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ADVANCED FEATURES 37

The AVR 5550 is equipped with a number of
advanced features that add extra flexibility to the
unit’s operation. While it is not necessary to use
these features to operate the unit, they provide
additional options that you may wish to use.

The AVR 5550 is equipped with seven full-power
amplifier channels to allow for complete 7.1-
channel operation without the need for
additional external amplifiers. However, in some
installations you may wish to use the traditional
5.1-channel configuration for the main listening
room, which allows the surround back left/right
amplifier channels to be used to power speakers
placed in a remote zone location.

If you wish to use the Surround Back channel
amplifiers to power the remote zone, you must
change a setting in the 

ADVANCED

SELECT

menu. To make that change, first call

up the menu system by pressing the OSD
Button

L to bring the 

MASTER MENU

(Figure 1) to the screen. Next, press the 

¤

Button 

D until the 

›

cursor is next to the

ADVANCED

line. Press the Set Button

F

to enter the 

ADVANCED SELECT

menu

(Figure 11).

To change the setting so that the Surround Back
amplifiers are fed by the source selected through
the Multiroom system, press the 

‹

/

›

E& so that 

M R S P

is highlighted in

reverse video and press the Set Button

F.

Remember that once this setting is made you will
not be able to take advantage of any of the
6.1/7.1- channel decoding or processing modes,
and no Surround Back speakers must be selected
in the speaker setup procedure outlined earlier. In
addition the speakers used for the remote zone
must be connected to the Surround
Back/Multiroom Speaker Outputs

(. The

volume for these speakers is set by the
multiroom system, as explained on page 39 of
this manual.

Once this setting is made, you may press the 

¤

Button 

D to make any of the other

adjustments available on this menu. If no other
adjustments are needed, press the OSD Button
L to exit the menu system.

The AVR 5550’s front panel Main Information
Display ˜ is set at a default brightness level
that is sufficient for viewing in a normally lit
room. However, in some home theater installa-
tions, you may wish to occasionally lower the
brightness of the display, or turn it off completely.

To change the display brightness setting for a
specific listening session, you will need to make
an adjustment in the 

ADVANCED

SELECT

menu. To start the adjustment, press

the OSD button 

L to bring the 

MASTER

MENU

to the screen. Press the 

⁄

Button 

D,

until the on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the

ADVANCED

line. Press the Set Button 

F

to enter the 

ADVANCED SELECT

menu

(Figure 11).

To change the brightness setting, at the

ADVANCED SELECT

menu, make 

certain that the on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the

VFD

line, and press the 

›

Button 

& until the

desired brightness level is highlighted in the
video display. When 

FULL

is highlighted, the

display is at its normal brightness. When 

HALF

is highlighted, the display is at half the normal
brightness level. When 

OFF

is highlighted, all of

the indicators in the Main Information
Display ˜ will go dark. Note, however, that the
green LEDs for the Input Indicators ˆ and
the Surround Mode Indicators ˘, as well as
for the Power Indicator 3, will always remain
lit to remind you that the unit is turned on.

If you wish to make other adjustments in the
menu, press the 

⁄

/

¤

Buttons 

D until the on-

screen 

›

cursor is next to the desired setting or

the 

BACK T O MASTER MENU

line and

press the Set button 

F. If you have no other

adjustments to make, press the OSD Button 

L

to exit the menu system.

The display brightness may also be changed by
pressing and holding the Set button @ on the
front for three seconds until the message in the
Main Information Display ˜ reads 

VFD

FULL

. Within five seconds, press the front

panel Selector buttons 7$ until the desired
brightness display level is shown. At that point,
press the Set button @ again to enter the 
setting.

Once the desired brightness level is selected, it
will remain in effect until it is changed again or
until the unit is turned off.

As is the case with most audio/video receivers,
when the AVR 5550 is turned on, it will always
return to the volume setting in effect when the
unit was turned off. However, you may prefer to
always have the AVR 5550 turn on at a specific
setting, regardless of what was last in use when
the unit was turned off. To change the default
condition so that the same volume level is always
used at turn-on, you will need to make an adjust-
ment in the 

ADVANCED SELECT

menu.

To start the adjustment, press the OSD button
L to bring the 

MASTER MENU

(Figure 1)

to the screen. Press the 

⁄

button 

D, until the

on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the 

ADVANCED

line. Press the Set button 

F to enter the

ADVANCED SELECT

menu (Figure 11).

At the 

ADVANCED SELECT

menu make

certain that the on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the

VOLUME DEFAULT

line by pressing the

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D as needed. Next, press the 

›

button 

& so that the word O N is highlighted

in the video display. Next, press the 

¤

button

D once so that the on-screen 

›

cursor is next

to the 

DEFAULT VOL SET

line. To set the

desired turn-on volume, press the 

‹

/

›

buttons

E& or hold them pressed until the desired
volume level is shown on the 

DEFAULT

VOL SET

line. Note that this setting may NOT

be made with the regular volume controls.

NOTE: Since the setting for the turn-on volume
cannot be heard while the setting is being made,
you may wish to determine the setting before
making the adjustment. To do this, listen to any
source and adjust the volume to the desired level
using the regular volume controls 

)î. When

the desired volume level to be used at turn-on is
reached, make a note of the setting as it appears
in the lower third of the video screen or in the
Main Information Display ˜.
A typical volume level will appear as a negative
number such as -25dB. When making the 
adjustment, use the 

‹

/

›

buttons 

E& to

enter this setting.

Unlike some of the other adjustments in this
menu, the turn-on volume default will remain in
effect even when the unit is turned off comple-
tely, unless it is changed or turned off in this
menu.

If you wish to make other adjustments in the
menu, press the 

⁄

/

¤

Buttons 

D until the on-

screen 

›

cursor is next to the desired setting or

the 

BACK T O MASTER MENU

line and

press the Set button 

F. If you have no other

adjustments to make, press the OSD Button 

L

to exit the menu system.

  *   A D V A N C E D   S E L E C T   *

S B   A M P S :

S B   S P

  M R   S P

V F D             :

F U L L

  H A L F   O F F

V O L U M E   D E F A U L T :

O F F

  O N

D E F A U L T   V O L   S E T :  2 5 d B
S E M I   O S D   : O F F  

O N

S E M I   O S D   T I M E   O U T :   3 S E C
F U L L   O S D   T I M E   O U T : 2 0 S E C  
B A C K   T O   M A S T E R   M E N U

38 ADVANCED FEATURES / MULTIROOM OPERATION

The semi-OSD system places one line messages
at the lower third of the video display screen
whenever the Volume, Input Source, Surround
mode or tuner frequency of any of the configura-
tion settings are changed. The semi-OSD system
is helpful in that enables you to have feedback
on any control changes or remote commands
using the video display when it is difficult to
view the front-panel displays. However, you may
occasionally prefer to turn these displays off for
a particular listening session. You may also want
to adjust the length of time the displays remain
on the screen. Both of those options are possible
with the AVR 5550.

To turn off the semi-OSD system, you will need
to make an adjustment in the ADVANCED
S E L E C T

menu (Figure 11). To start the

adjustment, press the OSD button 

L to bring

the 

MASTER MENU

to the screen. Press the

⁄

Button 

D, until the on-screen 

›

cursor is

next to the ADVANCED line. Press the Set
Button 

F to enter the ADVANCED

S E L E C T

menu.

At the ADVANCED SELECT menu
make certain that the on-screen 

›

cursor is next

to the S E M I O S D line by pressing the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D as needed. Next, press the 

›

button

& so that the word OFF is highlighted in
the video display.

Note that this setting is temporary and will
remain active only until it is changed or until the
AVR 5550 is turned off. Once the unit is turned
off, the semi-OSD displays will remain activated,
even if they were switched off for the previous
listening session.

To change the length of time that the semi-OSD
displays remain on the screen, go to the
A D V A N C E D S E L E C T

Menu as out-

lined earlier, and press the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D as

needed, until the on-screen 

›

cursor is next to

the SEMI-OSD T I M E O U T line. Next,
press the 

‹

/

›

Buttons 

E& until the desired

time in seconds is displayed. Note that unlike
most of the other options in this menu, this is a
permanent setting change, and the time-out
entry will remain in effect until it is changed,
even when the unit is turned off.

If you wish to make other adjustments in the
menu, press the 

⁄

/

¤

Buttons 

D until the on-

screen 

›

cursor is next to the desired setting or

the B A C K T O MASTER M E N U line
and press the Set button 

F. If you have no

other adjustments to make, press the OSD
Button 

L to exit the menu system.

The 

FULL OSD

menu system is used to

simplify the setup and adjustment of the 
AVR 5550 using a series of on-screen menus.
The factory default setting for these menus
leaves them on the screen for 20 seconds after a
period of inactivity before they disappear from
the screen or Time Out. This Time Out is a safety
measure to prevent the menu text from burning
into the CRTs in your monitor or projector, which
might happen if they were left on indefinitely.
However, some viewers may prefer a slightly
longer or shorter period before the Time Out
display.

To change the Full-OSD Time Out, you will need
to make an adjustment in the ADVANCED
S E L E C T

menu (Figure 11). To start the

adjustment, press the OSD button 

L to bring

the 

MASTER MENU

to the screen. Press the

⁄

button 

D, until the on-screen 

¤

cursor is

next to the ADVANCED line. Press the Set
Button 

F to enter the ADVANCED

S E L E C T

menu (Figure 11).

At the ADVANCED SELECT menu
make certain that the on-screen 

›

cursor is next

to the F U L L O S D T I M E O U T line by
pressing the 

⁄

/

¤

Buttons 

D as needed. Next,

press the 

‹

/

›

buttons 

E& until the desired

time is displayed in seconds. Note that unlike
most of the other options in this menu, this is a
permanent setting change, and the time-out
entry will remain in effect until it is changed,
even when the unit is turned off.

If you wish to make other adjustments in the
menu, press the 

⁄

/

¤

Buttons 

D until the 

on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the desired setting

or the B A C K T O MASTER M E N U line
and press the Set button 

F. If you have no

other adjustments to make, press the OSD
Button 

L to exit the menu system.

The AVR 5550 is fully equipped to operate as the
control center for a complete multiroom system
that is capable of sending one source to a sec-
ond zone in the house while separate source is
listened to in the main room. In addition to pro-
viding for control over the selection of the
remote source and its volume, the AVR 5550
offers a comprehensive range of options for
powering the speakers in the second zone.

• Using the line-level Multiroom Audio
Outputs

, the selected source may be fed to

optional, external power amplifiers that may be
matched to the specifics of the installation.

• When the main room system is configured for
5.1 operation, the Surround Back Left/Right
amplifier channels may be used to power the
remote zone so that no additional amplifiers are
required.

• Using built-in A-BUS Ready technology,
optional A-BUS modules may be connected to
the AVR 5550 via a single Category Five wire, so
that remote zone speakers may be powered
directly from the module or keypad without the
need for additional power, IR sensor or volume
control wires to be run to the second zone.

In addition, the AVR 5550 includes a remote IR
sensor input so that remote control commands
from the Zone II remote included with the unit
may be transmitted to the unit, while standard
IR input/output jacks allow the remote zone’s
commands to be sent to compatible IR-con-
trolled source devices.

Installation
Although simple remote room systems may be
installed by the average do-it-yourself hobbyist,
the complexity of your multizone/multiroom sys-
tem involves running wires inside of walls where
the services of a specially trained installer may
be required. Regardless of who does the work,
please remember that local building codes may
govern in-wall electrical work, including proper
specification of any wiring used and the way in
which it is connected. You are responsible for
making certain that all Multiroom installation
work is done properly and in compliance with all
applicable codes and regulations.

For standard installations, follow the instructions
shown on page 16 for the connection of speaker
wire and IR remote wiring to the AVR 5550.

For installations where the Surround Back
Left/Right amplifier channels are used to power
the remote zone, make certain that the system is
configured for that type of operation, as shown
on page 37.

For installations where A-BUS modules are used,
follow the instructions provided with the A-BUS
remote modules or keypads.
Additional information will also be made avail-

MULTIROOM OPERATION  39

able through the Harman Kardon Web Site at
www.harmankardon.com.

RS-232 Control
The AVR 5550 is rare among A/V receivers in
that it provides the capability for full remote
control from compatible computers or special-
ized remote control systems. RS-232 program-
ming requires specialized programming knowl-
edge and for that reason we recommend that it
only be done by qualified installers.

For more information on using the RS-232 port
for remote control, visit the Harman Kardon Web
site at www.harmankardon.com or contact our
customer service department.

Multiroom Setup
Once the audio and IR link connections have
been made, the AVR 5550 needs to be con-
figured for multiroom operation using the steps
below. Press the OSD button 

L to bring the

MASTER MENU

(Figure 1) to the screen.

Press the 

⁄

button 

D twice, until the on-

screen 

›

cursor is next to the MULTI-

R O O M

line. Press the Set button 

F to enter

the MULTI-ROOM menu (Figure 12).

When the MULTI-ROOM menu appears,
the on-screen 

›

cursor will be at the

MULTI-ROOM

line. Since this line is used

to turn the system on and off, do not make an
adjustment here unless you wish to turn the sys-
tem on at this time. To turn the system on, press
the 

›

button 

& so that O N is highlighted. If

you do not wish to turn the system on at this
time or to proceed to the next step, press the 

¤

Button 

D once so that the 

›

on-screen cursor

is next to the M U L T I I N line.

At the M U L T I I N line, press the 

‹

/

›

but-

tons 

E& until the desired Audio/Video input

to the multi-room system appears in the high-
lighted video. When the selection has been
made, press the 

¤

button 

D once so that the

›

on-screen cursor is next to the M U L T I

V O L

line.

At the M U L T I V O L line, press the 

‹

/

›

buttons 

E& or hold them pressed until the

desired volume level for the multi-room system
is entered. DO NOT use the regular volume con-
trol knobs for this setting. When all settings for
the multiroom setup have been made, press the

¤

buttons 

D once so that the on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the B A C K T O MASTER
M E N U

line and press the Set button 

F. If

you have no other adjustments to make, press
the OSD button 

L to exit the menu system.

Multiroom Operation
When operating the AVR 5550 from a remote
room location where an IR sensor link has been
connected to the AVR 5550’s rear panel
Multiroom IR Input

, you may use either

the Main remote control or the Zone II remote.
To turn on the multiroom feed, press any of the
Input Selector buttons on the Zone II remote
∫ç∂ or the Main remote

456.

Press the AVR Selector

5∫ to turn the

unit on to the last source, or any of the other
Selector buttons to turn on to a specific source.

As long as an IR feed to the AVR 5550 has been
established from the remote room, using any of
the buttons on either remote will control the
remote location volume 

)î, change the

tuner frequency 

Kè, change the tuner 

preset 

"© or mute the output ,˚.

If the Remote IR Output jack 

 on the 

AVR 5550 is connected to an IR Input jack on
compatible Harman Kardon audio components
such as CD, DVD or cassette players, the trans-
port functions of those machines may also be 
controlled using the Transport Controls
PɃ©˙∆ on either remote 
control.

To turn the system off from the remote room,
press the Power-Off button 

0å.

Remember that the AVR 5550 may be turned on
or off from the remote room regardless of the 
system’s operation or status in the main room.

NOTE: When the tuner is selected as the source
for the remote zone, any change to the frequen-
cy or preset will also change the station being
listened to in the main room, if the tuner is in
use there. Similarly, if someone in the main room
changes the station, the change will also impact
the remote room.

To activate the feed to the remote room, press
the Multiroom button

( on the remote.

Next, press the Set button 

F. Press the 

⁄

¤

buttons 

D to turn the multiroom feed on or

off. When the multiroom system is on, the Multi
indicator D will light in the Main Information
Display ˜, and the Main Information
Display ˜ or OSD will display M U L T I
O N

. Press the Set button 

F twice to enter

the setting.

When the multiroom system is turned on, the
input selected using the Multiroom Menu will be
fed to the Multiroom Output jacks 

 on the

rear panel as well as the A-BUS Jack 

.

The volume will be as set in the same menu,
although it may also be adjusted using an
optional IR sensor and the Zone II remote in the
remote location or on the optional audio power
amplifier connected to the Multiroom Output
jacks 

.

Once the multiroom system is turned on, it will
remain on even if the AVR 5550 is placed in the
Standby mode in the main room by pressing the
Power Off Button

0 or the System Power

Control 2 on the front panel. To turn off the
multiroom system from the main listening room,
when the AVR is on press the Multiroom but-
ton 

( and then the Set button F. Press the

⁄

¤

buttons 

D so that the Multi indicator

D in the Main Information Display ˜ goes
out, and the Main Information Display ˜ or
OSD will display M U LTI O F F.

Even when the AVR is turned off (to Standby
mode) and the multiroom system is turned off
too, the multiroom system may be turned on at
any time by pressing the Multiroom button
(, or any of the Selector buttons ∫ç
∂ in the remote room.

      *   M U L T I - R O O M   *

M U L T I - R O O M :

O F F

  O N

M U L T I   I N     : F M   P R E S E T   0 1

M U L T I   V O L   : 5 2 5 d B  

B A C K   T O   M A S T E R   M E N U

40 TUNER OPERATION

The AVR 5550’s tuner is capable of tuning AM,
FM and FM Stereo broadcast stations and receiv-
ing RDS data. Stations may be tuned manually, or
they may be stored as favorite station presets and
recalled from a 30 position memory.

1. Press the AM/FM Tuner Select button 

6

on the remote to select the tuner as an input.
The tuner may be selected from the front panel
by either pressing the Input Source Selector
% until the tuner is active or by pressing the
Tuner Band Selector ! at any time.

2. Press the AM/FM Tuner Select button 

6

or Tuner Band Selector ! again to switch
between AM and FM so that the desired 
frequency band is selected.

3. Press the Tuner Mode button 

I on the

remote or hold the Band Selector ! on the
front panel pressed for 3 seconds to select 
manual or automatic tuning.

When the AUTO indicator J 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.

When the AUTO indicator J is not illuminated,
the tuner is in a manual mode and will stop at
each frequency increment in the selected band.

4. To select stations press any Tuning button )
K. When the AUTO indicator J is 
illuminated, press the button to cause the tuner
to search for the next highest or lowest frequen-
cy station that has an acceptable signal or hold
the button pressed to tune fastly and release it
to start the auto search. In the Auto mode the
tuner will play each station in stereo or mono
mode, just as the program is transmitted. If the
AUTO indicator J is not illuminated, tap the
Tuning button )

K to advance one 

frequency increment at a time, or press and hold
it to locate a specific station. When the TUNED
indicator I illuminates, the station is properly
tuned and should be heard with clarity.

5. Stations may also be tuned directly by press-
ing the Direct button 

J, and then pressing

the Numeric Keys

H that correspond to the

station’s frequency. Note that for entering num-
bers higher than 100 you need to enter only the
"1" rather than "10", the first "0" will be
added automatically. The desired station will
automatically be tuned after the latest number is
entered. If you press an incorrect button while
entering a direct frequency, press the Clear
button 

# to start over.

NOTE: When the FM reception of a stereo
station is weak, audio quality will be increased
by switching to Mono mode by pressing the
Tuner Mode button 

I on the remote or hold-

ing the Band Selector ! on the front panel
pressed for 3 seconds until the STEREO H and
AUTO J indicators go out.

Preset Tuning
Using the remote, up to 30 stations may be
stored in the AVR 5550’s memory for easy recall
using the front panel controls or the remote.

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

1. Press the Memory button 

$ on the

remote. Note that MEMORY indicator G will
illuminate and flash in the Main Information
Display ˜.

2. Within five seconds, press the Numeric 
Keys

H corresponding to the location where

you wish to store this station’s frequency. Once
entered, the preset number will appear in the
Main Information Display ˜.

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 Numeric Keys
H that correspond to the desired station’s
memory location.

• To manually tune through the list of stored
preset stations one by one, press the Preset
Stations Selector buttons #

" on the

front panel or remote.

The AVR 5550 is equipped with RDS (Radio Data
System), which brings a wide range of informa-
tion to FM radio. Now in use in many countries,
RDS is a system for transmitting station call signs
or network information, a description of station
program type, text messages about the station or
specifics of a musical selection, and the correct
time.

As more FM stations become equipped with RDS
capabilities, the AVR 5550 will serve as an easy-
to-use center for both information and entertain-
ment. This section will help you take maximum
advantage of the RDS system.

RDS Tuning
When an FM station is tuned in and it contains
RDS data, the RDS Indicator G will illuminate,
after some time also the indicators for all other
RDS services received (see below), and the 
AVR 5550 will automatically display the station’s
call sign or other program service in the Main
Information Display ˜.

RDS Display Options
The RDS system is capable of transmitting a
wide variety of information in addition to the
initial station call sign that appears when a
station is first tuned. In normal RDS operation
the display will indicate the station name,
broadcast network or call letters. Pressing the
RDS button ^

! enables you to cycle

through the various data types in the following
sequence:

• The station’s call letters (with some private
stations other information too).

• The station’s frequency.

• The Program Type (PTY) as shown in the list
below. The PTY Indicator P will illuminate
when this data is being received.

NOTE: Many stations do not transmit a specific
PTY. The display will show NONE, when such a
station is selected and PTY is active.

• A “text” message (Radiotext, RT) containing
special information from the broadcast station.
Note that this message may scroll across the
display to permit messages longer than the eight
positions in the display. Depending on signal
quality, it may take up to 30 seconds for the text
message to appear; in that time, the word
TEXT

will flash in the Information Display when

RT is selected. The RT Indicator R will illumi-
nate when text data is being received and ready
to be displayed.

• The current time of day (CT). Note that it may
take up to two minutes for the time to appear,
in that time the word TIME will flash in the
information display when CT is selected. The
CT

Indicator O will illuminate when time