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System Configuration

If the distances are equal, no further
adjustment is required, and the center
delay should be set to zero. If the 
distance to the front speakers is greater
than the distance to the center speaker
you may wish to reposition the speakers
by moving the front left/right speakers
closer to the listening position or the
center speaker further away from the
listening position.

If repositioning of the speakers is not
possible, adjust the center delay time 
so that you add one millisecond of center
channel delay for each foot that the dis-
tance to the center speaker lags behind
the front speakers. For example, if the
front left/right speakers are each 10 feet
from the listening position and the
center channel speaker is 8 feet away, the
delay is figured as 10-8=2, suggesting an
optimal center delay of 2 milliseconds.

To change the delay settings for Dolby
Digital operation, first calculate the
correct timings as outlined above. Next,
make certain that the AVR55 is in the
Dolby Digital mode by pressing the

button 

Û z

on

the front panel or remote. Make certain
that the 

B

is

illuminated.

Next, press the 

button 

j

to

begin the adjustment process. The

F

will show 

the current setting, such as 

REAR - 15 mS

. 

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.

To adjust the delay settings for Dolby
Digital, press the 

button 

j

and

note that the 

F

will show the settings for both the center
and rear/surround delay as 

C - 0 mS   R - 10 mS

.

The center channel delay will blink,
indicating that you may change the
setting.

Press the 

button 

g

to change

the center delay time to the desired
setting. When the appropriate number 
is shown press the 

button 

j

once so that the number for rear/
surround delay time on the right side 
of the display blinks.

Use the 

button 

g

to change 

the rear/surround delay to the desired
setting.

When both settings are correct, press the

button 

j

again and note that

the display will stop blinking. After a few
seconds the display will return to normal
operation and the settings will be entered
to memory.

Operation

Once you have completed the setup and
installation of your new receiver, it is
simple to operate and enjoy. The follow-
ing instructions will provide the steps
needed to enjoy the AVR55

• When using the AVR55 for the first
time, it is necessary to press the 

button 

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

3

. Once

the unit is in standby, you may begin a
listening session by pressing the 

2

on the front panel or

the 

button 

c

on the

remote. Note that the 

3

will turn green. 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 

buttons on the

remote 

d e i

or front panel

8 )

# $ % ^ * 

.

To turn the unit off at the end of a listen-
ing session simply press the 

2

on the front panel

or the 

button 

c

on the

remote. Power to any equipment plugged
into the rear panel 

fl

will be shut off and the 

3

will turn amber.

When the remote is used to turn the unit
“off” it is actually placing the system in
a standby mode, as indicated by the
amber color of the power switch ring.

When you will be away from home for 
an extended period of time it is always 
a good idea to completely turn the 
unit off using the front panel 

1

. Note that all preset

memories are lost if the unit is left
turned off with the 

1

for more than two weeks.

• To select a source at any time, press
any of the 

buttons on

the remote 

d e i

or front panel

8

) # $ % ^ * 

.

• The front panel 

˜

may be used to connect a

device such as a video game or cam-
corder to your home entertainment
system on a temporary basis. To listen 
to and view the output of the playback
unit connected to these inputs, first press
the 

* e

, 

and then press the 

button 

(

. When the front panel inputs

are selected, a green LED will illuminate
above the selector button.

• When an audio source is selected the
last video input used remains routed to
the 

and 

›

a. This permits simultaneous viewing
and listening to different sources.

• During a listening session you may
wish to adjust the 



and 

Ú

controls to suit your listening tastes.

• At lower volume levels you may wish
to engage the 

button 

¯

. This

boosts the low- and high-frequency
sounds in accordance with what are
known as the Fletcher-Munson hearing
curves to compensate for the response of
human hearing at low sound levels.

• Adjust the volume to a comfortable
level using the front panel 

˘

or remote 

n

buttons.

• To temporarily silence all speaker
outputs press the 

button 

p

. 

This will cut the output to all speakers,
but it will not effect any recording or
dubbing that may be in progress. When
the system is muted the word 

MUTE

will flash in the information display.
Press the 

p

button again to

return to normal operation.

• For private listening, plug the 

1

/

4

″

stereo phone plug from a pair of stereo
headphones into the front panel

jack 

5

. To cut the speaker

output when using headphones, press the

button 

7

so that it is in the

extended position from the front panel.

• When one of the 

inputs 

$ %

^ * e

is selected the video signal for

that input will be routed to the 

output jack 

a

and will be view-

able on a TV monitor connected to the
AVR55. Make certain that your TV is set to
the proper input to view the signal. 

• In some installations it may be desir-
able to dim or extinguish the front panel
lights. This may be done by pressing and
holding the 

button 

o

on the

remote or front panel. The first press will
dim the lights to one half normal bright-
ness, and a second press will turn them
totally off. Press the button again to
return the lights to normal brightness.
Note that the 

will

remain lit at all times as a reminder that
the unit is turned on.

Operation

• To program the AVR55 for automatic
turn off, press the 

button

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 on the
right side of the 

F

, and it will count down until the time

has elapsed.

When the programmed time has elapsed
the unit will automatically turn off. Note
that the front panel display will dim to
one half brightness when the Sleep func-
tion is programmed. To cancel the Sleep
function, press the 

button

until the information display returns to
normal brightness and the Sleep
indicator numbers disappear.

The AVR55 is capable of automatic
operation that turns it on and off in
response to the operation of an audio
source such as the TV. This eliminates
the need to manually turn on the AVR55
with a separate remote command. While
this feature is most commonly used with
TV audio, it may be used with any audio
source. To use the TV Auto-On feature
follow these steps:

1. Connect the audio source that will be
used to trigger the Auto-On feature to the

¤

.

2. Activate the feature by pressing and
holding the 

button 

$ e

on the front panel or remote until the
words 

AUTO-OFF

appear in the

F

. 

10

min

20

min

30

min

60

min

90

min

OFF

3. Release the button, and then press it
again within 2.5 seconds until the dis-
play changes to read 

AUTO-ON

and

then release the button.

4. The TV Auto-On feature is now engaged.
Whenever an audio source is present at the
TV input and the AVR55 is in the Standby
mode the unit will automatically turn on
and switch to the TV input.

5. Unless another input source is selected,
the unit will automatically return to the
Standby mode approximately five min-
utes after the audio source connected to
the TV input is turned off.

NOTE: Remember that when the TV Auto
feature is engaged the AVR55 will turn off
whenever the TV input has been selected
and the source feeding that input is not
active. To disable this feature follow steps
2 and 3 above, but toggle the buttons so
that the words 

AUTO-OFF

appear in 

the 

F

.

One of the most important features of 
the AVR55 is its ability to reproduce a full
multichannel surround soundfield from
Dolby Digital sources, analog matrix 
surround encoded programs, and stan-
dard stereo programs. In all a total of
seven listening modes are available on
the AVR55.

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 bearing
the logo of one of the major surround
encoding processes, such as Dolby
Surround, DTS

†

Stereo or UltraStereo

††

may be played in either the Dolby
Digital, Dolby Pro Logic or Movie
Surround depending on the source
material. TV or radio broadcasts of
programs in surround, but not originally

produced as theatrical motion pictures
should normally be played back in Dolby
Pro Logic or one of the other analog
surround modes.

NOTE: Once a program has been
encoded with surround information, it
retains the surround matrix as long as
the program is broadcast in stereo. Thus,
movies with surround sound will carry
surround information 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. You
may obtain a list of these programs and
discs from the Dolby Laboratories web
site at www.dolby.com

Surround modes for conventional analog
audio inputs are selected by pressing the

button 

Ò

on the

front panel or the 

and 

buttons 

y `

on the remote. As

described above, when a “Surround
Sound” logo is associated with the pro-
gram you are listening to, it is always
best to start with Dolby Pro Logic, or
Dolby 3-Stereo when there are no sur-
round speakers. However, you may wish
to experiment with the Theater, Hall,
Church or Stadium modes to see if you
find that sound more pleasing.
Remember, you can’t break anything by
trying a different surround mode.

When a program is not listed as carrying
intentional surround information, you
will find that the Pro Logic or Dolby 3-
Stereo often deliver enveloping surround
presentations through the use of the
natural information present in all stereo
recordings. However, for stereo, but non-
surround programs, we suggest that you
try one of the other analog surround
modes to see which one is most suitable.

Operation

To listen to a program in traditional two-
channel stereo, with only the front left
and right speakers plus the subwoofer, if
installed, press the 

button 

x

on the remote or the 

button 

Ô

on the front panel.

Dolby Digital (also known as AC-3) is the
latest advancement in surround sound
technology, delivering up to five full-
range surround channels (left, center,
right, left surround and right surround)
plus a special dedicated Low-Frequency
Effects (LFE) channel. This represents a
major advancement over traditional
analog surround in that each surround
channel is fully discrete and capable of
full bandwidth reproduction. Dolby
Digital is available on DVD and LV discs,
and it will be a part of the new high-
definition television (HDTV) system
when digital broadcasting begins in
1998. Dolby Digital for the home is based
on the same system used to deliver digital
audio soundtracks in movie theaters,
enabling true cinema reproduction in
your home.

To utilize the Dolby Digital mode you
must have a digital source properly
connected to the AVR55. The RF digital
output of a laser disc player should be
connected to the 

jack 

g

on the

rear panel. Note that this jack is for use

only with the AC-3 RF output from an LV
player and should not be connected to
any other audio, video or digital device.
Digital datastream outputs from DVD
players, HDTV receivers and CD players
should be connected to the 

or 

inputs 

¶ f

on the

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

inputs 

‹

on the rear panel when you connect the
digital outputs).

Dolby Digital sources must be used in
conjunction with one of the video related
inputs: DVD, TV, Vid 1 or Vid 2. First select
one of these sources so that the video
appears at the unit’s output before choos-
ing digital audio. Next, press the 

button 

ı h

that corresponds 

to the type of digital input used. An LED
will light above the data type selected,
and a message will scroll across the

F

to confirm

your choice.

Finally, press the 

button 

z Û

to select Dolby Digital.

The mode name will briefly scroll 
in the 

F

, 

and the 

indicator 

B

will illuminate.

A special feature of Dolby Digital is the
Night mode, which enables AC-3 input
sources to be played back with their full
range while reducing the minimum peak
level by 

1/4

to 

1/3

. This prevents abruptly

loud transitions from causing distur-
bances without reducing the impact of
the digital source. The Night mode is
available only when AC-3 signals with
special data are being played.

To engage the Night mode, press the

button 

ˆ f

and note that the

indicator will illuminate above the

button on the front panel.

IMPORTANT NOTES ON 
DOLBY DIGITAL PLAYBACK:

1. The AVR55 will decode digital audio
sources with a sampling frequency of
32kHz, 44.1kHz and 48kHz. Although
this will enable it to decode virtually all
DVD movies and HDTV sources, it is pos-
sible that some digital sources may not
be compatible with the AVR55.

2. The AVR55 will automatically detect
most Dolby Digital sources. It is possible,
however, that future source equipment
that could not be anticipated at this time,
may require manual surround mode
selection or analog playback.

3. Note that not all programs recorded in
Dolby Digital contain full 5.1 channel
audio. Consult the program guide that
accompanies the DVD or Laser Disc to
determine which type of audio has been
recorded on the disc. The AVR55 will
automatically sense the type of digital
surround encoding used on an AC-3 
program source and adjust to
accommodate it.

4. When a Dolby Digital source is
playing, you may not select one of the
analog surround modes.

5. It is not possible to record the output
of a Dolby Digital program.