4-247-583-12(1) Home Theater System GB Operating Instructions FR ES HT-SL55 HT-SL50 HT-SL40 © 2003 Sony Corporation GB01COV_HT-SL55.
WARNING To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose the unit to rain or moisture. To prevent fire, do not cover the ventilation of the apparatus with newspapers, table-cloths, curtains, etc. And don’t place lighted candles on the apparatus. To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not place objects filled with liquids, such as vases, on the apparatus. Don’t throw away the battery with general house waste, dispose of it correctly as chemical waste.
Table of Contents List of Button Location and Reference Pages Receiving Broadcasts Storing FM stations automatically (AUTOBETICAL)1) ...................... 26 Direct tuning ........................................ 26 Automatic tuning ................................. 27 Preset tuning ........................................ 27 Using the Radio Data System (RDS)1) ... 28 Main unit ............................................... 5 Hooking Up the Components Required cords ....................................
About This Manual About area codes The instruction in this manual are for models HT-SL55, HT-SL50 and HT-SL40. Check your model number by looking at the lower right corner of the front panel. In this manual, the HT-SL50 is used for illustration purposes unless stated other wise. Any difference in operation is clearly indicated in the text, for example, “HT-SL50 only”. The area code of the receiver you purchased is shown on the lower portion of the rear panel (see the illustration below).
List of Button Locations and Reference Pages Illustration number r Use this page to find the location of buttons that are mentioned in the text.
Hooking Up the Components Required cords The following optional connection cords A – E are required when you hook up the components (pages 8 – 9). A Audio cord (not supplied) White (L) Red (R) B Audio/Video cord (not supplied) Yellow (video) White (L/audio) Red (R/audio) C Video cord (not supplied) Yellow D Optical digital cord (not supplied) E Coaxial digital cord (supplied) Orange Before you get started • Turn off the power to all components before making any connections.
Antenna hookups AM loop antenna (supplied) ANTENNA FM 75Ω COAXIAL U L SUB WOOFER AM OPT IN COAX IN IN DIGITAL OPT IN AUDIO L IN R DVD TV/SAT TV/SAT VIDEO IN IN IN OUT R DVD VIDEO OUT DVD VIDEO MONITOR Hooking Up the Components FM wire antenna (supplied) Notes on antenna hookups • To prevent noise pickup, keep the AM loop antenna away from the receiver and other components. • Be sure to fully extend the FM wire antenna.
Video component hookups DVD player TV monitor VIDEO OUT L INPUT AUDIO OUT VIDEO IN R OUTPUT C B ANTENNA FM 75Ω COAXIAL U L OPT IN COAX IN IN IN R DVD TV/SAT TV/SAT VIDEO SUB WOOFER AM DIGITAL OPT IN AUDIO L IN IN IN OUT R DVD VIDEO OUT DVD VIDEO MONITOR A B L VIDEO OUT AUDIO OUT L R AUDIO OUT OUTPUT R OUTPUT Satellite tuner VCR 8GB GB03HOO_HT-SL55.
Digital component hookups DVD player VIDEO OUT L AUDIO OUT R OPTICAL COAXIAL OUTPUT OUTPUT D* E* B ANTENNA Hooking Up the Components Connect the digital output jacks of your DVD player and satellite tuner (etc.) to the receiver’s digital input jacks to bring the multi channel surround sound of a movie theater into your home. To fully enjoy multi channel surround sound, five speakers (two front speakers, two surround speakers, and a center speaker) and a sub woofer are required.
Other hookups FRONT R – + CENTER – + FRONT L – + SPEAKERS IMPEDANCE USE 8–16Ω AC power cord + – SURR R + – SURR L b To a wall outlet Connecting the AC power cord Before connecting the AC power cord of this receiver to a wall outlet, connect the speaker system to the receiver (see page 11). Connect the AC power cord(s) of your audio/ video components to a wall outlet. 10GB GB03HOO_HT-SL55.
Hooking Up and Setting Up the Speaker System Speaker system hookups Before connecting speakers, be sure to turn off this unit. Required cords B Monaural audio cord (supplied) The connector and the colour tube of the speaker cords are the same colour as the speaker terminal to be connected.
Speaker system hookups (continued) To avoid short-circuiting the speakers To change the speaker cord Short-circuiting of the speakers may damage the receiver. To prevent this, make sure to take the following precautions when connecting the speakers. If you want to change the speaker cord, you can detach the supplied speaker cord from the connector. 1 Press the connector onto a flat surface. Make sure that the catcher is at the bottom. catcher 2 Pull the speaker cord from the connector.
After connecting all the components, speakers, and AC power cord, output a test tone to check that all the speakers are connected correctly. For details on outputting a test tone, see page 18. To avoid damaging your speakers Make sure that you turn down the volume before you turn off the receiver. When you turn on the receiver, the volume remains at the level you turn off the receiver.
Multi channel surround setup For the best possible surround sound, all speakers should be the same distance from the listening position (A). However, the receiver lets you to place the center speaker up to 1.5 meters closer (B) and the surround speakers up to 4.5 meters closer (C) to the listening position. The front speakers can be placed from 1.0 to 7.0 meters from the listening position (A). You can place the surround speakers either behind you or to the side, depending on the shape of your room (etc.).
Specifying the speaker parameters 1 Press MAIN MENU repeatedly to select the “ SET UP ”. 2 Press V or v to select the parameter 3 Press B or b to select the setting you SL SR DIST. X.X m) want. Tip The setting is entered automatically. The receiver allows you to input the speaker position in terms of distance. However, it is not possible to set the center speaker further than the front speakers. Also, the center speaker cannot be set more than 1.5 meters closer than the front speakers.
Multi channel surround setup (continued) x Surround speaker placement ( SL SR PL. XXXX)* This parameter lets you specify the height of your surround speakers for proper implementation of the Digital Cinema Sound surround modes. Refer to the illustration below. • Select “PL. LOW” if the location of your surround speakers corresponds to section A. • Select “PL. HIGH” if the location of your surround speakers corresponds to section B.
R x Front speaker size ( L XXXXX) • If you connect large speakers that will effectively reproduce bass frequencies, select “LARGE”. Normally select “LARGE”. • When the front speakers are set to “SMALL”, the center and surround speakers are also automatically set to “SMALL” (unless previously set to “NO”). • When the sub woofer is set to “NO”, the front speakers are automatically set to “LARGE” and you cannot change the setting.
Multi channel surround setup (continued) Listening to the sub woofer Adjusting the speaker level POWER Use the remote while seated in your listening position to adjust the level of each speaker. Note The receiver incorporates a new test tone with a frequency centered at 800 Hz for easier speaker level adjustment. 1 Press ?/1 to turn on the receiver. 2 Press TEST TONE. “T. TONE” appears in the display and you will hear the test tone from each speaker in sequence.
Basic Operations Checking the connections After connecting all of your components to the receiver, do the following to verify that the connections were made correctly. 1 Press ?/1 to turn on the receiver. 2 Turn on the component that you connected (e.g., DVD player or VCR). INPUT SELECTOR Press INPUT SELECTOR repeatedly to select the component you want to use. To select Display/light up VCR VIDEO DVD player DVD Satellite tuner TV/SAT 4 Start playing.
Enjoying Surround Sound You can take advantage of surround sound simply by selecting one of the receiver’s preprogrammed sound fields. They bring the exciting and powerful sound of movie theaters and concert halls into your home. You can also customize the sound fields to obtain the sound you want by changing the surround parameter. To fully enjoy surround sound, you must register the number and location of your speakers.
Selecting a sound field You can enjoy surround sound simply by selecting one of the pre-programmed sound fields according to the program you want to listen to. Using only the front speakers (2 Channels Stereo) Press SOUND FIELD +/– repeatedly to select “2CH ST.”. Notes • No sound is output from the sub woofer when “2CH ST.” is selected. To listen to 2 channel (stereo) sources using the front left and right speakers and a sub woofer, press A.F.D. to select “A.F.D. AUTO”.
Selecting a sound field (continued) x HALL Reproduces the acoustics of a rectangular concert hall. About Cinema Studio EX Cinema Studio EX consists of the following three elements. x JAZZ (Jazz Club) • Virtual Multi Dimension x CONCERT (Live Concert) Creates 5 sets of virtual speakers surrounding the listener from a single pair of actual surround speakers. • Screen Depth Matching In a movie theater, sound seems to come from inside the image reflected on the movie screen.
Understanding the multi channel surround displays 1 2 3 DIGITAL DTS SW L PRO LOGIC II LFE SL 0 4 C S 5 ST MEMORY MONO D.RANGE RDS OPT COAX R SR 9 8 76 6 D.RANGE: Lights up when dynamic range compression is activated. See page 24 to adjust the dynamic range compression. 2 DTS: Lights up when DTS signals are input. 7 COAX: Lights up when the source signal is a digital signal being input through the COAX terminal.
Customizing sound fields By adjusting the surround parameters and the tone characteristics of the front speakers, you can customize the sound fields to suit your particular listening situation. Once you customize a sound field, the changes are stored in the memory indefinitely. You can change a customized sound field any time by making new adjustments to the parameters. See the tables on back page for the parameters available in each sound field.
Dynamic range compressor ( D. RANGE COMP. XXX) Initial settings Parameter Initial setting Lets you compress the dynamic range of the sound track. This may be useful when you want to watch movies at low volumes late at night. We recommend using the “MAX” setting. BASS XX dB 0 dB TREB. XX dB 0 dB • To reproduce the sound track with no compression, select “OFF”. Lets you adjust the bass tone. • To reproduce the sound track with the dynamic range intended by the recording engineer, select “STD”.
Receiving Broadcasts Notes Before receiving broadcasts, make sure you have connected FM and AM antennas to the receiver (see page 7). Storing FM stations automatically (AUTOBETICAL) • Do not press any button on the receiver or supplied remote during autobetical operation. • If you move to another area, repeat this procedure to store stations in your new area. • For details on tuning the stored stations, see page 28.
Tips • If you do not remember the precise frequency, press TUNING + or TUNING – after entering the value close to the frequency you want. The receiver automatically tunes in the station you want. If the frequency seems to be higher than the entered value, press TUNING +, and if the frequency seems to be lower than the entered value, press TUNING –. • If “STEREO” flashes in the display and the FM stereo reception is poor, press FM MODE to change to monaural (MONO).
Preset tuning (continued) 5 Press MEMORY again to store the Using the Radio Data System (RDS) station. If “MEMORY” goes out before you can store the station, start again from step 3. 6 Repeat steps 2 to 5 to preset another station. To change a preset number to another station Do steps 1 to 5 to preset a new station to the number. Tuning to preset stations You can tune the preset stations by either of the following two ways. Scanning the preset stations 1 Press TUNER.
Displaying RDS information Program type indication Description While receiving an RDS station, press DISPLAY.
Other Operations Using the Sleep Timer You can set the receiver to turn off automatically at a specified time. After pressing ALT (page 35), press SLEEP while the power is on. Each time you press the button, the display changes cyclically as follows: 2-00-00 t 1-30-00 t 1-00-00 t 0-30-00 t OFF The display dim after you have specified the time. Tip To check the remaining time before the receiver turns off, press ALT, then press SLEEP. The remaining time appears in the display.
x Audio input mode for TV/SAT function (TV-XXXX) Lets you select the audio input mode for TV/SAT function. • “AUTO” gives priority to digital signals, when there are both digital and analog connections. If there are no digital signals, analog is selected. • “OPT” specifies the digital audio signals input to the DIGITAL TV/SAT OPT IN jacks. • “ANLG” specifies the analog audio signals input to the TV/SAT IN (L/R) jacks. x Decode priority (DEC.
Operation using the Remote RM-U40 You can use the remote to operate the components in your system. Remote button description Before you use your remote TV ?/1 ?/1 AV ?/1 SYSTEM STANDBY SLEEP VIDEO Inserting batteries into the remote DVD SAT TV AUX TUNER A.F.D. AAC BI-LING SOUND FM MODE D.TUNING FIELD 1 Insert R6 (size-AA) batteries with the + and – properly oriented in the battery compartment. When using the remote, point it at the remote sensor on the receiver.
Remote Button Operations Function Remote Button SOUND Receiver FIELD +/– Selects sound fields. TEST TONE Receiver Press to output test tone. A.F.D. Receiver VIDEO Receiver To watch VCR. DVD Receiver To watch DVD. TV Receiver To watch TV programs. SAT Receiver To watch satellite tuner. TUNER Receiver To listen to radio programs. AUX Receiver To listen to an audio equipment.
Remote button description (continued) Remote Button Operations Function TIME CD player/ DVD player Shows the time or displays the playing time of disc, etc. Receiver Scans and selects preset stations. PRESET/ CH/ D.SKIP +/– TV/VCR/ satellite tuner CD player/ DVD player Selects preset channels. Skips discs (multi-disc changer only). ENTER/12 TV/VCR/ satellite tuner After selecting a channel, disc or track using the numeric buttons, press to enter the value.
Remote Button Operations Function Remote Button Operations Function SEARCH DVD player MODE Select searching mode. Press to select the unit for search (track, index, etc.) ALT Remote TOP MENU/ DVD player Displays DVD title. Change remote key function to activate those buttons with orange printing. GUIDE Satellite tuner Displays guide menu. TV ?/1 TV Turns the TV on or off. -/-- TV Selects the channel entry mode, either one or two digit. TV VOL +/– TV Adjust the volume of the TV.
Changing the factory setting of an input selector button If the factory settings of the input selector buttons do not match your system components, you can change them. For example, if you have a CD player and you do not have a DVD player, you can assign the DVD button to your CD player. To reset a button to its factory setting Repeat the above procedure. To reset all the input selector buttons to their factory setting Press ?/1, AV ?/1 and MASTER VOL – at the same time.
Additional Information If you encounter color irregularity on a nearby TV screen Precautions On safety Should any solid object or liquid fall into the cabinet, unplug the receiver and have it checked by qualified personnel before operating it any further. On power sources • Before operating the unit, check that the operating voltage is identical with your local power supply. The operating voltage is indicated on the nameplate at the rear of the receiver.
Troubleshooting (continued) There is no sound from a specific component. • Check that the component is connected correctly to the audio input jacks for that component. • Check that the cord(s) used for the connection is (are) fully inserted into the jacks on both the receiver and the component. • Check that you have selected the correct component on the receiver. There is no sound from one of the front speakers.
Radio stations cannot be tuned in. • Check that the antennas are connected securely. Adjust the antennas and connect an external antenna if necessary. • The signal strength of the stations is too weak (when tuning in with automatic tuning). Use Direct tuning. • No stations have been preset or the preset stations have been cleared (when tuning by scanning preset stations). Preset the stations (see page 27). RDS does not work.* • Make sure that you’re tuned to an FM RDS station.
Inputs (Digital) DVD (Coaxial) Specifications Sensitivity: – Impedance: 75 ohms S/N: 100 dB (A, 20 kHz LPF) Amplifier section POWER OUTPUT Models of area code CEL,CEK Rated Power Output at Stereo Mode (8 ohms 1 kHz, THD 0.7 %) 25 W + 25 W2) Reference Power Output2) (8 ohms 1 kHz, THD 10 %) FRONT1): 35 W/ch CENTER1): 35 W SURR1): 35 W/ch Models of other area code Rated Power Output at Stereo Mode (8 ohms 1 kHz, THD 0.
AM tuner section Speaker Section Tuning range Models of area code CEL, CEK, SP With 9-kHz tuning scale: 531 – 1602 kHz For HT-SL55 only • SS-MSP55 for front and surround speakers • SS-CNP55 for center speaker For HT-SL50 and HT-SL40 only • SS-MSP50 for front and surround speakers • SS-CNP50 for center speaker Antenna Loop antenna Intermediate frequency 450 kHz Speaker system Usable sensitivity 50 dB/m (at 999 kHz) S/N 54 dB (at 50 mV/m) Harmonic distortion 0.
Specifications (continued) Power consumption SA-WMSP50 SA-WMSP40 Sub woofer • SA-WMSP50 for HT-SL55 and HT-SL50 only • SA-WMSP40 for HT-SL40 only Speaker system Active subwoofer, magnetically shielded Dimensions (w/h/d) Speaker unit Woofer: 20 cm cone type Enclosure type Acoustically Loaded Bass Reflex Continuous RMS power output (6 ohms, 20 – 250 Hz) SA-WMSP50 100 W SA-WMSP40 75 W Reproduction frequency range 28 Hz – 200 Hz High frequency cut-off frequency 150 Hz Input LINE IN (input pin jack) Po
Tables of settings using MAIN MENU button You can make various settings using the MAIN MENU button and V/v/B/b button. The tables below show each of the settings that these buttons can make. Press MAIN MENU Press V or v to select repeatedly to select Press B or b to select Page L +8 to R +8 (1 steps) 24 L R BAL. L/R XX CTR XXX dB –10 dB to +10 dB (1 dB steps) SUR.L. XXX dB –10 dB to +10 dB (1 dB steps) SUR.R. XXX dB –10 dB to +10 dB (1 dB steps) S.W. XXX dB D.
Adjustable parameters for each sound field The adjusted BASS and TREB. parameters are applied to all sound field. < TONE > BASS TREB. 2CH ST. z z A.F.D. AUTO z z DOLBY PL z z PLII MOV z z PLII MUS z z C.ST.EX A z z C.ST.EX B z z C.ST.EX C z z HALL z z JAZZ z z CONCERT z z PCM 96K1) The adjusted LEVEL parameters are applied to all the sound fields except for EFCT. parameter. For EFCT. parameter the settings are stored individually for each sound field.