Harman Kardon DVD 48 Owners Manual - Page 28

INITIAL SETUP • Front L/R: Select Large or Small. If you select Small, the Center and Surround speakers will automatically be configured as Small, and the Subwoofer will be set to On. • Center: If the front speakers are set to Large, you may set the Center speaker to Large, Small or Off if you have no center speaker. • Surround L/R: If the front speakers are set to Large, you may set the Surround speakers to Large, Small or Off if you have no surround speakers. • Subwoofer: If the front speakers are set to Large, you may set the Subwoofer to Off and have all low-frequencies (bass) played by the front speakers. If the front speakers are set to Small, the Subwoofer will automatically be set to On and all low frequencies will be sent to the subwoofer. If you don't have a subwoofer, you will lose the low-frequency portion of the signal and it is therefore recommended that you upgrade to a speaker package that includes a subwoofer. • Initialize: Set Initialize to On to reset all of the Speaker Size settings to their factory defaults. When prompted by the Initialize dialog box, press the ‹ Button to highlight "Yes", and press the Enter Button to proceed. When you have finished adjusting the Speaker Size settings, press the Return Button to return to the SPEAKER SETUP menu (Figure 24). Use the ¤ Button to select the Speaker Distance line, and press the › or Enter Button to view the SPEAKER DISTANCE submenu (see Figure 26). Figure 26 - Speaker Distance Submenu Screen SPEAKER DISTANCE: These settings indicate the distance from each speaker to the listening position. Although ideally you placed all of your speakers in a circle equidistant from the listening position, we recognize that it isn't always practical to do so. This setting enables the DVD 48 to delay the signal from some speakers by up to 15 mS to compensate. • Unit: The default distance measurement is in feet. If you are more comfortable with metric measurements, use the ‹ /› Buttons to select the Meter setting. • Front L/R, Center and Surround L/R: Use the ‹ /› Buttons to set the distance from the front speakers to the listening position. The distance will be indicated both on the temperature bar and numerically to the right of the bar. NOTE: The DVD 48 will automatically adjust the Center distance when the Front L/R distance is five feet more than or any distance less than the Center speaker. The Front L/R distance must be the same as or no more than 5 feet greater than the Center distance. Similarly, the Surround L/R distance will be automatically adjusted when the Front L/R distance is 15 feet more than or any distance less than the Surround L/R speakers. The Front L/R distance must be the same as or no more than 15 feet 28 greater than the Surround L/R distance. For optimal audio performance, we recommend that you place your speakers accordingly. • Initialize: Set Initialize to On to reset all of the Speaker Distance settings to their factory defaults. When prompted by the Initialize dialog box, press the ‹ Button to highlight "Yes", and press the Enter Button to proceed. When you have finished adjusting the Speaker Distance settings, press the Return Button to return to the SPEAKER SETUP menu (Figure 24). Use the ¤ Button to select the Speaker Level line, and press the › or Enter Button to view the SPEAKER LEVEL submenu (see Figure 27). Figure 27 - Speaker Level Submenu Screen NOTE: There is no distance setting for the subwoofer. Lowfrequency sound waves by their nature are not noticeably affected by the distances in a typical listening room. SPEAKER LEVEL SETTINGS: Output level adjustment is a key part of the configuration process for any surround sound system. The goal is to set the output levels so that all channels sound equally loud at the listening position. This is important because movie directors adjust the loudness of each channel in the recording to produce a desired sound presentation. Usually the director reduces the loudness, or even the presence, of information in the surround channels so as not to distract the viewer from the main action taking place on screen. If the test tone sounds as loud in the rear speakers as it does coming from the other speakers, the DVD 48 is performing correctly. In many cases the factory default setting of 0dB should accomplish that. However, in some cases the specifics of your listening room may require some adjustments. For best results, you may wish to also purchase a sound-pressure level (SPL) meter to assist you in setting the output levels correctly. If you use an SPL meter, set it to the C-Weighting, Slow scale, and adjust the receiver's volume control until the meter measures 75dB. If you don't have an SPL meter, you may set the output levels "by ear". If you are using an SPL meter with the test tone, adjust the level of each channel so that the meter reads 75dB. If you don't have a meter or a test disc, adjust the levels until all channels sound equally loud. You may use program material you are familiar with or a commercial test disc. Make sure not to use a surround sound-encoded disc for this process, or the surround channels will be set too high. Use the Navigation Buttons to highlight the level setting for the front left channel. The default level for each channel is 0dB, the reference level, which is the maximum setting allowed for any channel. Use the ‹ Button to decrease the level by up to -12dB. Use the Navigation