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System Configuration

After completing all audio, video and
system connections, there are a few con-
figuration adjustments that must be
made. A few minutes spent to correctly
configure and calibrate the unit will
greatly add to your listening experience. 

Speaker Selection
The placement of speakers in a multi-
channel home theater system can have 
a noticeable impact on the quality of
sound reproduced.

No matter which type or brand of speakers
is used, the same model or brand of 
speaker should be used for the front left,
center and right speakers. This creates a
seamless front soundstage, and elimi-
nates the possibility of distracting sonic
disturbances that occur when a sound
moves across mismatched front channel
speakers. 

Speaker Placement
Depending on the type of center channel
speaker in use and your viewing device,
place the center speaker directly above or
below your TV or in the center behind a
perforated front projection screen.

Once the center channel speaker is
installed, position the left and right front
speakers so that they are as far away 
from one another as the center channel
speaker is from the preferred listening
position. Ideally, the front channel 
speakers should be placed so that their
tweeters are no more than 24

″

off center

from the tweeter in the center channel
speaker.

Depending on the specifics of your 
room acoustics and the type of speakers
in use, you may find that imaging is
improved by moving the front left and

right speakers slightly forward of the
center channel speaker. If possible, adjust
all front loudspeakers so that they are
aimed at ear height when you are seated
in the listening position.

Using these guidelines, you’ll find that it
takes some experimentation to find the
correct location for the front speakers in
your particular installation. Don’t be
afraid to move things around until the
system sounds correct. Optimize your
speakers so that pans across the front of
the room sound smooth, and that sounds
from all speakers appear to arrive at the
listening position at the same time with-
out delay from the center speaker as
opposed to the left and right speakers.

Surround speakers should be placed on
the side walls of the room, at or slightly
behind the listening position. The center
of the speaker should face into the room.
The speakers should be located so that
the bottom of the cabinet is at least two
feet higher than the listeners’ ears when
in the desired area. 

If side wall mounting is not practical, the
speakers may be placed on a rear wall,
behind the listening position. Again, they
should be located so that the bottom of
the cabinet is at least two feet higher
than the listeners’ ears. The speakers
should be no more than six feet behind
the rear of the seating area.

Subwoofers produce non-directional
sound, so they may be placed almost
anywhere in a room. Subwoofer place-
ment is highly influenced by room size
and shape, and the type of subwoofer
used. Follow the instructions of the sub-
woofer’s manufacturer, or experiment
with the best location for a subwoofer in
your listening room.

Right Front
Speaker

Left Front

Speaker

No more
than 24

″

Center Front Speaker

A) Front Channel Speaker Installation 
with Direct View TV Sets or Rear Screen
Projectors

Center Front

Speaker

Optional Rear Wall Mounting

TV or Projection Screen

Right Front

Speaker

Left Front

Speaker

No more than 6 feet

when rear-mounted

speakers are used

At least 2 feet

At least 6 inches from ceiling 

B) The distance between the left and right
speakers should be equal to the distance
from the seating position to the viewing
screen. You may also experiment with
placing the left and right speakers slightly
forward of the center speaker.

System Configuration

System Configuration
Once the speakers have been placed 
in their proper positions and connected
to the AVR55, the final steps in the instal-
lation process involve configuration of
the unit for the specific speaker types 
in use and the balancing of speaker 
output levels.

Before proceeding, check to make 
certain that all connections are secure
and follow these steps:

1. Plug the unit into an unswitched AC

outlet and press the 

button 

1

until it is flush with the

front panel. Note that the 

3

will turn orange.

2. Install the supplied AAA batteries in the

remote control, as shown on page 15.

3. Press the 

2

on the front panel or the 

button 

c

on the remote

and note that the 

3

will turn green.

Bass Management
The settings made during the speaker
configuration process will determine
which speakers receive low-frequency
information, which are those sounds
below 100Hz. If a subwoofer is installed,
it will receive low-frequency information,
and none will be sent to the front
left/right speakers. If you do NOT have
full-range front speakers, it is important
that “NO” be selected as the subwoofer
setting option to prevent damage to your
front speakers.

Speaker Configuration
The next few steps tell the AVR55 which
type of speakers are installed. This, in
turn, configures the bass management
system so that low-frequency sounds are
directed to the proper speaker location.

1. Press the front panel 

button 

Ò

. Press and hold the

Ó

until 

the word 

CENTER

appears in the

F

. The word

LARGE

, 

SMALL

or 

NONE

will also

appear, and blink to indicate the current
setting. Release the button for a second,
and while the word 

LARGE

is still

blinking in the display, press the

Ó

again

until the word describing the type of
center speaker installed in your system
appears.

•

Select 

LARGE

if your center channel

speaker is a traditional full-range
speaker that is capable of reproducing
frequencies below 100Hz.

•

Select 

SMALL

if your center 

channel speaker is a smaller “satellite”
type speaker that is not capable of
extended bass response or reproducing
frequencies below 100Hz.

•

Select 

NONE

if no center channel

speaker is installed.

2. Once you have made your selection,
immediately press the 

button 

4

while the display is still blinking. Note
that the speaker selection will change to

SUBWOOFER

. The word 

Yes

or 

NO

will blink indicating the current setting.

Press the 

Ó

again until the appropriate selection is
made.

•

Select 

YES

if a subwoofer is installed.

When 

YES

is selected all low-

frequency information will be sent 
to the subwoofer, and all front and
surround speakers will only receive
audio information above 100Hz.

•

Select 

NO

if no subwoofer is present.

When 

NO

is selected the front left/right

and surround speakers will receive a
full-range signal, and the feed to the
center speaker will be based on the
selection mode in the previous step.

3. While your choice is blinking in the
display, press the 

button 

4

to

enter the selection. The display will stop
blinking to indicate that the setting is
entered and then return to normal.

NOTES:

•

In order to enter the speaker configura-
tion, the 

7

must be

in the “in” position.

•

In order to enter information for the
center speaker, the AVR55 must be in
the Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby 3 Stereo
mode. To select either of these modes,
press the front panel 

Ò

or one of the

buttons 

`

on the remote.

System Configuration

Speaker Output Adjustments
Adjustments and calibration of the
speaker output levels is important to
proper surround operation. During this
process, the unit is adjusted so that the
output levels from each channel is set 
so that all channels have a reference
level that is as close to one another as
possible. A small amount of time spent 
to properly calibrate the AVR55’s output
levels will enable the unit to deliver all
the performance it is capable of within
the environment of your specific
listening room.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Many listeners
are often confused about the operation
of the rear (surround) channels. While
some assume that sound should always
be coming from each speaker, most of the
time there will be little or no sound in
the surround channels. This is because
they are only used when a movie director
or sound mixer specifically places sound
there to create ambiance, an effect or to
continue action from the front of the
room to the rear. When the output levels
are properly set it is normal for rear/
surround speakers to operate only
occasionally. Artificially increasing the
volume to the rear speakers may destroy
the illusion of an enveloping sound field
that duplicates the way you hear sound
in a movie theater or concert hall.

Before beginning the adjustment process
make certain that all speaker connec-
tions have be properly made. The system
volume should be set to the level that 
you will use during a typical listening
session. Finally, make certain that the

Ù

is set to the center

“12 O’clock” position.

1. Press the 

button 

k

on the remote to begin the adjustment
process. A test noise will circulate from
one speaker channel to the next, as indi-
cated in the 

F

.

2. Take a minute to listen to the test
noise from each speaker as the location
indicated in the display changes. Check
to make certain that, for example, when
the display reads 

TEST-FRONT L

,

that the test noise is coming from the
front left speaker. If the test tone’s loca-
tion does not match the display for any
channel, press the 

button

k

to end the adjustment and turn 

the unit off using the 

1

. Check all connections to

maker certain the 

fi

are connected to the proper speaker.

Installation Hint: While the test tone is
circulating among the channels, make 
a note if it sounds reasonably equal in
volume, or if one channel or more
channels seems significantly louder than
the others.

3. When you have verified that all
channels are properly connected, press
the 

button 

l

to

begin the adjustment process.

4. The Test Tone will stop circulating 
and be heard through the center channel
only. If the center channel appeared to 
be at a level above or below the front
left/right channels while the tone was
circulating, press the 

buttons 

m

to raise or lower the

volume so that the tone is the same level
as the other channels. When the adjust-
ment is complete, press the 

button 

l

to move to the next

channel.

5. The Test Tone will now be heard
through the right surround speaker. 
As with the center channel speaker, use
the 

buttons

m

to adjust the level as required so 

that the tone is the same level as the
other channels. When the adjustment is
complete, press the 

button 

l

to move to the next channel.

6. The Test Tone will now be heard
through the left surround speaker. As
with the previous channels, use the

buttons 

m

to

adjust the level as required so that the
test tone is the same level as the other
channels. When the adjustment is com-
plete press the 

button 

k

twice so that the tone momentarily stops,
and then begins to circulate.

System Configuration

7. Listen carefully and check to see if the
tone is now at the same volume level
from each channel. If further adjustment
is required, press the 

button 

l

and repeat steps 4 through 7

as shown above. Repeat the procedure as
often as needed until the test tone circu-
lates and has the same volume from
each channel.

8. When all adjustments have been
made, press the 

button 

once to return to normal operation.

Delay Settings
One aspect of the surround modes is the
delay of audio signals between the front
speakers and the rear speakers. Each
surround mode is factory preset with a
specific delay time, but it is possible to
individually adjust the delay timing to
custom tailor the sound to your individ-
ual taste and the acoustic conditions in
your listening room or home theater.

The factory setting is appropriate for
most rooms, but some installations
create an uncommon distance between
the front and surround speakers that may
cause the arrival of front channel sounds
to become disconnected from surround
channel sounds.

To resynchronize the front and surround
channels, follow these steps:

1. Measure the distance from the
listening/viewing position to the
front speakers.

2. Measure the distance from the
listening/viewing position to the
surround speakers.

3. Subtract the distance to the
surround speakers from the distance
to the front speakers.

a. When setting the delay time for
the Dolby Digital surround mode,
the optimal delay time is the result-
ing figure. For example, if the front
speakers are ten feet away and the
surround speakers are five feet
away, the optimal delay time is
figured as 10-5=5. Thus, in this
example, the delay should be set at
five milliseconds.

b. When setting the delay time for
an analog surround mode (Pro
Logic, Hall, Movie or Matrix) take
the result of the subtraction and
add 15 to obtain the optimal delay
time. For example, if the front
speakers are ten feet away and the
surround speakers are five feet
away, the optimal delay time is
figured as 10-5+15=20. Thus in
this example, the delay should be
set at twenty milliseconds.

With the correct delay time figures for
your listening room calculated, first make
certain that the unit is in the Dolby Pro
Logic mode by pressing the 

button 

Ò

or 

buttons 

`

until the 

indicator 

C

is illuminated.

Press the 

button 

j

to begin the

adjustment process. The 

F

will show the current delay

setting, such as 

REAR - 15mS

. If

adjustment is required, immediately
press the 

button 

g

on the

remote to change the setting until it is
closest to the desired time. Within five
seconds the display will return to normal
readout and the setting will be entered.

The Dolby Digital mode also provides a
separate setting for the center channel
delay mode, since the discrete nature 
of Dolby Digital signals makes the
location of the center channel speaker
more critical. To set the delay for the
center channel, measure the distance
from the preferred listening position in
the center of the room to both the center
channel speaker and either the left or
right speaker.