Harman/Kardon AVR 5500 AV-receiver
You do not immediately feel all the hidden capabilities of Harman/Kardon AVR 5500 receiver. It allows you to create an acoustic layout of 5.1 format (the presence of a five-channel power amplifier involves the use of an active subwoofer) for sources with the digital soundtrack of Dolby Digital and DTS. At the same time, are DTS ES 6.1 Discrete, DTS ES 6.1 Matrix and DTS + Neo:6 modes are also possible for DTS. The signal from analog matrix sources is processed by the Dolby Pro Logic II decoder (MOVIE and MUSIC modes). Two modes are provided for two-channel signals: either the new-fashioned Dolby Pro Logic II EMULATION (5 channels), or the classic Dolby 3 Stereo (3 channels). As AVR 5500 combines an eight-channel preamplifier with an AV processor, it makes it easy to go into the acoustic 6.1 or even 7.1 space simply by adding two power amplifiers. In addition to the standard modes for processing of audio signals ("hall" and "theater"), the company offers a number of specific (LOGIC 7, WMAx) ones, so the total number of surround modes is 22. On the other hand, the receiver provides the work with the second zone at the level of preamp and system bus input for control: the receiver comes with a second remote control, greatly simplified, but still with 30 buttons. Note that the presence of an eight-channel preamplifier output and a five-channel input of the power amplifier, which are interconnected by external jumpers, give an additional degree of freedom in the configuration of the home theater.
The receiver is rich with original functions to the limit. I will note the ability to play HDCDs, the signal for which, like for MP3, is fed as a stream (S/PDIF) to one of the digital inputs. The on-screen setup menu is very extensive and is optionally available in full or short form. A shutdown time can be set for each form independently so that the information can be read, but the window does not interfere too much. Another interesting and useful feature: the connectors of additional digital inputs on the front panel allow reassignment to the output. The status is indicated by LED located between them: red glow - output, green - input.
The remote control controls the whole AV-complex, because it remembers codes that are understandable to different equipment of a large number of companies and allows macro-programming. The EzSet system, the microphone for which is built into it, will accurately calibrate the loudspeakers.
Harman/Kardon AVR 5500 is a solid 5.1-channel receiver with excellent capabilities of upgrade to an eight-channel system.
