Harman-kardon HS 500 User Manual download pdf (Page 16)

CONNECTIONS

There are different types of audio and video connections used to

connect the HS 500 to the speakers and video display, and to connect

any source devices to the HS 500. To make it easier to keep them all

straight, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has established

a color-coding standard. Table 1 may be helpful to you as a reference

while you set up your system.

Table 1 – Connection Color Guide

Types of Connections

This section will briefly review different types of cables and connections

that you may use to set up your system.

Speaker Connections

Speaker cables carry an amplified signal from the receiver’s speaker

terminals to each loudspeaker. Speaker cables generally contain two

wire conductors, or leads, inside plastic insulation. The two conductors

are usually differentiated in some way, by using different colors, or

stripes, or even by adding a ridge to the insulation.

The differentiation is important because each speaker must be

connected to the HS 500’s speaker-output terminals using two wires,

one positive (+) and one negative (–). This is called speaker polarity.

It’s important to maintain the proper polarity for all speakers in the

system. If some speakers have their negative terminals connected to

the HS 500’s positive terminals, performance can suffer, especially for

the low frequencies.

Always connect the positive terminal on the loudspeaker, which is

colored red, to the positive terminal on the HS 500, which is colored

as shown in the Connection Color Guide (Table 1). Similarly, always

connect the black negative terminal on the speaker to the black

negative terminal on the HS 500. The wires in the speaker system

included with your HS 500 Home Theater System are color-coded

with bands.

The HS 500 uses binding-post speaker terminals that can accept

banana plugs or bare-wire cables, should you wish to upgrade your

system in the future.

Banana plugs are simply plugged into the hole in the middle of the

terminal cap. See Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With

Banana Plugs

Bare wire cables are installed as follows (see Figure 2):

1. Unscrew the terminal cap until the pass-through hole in the collar

is revealed.

2. Insert the bare end of the wire into the hole.

3. Screw the cap back into place until the wire is held snugly.

Figure 2 – Binding-Post Speaker Terminals With Bare Wires

Subwoofer

The subwoofer is a specialized type of loudspeaker that is usually

connected in a different way. The subwoofer is used to play only the

low frequencies (bass), which require much more power than the other

speaker channels. In order to obtain the best results, the HS 500

includes a powered subwoofer that contains its own amplifier on board.

A line-level (nonamplified) connection is made from the HS 500’s

Subwoofer Output to a corresponding jack on the subwoofer.

See Figure 3.

Although the subwoofer output looks similar to the analog audio jacks

used for the various components, it is filtered and only allows the low

frequencies to pass. Don’t connect this output to your other devices.

Although doing so won’t cause any harm, performance will suffer.

Figure 3 – Subwoofer

Connecting External Source Devices to the

HS 500

The HS 500 is designed to process audio input signals. These signals

originate in what are known as “source devices,” including the internal

DVD/CD player, a DVR (digital video recorder) or other recorder, a tape

deck, a game console, a cable or satellite television box, a flash drive

or an MP3 player. Although the tuner and disc player are built into the

HS 500, they also count as sources, even though no external connec-

tions are needed, other than the FM and AM antennas.

In general, separate connections are required for the audio and

video portions of the signal. The types of connections used depend

upon what’s available on the source device, and for video signals, the

capabilities of your video display.

Subwoofer

Pre-out

12 3

Audio Connections

Left Right

Front (FL/FR)

Center (C)

Surround (SL/SR)

Subwoofer (SUB)

Digital Audio Connections

Coaxial

Optical Input

Video Connections

Component Y Pb Pr

Composite

S-Video

HDMI

™

Connections

HDMI

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Harman-kardon HS 500 User Manual Page 16

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