Harman Kardon Allows Your Music to
Follow You Anywhere At Home.
It all began with the simple speaker A/B switch. After all, if you could have
speakers in one room, why not extend the sound to another room, or perhaps
even to the backyard? It was a great idea, but one with limited flexibility because it
didn’t allow for using a different source, or for controlling the volume, in a second
location. At the other end of the spectrum, complex multizone/multiroom systems
have been developed to provide complete “whole house” audio, but are often
expensive and complex to install.
Looking for the best way to deliver audio throughout the home, Harman Kardon realized that there was no single
method that worked in all situations. As a result, Harman Kardon created an array of options that allows customers
to select the solution that suits them best. Whether the home calls for a large-scale system covering many rooms
or a single set of speakers in another location, or whether the customer is installing the system on his or her own
or having someone else do it, Harman Kardon delivers sound with the quality you expect, at a range of price
and power options.
In considering the ways in which sound is distributed throughout a home, it is important to first understand some
of the terms used to describe installation technologies and components.
■
The
“main room”
is the prime listening area in the home, and it’s almost always the place where the equipment
providing source playback, control and amplification is located. In today’s digital entertainment world, the playback
in this room is usually multichannel, though it may be stereo as well; sources may be digital or analog.
■
A
“zone”
is an area that receives the same source, which is typically, but not always, different from the program
material that is being played in the main room. A zone may be one room or many, and while the source is the
same in all rooms, the volume level may be different, depending on the system used.
■
A
“room”
is a subdivision of a zone that has the capability of setting a different volume level than another room
in the zone. A zone may have one room, or it may have many. For example, if the zone is a pair of outdoor
speakers on the patio, the zone and the room are the same, with the same source and volume control. However,
if the zone is a master suite, the bedroom may be one room and the bath or dressing area another. All rooms
receive the same source, but some may have different volume levels. Indeed, not all rooms in a zone need to be
active at the same time.
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