STAV-3450 (310-3031) Installation Faxback Doc. # 9766 Preparing Your Receiver Caution: Make all the necessary connections before you plug in or turn on the receiver. Positioning the Speakers Surround speakers generally sound best if you position them above ear level. To avoid interference with the picture on a nearby TV, use magnetically shielded speaker systems. This is particularly important for the center speaker since it is usually located closest to the TV. Where you place your speakers can make a noticeable difference in your system's sound. The guidelines in this section will help you choose the best locations. After you use your receiver for a while, you might want to try different locations for your speakers. Bass Response depends largely on speaker location. For strong bass, place the speakers in the corners of the room. If you want even stronger bass, place the speakers directly on the floor. If the bass is too strong, move the speakers slightly away from the corners of the room, or raise them 6 to 18 inches off the floor. You can buy speaker stands at your local Radio Shack store. The distance between the speakers should be about the same as the distance between the normal listening point and the point half-way along a line between the speakers. If you place the speakers too close together, you reduce the stereo separation. If you place them too far apart, you reduce the bass effect and create a "hole" in the middle of the sound. Most speakers have a tweeter dispersion angle of about 60 degrees. Ideally, your listening position should be just inside the overlap area of the tweeter dispersion. You can angle the speakers toward you for better stereo effect. To position your speakers for surround sound, place the A or B speakers at the front of your listening area, and place the surround speakers behind or to the sides of the listening point. Also, place the center speaker above, below, or behind the TV. Sound might not appear to coincide with the picture if you place it next to the TV. Connecting the Speakers Follow these guidelines when you select and connect speakers. Use speakers with an impedance of 8 to 16 ohms. Be sure you properly connect all speakers. Do not connect two pairs of speakers to a single set of terminals (A or B) at the same time. When you use two pairs of speakers, connect one set to Speakers A and one set to Speakers B. Realistic, Optimus, and other high-quality speakers have color-coded speaker terminals (red for positive polarity and black for negative polarity). Use these color coded terminals as a guide to help you properly connect the speakers to the receiver. Use 16-gauge (or larger) speaker wire for all speaker connections, and consider possible speaker locations before you decide how much speaker wire you need. Preparing the Speaker Wires Speaker wire consists of two conductors (individual wires) encased in insulation and is usually color-coded or marked with a ridge along one side so you can identify each conductor. Use these markings as a guide to help you properly connect the speakers to your receiver. Follow these steps to prepare the speaker wires. 1. Cut the speaker wires to the necessary length. 2. Separate the wires for about 4 inches on each end of the speaker wire. 3. Using a wire stripper, carefully strip about 3/4 inch of insulation from the end of each conductor. 4. Twist the end of each conductor to secure any loose wire strands. Note: Be sure you connect the receiver's right and left positive (+) and negative (-) terminals to the speaker's corresponding right and left positive (+) and negative (-) terminals. Caution: To prevent a short circuit, twist the end of each conductor to be sure that stray speaker wire strands do not touch other speaker terminals or any other receiver terminals. Connecting the A and B Speakers Follow these steps to connect the right speaker to the receiver's right FRONT SPEAKERS A terminals. 1. Press the receiver's FRONT SPEAKERS A R (+) red lever and insert the ridged or color-coded conductor's end into the small hole. Pull back the lever to secure the conductor. 2. Press the receiver's FRONT SPEAKERS AR (-) black lever and insert the other conductor's end into the small hole. Pull back the lever to secure the conductor. 3. Connect the ridged or color-coded conductor's loose end to the right speaker's positive (+) terminal. 4. Connect the remaining loose conductor to the right speaker's negative (-) terminal. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 to connect the left speaker to the left FRONT SPEAKERS A terminals. Repeat this entire process to connect a second pair of speakers to the FRONT SPEAKERS B terminals. Connecting Surround-Sound Speakers You can connect a pair of speakers to the receivers' REAR SPEAKERS terminals for surround-sound programs. Follow the steps in "Connecting the A and B Speakers." Connecting the Center Speaker The center speaker gives additional ambience to surround sound. Connect the center speaker to the CENTER SPEAKER terminals. Follow the steps in "Connecting the A and B Speakers." Connecting Program Sources You can connect up to five external program sources to your receiver. Use shielded audio cables with phono connectors for all audio connections. Note: If you place the cassette deck directly above, below, or to the left of the receiver, the receiver could interfere with the cassette deck's operation. If possible, position the cassette deck to the right of the receiver or locate it away from the receiver. Connecting a Turntable Connect a turntable with a magnetic cartridge only. Some older turntables use a ceramic-type cartridge. These cartridges do not work with this system. Connect the turntable's left and right cables to the receiver's left and right PHONO jacks. Then connect the turntable's ground wire to the receiver's GND terminal. Connecting Cassette Deck(s) You can connect cassette decks to the VCR/TAPE 1 and the TAPE 2 MONITOR jacks. Connect the cassette deck's output jacks to the VCR/TAPE 1 audio IN or TAPE 2 PLAY jacks, and connect the input jacks of your cassette deck to VCR/TAPE 1 audio OUT or TAPE 2 REC jacks. You can connect a third cassette deck to use for playback only to the LD audio IN jacks. Connecting a CD Player To connect a CD player to the receiver, connect the CD player's left and right output jacks to the receiver's L and R CD input jacks. Note: If your VCR is monaural, use a Y-adapter (available at your local Radio Shack store) to connect the VCR's audio output to both the L and R audio inputs on the receiver. Connecting Video Sources If you connect two video sources such as VCR's or laser disc players to your receiver, you can use the receiver to switch between viewing the sources. You can also use the receiver to easily record from the video sources to the source connected to VCR/TAPE 1. Connect phono cables from a VCR's audio outputs to the receiver's VCR/TAPE 1 audio IN and LD audio IN jacks. Connect phono cables from the receiver's VCR/TAPE 1 audio OUT jacks to the VCR's audio input jacks. Then connect video cables from each video source's video outputs to the receiver's VCR/TAPE 1 and LD video in jacks. Connect video cables from the receiver's VCR/TAPE 1 video OUT jack to the VCR's video input. Connecting a Video Monitor The monitor (or TV with baseband video input) you connect to the VIDEO OUT terminal can monitor any program you connect to the receiver's VCR/TAPE 1, or LD input jacks. Connect a video cable from the receiver's VIDEO OUT TO MONITOR TV jack to the monitor's video input. Connecting Additional Amplifiers To increase the center channel's output power, connect an amplifier to the CENTER AMP jack. Then connect the center channel speaker to the amplifier. Connecting the Antennas Note: For the best results, use 75-ohm coaxial cable to connect an outdoor antenna to the receiver. In many cities, the indoor AM loop and FM antennas (included) provide adequate reception. AM Antennas Assemble the included antenna's base by swinging the base in the direction of the arrow and inserting the antenna's bottom tabs into the base's slot. Then attach the antenna wires to the AM and GND terminals (bottom two terminals). Place the antenna on a flat surface and rotate it for the best AM reception. The antenna base has two holes. If the receiver is in a rack or on a shelf and there is no room for the AM loop antenna, use two screws (not supplied) to mount the base on the wall or another location. Notes: Keep the AM loop antenna connected even when you use another indoor antenna or an outdoor AM antenna. Ensure the antenna does not touch the receiver or other metal objects. Do not place the antenna near a CD player, a personal computer, or a TV set. If the wire between your AM loop antenna and receiver is too short, you can add extra wire. Extra antenna wire is available at your local Radio Shack store. You can also use Radio Shack's shortwave antenna kit (Cat. No. 278-758), which makes an excellent outdoor AM antenna. Connect the outdoor AM antenna wire to the receiver's AM terminal. FM Antennas Connect the supplied FM antenna to the FM UNBAL 75ohm terminal. For better FM reception, you can also use a rabbit-ear TV antenna (for indoor use only) or an outdoor VHF TV antenna. To connect the TV antenna to the receiver, you need a VHF/UHF/FM splitter (not included). Radio Shack stores carry a full line of quality outdoor antennas and antenna connection accessories. Warning: To prevent injury, read and follow all cautions and warnings that accompany the outdoor antenna. Caution: The cable's shielding should only touch the GND terminal. For the best radio reception, use an outdoor antenna. Follow these steps to connect an outdoor FM antenna to the receiver using 75ohm cable. Note: If your antenna has 300ohm twin-lead cable, consult your local Radio Shack store for the correct adapter. 1. Disconnect the supplied FM antenna from the receiver's FM UNBAL 75ohm terminal. 2. With a stripping tool, remove about 1 1/2 inches of the cable's outer insulation to expose the cable's shielding. 3. Fold back the insulation from the inner insulation. 4. Remove about 1 inch of the inner insulation from around the center wire. 5. Pull the shielding to one side. Connect the center wire to the receiver's FM UNBAL 75ohm terminal. Twist the shielding to secure any loose wire strands and connect it to the GND terminal. Note: Grounding is not necessary for reception. But, we recommend it to avoid damage from lightning when you use an outdoor FM antenna and for better FM reception. Use a separate piece of thick polyvinyl insulated wire to connect the GND terminal to an earth ground such as a metal cold-water pipe. Warning: Never connect a wire to a gas pipe for grounding since sparks might ignite the gas. Using One Remote Control for More than One Unit Note: When you plug the cable into a component's CONTROL IN jack, that component's remote sensor does not function. If you also have an Optimus professional series CD player, VCR, or cassette deck with the OSR mark, you can connect its CONTROL IN/OUT jacks to the receiver so you can control all of your equipment with a single remote control. You can also use the other component's remote control by pointing it at the receiver's front panel. 1. Connect each component to the receiver. 2. Connect the cable supplied with the CD player, VCR, or cassette deck between the receiver's CONTROL OUT jack and the other component's CONTROL IN jack. 3. When you want to control more than one other component using the receiver's remote control, connect CONTROL OUT and CONTROL IN. Connecting a Multi-Room Remote Expander The optional MR-100 (Multi-Room Remote Expander), available by special order through your local Radio Shack store, lets you control your receiver from another room. Connect the MR-100's REMOTE OUT jack to the receiver's MULTIROOM REMOTE IN jack. Installing the Remote Control's Batteries Cautions: Use only fresh batteries of the recommended size and type. Always remove old or weak batteries. They can leak chemicals that can damage electronic circuits. Note: If the TRANSMIT/LEARN indicator does not light when you press a button, batteries are weak. Replace the batteries immediately. When you remove the remote control's batteries, the memory contents are protected for about 15 minutes. Be sure to install new batteries within 15 minutes after you remove the old batteries. The remote control uses two AAA batteries (not included). For the longest battery life, we recommend Radio Shack's alkaline batteries (Cat. No. 23-555). 1. Press and open the battery compartment cover. 2. Place two fresh AAA batteries in the compartment as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ and -) marked in the compartment. 3. Replace the battery compartment cover. 4. Press RESET. Using the AC Power Outlet Caution: Do not connect appliances with high power consumption, such as a heater, iron, monitor, or TV, to this AC outlet. Doing so can cause a risk of overheating and fire, and could damage the receiver. The Receiver has an AC power outlet you can use to power an electronic device such as a turntable, cassette deck, VCR, and so on. This SWITCHED outlet turns on and off with the receiver and provides a maximum of 100 Watts. Connecting to AC Power Warning: To prevent electric shock, do not use this polarized plug with an extension cord, receptacle, or other outlet unless you can fully insert the blades to prevent blade exposure. Before you plug in the receiver's power cord, double check all other connections. To power the receiver, plug the supplied power cord into the receiver's AC INLET and plug the other end into a standard AC outlet. The power cord's plug is polarized and fits only one way. (br/all-02/22//95)