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Operation

PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) is the
non-compressed digital audio system
used for compact discs and non-AC-3
laser discs. The digital circuits in the
AVR55 are capable of high-quality digital-
to-analog decoding, and they may be
connected directly to the digital audio
output of your CD or LV player.

Connections should be made to the 

or 

inputs

¶ f

on the rear panel, using whichever

input is not occupied by an AC-3 source
such as a DVD player.

IMPORTANT NOTE: PCM Audio play-
back is possible ONLY when the CD input
is selected. If you wish to use the AVR55
to decode the PCM audio track from a
Laser Disc player, you must first select the
CD input.

The AVR55’s tuner is capable of tuning
AM, FM and FM Stereo broadcast sta-
tions. Stations may be tuned manually,
or they may be stored as favorite station
presets and recalled from a 30 position
memory.

Station Selection
1. Press the 

button 

8 i

to

select the tuner as an input.

2. Press the 

button 

8i

again

to switch between AM and FM so that the
desired frequency band is selected.

3. Press the 

button 

6 q

to select manual or automatic tuning.

When the 

AUTO

indicator is illuminated

in the main information display the
tuner will only stop at those stations that
have a strong enough signal to be
received with acceptable quality.

If the 

AUTO

indicator is NOT illumin-

ated, the tuner is in a manual mode and
will stop at each frequency increment in
the selected band.

4. To select stations from the front panel
press the 

button 

9

. When 

AUTO

indicator is illuminated each press will
cause the tuner to search for the next
highest or lowest frequency station that
has an acceptable signal. When tuning
FM stations in the auto mode, the tuner
will only select Stereo stations. To tune 
to the next station, press the button
again. If the 

AUTO

indicator is NOT

illuminated, tap the 

button 

9

to advance one frequency increment at 
a time, or press and hold it to locate a
specific station. When the 

TUNED

indi-

cator illuminates the station is properly
tuned and should be heard with clarity.
To listen to the station in stereo, press the

button 

6

until the red

STEREO

indicator illuminates in the

front panel display.

5. To select stations using the remote,
press the 

‹‹

/

››

but-

tons 

r

to select stations one at a time.

Alternatively, the 



‹‹

/

››



buttons 

u

may be used to

scan only those stations with sufficient
strength for proper reception. Each press
of these buttons will advance the tuner to
the next station. For FM stereo reception
press the 

button 

6 q

until

the 

STEREO

indicator is illuminated.

NOTE: When the FM reception of a
station is weak, audio quality will be
increased by switching to mono mode 
by pressing the 

button

6 q

until the 

STEREO

indicator

goes out.

Preset Tuning
Up to 30 stations may be stored in the
AVR55’s memory for easy recall using the
front panel controls or the remote.

To enter a station to the memory, first
tune the station using the steps outlined
above. Then:

1. Press the 

button 

4 u

on 

the front panel or remote. Note that the

MEMORY

indicator will illuminate and

flash in the information display.

2. Within five seconds, press the

37 u

correspond-

ing to the location where you wish to
store this station’s frequency. To enter a
station to memory location “30,” press
only the 

button.

3. Repeat the process after tuning any
additional stations to be preset.

Recalling Preset Stations
• To manually select a station previously
entered in the preset memory, press the

37 u

correspond-

ing to the desired station’s location. To
select the station in location “30,” press
the 

button only.

• To manually tune through the list of
stored preset stations one by one, press
the 

buttons 

s

on

the remote.

Operation

• To automatically scan through the
stations entered in the preset memory,
press the 

button 

v

on the

remote. The tuner will run through the
list of preset stations, stopping for five
seconds at each one. Press the 

button again to stop the scan at your
desired station.

In normal operation, the audio or video
source selected for listening through the
AVR55 is sent to the record outputs. 
This means that any program you are
watching or listening to may be recorded
simply by placing machines connected 
to the outputs for 

or 

‚ •

in the record mode.

When a tape recorder with separate
record and playback heads is used, you
may monitor the output of the recording
by selecting the 

input

! d

. Note that the 

indicator

K

will illuminate in the front panel dis-

play to remind you that you are listening
to the record playback instead of the
actual input source being recorded.

The AVR55 permits you to make a video
recording from one of the input sources
while another source is being listened to
through the unit’s main amplifiers.

To make a video recording, press the

button 

&

and

observe the indicator dot at the far left
side of the front panel 

35

. As you press the 

button, the 

indicator

A

will change to show which output is

being sent to the 

jacks 

›

.

The output may be either the current
listening source, or one of the other video
inputs (TV, DVD, Video 2).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please make cer-
tain that you are aware of the copyright
restrictions on any material you copy.
Unauthorized duplication of copyrighted
materials is prohibited by Federal law.

Normal output level adjustment for the
AVR55 is established using the Test Tone,
as outlined on page 19. In some cases,
however, it may be desirable to adjust the
output levels using program material
such as a test disc, or a selection you are
familiar with.

To adjust the output levels using pro-
gram material, first set the reference
volume for the front left/right channels
using the 

˘ n

. If

you wish to vary the difference between
the left and right channels, use the

Ù

.

To change the level for the channels you
wish to adjust use the appropriate front
panel level adjust control for the

, 

or 

channels 

¸ ˝ 34

.

This product is equipped with a memory
backup system that preserves tuner pre-
sets and system configuration informa-
tion if the unit is accidentally unplugged
or subject to a power outage. This mem-
ory will last for approximately one week,
after which time all information must be
re-entered.

In the rare case where the unit’s opera-
tion or the displays seem abnormal, the
cause may involve the erratic operation of
the system’s memory or microprocessor.

To correct this problem, first unplug the
unit from the AC wall outlet and wait at
least three minutes. After the pause,
reconnect the AC power cord and check
the unit’s operation. If the system still
malfunctions, a system reset may clear
the problem.

If the system is still operating incorrectly,
there may have been an electrostatic
discharge or severe AC line interference
that has corrupted the memory or
microprocessor.

If a reset does not solve the problem,
consult an authorized Harman Kardon
service depot.

Troubleshooting Guide

No front panel lights when power

switch is pressed

Display lights, but no sound 
or picture

No sound from any speaker. 
Light around power switch is red

No sound from surround or 
center speakers

Unit does not respond to 
remote commands

Intermittent buzzing in tuner

• No AC Power

• Intermittent input connections

• 

is on

• Volume control is down

• Amplifier is in protection mode 

due to possible short

• Amplifier is in protection mode 

due to internal problems

• Incorrect surround mode
• Input is monaural
• Incorrect configuration

• Weak batteries in remote.
• Remote is in 

position

• Remote sensor is obscured

• Local interference

• Make certain AC power cord is plugged into 

a live outlet.

• Check to see if outlet is switch controlled.

• Make certain that all input and speaker connections 

are secure.

• Press 

button.

• Turn up volume control.

• Check speaker wire connections 

at receiver and speaker ends for shorts.

• Contact your local Harman Kardon service depot.

• Select a mode other than Stereo.
• There is no surround information from mono sources.
• Check speaker mode

• Change remote batteries.
• Slide 

switch to 

.

• Make certain front panel sensor is visible to remote.

• Move unit or antenna away from computers, fluorescent

lights, motors or other electrical appliances.