Listening to the sound of films through the speakers built into the TV with high quality has become increasingly difficult in recent years, as the space to insert speakers has gradually shrunk (with increasingly thinner TVs!). To overcome the need to have a sound part worthy of the show reproduced on the screen, we must absolutely connect a couple of speakers or alternatively a real system to the TV, using one of the numerous sockets available in the rear or side panel of the television. In this guide we discover how to connect speakers and home theater systems to Smart TVs using the most commonly used technologies for audio connections.
It will finally become a real show for the ears to listen to TV audio with speakers, especially for films with multi-channel audio.
READ ALSO: Enhance TV audio with a Soundbar
1) Headphone jack cable
If we have simple speakers (such as those for PCs), we can connect them using the 3.5mm Jack cable, to be inserted in the dedicated headphone output and identified on the TV with the wording Headphones, AUX or Headphones Out .
With this connection we will be able to take advantage of most of the PC audio speakers or small systems with two speakers and a passive subwoofer, which use a cable with a 3.5mm jack plug to pass the stereo audio. The audio quality is not very high, but it is still higher than the built-in speakers (at least in terms of output power). It is currently the most economical solution for connecting simple speakers.
If we do not have a cable with Jack plugs to be used, we can view the product available here -> Syncwire Nylon 3.5mm Aux Cable (€ 6).
2) Audio RCA cables
If we have a little old speakers or audio system, we can find the classic red and white RCA jacks, capable of carrying stereo sound, as connecting plugs.
In these cases, just connect the plugs of the right color to the Audio Out sockets that we find on the back of the TV, often close to the yellow socket (which allows you to carry the video) and use the AUX input on the speakers or on the system. Also in this case the quality is not high, since the signal is managed in an analogical way, but with a good system it is possible to obtain volumes and sound intensity surely higher than the speakers integrated in the TV. On some brands of TV (such as Samsung) these audio outputs are available on a single socket, to which an adapter that can provide the right sockets for RCA must be connected.
Usually this adapter is provided in the TV box; in case we have lost it or it has not come out in the TV box, we can buy another one from here -> Triple RCA cable (€ 4).
We are looking for an RCA-Jack cable to correctly connect the TV to an old Hi-Fi stereo "> AmazonBasics - Adapter cable from 3.5 mm to 2 RCA male (7 €).
3) Digital optical cable
If we want to obtain maximum audio quality, we will have to focus on 5.1 or 7.1 systems, to be connected to the TV exclusively via digital optical cable.
This cable transmits sound digitally through optical technology, proof of interference and signal loss: it is currently the best method to connect 5.1 or 7.1 systems to Smart TVs .
To take advantage of this technology, we identify the optical output behind the TV (it can be recognized as a socket with the words Digital Audio Out, Optical Out or SPDIF Optical Out ), then we identify the identical socket on the back of the system or amplifier (in this if the writing will be Digital Audio In, Optical In or SPDIF Optical In ); once the optical sockets are found, we use a compatible Toslink type cable to communicate them.
We will immediately be able to take advantage of the optical output and pass the multichannel audio to the system with compatible contents.
If we don't have the right cable, we can get it from here -> AmazonBasics - Toslink digital optical audio cable (€ 6).
4) HDMI cable (ARC)
Another (rather modern) method of transporting digital audio at the highest quality involves the use of a specific HDMI port on the Smart TV, called the HDMI ARC .
We check on the back or side panel of our Smart TV if there is an HDMI port of this type and, on the system or amplifier to be connected, we check for the presence of an HDMI ARC port. If these ports are present, we can use a specific HDMI cable (2.0 or higher) to carry only the audio, so that we can benefit from the highest quality multi-channel sound without disturbing the optical cables.
If we don't have an HDMI cable compatible with this technology, we can view the cable available here -> AmazonBasics - High speed HDMI 2.0 cable, supports ARC (€ 6).
5) Wireless connection (Bluetooth)
If we don't want to use cables to carry the audio or we have focused on an elegant soundbar, we can carry the sound wirelessly using Bluetooth technology.
To take advantage of this technology we will first have to turn on the speakers in pairing or pairing mode (for example by holding the power button for a few seconds), then enter the TV menu and enable Bluetooth, so as to immediately view the speakers. Once paired, the TV sound will automatically switch to the speakers. The quality is very good, especially with the level soundbars, but let's not expect great miracles: the audio via optical output or via HDMI ARC is decidedly superior, especially if we have to reproduce content with multichannel audio. If our TV does not have Bluetooth but has Headphone Jack or RCA Audio outputs, we can place convenient adapters to integrate this functionality on any TV.
To add Bluetooth via a 3.5mm jack, we can view the adapter available here -> Bluetooth 4.2 transmitter (15 €).
If instead we want to add Bluetooth via RCA Audio, we can view the product here -> Aupolo Bluetooth Transmitter Adapter (€ 11).
READ ALSO: Position the surround sound speakers of home theater 2.1, 5.1 and 7.1
