tone and balance controls de-
activated, press the Tone Mode button 8 once
or twice so that the words 

Tone Off

appear

momentarily in the Main Information Display
˜. To return the tone controls to an active con-
dition, press the Tone Mode 8 button once or
twice so that the words 

Tone I n

momentarily

appear in the Main Information Display ˜.

• For private listening, plug the 6.3 mm stereo
phone plug from a pair of stereo headphones
into the front panel Headphone Jack 4. Note
that when the headphone’s plug is connected,
the word 

HEADPHONES I N

will scroll

once across the Main Information Display ˜
and all speakers will be silenced. When the head-
phone plug is removed, the audio feed to the
speakers will be restored.

One of the most important features of the 
AVR 135 is its ability to reproduce a full multi-
channel surround sound field from digital
sources, analog matrix surround encoded
programs and standard stereo or even mono
programs.

Selection of a surround mode is based on person-
al taste, as well as the type of program source
material being used. For example, CDs, motion
pictures or TV programs bearing the logo of one
of the major surround-encoding processes, such
as Dolby Surround should be played in either the
Dolby Pro Logic II Movie (with movies) or Music
(with music) surround mode, with any DTS NEO:6
mode or with Harman Kardon´s exclusive Logic 7
Movie Mode, to create a full range 5.1 channel or
(with Logic 7 and DTS NEO:6) even 7.1 channel
surround signal from surround encoded pro-
grams, with a stereophonic left and right rear sig-
nal, just as it was recorded (e.g. sound being
recorded from left rear side will be heard from
that side only, for more details see chart on page
23-24).

Note that when Dolby Digital 2.0 signals (e.g.
"D.D. 2.0" tracks from DVD), that are encoded
with Dolby Pro Logic information, are received via
any digital input, the Dolby Pro Logic II Movie
mode will be selected automatically (in addition
to the Dolby Digital mode) and will decode a full
range 5.1 channel surround sound even from
those recordings (see also "Dolby Digital" on
page 27).

To create wide, enveloping sound field environ-
ments and defined pans and flyovers with all
analog stereo recordings select the Dolby Pro
Logic II Music or Emulation mode or Harman
Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7 Music mode for a
dramatic improvement in comparison to the
Dolby Pro Logic mode of former times.

NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with
matrix surround information, it retains the sur-
round information as long as the program is
broadcast in stereo. Thus, movies with surround
sound may be decoded via any of the analog sur-
round modes such as Pro Logic II 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 broadcasts, radio dramas and music CDs are
also recorded in surround sound. You may view a
list of these programs at the Dolby Laboratories
Web site at www.dolby.com.

Even when a program is not listed as carrying
intentional surround information, you may find
that the Dolby Pro Logic II Music, DTS NEO:6
Music or Logic 7 Music or Enhanced modes often
deliver enveloping surround presentations through
the use of the natural surround information
present in all stereo recordings.

However, for stereo programs without any
surround information the Theater, Hall and 5/7CH
Stereo modes should be tried (effective particularly
with old ”extreme” stereo recordings) and for
mono programs, we suggest that you try the
Theater or Hall modes. And when you use only two
front channel speakers you should select Harman’s
patented VMAx mode, delivering a virtually three
dimensional sound space with two speakers only.

Surround modes are selected using either the
front panel controls or the remote. To select a
new surround mode from the front panel, first
press the Surround Mode Group Selector
Button 5 until the desired major surround
mode group such as Dolby, DTS or Logic 7 is
selected. Next, press the Surround Mode
Selector Button 9 to choose the specific
individual surround mode.

To select a surround mode using the remote con-
trol, press the button for the major surround
mode group that includes the mode you wish to
choose from: Dolby

M, DTS Surround N,

, Logic 7 O, Stereo  or

A. The first press of the button

will show the current mode from that group if it
is already in use, or the first available mode if you
are currently using another mode. To cycle
through the available modes in that group press
the button again until the desired mode appears
in the Main Information Display ˜ and the
on-screen display.

To select from the DSP modes (Hall 1, Hall 2,
Theater, VMAx Near or VMAx Far) press the
Surround Mode Selector

A repeatedly to

scroll through the list of available modes.

As the surround modes change, a blue LED will
light next to the current mode in the Surround
Mode Indicators ( list on the front panel.

Note that the Dolby Digital or DTS modes may
only be selected when a digital input is in use. In
addition, when a digital source is present, the
AVR will automatically select and switch to the
correct mode (Dolby Digital or DTS), regardless of
the mode that has been previously selected. For
more information on selecting digital sources, see
the following section of this manual.

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, external DVD-Audio or SACD player, or
another source device and carry them straight
through to the volume control.

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 Stereo Button 5

until 

SURR OFF

appears in the Main

Information Display ˜.

OPERATION 27

Digital audio is a major advancement over older
analog surround processing systems such as
Dolby Pro Logic. It delivers five or six discrete
channels: left front, center, right front, left sur-
round and right surround and with DTS ES (see
below) even surround back (with identical signals
for left and right). Each channel reproduces full
frequency range (20Hz to 20kHz) and offers dra-
matically improved dynamic range and significant
improvements to signal-to-noise ratios. In addi-
tion, digital systems have the capability to deliver
an additional channel that is specifically devoted
to low-frequency 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 (originally known as AC-3

®

) is 

a standard part of DVD, and is available on 
specially encoded LD discs and satellite broad-
casts and it is a part of the new high-definition
television (HDTV) system.

Note that an optional, external RF demodulator is
required to use the AVR 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 

*Ó of the AVR.

No demodulator is required for use with DVD
players or DTS-encoded laser discs.

DTS
DTS is another digital audio system that is capa-
ble of delivering 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 audio. Although
both DTS and Dolby Digital are digital, they use
different methods of encoding the signals, and
thus they require different decoding circuits to
convert the digital signals back to analog.

DTS-encoded sound tracks are available on select
DVD and LD discs, as well as on special audio-
only DTS CDs. You may use any LD, DVD or CD
player equipped with a digital output to play
DTS-encoded special audio-only CDs with the
AVR, but DTS-LDs can be played on LD players
and DTS-DVDs on DVD players only. All that is
required is to connect the player’s digital output
to either the Optical or Coaxial input on the
rear panel 

 or front panel *Ó.

In order to listen to DVDs encoded with DTS
sound tracks, the DVD player must be compatible
with the DTS signal as indicated by a DTS logo on
the player’s front panel. Note that early DVD
players may not be able to play DTS- encoded
DVDs. This does not indicate a problem with the
AVR, as some players cannot pass the DTS signal
through to the digital outputs. If you are in doubt
as to the capability of your DVD player to handle
DTS DVDs, consult the player’s owner’s manual.

Please note that some DVD players are shipped
with their output set for Dolby Digital only. To
insure that DTS data is being sent to the AVR,
please check the setup menu system on your
DVD player to make certain that DTS data output
is enabled.

PCM Audio Playback
PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) is the non- com-
pressed digital audio system used for compact
discs, Non-Dolby Digital/DTS Laserdiscs and some
special PCM encoded DVDs. The digital circuits in
the AVR are capable of high quality digital-to-ana-
log decoding, and they may be connected directly
to the digital audio output of your CD/DVD or LD
player (LD only for PCM or DTS programs, for
Dolby Digital laser discs an RF adapter is needed,
see ”Dolby Digital” above).

Connections may be made to either the Optical
or Coaxial inputs 

 on the rear panel or the

front panel Digital Inputs *Ó.

To listen to a PCM digital source, first select the
input for the desired source (e.g., CD) to feed its
video signal (if any) to the TV monitor and to pro-
vide its analog audio signal for recording. Next
press the Digital Select button Û

G and then

use the 

⁄

¤

buttons 

D on the remote, or the

Selector buttons 7 on the front panel, until the
desired choice appears in the Main Information
Display ˜, then press the Set button @

F

to confirm the choice.

During PCM playback the unit automatically will
turn to the default surround mode or to the

LOGIC 7

mode but you also may select any

surround mode except Dolby Digital or DTS.

Selecting a Digital Source
To utilize either digital mode you must have 
properly connected a digital source to the 
AVR. Connect the digital outputs from DVD play-
ers, HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CD play-
ers to the Optical or Coaxial inputs on the rear
or front panel 

*Ó. In order to provide a

backup signal and a source for analog stereo
recording, the analog outputs provided on digital
source equipment should also be connected to
their appropriate inputs on the AVR rear panel
(e.g., connect the analog stereo audio output
from a DVD to the DVD Audio inputs

 on

the rear panel when you connect the source’s
digital outputs).

To select a digital source such as DVD, first select
its input using the remote or front panel Input
Selector

4% as outlined in this manual in

order to feed its video signal (if any) to the TV
monitor and to provide its analog audio signal for
recording. When the digital input associated with
the input selected (e.g. “DVD”) is not selected
automatically (due to the input settings made
earlier during the system configuration, see page
16), select the digital source by pressing the
Digital Input Selector button 

G Û and

then using the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D on the remote

or the Selector buttons 7 on the front panel to
choose any of the 

OPTICAL

or 

COAXIAL

inputs, as they appear in the Main Information
Display ˜ or on-screen display.

When the digital source is playing, the AVR will
automatically detect whether it is a multichannel
Dolby Digital or DTS source or a conventional
PCM signal, which is the standard output from
CD players.

Note that a digital input (e.g. coaxial) remains
associated with any analog input (e.g. DVD) as
soon as it is selected, thus the digital input need
not be re-selected each time the appropriate
input choice (e.g. DVD) is made.

Digital Bitstream Indicators
When a digital source is playing, the AVR senses
the type of bitstream data that is present. Using
this information, the correct surround mode will
automatically be selected. For example, DTS bit-
streams will cause the unit to switch to DTS
decoding, and Dolby Digital bitstreams will enable
Dolby Digital decoding. When the unit senses
PCM data, from CDs and LDs and some music
DVDs or certain tracks on normal DVDs, it will
allow the appropriate surround mode to be select-
ed manually. Since the range of available surround
modes depends on the type of digital data that is
present, the AVR uses a variety of indicators to let
you know what type of signal is present. This will
help you to understand the choice of modes and
the input channels recorded on the disc.

When a digital source is playing, the AVR will
display a variety of messages to indicate the type
of bitstream received. These messages will appear
shortly after an input or surround mode is
changed, and will remain in the Main
Information Display ˜ for about five seconds
before the display returns to the normal surround
mode indication.

28 OPERATION

For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three digit
indication will appear, showing the number of
channels present in the data. An example of this
type of display is 3/2/.1.

The first number indicates how many discrete
front channel signals are present.

• A 3 tells you that separate front left, center and

front right signals are available. This will be dis-
played for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 pro-
grams.

• A 2 tells you that separate front left and right

signals are available, but there is no discrete
center channel signal. This will be displayed for
Dolby Digital bit streams that have stereo pro-
gram material.

• A 1 tells you that there is only a mono channel

available in the Dolby Digital bitstream.

The middle number indicates how many discrete
surround channel signals are present.

• A 2 tells you that separate surround left and

right signals are available. This will be displayed
for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs.

• A 1 tells you that there is only a single, sur-

round encoded surround channel. This will
appear for Dolby Digital bit streams that have
matrix encoding.

• A 0 indicates that there is no surround channel

information. This will be displayed for two-
channel stereo programs.

The last number indicates if there is a discrete
Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel. This is the
“.1” in the common abbreviation of “5.1” sound
and it is a special channel that contains only bass
frequencies.

• A .1 tells you that an LFE channel is present.

This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and
DTS 5.1 programs, as available.

• A 0 indicates that there is no LFE channel infor-

mation available. However, even when there is
no dedicated LFE channel, low frequency sound
will be present at the subwoofer output when
the speaker configuration is set to show the
presence of subwoofer.

• The information in the right side of the display

will tell you if the digital audio data contains a
special flag signal that will automatically acti-
vate the appropriate 6.1 or 7.1 mode. This will
be shown as EX-ON or EX-OFF for Dolby Digital
bitstreams and ES-ON or ES-OFF for DTS bit-
streams.

An 

UNLOCK

message may appear in the

Lower Display Line ˜. This is your indication
that the digital audio data stream has been inter-
rupted or is no longer present. When that occurs,
the unit’s digital signal processor has no signal to

lock onto, and is thus “unlocked.” You may see
this message when a DVD is first started until the
stream is playing and the processor determines
which mode to apply; or any time the data
stream is stopped or paused, such as when the
menus of some discs are displayed or when the
player is switching between the different sections
of a disc. You may also see the message when a
satellite receiver, cable set-top or HDTV tuner is in
use if the digital audio is temporarily interrupted
when channels are changed or when a cable box
switches from a channel with a digital data
stream to a channel with analog audio only. The

UNLOCK

message is normal, and does not

indicate any problem with your receiver. Rather, it
tells you that the incoming data has simply been
paused or is not present for a variety of possible
reasons.

When Dolby Digital 3/2/.1 or DTS 3/2/.1 signals
are being played, the AVR will automatically
switch to the proper surround mode, and no
other processing may be selected. When a Dolby
Digital signal with a 3/1/0 or 2/0/0 signal is
detected you may select any of the Dolby sur-
round modes.

It is always a good idea to check the readout for
the channel data to make certain that it matches
the audio logo information shown on the back of
a DVD package. In some cases you will see indi-
cation for “2/0/0” even when the disc contains a
full 5.1, or 3/2/.1 signal. When this happens,
check the audio output settings for your DVD
player or the audio menu selections for the spe-
cific disc being played to make certain that the
player is sending the correct signal to the AVR.

PCM Playback Indications
PCM is the abbreviation for Pulse Code
Modulation, which is the type of digital signal
used for standard CD playback, and other non-
Dolby Digital and non-DTS digital sources such as
Mini-Disc. When a PCM signal is detected, the
Main Information Display ˜ will briefly
show a message with the letters PCM, in addition
to a readout of the sampling frequency of the
digital signal.

In most cases this will be 

4 8 KHZ

, though in

the case of specially mastered, high-resolution
audio discs you will see a 

9 6 KHZ

indication.

The 

PCM 4 8 KHZ

indication will also appear

when modes or inputs are changed for analog
sources. In those cases the system is telling you
the sampling frequency used internally at the
output of the analog-to-digital converters that
change the incoming signal from a VCR, tape
deck, the tuner, or other ana-log source to digital.

Speaker/Channel Indicators
In addition to the Bitstream Indicators, the 
AVR features a set of unique channel-input
indicators that tell you how many channels of
digital information are being received and/or
whether the digital signal is interrupted.
(See Figure 9).

These indicators are the L/C/R/LFE/SL/SR/SBL/SBR
letters that are inside the center boxes of the
Speaker/Channel Input Indicators $ in the
front panel Main Information Display ˜.
When a standard analog stereo or matrix 
surround signal is in use, only the “L” and “R”
indicators will light, as analog signals have only
left and right channels.

Digital signals, however, may have one, two, five,
six or seven separate channels, depending on the
program material, the method of transmission
and the way in which it was encoded. When a
digital signal is playing, the letters in these 
indicators will light in response to the specific
signal being received. It is important to note that
although Dolby Digital, for example, is referred to
as a “5.1” system, not all Dolby Digital DVDs or
audio tracks selected on DVD or other Dolby
Digital programs are encoded for 5.1. Thus, it is
sometimes normal for a DVD with a Dolby Digital
soundtrack to trigger only the “L” and “R”
indicators.

NOTE: Many DVD discs are recorded with both
“5.1” and “2.0” versions of the same sound-
track. When playing a DVD, always be certain to
check the type of material on the disc. Most discs
show this information in the form of a listing or
icon on the back of the disc jacket. When a disc
does offer multiple soundtrack choices, you may
have to make some adjustments to your DVD
player (usually with the “Audio Select” button or
in a menu screen on the disc) to send a full 5.1
feed to the AVR or to select the appropriate
audio track and thus language. It is also possible
for the type of signal feed to change during the
course of a DVD playback. In some cases the pre-
views of special material will only be recorded in
2.0 audio, while the main feature is available in
5.1 audio. As long as your DVD player is set for
6-channel output, the AVR will automatically
sense changes to the bitstream and channel
count and reflect them in these indicators.