INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing Harman Kardon
®
! With
the purchase of a Harman Kardon
®
AVR 525 you are
about to begin many years of listening enjoyment.
Designed to provide all the excitement and detail of
movie soundtracks and
every nuance of musical selec-
tions, the AVR 525
is truly a multichannel receiver for
the new millennium.
The AVR 525 has been engineered so that it is easy
to take advantage of all the power of its digital tech-
nology. However, to obtain the maximum enjoyment
from your new receiver, we urge you to read this
manual. A few minutes spent learning the functions of
the various controls will enable you to take advantage
of all the power the AVR 525 is able to deliver.
If you have any questions about this product, its instal-
lation or its operation, please contact your retailer or
custom installer. They are your best local sources of
information.
Description and Features
The AVR 525 is among the most versatile and multi-
featured A/V receivers available, incorporating a wide
range of listening options. In addition to Dolby* Digital
and DTS
®
decoding for digital sources, a broad choice
of Matrix surround-encoded or Stereo surround modes
are available for use with sources such as CD, VCR,
TV broadcasts and the AVR 525’s own FM/AM tuner.
Along with Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic* II,
DTS Neo:6
®
, Dolby 3 Stereo, and Hall and Theater
modes, the AVR 525 offers Harman
International’s
exclusive Logic 7
®
process in both 5.1 and 7.1 versions
to create a wider, more enveloping
field environment
and more defined fly-overs and pans. Another exclusive
is VMAx
®
, which uses proprietary processing to create
an open, spacious sound field even when only two
front speakers are available. Finally, the AVR 525 offers
decoding of MP3 data, so that you may listen to the
latest music selections directly from compatible
computers or playback devices with the power and
fidelity you expect from Harman Kardon.
In addition to providing a wide range of listening
options, the AVR 525 is easy to configure so that it
provides the best results with your speakers and spe-
cific listening-room environment. On-screen menus
make it simple to enter settings for speaker configura-
tions and bass management, and the EzSet
™
remote
measures a system’s sound levels and automatically
calibrates them for perfectly balanced sound field
presentation.
For the ultimate in flexibility, the AVR 525 features
connections for five video devices, all with both com-
posite and S-Video inputs. Two additional audio inputs
are available, and six digital inputs make the AVR 525
capable of handling all the latest digital audio sources.
For compatibility with the latest HDTV video sources
and progressive scan DVD players, the AVR 525 also
features two-input, wide-bandwidth, low-crosstalk
component video switching.
The front panel offers coax and optical digital inputs
and outputs for direct connection to digital recorders,
along with analog audio/video connections that may be
switched to outputs for use with portable recorders –
a Harman Kardon exclusive. Two video recording out-
puts, preamp-out and a color-coded eight-channel
input with complete digital bass management, make
the AVR 525 virtually future-proof, with everything
needed to accommodate tomorrow’s new formats
right onboard.
The AVR 525’s flexibility and power extend beyond
your main home theater or listening room. The
AVR 525 includes a sophisticated multizone control
system that allows you to select one source for use in
the main room and a different source for audio and
video distribution to a second zone. Complete volume
control in the second zone is possible with a separate
infrared control link. To make it easy to operate the
AVR 525 from a remote zone, a separate “Zone II”
remote is included. Additional multiroom options
include the option to assign two of the AVR 525’s out-
put channels to the multiroom system and the ability to
link the AVR 525 to innovative A-BUS
®
keypads for
multiroom operation without the need for external
amplifiers.
The AVR 525’s powerful amplifier uses traditional
Harman Kardon high-current design technologies
to meet the wide dynamic range of any program
selection.
Harman Kardon invented the high-fidelity receiver
almost fifty years ago. With
state-of-the-art circuitry
and time-honored circuit designs, the AVR 525 is
the perfect combina
tion of the latest in digital audio
technology, a
quiet yet powerful analog amplifier in
an
elegant, easy-to-use package.
For Canadian model
Modèle pour les Canadien
■ A wide range of digital and matrix surround
modes, including Dolby
®
Digital, Dolby Digital EX
,
Dolby Pro Logic
®
II, DTS
®
, DTS-ES
®
Discrete and
Matrix, and DTS Neo: 6
®
■ Seven channels of high-current amplification
with two channels assignable to either surround
back or multiroom applications
■
Harman Kardon’s exclusive Logic 7
®
processing
,
available for the first time with both 7.1 and
5.1 processing in a variety of modes and two
modes of VMAx
®
■ MP3 decoding for use with computers and
digital audio players
■
™
remote automatically sets
output
levels for optimum performance
■ High-bandwidth, HDTV-compatible component
video switching
■ Discrete front-panel coaxial and optical digital
inputs and outputs for easy connection to
portable digital devices and the latest video
game consoles
■ Extensive bass management options, includ-
ing three separate crossover groupings and
full digital bass management on the 6/8-
channel direct inputs for use with DVD-Audio
or SACD players
■ Front-panel analog A/V jacks switchable to
outputs for easy connection to portable digital
devices and video game consoles
■ On-screen menu and display system
■ Extensive multiroom options, including a stan-
dard Zone II remote, assignable amplifier
channels and A-BUS Ready
®
capability for lis-
tening to a separate source in a remote zone
■ HDCD
®
decoding for enhanced CD playback
