Harman AVR154 review needed

[Qondor]

Hi All,

How would you rate AVR154 as a reciever, got it from US recently, my first.

Recently got it hooked to my DVD (LG) and CRT (TV), but still unable to get the required output, interms of 5.1. I am using Bose201 (L&R), BoseVCS (centre), Phillips (rear spkrs, need to upgrade) & Onkyo (sub).


Look forward to your inputs. Thanx in advance.

 

[dlkanth]

hi,
AV receiver i can its good, all the basic feature packed, crt tv u will b getting an stereo out, play with surround pro II or Neo six cinema, DVD try using the optical cable for audio out...

 

[Qondor]

Thanx. But need help in answering some basic questions:

1) s optical cable different from composite cable?
2) "play with surround pro II or Neo six cinema" are these settings. Invariably I will be connecting it to my new pana plasma tv soon.
3) Also I am able to connect my MP3 player, am able to get output from all 6 spkrs. Its only when I connect my DVD, I get output from the front spkrs.
4) When I use the OSD I am unable to select the following options:
Speaker x-over, Delay Adjust.

Thanx

 

[baijuxavior]

You should connect either an optical cable or a coaxial cable from your dvd player to the avr. Check your dvd to know whether it has optical or coaxial (SPDIF) output. Aso make sure that the movie you are testing is 5.1. If you are playing stereo content, then use surround settings like dolby prologic, dtd neo etc. to get surround effect.

 

[Qondor]

Thanx. Will be needing help on rest of the setup too, I am sure. Never spend so much time on going through an "user manual" (1 full day), ever.

 

[Qondor]

Btw, how can I connect my AVR with a media player for watching movies and listening to songs?

 

[baijuxavior]

Connect as follows:

Media Player HDMI out > AVR HDMI in
Media Player SPDIF out > AVR SPDIF in

If the avr supports audio over hdmi, then only one connection is enough.

 

[Qondor]

Just found out this AVR does not support audio via HDMI, and I am intending to connect Phillips HMP3000 media player.

So in that case I will have to make both these connections:
Media Player HDMI out > AVR HDMI in (video)
Media Player SPDIF out > AVR SPDIF in (audio)

Whats SPDIF?

 

[baijuxavior]

You will need to connect as I specified. SPDIF is for coaxial output. You can use either coaxial or optical output for audio.

 

[dlkanth]

this model doesnt support audio via HDMI, u will have configure using digital key available on the remote to assign it to any like optical or co axial. try to play with surround options keys in the remote..