How To Connect/Hook Up Speakers To TV | 13 Methods

There are many methods available for you to connect speakers to TV. Out of all these methods, a few will work for you depending upon the model of your TV and speakers.

Built-in speakers of TV’s are not so good to hear the desired sound. Everyone wishes to listen to music or watch movie with great sound that is not possible with built-in speakers of your TV.

To enjoy more powerful sound or good bass, you must have to hook up some external speakers to your TV. That is why we are here to guide you thoroughly in doing this.

You can connect your speakers to TV with HDMI, AUX, RCA Cable, Bluetooth,  Speaker Wire, Receiver, Amplifier, USB, Headphone Jack, and Optical Cable.

Sometimes one or more options may not be available on either your TV or speakers. We have provided a solution for it.

You can also hook up your speakers to TV without AUX, Receiver, Headphone Jack, Bluetooth, Amplifier, Bluetooth.

Connect your speakers to TV:

You can use the following connection options and connect your external speakers to TV and get rid of the cheap quality built-in TV speakers.

With HDMI

There are two options available when connecting using HDMI. First is using HDMI ARC and if not available then use HDMI Cable.

HDMI ARC

First, check if your devices support ARC. Usually, it is printed “ARC” on HDMI ports that support them. You can also check from the manual.

Connect HDMI cable to both the HDMI ports labeled as ARC on TV and Sound system. Enable controls for HDMI by going into the settings of both devices.

HDMI Cable

If ARC option is not available, you can simply use HDMI cable and connect your external speakers to TV.

Similarly, change the settings on your TV and speaker side. Actually, there is not a big difference between HDMI and HDMI ARC. HDMI ARC is a more efficient way of connecting for better sound quality.

Also Read: Best Equalizer Settings For Movies

With Bluetooth

Using Bluetooth is one of the best ways as it is a wireless connection and you don’t need to use any wire. If your external sound system and TV are compatible with this connection, you are lucky to have a wireless connection. Keep wires far away, be peaceful. No need to worry about wire damaging or replacing. Just create a connection and let everything go smoothly.

It is bad that many TV’s even today lack this feature. You will find Bluetooth connectivity option in Samsung and LG TV’s but keep in mind that all external sound systems may not be compatible with these TVs.

So ask them before you buy either TV or sound for compatibility if you wish to connect in this way. Same brands products are compatible with each other.

Here are the steps to create a connection between your TV and external speakers:

• Go to the settings in your TV and sound system and enable Bluetooth on both ends
• Move to Bluetooth settings in your TV and enable pairing
• Pair your TV audio with speakers

You are done. The audio from TV will be played through external speakers.

With AUX Cable

This method is most widely used for transmitting audio signals and the process is cheap and simple. You can get aux cable at the cheapest budget and connect very easily.

You need to have an AUX cable with two-sided 3.5mm jack. Plug one in your TV and other in your speaker system. If your speakers do not have this option, you can use 3.5mm jack on TV and RCA jack on the speaker side if available.

Although it is a straight forward process but you cannot get surround sound using this connection.

With Optical Cable

It is another best way for connecting TV to external speakers. The sound quality delivered by digital optical cable is very good. You will surely enjoy if you have a good external sound system.

To connect with optical cable follow these steps:

• Check if both the TV and external speakers are compatible with this connection and have optical cable ports
• Connect one end of the optical cable to TV and other end to external sound system
• Check if you need to change audio settings by going into your TV settings and if available change audio to optical cable option

Digital optical cable transmits all the sounds and if you think you are missing any sound in external speakers, try going into your TV audio output settings and checking PCM. This will resolve the problem if you faced after connecting through an optical cable.

With Headphone Jack

Some TVs have headphone jacks for audio output and you may be wondering if you can connect your external speakers to TV with headphone jack option.

Yes, you can connect but make sure your external speakers are powered. The process will be same as in AUX cable connection.

If there is a need to change settings in your TV audio output, you can change them to headphone output.

With RCA Cable

You know RCA cable and AUX cable are old methods of audio transmission and they lack in delivering quality sound. That is why these options are not available in most of the new TVs.

You may be using this option if you have an old TV and audio speakers. But keep in mind if you have an old audio system and you want to buy a new TV, make sure you can connect it to your old audio system. Otherwise, you will need to buy new external speakers.

Take these steps to connect using an RCA cable.

• Get a pair of RCA cables
• Plug the first two ends into your TV out
• Plug the other two ends into the external speakers’ input
• After plugging in on both sides, turn your TV and speakers on
• Check for settings by going into audio sections of both TV and speakers if there is a need to change settings

Using RCA cable, just like AUX cable, the audio quality will not be excellent as you cannot enjoy surround sound. However, it is a simple and cheap connection. If you wish to watch dramas or shows on TV, it could be fit for you.

Also Read: Connect Subwoofer To a Receiver Without Subwoofer Output

With Receiver

If you have a receiver with an external sound system, you can connect your TV to receiver and then receiver will play audio coming from TV into external speakers connected with receiver.

Almost all the methods listed above can be used for making this type of connection. You can use HDMI, RCA or AUX cable for connection. Wireless connection if available can be used.

With Amplifier

If your external sound system has an amplifier and speakers separately, you can just connect your TV to the amplifier and the sound from your TV will be playing through the external speakers.

Hook Up Your Speakers To TV:

No device has all the options available for connection. Different devices have different options that are missing and you must know what other ways are available that can produce best sound quality and connect your TV to speakers. Once, a good connection method is chosen and connection is created, you can get better sound quality.

That is why we guide you if one option is missing while others are available, so which one you should choose.

Without Bluetooth

As you know Bluetooth is the most reliable method to connect speakers to TV but if your TV is old it will not be available there. Even all new TV’s don’t have this option.

In this case, you will have wired options left. So, if your system supports HDMI or Optical cable use these options respectively for better sound quality.

Even if HDMI or Optical options are absent you will have to rely on old connection methods like RCA or AUX cable. Making connection with these methods is already discussed above in detail.

Also Read: Connect Two Wireless Subwoofers To One Soundbar

Without Aux

AUX is an old method of connecting audio devices, but still in use. It will certainly be available in many old and new devices. As signals transmitted by AUX are not of high quality and surround sound is also absent that is why it is not used by many brands now and better options are available.

You may not have found this feature when purchased a new TV or speaker but if one of these two is old with AUX but the new one does not have AUX port, you may be unable to connect them.

While buying a new device you should be careful and make sure if it is compatible with existing one.

If both your TV and speakers are old or new, they may have either RCA or HDMI option available and you can connect using it. The way of connecting will be same as discussed above.

You can still connect if one of the devices has AUX while other has RCA option as such cables are easily available.

Without HDMI

HDMI transmits very high-quality audio signals and always the first recommendation. Signals transmitted by HDMI are even better than Bluetooth and other wireless signals because they sometimes also experience frequency issues but HDMI always works perfectly.

we are so sorry if your system lacks this feature but still, you have other options available. It is a modern technology that is absent in old systems.

If HDMI is absent it is possible that Wireless will also be absent. There is a chance of having Digital Optical Cable and it is the best one after HDMI. Check if your system is compatible for connection with optical cable on both sides.

If the optical cable is also absent, you will have to rely either on AUX or RCA cable connection whose connection method is already described.

Without RCA Cable

It is an old method and surely be unavailable in modern devices. When this one is absent there must be some modern methods like HDMI, Optical and Bluetooth available that are much better.

It will only cause problem when one of your TV or sound system is old while other one is the latest. Their connection options will be different and may be unable to connect.

When both your devices are modern, they will have other latest options available and it is good for you. You can connect using HDMI, Optical or Wireless Bluetooth.

Without Digital Optical Cable

Optical just like HDMI is also the latest and best method for audio transmission and absent in old devices. If HDMI or Bluetooth is available they will work fine but when they are also absent in case of very old system, you will have to rely on AUX or RCA.

Related: Connect Soundbar To TV Without Optical Cable or HDMI

Final Thoughts

These were some methods, you can use to connect speakers to TV. We hope one of these methods will work great for you. Comment below if you still have any question regarding connecting speakers to TV and we will be happy to help you.