I recently bought a soundbar but didn't realize my TV doesn't have an optical output. My soundbar features aux, coaxial, and optical ports, while the TV has a headphone jack labeled "Headphones." Could I use an aux cable to connect the soundbar to the TV? Would the sound quality suffer compared to using an optical cable? I also don't quite understand how to use coaxial for this connection. Should I just return this soundbar and get one that has an HDMI port instead, or should I give the aux or coaxial connections a shot? Thanks for your help!
1 Answer
You can indeed hook up the TV's headphone jack to your soundbar using an aux cable. However, keep in mind this will limit you to stereo sound (two channels) instead of surround sound (which an optical connection would provide). This can impact audio quality because the soundbar might struggle to deliver richer sound, especially during dialogue or effects. Plus, there are sometimes issues with audio levels and potential interference, leading to background noise. So, if you can find the TV model number, that could help verify what outputs it supports.
Thanks for clarifying! My girlfriend is checking her Emerson TV model to see what audio outputs it has. I was also curious if we could connect the soundbar via the Fire Stick instead?