Harman/Kardon SB 16 Home Cinema Soundbar System: The Harman/Kardon SB
16 Home Cinema Soundbar System offers an elegant and simpler alternative to your
typical 5.1ch home theater speaker system. Not every room can accommodate 5
speakers + a subwoofer; and not everyone wants to deal with hooking up rear
surround speakers. The Harman/Kardon SB 16 is a two-piece home theater system
with a single amplified loudspeaker unit that connects directly to your TV,
Sat/Cable box, or Blu-ray player & a single wireless powered subwoofer that can
be placed anywhere in your room. The SB 16 Home Cinema Soundbar System delivers
true Harman/Kardon sound, whether you are listening to music or watching a
movie.
2.1ch Soundbar System
Controls
Connections
Mounting Options
2.1ch Soundbar System
Active Soundbar: The Harman/Kardon SB 16
active soundbar speaker houses left & right 2-way speaker modules with a
built-in amplifier. The
soundbar
includes 2-way, dual-driver left & right speaker modules, each with two 3"
midrange drivers and a 3/4" dome-tweeter. The active soundbar is powered by a
25W x 2ch amplifier (8-ohms, 20-20kHz, 0.07% THD). Thanks
to digital signal processing (DSP) with virtual 3D surround circuitry, the
soundbar works in tandem with the included wireless powered subwoofer to provide
a complete surround-sound experience. The SB 16 soundbar speaker is designed to
fit elegantly alongside your flat-panel TV and is magnetically shielded. The H/K
SB 16 simply plugs into your TV, Sat/Cable box, or Blu-ray player with a single
analog or digital cable.
Note: The active soundbar speaker will
need to be plugged into an AC wall outlet.
Wireless Powered Subwoofer: The SB 16's
wireless powered subwoofer offers you simplicity in terms of hookup &
flexibility in terms of placement. The powered subwoofer receives its signal
from the soundbar speaker via wireless technology, so you can place it anywhere
in your room without having to run any wires. With a 10" magnetically-shielded woofer and
built-in 100W amplifier, the wireless powered subwoofer delivers powerful bass
performance when combined with the system's soundbar speaker. And thanks to a
bass-reflex enclosure (with rear-firing port), you can also expect more realistic bass
performance and higher bass output, since the subwoofer fires downward against
the floor instead of against surrounding walls.
Note: The wireless powered subwoofer
will need to be plugged into an AC wall outlet.
3D Virtual Surround Processing: The Harman/Kardon SB 16 provides a rich,
full-bodied theatrical experience with only two speakers (soundbar & subwoofer).
The SB 16 produces a 3D virtual surround-sound experience for anyone sitting in
front of the soundbar speaker system, without the need for extra rear surround
speakers.
Note: To get the best audio performance
out of the SB 16 system, it's recommended that you switch off the sound
coming from your TV's loudspeakers.
Two-Channel Stereo Mode: The two-channel stereo
mode is designed for traditional stereo playback when listening to your music or
news programs.
Controls
Soundbar Controls: The following controls are found on the active
soundbar speaker.
- Input Select: This button switches between the analog (source 1)
and digital (source 2) inputs of the soundbar speaker system.
- Volume Up/Down: The Volume Up/Down buttons on the soundbar
speaker controls the system's overall volume.
- EQ Switch: The EQ switch lets you adjust the soundbar's bass for wall mounting or
table-top mounting to deliver the most natural-sounding bass performance with any
installation.
- Trim Switch: The Trim switch lets you adjust the soundbar's input sensitivity so
that it will work with a variety of TVs with different audio-signal output
levels.
Subwoofer Controls: The following controls are found on the wireless
powered subwoofer.
- Subwoofer Level: Use this control to balance the subwoofer's
volume with that of the soundbar. Turn the knob clockwise to increase the
subwoofer's volume; turn it counterclockwise to decrease the subwoofer's
volume
- Low Pass Crossover: This knob adjusts the subwoofer's crossover
between 50Hz and 150Hz. The higher you set the Crossover knob, the higher in
frequency the subwoofer will operate and the more its bass will "overlap"
that of the soundbar. This adjustment helps achieve a smooth transition of
bass frequencies between the subwoofer and the soundbar for a variety of
different rooms and subwoofer locations.
- Phase
Switch: This switch determines whether the subwoofer driver's
piston-like action moves in and out in phase with the speakers in the
soundbar. If the subwoofer were to play out of phase with the soundbar
speakers, the sound waves from the soundbar could cancel out some of the
sound waves from the subwoofers, reducing bass performance and sonic impact.
This phenomenon depends in part on the placement of the subwoofer and
soundbar relative to each other in the room
Auto Turn-On/Off: Auto Turn-On/Off Circuitry automatically switches the
SB 16 soundbar speaker system on when an audio signal is present, and off when
there is no audio signal.
- Soundbar: The soundbar has a signal detector that will
automatically turn the unit on when it senses an audio signal at any of its
inputs. To minimize power consumption, the signal detector is not activated
unless the soundbar first senses any kind of IR remote signal. The
soundbar will automatically enter the Standby mode if no audio signal is
detected at any of its Source input connections for approximately 15
minutes. If you have programmed the soundbar to respond to your TV remote's
on and off commands, you can manually put the soundbar into the Standby
mode.
- Subwoofer: The subwoofer will automatically turn itself on when
it receives an audio signal, and it will return to the Standby mode when it
has received no audio signal for 15 minutes. The subwoofer's LED will turn
blue when the subwoofer is on, and will turn amber when the subwoofer is in
Standby.
Wireless Code Switch: There is a Wireless Code switch on the
rear-panel of the soundbar and subwoofer. The Wireless Code switches let you
select between 4 different channels for the wireless subwoofer signal and the
soundbar. The wireless codes (1-4) need to be the same on the soundbar and
subwoofer.
TV Remote Control Compatible: You can program the soundbar
so it will respond to your TV remote's power off, mute, volume up/down, and
source commands. This programming lets you control your whole home theater
system with a single remote.
Connections
Analog Audio Inputs: Use the supplied stereo audio cable to connect
the soundbar's Source 1 (analog) input to your TV's stereo audio output. If your
TV has two sets of audio output jacks, use the set that has a fixed (not
variable) output level. This will let you turn your TV's speakers all the way
off while the TV still supplies a constant audio signal to the soundbar.
Digital Audio Inputs: If your TV, Sat/Cable box, or Blu-ray player
have coaxial or optical digital outputs, you can use the supplied optical
digital audio cable or an optional coaxial digital audio cable to connect
them to the soundbar's Optical (toslink) and Coaxial (RCA) digital inputs.
Mounting Options
Soundbar Placement: The active soundbar speaker can be placed on a
table-top or wall mounted.
- Table-Top Mounting: If your TV is placed on a table, you can
place the soundbar on the table directly in front of the TV stand, centered
with the TV screen. Attach the supplied rubber feet to the soundbar to
protect your furniture.
- Wall-Mounting: If your TV is attached to a wall, you can use the
included wall-mount brackets to mount the soundbar on the wall directly
below the TV screen. There are two different pair of wall-brackets supplied.
One pair is to be used when connecting the soundbar via Stereo RCA or
coaxial digital, and the other pair is to be used when connect the soundbar
via optical digital.
Subwoofer Placement: Since the human ear does not hear directional
sound at the low frequencies where the subwoofer operates, it will perform well
from just about any location in your room. However, the strongest bass
reproduction is likely to be heard when the subwoofer is placed in a corner
along the same wall as the soundbar.
Note: The maximum wireless operating distance between the soundbar
and subwoofer is approximately 50'.
