So you’ve got a new AV receiver and want to get your home theatre up and running?
Let us show you how.
When you first open the box, inside you will find: Your
Sony receiver, calibration mic, remote
control, and paperwork, including the instruction manual.
Before you begin,
ensure to disconnect the AC power cord
from the mains.
Next, you need to check that the impedance of your speakers
fall within the rated impedance range of the receiver.
Speakers usually come with an impedance of 4,
8 or 16 ohms. The ohm rating
of the speaker should be equal to or greater than the
ohm rating of the receiver.
Next, carefully strip 10 to 15mm of the wire
insulation from the speaker cable, then tightly
twist the wire strands together.
Match the polarities (the positive and negative)
between the receiver and the speakers.
Check you are connecting the correct speaker cables to the corresponding
terminals on the receiver. Insert the speaker
wire securely into the terminal, ensuring metal
on metal contact, then tighten the terminal connection.
Speaker position is very important, and
depending on which receiver you own,
will dictate how many speakers and subwoofers you can have, as
well as the sound formats you can utilise. The
optimum sound is produced by simulating ideal speaker
positions and angles.
For the best audio experience, set the
height of your speaker's tweeter at the same height
as your ears when you are sat in your preferred viewing position.
A subwoofer does not emit a particularly directional
signal, so you can place it where you like,
although it's best to avoid corners and against walls
as this can affect the sound.
The classic set-up for front stereo sound
consists of a front left
and front right speaker at 30°
either side of your preferred viewing position
whilst being 1.5 to 3 metres away
from the TV.
and a subwoofer.
After you have installed and connected your speakers,
arrange your channel set-up by pressing HOME
on the receiver remote. Scroll to SET-UP,
then SPEAKER SETTINGS,
select SPEAKER PATTERN,
and choose 2.1CH.
A 5.1ch system
consists of a centre speaker directly in front of your
preferred viewing position,
front left and front right speakers at 30° angles,
surround left and surround right speakers
at 100 to 120° angles,
and a subwoofer.
Once you have installed and connected your speakers,
select your channel set-up by pressing HOME
on the receiver remote. Scroll to SET-UP,
select SPEAKER SETTINGS,
then SPEAKER PATTERN,
and choose 5.1CH.
A 5.1.2ch system,
which utilises Dolby Atmos or DTS:X,
has two set-up options.
The first is to install overhead speakers directly
into your ceiling.
When positioning your overhead speakers, place them slightly
in front of your preferred viewing position at an angle of roughly
80°.
After you have installed and connected your speakers,
press HOME on your receiver remote to configure
your channel set-up. Scroll to SET-UP,
then SPEAKER SETTINGS,
select SPEAKER PATTERN,
choose 5.1CH and
then select TM.
Alternatively, you can buy Dolby Atmos
enabled speakers.
These bounce sound off the ceiling to your preferred viewing position.
Both of these options create a
three-dimensional soundscape.
After you have installed and connected your speakers,
press HOME on your receiver remote to
configure your channel set-up. Scroll to SET-UP,
then SPEAKER SETTINGS,
select SPEAKER PATTERN,
choose 5.1CH and select
FD for front enabled speakers or SRD
for back enabled speakers.
A 5.1ch with zone 2 speaker connection
set-up is to have two speakers in a separate room.
This allows you to have a Blu-ray playing in the main room
while simultaneously playing music in a second room.
To set-up the zone 2 option, press HOME
on the receiver remote, scroll to SET-UP,
select SPEAKER SETTINGS,
and scroll to SURROUND BACK SPEAKERS ASSIGN
and choose ZONE 2.
Note, you can only change SURROUND BACK SPEAKER ASSIGN
if the speaker pattern is not set to the SURROUND BACK
AND HEIGHT/OVERHEAD SPEAKERS option.
To control your zone 2 speakers, press HOME
on the receiver remote,
scroll to ZONE CONTROL
set ZONE 2 POWER to ON,
select ZONE 2 INPUT,
set your desired input source,
and finally, select ZONE 2 VOLUME
to adjust the volume.
If you want to listen to the same sound as the main zone,
select source. A 5.1ch
with bi-amp connection can be set-up by connecting
the SPEAKERS SURROUND BACK/HEIGHT terminals
to an already connected speaker, giving the woofer
and tweeter their own dedicated channels of amplification
for a bigger, more powerful sound.
To set-up your bi-amplifier connection, press HOME
on the receiver remote, scroll to SET-UP
select SPEAKER SETTINGS,
scroll to SURROUND BACK SPEAKERS ASSIGN
and choose BI-AMP.
Note, you can only change SURROUND BACK SPEAKER ASSIGN
if the speaker pattern is not set to the SURROUND BACK
AND HEIGHT/OVERHEAD SPEAKERS option.
A 5.1ch with front B speaker system
can be set-up by connecting the SPEAKERS SURROUND
BACK/HEIGHT receiver terminals
to extra front speakers to double
your sound output in the same room.
To set-up your front B connection, press HOME
on the receiver remote. Scroll to SET-UP,
then to SPEAKER SETTINGS, and
set SURROUND BACK SPEAKERS ASSIGN to
FRONT B.
Note, you can only change SURROUND BACK SPEAKER ASSIGN
if the speaker pattern is not set to the SURROUND BACK
AND HEIGHT/OVERHEAD SPEAKERS option.
A 7.1ch system consists
of a centre speaker, which should be directly in front of your
preferred viewing position, front left and front
right speakers at 30° angles,
surround left and surround right speakers at
100 to 120° angles, and
surround back left and surround back right speakers
at the same angle, relative to your surround left
and surround right speakers, and subwoofer.
After you have installed and connected your speakers,
select your channel set-up by pressing HOME
on the receiver remote,
scroll to SET-UP,
then SPEAKER SETTINGS,
select SPEAKER PATTERNS, and
choose 7.1CH
Now that you have your speakers connected to your receiver
and in position, it's time to auto calibrate.
The auto calibration will check the
connection between each speaker and the receiver,
adjust the speaker level,
measure the distance of each speaker from your preferred
viewing position, measure the speaker size,
and measure the EQ and phase frequency characteristics.
To perform the auto calibration, first plug
the calibration mic into the input on the front of the receiver.
Place the calibration microphone at your preferred viewing
position at the same height as your ears
For the best set-up,
remove obstructions between the speaker and your preferred viewing
position, disconnect any headphones, and ensure
the environment is as quiet as possible.
To perform the auto calibration, press HOME
on the receiver remote, scroll to SET-UP,
then to SPEAKER SETTINGS, and select
AUTO CALIBRATION.
If you are using HEIGHT/OVERHEAD SPEAKERS,
select CHANGE SURROUND BACK SPEAKER ASSIGN
and click HEIGHT SPEAKERS.
Select your speaker pattern and which type of
height/overhead speakers you have and
input the height of your ceiling.
Confirm the instructions on-screen and select START.
The measurement starts after 5 seconds and takes around
30 seconds to complete. A test tone
is output from each speaker.
When the measurement ends,
a beep sounds and the screen switches.
You will be given the option to SAVE, RETRY
or DISCARD. Select as appropriate.
To set the SPEAKER RELOCATION/
PHANTOM SURROUND BACK,
press HOME on the receiver remote,
scroll to SET-UP,
then to SPEAKER SETTINGS,
and select SPEAKER RELOCATION/PHANTOM SURROUND BACK.
This allows you to enjoy a surround-sound effect
acoustically equivalent to a 7.1.2ch
set-up. There are three options available.
TYPE A simulates as if
the surround back speakers have been placed on the back wall,
and the front high or top middle speakers sound
like they are directly aligned with the front speakers.
TYPE B simulates that the four surround
speakers have been placed at identical angles, and
the front high or top middle speakers sound as
if they are directly aligned with the front speakers.
The third option is OFF, the speaker positions are not relocated.
Always perform the auto calibration before using the
SPEAKER RELOCATION/PHANTOM SURROUND BACK FUNCTION.
There are four options for Calibration Type:
Full flat, which trims each speaker to produce a flat response.
Engineer, which replicates
the sound used in Sony's standard listening room
where new products are development and fine tuned.
Front reference, which uses the front speakers as a reference
and matches the rest to them.
And Off.
There are two options for CALIBRATION MATCHING.
YES to expand the sweet spot for your viewing position,
allowing a more natural sound.
NO to apply the results of the auto calibration
directly to the speakers.
There are other audio options available on your Sony receiver.
HDMI supports a much higher bandwidth than optical connections do,
and supports lossless audio formats.
The BD/DVD
and SA-CD/CD HDMI inputs
have better sound quality,
so when you need higher sound quality,
connect your device to these HDMI IN jacks
and select them as the input.
Bluetooth is a wireless data transfer connection
that allows you to play music from a Bluetooth enabled device
or listen to your receiver through headphones without
using a cabled connection.
To set-up Bluetooth, press HOME
on the receiver remote, scroll to SET-UP,
then to BLUETOOTH SETTINGS, and select
BLUETOOTH MODE.
Here, you will find the options: RECEIVER, TRANSMIT,
and OFF.
Digital coaxial cables often use gold
plated RCA connectors and mid-level cable shielding.
Toslink uses fibre optics cables
and is more immune to interference than coaxial. It can support some surround sound formats.
Phono is a basic two channel audio cable utilising a 3.5mm jack standard plug.