The cheapest way of connecting a subwoofer to a TV?

RoyMi6

RoyMi6

RoyMi6

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Thinking I might add one of my subs to my TV as it's currently just sitting in storage waiting on another project to be completed.

It's a XXLS400-DF, so built in amp as expected, and I'm just wondering what's the cheapest, makeshift, way I can get this working with my TV in the living room?

I've got literally not other sound equipment (i.e. no receiver or sound bar) and so the only output I think I can use is the Toslink connection.

I use a FireTV stick to watch everything so technically there's a HDMI cable going from that to the TV, but because I'm thinking of not having speakers and just "adding" a sub not sure about the best think that could work for me there...

If I use the Toslink optical out to some kind of phono splitter dooda, am I still going to get sound from my TV speakers?

I'm really just planning on doing this temporarily for the odd action movie before my other project is finished so just looking for something cheap and cheerful to get it up and running.

Thanks in advance!
Roy
 
Your plan of using Optical isn't going to work.

Optical is a fixed level audio signal. It doesn't change with the volume control. It stays one loudness even when the TV is mute. Buggering about splitting/converting optical to a line-level analogue audio signal for the sub is still going to present you with the same problem. The signal will always be on L O U D and there'll be nothing you can change on the TV that will alter the fact.

The closest you're going to get is to use the headphone out socket if the TV has it. If you're very lucky and own the right Sony flatscreen then there's a menu setting that can change the headphone out signal to become a subwoofer out signal. There's no real magic here. All it does is make sure the analogue signal is mono and that it tracks with the TV speaker volume.

Any other brand of TV I've seen has a separate level control buried in the sub menus to do the headphone volume. That's a P.I.T.A. It means doing two volume controls; one for the TV speakers and one for the sub. That's going to get real old real fast.

However you cook this it comes out the same. Even if you solve getting a signal to the sub, you still have to control the level and make it track with the TV speakers. There is no answer other than the special Sony TV feature or getting a sound bar or amp & speaker kit with a subwoofer line out socket.
 
Yeah, I mean, obviously these are all issues if I was doing it long term, but really I'm planning on messing around for the odd movie over the next 2 months - so it's not a massive deal walking across the room and spending 30 seconds dialling in both to sound OK.

Buying an AVR isn't out of the question, but I don't have room for speakers. If I could still get audio out of the TV then that would be fine, but I'm hoping to keep costs down to like £50.

Again, this is purely an academic exercise with no intention of being run long term - just looking to mess around with some spare hardware I've got that's sitting doing nothing
 
RoyMi6 said:
Yeah, I mean, obviously these are all issues if I was doing it long term, but really I'm planning on messing around for the odd movie over the next 2 months - so it's not a massive deal walking across the room and spending 30 seconds dialling in both to sound OK.

Buying an AVR isn't out of the question, but I don't have room for speakers. If I could still get audio out of the TV then that would be fine, but I'm hoping to keep costs down to like £50.

Again, this is purely an academic exercise with no intention of being run long term - just looking to mess around with some spare hardware I've got that's sitting doing nothing
Click to expand...
If you don't mind the manual intervention - and presuming your TV has it - then go with the headphone out socket idea. You'll have a bit more control over the audio level in general. Maybe you'll even be able to ride the sub's own volume control for most of your listening.

Just get hold of a decent 3.5mm to stereo jack cable. Connect to the stereo line in. Job done probably cost you £10 all in.
 
Headphone out would have been my first thought, but presumably that will mute the TV’s inbuilt speakers?

A DAC/headphone amp might be something worth considering - my Beresford one has volume control. Saying that, so does your sub I presume, so even a simple DAC and then manually setting the sub volume each time. If you’re only switching the sub on for movies it shouldn’t be much of an inconvenience.
 
tom_nieto said:
Headphone out would have been my first thought, but presumably that will mute the TV’s inbuilt speakers?
Click to expand...

Muting the TV speakers used to be common when TVs were much simpler things. Designs have changed though. It's more common now to find that there's a separate sub menu for headphone volume in many TVs. Not all, but many.

Treating headphone volume as a separate feature allows the hard of hearing to use 'phones at their own volume without being affected by the TVs main volume control. IOW, the rest of the family can have a comfortable level for them whilst the 'phone user can have a higher level to compensate for their hearing loss.

There will still be some TVs where they work as older TVs used to, of course. The best advice is to check the TV or look through the e-Help on screen manual or download a version of the manual from the manufacturers Web site. Knowledge is power.
 
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