HKTS 5 - Harman Kardon Audio Service Manual (repair manual). Page 7

HKTS 5

6

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before making speaker connections, be certain that your receiver or 

audio power amplifier is turned off and preferably unplugged from its AC power source. 

Do not connect the HKTS 160SUB subwoofer to an AC power source until you have made 

all speaker-wire connections.
Speakers and other electronics have corresponding (+) and (–) 

terminals. Most makers of electronics, including harman kardon 

engineers, use red to denote the (+) terminal and black for the 

(–) terminal.
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., surround left.
Although the HKTS 5 system has red and black collars on the individual speaker terminals 

to denote the positive and negative connections, your system includes a colored band on 

the positive lead at both ends of every speaker cable and a matching colored sticker for 

each of the four satellite speakers, conforming to the key on page 4. The center speaker 

has a green (+) terminal, and the subwoofer has a purple SUB input jack. This system is 

intended to help you ensure that the speaker in each location is connected to the correct 

terminals on your receiver or amplifier.
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.
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 sound.
To connect the supplied speaker wires to the satellite and center 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.

Speaker Connections

Use the LFE (purple) connector to connect the HKTS 160SUB’s Line-Level LFE In 

connector to the dedicated subwoofer output (or LFE output) of your receiver or preamp/

processor. If the receiver or preamp/processor has a low-pass filter on the subwoofer 

output, set the subwoofer's Crossover Control to maximum (150 Hz).
Connect each satellite speaker and the center speaker to the corresponding speaker 

terminals on your receiver or amplifier.

In your receiver or preamp/processor’s setup menu, configure the receiver or preamp/

processor for “Subwoofer ON,” and set the front, center and surround speakers to 

“Small.” After you have made and verified all connections, plug the HKTS 160SUB’s AC 

Power cord into an active AC outlet.

Front Left Speaker Cable 

(White Bands)

Center Speaker Cable 

(Green Bands)

Front Right Speaker Cable 

(Red Bands)

LFE Cable 

(Purple Ends)

Surround Right Speaker Cable 

(Gray Bands)

Surround Left Speaker Cable 

(Blue Bands)