HKS 4 Surround Loudspeakers
OWNER’S MANUAL
®
Power for the Digital Revolution
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Introduction
Harman Kardon invented the high-fidelity receiv-
er fifty years ago. With state-of-the-art features
and time-honored circuit designs, the HKS 4 is a
perfect complement to a Harman Kardon receiv-
er or any home theater system.
Introduction
Included
Thank you for purchasing the Harman Kardon
HKS 4, with which you’re about to begin many
years of listening enjoyment. The HKS 4 has
been custom-designed to provide all the excite-
ment and power of the cinema experience in
your own living room.
I Matched Pair of Loudspeakers for Use
in Multichannel Applications
I Speakers Are Magnetically Shielded
for Flexible Placement Near Video
Monitors
The HKS 4 loudspeakers are suitable for upgrad-
ing almost any 5.1 home theater system to 7.1
channels when used with a 7.1-channel receiver
or processor and any necessary additional ampli-
fiers.
Two satellites for left, right and surrounds
(shown with included shelf stands attached)
I Dual Three-Inch Driver
I One-3/4-Inch Balanced-Dome Tweeter
I Metal-Wire-Mesh Grille
I Elegant Cabinet
To obtain maximum enjoyment from your new
speakers, we urge you to take a few minutes to
read through this manual. This will ensure that
connections to your receiver or preamp/proces-
sor and amplifier or other external devices are
made properly. In addition, a few minutes spent
learning the functions of understanding the
setup options will enable you to take advantage
of all the power and refinement the HKS 4 is
able to deliver.
I Shelf Stands, Wall-Mount Brackets and
Color-Coded Speaker Cables Are
Included
I May Be Used With Optional Floor
Stands
Two wall-mount brackets
If you have any questions about this product, its
installation or operation, please contact your
dealer, the best local source of information.
Description and Features
The HKS 4 is a pair of 2-way satellite speakers
for use in a home theater system. The HKS 4
speakers are identical to the satellites in the
Harman Kardon HKTS 11 system, and are
designed to be used with the HKTS 11 in a com-
plete 7.1-channel home theater. Color-coded
speaker cables are included to facilitate
installing the speakers in the surround back left
and right positions.
Two 12-meter speaker cables for connection
from receiver to speakers.
Shelf stands and wall-mount brackets are includ-
ed for the satellite speakers, and optional HTFS 2
floor stands are available separately from your
Harman Kardon dealer.
INTRODUCTION 3
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Speaker Placement
Color-Coding System
Satellites and Surrounds
The HKS 4 and the HKTS 11 use the channel
color-coding system established by the Con-
sumer Electronics Association to make setting up
your home theater speaker system as easy as
possible. Your system includes a set of colored
stickers that may be placed near the speaker ter-
minals of each of the satellite speakers. In addi-
tion, the included speaker wires have colored
bands at each end to assist you in connecting
them correctly. Use the brown sticker and cable
for the Surround Back Left speaker, and the tan
sticker and cable for the Surround Back Right
speaker. Although the wires included with
your HKS 4 speakers are color-coded for the Sur-
round Back Left and Right channels, they are
interchangeable with the wires supplied with the
HKTS 11 system. It doesn’t matter which satel-
lite speaker is used for any of the front or rear
positions. (The center speaker and powered sub-
woofer of the HKTS 11 are already color-coded.)
1,5-1,85m
When Used as Front Speakers
Front speakers should be placed the same dis-
tance from each other as they are from the lis-
tening position. They should be placed at about
the same height from the floor as the listeners’
ears, or they may be angled toward the listeners.
The satellite speakers may be placed on a shelf.
When Used as Surround Speakers
For 5.1-channel applications, the two surround
speakers should be placed slightly behind the lis-
tening position and, ideally, should face each
other and be at a level higher than the listeners’
ears. If that is not possible, they may be placed
on a wall behind the listening position, facing
forward.
In 7.1-channel systems, place the side surround
speakers slightly behind the listening position, as
shown in the diagram to the left. The surround
back speakers should be placed on the rear wall,
facing forward, the same distance apart as the
main front speakers.
They may be wall-mounted using the supplied
brackets.
In 6.1-channel systems, you may use a pair of
HKS 4 speakers for the surround back speakers
in place of a single rear center speaker. Using
two speakers will provide a more diffuse sur-
round effect, and will also increase the total
sound output for the surround back channel
without overworking any individual speaker.
Place the two speakers on the rear wall the
same distance apart as each speaker is from the
listener, but at least four feet apart.
Surround Speakers
The surround back speakers in a 6.1- or 7.1-
channel system should be placed at the same
height as the surround speakers, about 1.5 to
1.8 meter above the floor.
The surround speakers should not call attention
to themselves. Experiment with their placement
until you hear a diffuse, ambient sound accom-
panying the main-program material heard in the
front speakers.
Side Surround Speakers
Surround Back Speakers
(7.1-Channel System)
Surround Back Speakers
(6.1-Channel System)
(place at least 1.2m apart)
4 SPEAKER PLACEMENT
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Mounting Options
The wall-mounted speaker may be pivoted from
side to side; however, the bracket is not
designed to tilt up or down, and attempting to
tilt it will damage the bracket and possibly the
wall, which would not be covered by your war-
ranty.
Wall-Mounting
Wires to Speaker
Unscrew the bolt that attaches the black shelf
stand to the bottom of the speaker. Store the
stand and bolt in a safe place in case they are
needed for a future installation.
Terminal Cover
Wire
From
Wall
Plate
Overhead
View
Wall
The bracket has two openings on top: a round
screw hole, and an arc-shaped opening in front
of it. The speaker cable should be threaded
through the arc-shaped opening, not the screw
hole.
Remove
Stand
23mm
or 3/4"
15mm
Attach the bracket to the wall plate by inserting
the tab at the top of the attachment plate into
the slot on top of the bracket and snapping the
bracket onto the attachment plate.
or 1/2"
(M6–1.25P
or 1/4"–20)
Thread the cable through the round opening in
the terminal cover, and then insert the speaker
wires into the terminals on the underside of the
speaker, remembering to observe the correct
polarity (see page 6).
Place the terminal cover over the opening on the
underside of the speaker so that it fits flush
against the speaker and covers the terminals,
with its round opening exposing the threaded
insert. The bracket fits through the round open-
ing in the terminal cover.
Wall Plate
Mount the wall-bracket attachment plate on the
wall in the desired location.
If possible, position the speakers so that the
mounting screws (not included; use size #8) may
be installed directly into a wooden wall stud.
If that is not possible, use optional wall anchors
that are rated to support at least twenty-five
pounds. The customer is responsible for
proper selection and use of mounting
hardware, available through hardware
stores, to properly and safely wall-mount
the speakers.
Wall Bracket
Referring to the speaker connection instructions
on page 6, thread the appropriate speaker cable
through the opening in the bottom of the
attachment plate, and then through the back of
the bracket as shown in the diagram.
Insert the supplied bracket bolt up through the
bottom of the bracket and terminal cover, and
screw it into the threaded insert on the under-
side of the speaker. The bolt should be snug, but
not so tight as to prevent the bracket from
pivoting.
MOUNTING OPTIONS 5
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Speaker Connections
Although the HKS 4 speakers may be placed in
the front, side surround or surround back posi-
tions, the speaker wires provided with the sys-
tem have been color-coded brown for the sur-
round back left speaker and tan for the surround
back right speaker. When used with the HKTS 11
system, it is recommended that you maintain the
color-coding system for all cables to simplify
setup, and to ensure that each wire in a channel
pair (e.g., front left and right) is the same length
as its partner.
Speaker-Level Connection Guide
Configuring Your Receiver or
Processor
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before making speaker
connections, be certain that your receiver or
audio power amplifier is turned off and prefer-
ably unplugged from its AC power source.
Many receivers and processors feature program-
mable bass-management capability, which
allows the component to output the lowest fre-
quencies (the bass information) exclusively to a
separate subwoofer speaker, or to a main speak-
er that is capable of handling low frequencies, or
sometimes to both. During the setup process you
will be asked to specify whether the speaker for
a given channel is “Large” or “Small.” The terms
“Large” and “Small” do not refer to physical
size, but to the size of the frequency range the
speaker is capable of handling. When configur-
ing your receiver or processor for the channels
where HKS 4 speakers are being used, select
“Small.”
Speakers and electronics terminals have
corresponding (+) and (–) terminals. Most man-
ufacturers of speakers and electronics, including
Harman Kardon, use red to denote the (+)
terminal and black for the (–) terminal.
The (+) lead of the speaker wire is indicated
with a stripe and has the colored band
corresponding to the speaker’s position. It is
important to connect all speakers identically: (+)
on the speaker to (+) on the amplifier and (–) on
the speaker to (–) on the amplifier. Wiring “out
of phase” results in thin sound, weak bass and a
poor stereo image.
With the advent of multichannel surround-sound
systems, connecting all of the speakers in your
system with the correct polarity remains equally
important in order to preserve the proper
ambience and directionality of the program
material.
Newer Harman Kardon receivers conform to the
CEA standard and therefore use a color other
than red or black for the (+) terminal to indicate
some speaker positions: e.g., blue for surround
left positive (+). However, the black terminal will
always be the negative (–) connection. Please
see the owner’s guide for your AVR Series receiv-
er for further details.
To connect the supplied speaker wires to the
satellite speaker terminals located on the bottom
of each speaker, press the red or black tab, insert
the bare end of the wire into the hole, and
release the tab. Gently tug on the wire to make
sure that it is fully inserted.
Left Speaker
Right Speaker
+
–
+
–
Left
Right
–
+
–
+
Front-, Surround- or Surround Back-Channel
Receiver/Amplifier Output
6 SPEAKER CONNECTIONS
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Troubleshooting
If there is no sound from
any of the speakers:
• Check that receiver/amplifier is on and a source is playing.
• Check all wires and connections between receiver/amplifier and speakers. Make sure all wires
are connected. Make sure none of the speaker wires are frayed, cut or punctured.
• Review proper operation of your receiver/amplifier.
If there is no sound coming
from one speaker:
• Check the “Balance” control on your receiver/amplifier.
• Check all wires and connections between receiver/ amplifier and speakers. Make sure all wires are
connected. Make sure none of the speaker wires are frayed, cut or punctured.
• In Dolby Digital or DTS® modes, make sure that the receiver/processor is configured so that the
speaker in question is enabled.
• In Dolby Digital or DTS mode, check the speaker and channel output levels and adjust if needed.
• Turn off all electronics and switch the speaker in question with one of the other speakers that
is working correctly. Turn everything back on, and determine whether the problem is in the
same place: i.e., the speaker that was working previously now has no sound and the speaker
that was not working now sounds fine; or whether it has moved: i.e., the speaker that was
not working still has no sound and the speaker that was working is still fine. If the problem is in
the same place, the source of the problem is most likely with your receiver or amplifier, and you
should consult the owner’s manual for that product for further information. If the problem has
followed the speaker, consult your dealer for further assistance or, if that is not possible,
If the system plays at low volumes
but shuts off as volume is
increased:
• Check all wires and connections between receiver/ amplifier and speakers.
Make sure all wires are connected.
Make sure none of the speaker wires are frayed, cut or punctured.
• If more than one pair of main speakers is being used, check the minimum impedance
requirements of your receiver/amplifier.
If there is low (or no) bass
output:
• Make sure the connections to the left and right “Speaker Inputs” have the correct polarity (+ and –).
• Consider adding a powered subwoofer to your system.
If there is no sound from the
surround speakers:
• Check all wires and connections between receiver/ amplifier and speakers.
Make sure all wires are connected. Make sure none of the speaker wires are frayed,
cut or punctured.
• Review proper operation of your receiver/amplifier and its surround-sound features.
• Make sure the movie or TV show you are watching is recorded in a surround-sound mode.
If it is not, check to see if your receiver/ amplifier has other surround modes you may use.
• In Dolby Digital or DTS® modes, make sure your receiver/processor is configured so that the
surround speakers are enabled.
• Review the operation of your DVD player and the jacket of your DVD to make sure that the
DVD features the desired Dolby Digital or DTS® mode, and that you have properly selected that
mode using both the DVD player’s menu and the DVD disc’s menu.
TROUBLESHOOTING 7
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Specifications
Satellites
Recommended Power
10 – 120 Watts
Impedance
8 Ohms nominal
Frequency Response
105Hz – 20kHz (–6dB)
Sensitivity
86dB @ 1 Watt/1 meter
Tweeter
One 3/4" dome, video-shielded
Midrange
Dual 3" driver, video-shielded
Dimensions (H x W x D)
243mm x 100mm x 92mm
Weight
1.2kg
All features and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Harman Kardon and Power for the Digital Revolution are registered trademarks
of Harman International Industries, Incorporated.
* Trademarks of Dolby Laboratories.
DTS is a registered trademark of Digital Theater Systems, Inc.
250 Crossways Park Drive, Woodbury, New York 11797
Harman Consumer International:
2, Route de Tours, 72500 Château-du-Loir, France
© 2004 Harman Kardon, Incorporated
Part 406-000-05025
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