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AVR

11

English

Types of Home Theater  

System Connections

there are different types of audio and video connections used to connect the AVr to your 

speakers, your tV or video display, and your source devices. the consumer electronics 

Association has established the ceA

®

 color-coding standard.

front left/right

white/red

center

green

Surround left/right

blue/gray

Subwoofer

purple

coaxial

orange

optical

black

composite Video

yellow

Speaker cables carry an amplified signal from the AVr’s speaker terminals to each 

loudspeaker. each cable contains two wire conductors, or leads, that are differentiated in 

some way, such as with colors or stripes.
the differentiation helps you maintain proper polarity, without which your system’s low-

frequency performance can suffer. each speaker is connected to the AVr’s speaker-

output terminals using two wires, one positive (+) and one negative (–). Always connect 

the positive terminal on the speaker, which is usually colored red, to the positive terminal 

on the AVr, which is colored as indicated in the connection color guide table, above. the 

negative terminals on the speakers and the AVr are black.
your AVr uses binding-post speaker terminals that can accept bare-wire cables or 

banana plugs. bare-wire cables are installed as shown below:

1. Unscrew Cap

2. Insert Bare Wire

3. Tighten Cap

1. unscrew cap

3. tighten cap

2. Insert bare wire

banana plugs are inserted into the hole in the middle of the terminal cap, as shown 

below:

A. tighten cap

b.  Insert banana connector 

into hole in cap

Always connect the colored (+) terminal on the AVr to the (+) terminal on the speaker 

(usually red), and the black (–) terminal on the AVr to the (–) terminal on the speaker 

(usually black).
IMPORTANT: Make sure the ( + ) and ( – ) bare wires do not touch each other or 

the subwoofer is a speaker dedicated to reproducing only the low (bass) frequencies, 

which require more power. to obtain the best results, most speaker manufacturers offer 

powered subwoofers that contain their own amplifiers. use a single rcA audio cable 

(not included) to make a line-level (non-amplified) connection from the AVr’s Subwoofer 

connector to a corresponding input jack on the subwoofer.

Although the AVr’s purple subwoofer output looks similar to a full-range analog audio 

jack, it is filtered so that only the low frequencies pass through it. don’t connect this 

output to any device other than a subwoofer.

Audio and video signals originate in source devices (components where a playback 

signal originates) such as your blu-ray disc or dVd player, cd player, dVr (digital video 

recorder) or other recorder, tape deck, game console, cable or satellite television tuner, 

or a device docked in the AVr’s uSb port. the AVr’s fm/Am tuner also counts as a 

source, even though no external connectors are needed other than the AVr’s fm and 

Am antennas. Separate connectors are required for the audio and video portions of the 

source device’s signal, except for digital hdmI connectors. the types of connectors you 

use will depend upon the capabilities of the source device and of your tV or video display.
Digital Audio Connections – HDMI
there are two types of audio connections – digital and analog. digital audio signals are 

required for listening to sources encoded with digital surround modes, such as dolby 

digital and dtS, or for uncompressed pcm digital audio. your AVr has three types of 

digital audio connectors: hdmI, coaxial and optical. do not use more than one type of 

digital audio connector for each source device. however, it’s okay to make both analog 

and digital audio connections to the same source.
your AVr is equipped with four rear-panel hdmI input connectors and one hdmI monitor 

output connector. hdmI technology enables digital audio and video information to be 

carried using a single cable, delivering the highest quality picture and sound. If your tV or 

video-display device has an hdmI input connector, make a single hdmI connection from 

each source device to the AVr.
the AVr’s hdmI monitor output connector contains an Audio return channel (Arc) that 

carries a digital audio signal from your tV or video display back to the AVr. It allows 

you to listen to hdmI devices that are connected directly to your tV (such as an Internet 

connection) without making an additional connection from the device to the AVr. the 

Arc signal is active when the tV source is selected. See System Setup, on page 26, for 

more information.
the hdmI connector is shaped for easy plug-in (see illustration, below), and hdmI 

cable runs are limited to about 10 feet (3m). If your video display has a dVI input and is 

hdcp-compliant, use an hdmI-to-dVI adapter (not included), and make a separate audio 

connection.

Digital Audio Connections – Coaxial
coaxial digital audio jacks are usually color-coded orange. Although they look like 

standard rcA-type analog jacks, you should not connect coaxial digital audio outputs to 

analog inputs or vice versa.

Harman Kardon

AVR 170 / 230V Service Manual

Page 13 of 114

AVR

12

Types of Home Theater System 

 Connections, continued

Digital Audio Connections – Optical
optical digital audio connectors are normally covered by a shutter to protect them from 

dust. the shutter opens as the cable is inserted. optical input connectors are color-coded 

using a black shutter.

Analog Audio Connections
two-channel analog connections require a stereo audio cable, with one connector for 

the left channel (white) and one for the right channel (red). these two connectors are 

attached to each other.

for source devices that have both digital and analog audio outputs, you may make both 

connections. 

many source devices output both audio and video signals (e.g., blu-ray disc, dVd 

player, cable television box, hdtV tuner, satellite box, Vcr, dVr). In addition to an audio 

connection as described above, make a video connection for each of these source 

devices. make only one type of video connection for each device.
Digital Video Connections
If you have already connected a source device to one of the AVr’s hdmI input connectors, 

you have automatically made a video connection for that device, since the hdmI cable 

carries both digital audio and digital video signals.
Analog Video Connections – Composite Video
composite video is the basic connection most commonly available. both the chrominance 

(color) and the luminance (intensity) components of the video signal are transmitted 

using a single cable. the jack is usually color-coded yellow and looks like an analog 

audio jack. do not connect a composite video jack to an analog audio or coaxial digital 

audio jack, or vice versa.

your AVr uses separate terminals for the included fm and Am antennas. the fm antenna 

uses a 75-ohm f-connector.

the Am antenna connector uses spring-clip terminals. After assembling the antenna as 

shown below, press the levers to open the connectors, insert the bare wires into the 

openings, and release the levers to secure the wires. The antenna wires are not polarized, 

so you can insert either wire into either connector.

the AVr can play audio files from an Apple ioS

®

 device connected to the uSb port, 

and allows you to control the ioS device via the AVr remote control. the AVr can also 

play mp3 and wmA audio files from a uSb device inserted into the uSb port. Insert the 

connector or device into the uSb port oriented so it fits all the way into the port. you may 

insert or remove the connector or device at any time – there is no installation or ejection 

procedure.
the uSb port on your AVr is also used to perform firmware upgrades. If an upgrade for 

the AVr’s operating system is released in the future, you will be able to download it to the 

AVr using this port. complete instructions will be provided at that time.

Harman Kardon

AVR 170 / 230V Service Manual

Page 14 of 114

AVR

13

English

Making Connections

After you have placed your loudspeakers in the room as explained in Place Your Speakers, 

on page 10, connect each speaker to its color-coded terminal on the AVr as explained 

in Speaker Connections, on page 11. connect the speakers as shown in the illustration.

fl

c

fr

Sr

Sl

use a single rcA audio cable to connect the AVr’s Subwoofer pre-out connector to your 

subwoofer. consult your subwoofer’s user manual for specific information about making 

connections to it.

receiver 

Subwoofer 

connector

powered 

Subwoofer

Single 

rcA Audio cable 

(not supplied)

HDMI Monitor Out connector
If your tV has an hdmI connector and you have hdmI or component video source 

devices, use an hdmI cable (not included) to connect your tV to the AVr’s hdmI monitor 

out connector. It will provide the best possible picture quality.

hdmI cable 

(not supplied)

tV

AVr hdmI 

monitor out 

connector

Composite Video Monitor Out connector 
If your tV does not have an hdmI connector, or if your tV does have an hdmI connector 

but you are connecting some source devices with only composite video connectors, 

use a composite video cable (not included) to connect the AVr’s composite monitor out 

connector to your tV’s composite video connector.

composite Video cable 

(not supplied)

tV

AVr composite 

monitor out 

connector

Source devices are components where a playback signal originates, e.g. a blu-ray disc or 

dVd player; a cable, satellite or hdtV tuner; etc. your AVr has several different types of 

input connectors for your audio and video source devices: hdmI, composite video, optical 

digital audio, coaxial digital audio and analog audio.
your AVr’s various Source Selector buttons have default assignments to different input 

connectors (listed in the “default AVr Input connector” column of the table below). 

for ease of setup and remote control programming, you should connect each source 

device to the connector where the corresponding default source button is assigned (e.g., 

connect your cable/Satellite tuner box to hdmI 1).
however, you can connect your source devices as you wish and re-assign any of the 

video and audio input connectors to any of the Source Selector buttons listed in the table 

according to where you actually connect each of your source devices.
As you connect your various source components, fill out the “connected device” and 

“Assigned AVr Input connector(s)” columns in the table – it will make it easier for you to 

assign the connectors to the Source Selector buttons after you have completed making 

all of the connections. (you will make any changes to the connector assignments later 

in the setup process.)

Video

Audio

cable/Sat

hdmI 1

tV

hdmI Arc

disc

hdmI 2

Server

hdmI 3

Aux

comp. VId. 1/Aux AudIo

game

hdmI 5

Stb

hdmI 6

Audio

AnAlog AudIo 2

network

network

home network

––––

––––

Harman Kardon

AVR 170 / 230V Service Manual

Page 15 of 114

AVR

14

Making Connections, continued

HDMI devices
If any of your source devices have hdmI connectors, using those connectors will provide 

the best possible video and audio performance quality. Since the hdmI cable carries 

both digital video and digital audio signals, you do not have to make any additional audio 

connections for devices you connect via hdmI cables.
If you have a tV or other source device equipped with the hdmI Audio return channel 

function, you can feed its sound to the AVr via the hdmI monitor out connector’s Audio 

return channel, and it will not require additional audio connections to the AVr. 

AVr 

hdmI connectors

hdmI-equipped Source device

hdmI cable 

(not supplied)

to hdmI 

output

Composite video devices
use composite video connectors for video source devices that don’t have hdmI 

connectors. you will also need to make an audio connection from the source device to 

the AVr.

AVr component 

Video connectors

composite Video 

cable (not supplied)

to composite 

Video output

composite Video-equipped 

Source device

Optical digital audio devices
If your non-hdmI source devices have optical digital outputs, connect them to the AVr’s 

optical digital Audio connectors. note: make only one type of digital connection (hdmI, 

optical or coaxial) from each device.

optical digital Audio 

cable (not supplied)

to optical digital 

Audio output

optical-equipped Source device

AVr digital Audio 

connectors

remove caps

Coaxial digital audio devices
If your non-hdmI source devices have coaxial digital outputs, connect them to the AVr’s 

coaxial digital Audio connectors.

coaxial digital Audio 

cable (not supplied)

to coaxial digital 

Audio output

coaxial-equipped Source device

AVr digital Audio 

connectors

Analog audio devices
make analog audio connections from your source devices that do not have hdmI or 

digital audio connectors. 

Stereo Audio cable 

(not supplied)

to Stereo Analog 

Audio output

Analog Source device

AVr Analog Audio 

connectors

Harman Kardon

AVR 170 / 230V Service Manual

Page 16 of 114