How to Connect Speakers to a TV
HDMI ARC, optical or 3.5 mm, and why passive speakers need an amplifier first. Here is each connection, the settings to change, and how to fix no sound.
Connect speakers to a TV over HDMI ARC, optical, or a 3.5 mm output, depending on what the TV has. HDMI ARC is the best of the three because it carries surround formats and lets the TV remote control the volume. Passive speakers cannot connect to any TV directly, since a television has no amplifier to drive them.
The confusion in this job is almost always about which end needs the amplifier. A soundbar or a pair of powered speakers has one built in and plugs straight into the TV. A traditional pair of bookshelf speakers has none, and needs an amplifier or receiver between it and the television.
Check what your TV actually has
Look at the connector panel on the back or side and find the outputs rather than the inputs.
An HDMI socket labeled ARC or eARC is the one you want. Optical, sometimes marked TOSLINK or Digital Audio Out, is the common fallback. A 3.5 mm headphone jack or a pair of red and white RCA sockets marked Audio Out appears on older and cheaper sets.
Many recent TVs, particularly slim ones, have dropped the 3.5 mm jack and the RCA outputs entirely. If yours has only HDMI ARC and optical, those are your two options and no adapter creates a third.
HDMI ARC, the best option
ARC stands for Audio Return Channel. It sends audio back down the same HDMI cable that normally carries video into the TV, so one cable does everything.
Connect your soundbar or receiver’s HDMI ARC port to the TV’s HDMI ARC port. Then turn on HDMI CEC in the TV settings, which the manufacturer will have named something else: Anynet+ on Samsung, Simplink on LG, Bravia Sync on Sony, Viera Link on Panasonic. Without CEC enabled, ARC frequently refuses to pass audio.
Set the TV’s audio output to HDMI ARC or External Speakers in the sound menu.
eARC is the newer version and carries higher bandwidth formats including Dolby Atmos and uncompressed surround. It needs a High Speed HDMI cable with ethernet, or an Ultra High Speed one, and both devices must support eARC. Ordinary ARC handles Dolby Digital and DTS, which covers most broadcast and streaming content.
The practical benefit beyond audio quality is volume control. With ARC and CEC working, the TV remote controls the sound system and you stop needing two remotes.
Optical
A TOSLINK cable from the TV’s optical output to your soundbar, receiver or DAC. It carries stereo and compressed 5.1 surround, which is everything a television broadcasts.
Set the TV’s digital audio output format correctly, because this is where most silence comes from. Choose PCM if you are feeding a stereo system or a simple soundbar, and Bitstream or Dolby Digital if you are feeding a receiver that decodes surround. Sending bitstream to a device that only handles PCM produces nothing, or a burst of static.
Optical cannot carry Dolby Atmos or lossless formats, and it gives you no volume control from the TV remote. Otherwise it is reliable and cheap, and it isolates the two devices electrically, which cures some hum problems.
The analog outputs
A 3.5 mm jack or RCA outputs will drive powered speakers or an amplifier directly. Cable cost is USD 5 to 12 and it works immediately.
Check whether the TV’s output is fixed or variable. A variable output follows the TV volume control, which is what you want. A fixed line level output always sends full signal, so you control the volume on the speakers or amplifier instead. Some TVs let you choose in the audio menu.
If you get a hum, it is almost certainly a ground loop between the TV and the amplifier. A ground loop isolator on the analog cable costs USD 10 to 20 and fixes it, or switch to optical, which cannot carry a ground loop at all.
Bluetooth
Most TVs from the last few years will pair with Bluetooth speakers and headphones from the sound or accessibility menu. It is convenient and it has one real drawback: latency. Standard Bluetooth adds 100 to 200 milliseconds, which is enough to put lips visibly out of sync.
Some TVs include an audio delay setting that compensates. Where they do, this works fine. Where they do not, Bluetooth is better suited to occasional listening than to films. Our roundup of Bluetooth speakers for TV covers which ones keep the delay manageable.
Passive speakers need an amplifier
If your speakers have two bare terminals on the back and no power cable, they are passive and cannot connect to a TV under any circumstances. There is nothing in a television to drive them.
Put an amplifier or AV receiver in between. The TV’s optical or ARC output feeds the amplifier, and speaker cable runs from the amplifier to the speakers. A small stereo amplifier with an optical input costs USD 100 to 250 and is the cheapest way to use good passive speakers with a television.
When there is no sound
Four things account for nearly every case.
The TV is still set to its internal speakers. Change the audio output in the sound menu.
The digital output format is wrong. Try PCM first, since it works with everything.
HDMI CEC is off, so ARC never activates. Turn it on under the manufacturer’s own name for it.
The cable is in the wrong HDMI port. ARC works on one specific port on most TVs, and it is labeled.
If audio and picture drift apart, look for an Audio Delay or Lip Sync setting on the TV or the sound system and adjust in 10 millisecond steps until dialogue lines up.
Frequently asked questions
Can I connect speakers directly to a TV?
Only powered speakers, meaning ones with their own amplifier and a power cable. Those connect over HDMI ARC, optical or a 3.5 mm output depending on what the TV offers. Passive speakers, the kind with bare wire terminals and no power lead, need an amplifier or AV receiver between them and the television, because a TV has no amplification to give them.
Is HDMI ARC better than optical?
Yes, in most setups. ARC carries higher bandwidth audio formats, uses a single cable, and lets the TV remote control the sound system volume through HDMI CEC. Optical is limited to stereo and compressed 5.1 surround and gives you no remote volume control. Optical still has one advantage: it electrically isolates the two devices, which cures hum caused by ground loops.
Why is there no sound from my TV speakers setup?
Check the TV’s audio output setting first, since it usually defaults back to the internal speakers. Then check the digital output format and set it to PCM, which works with everything, before trying Bitstream. If you are using HDMI ARC, enable HDMI CEC in the TV menu, and make sure the cable is in the specific HDMI port labeled ARC rather than any other one.
How do I fix audio delay when connecting speakers to a TV?
Look for a setting called Audio Delay, AV Sync or Lip Sync in either the TV’s sound menu or your soundbar’s settings, and adjust it in 10 millisecond steps while watching someone speak on screen. Bluetooth connections are the worst offenders, typically adding 100 to 200 milliseconds. A wired connection over ARC or optical usually removes the problem entirely.