Setting up your home theater sound system for the first time? How exciting! We can’t wait to see you enjoy late night movies with your friends and family.
You may want to consider connecting a subwoofer to your TV to ensure even louder volume with added clarity. You don’t want to miss the 3D sound effects and the wide range of sound frequencies present in the movie just because of not connecting the subwoofer.
Are you saying you don’t have a receiver? It’s no big deal though. There are many ways you can still connect your TV to a subwoofer, regardless of a receiver. Find out more in this article where we will explore the different ways on how to connect a subwoofer to TV without a receiver.
Quick Prep-Up Before Connecting Subwoofer to TV
Nope, not so fast. We can’t begin the connecting procedure immediately right away as there are certain key things you need to keep in mind and gather the required tools as well first.
1. Check the available outputs on your TV
Imagine spending a good amount of money on buying good-quality optical cables only to find that your TV model doesn’t even have a TOSLINK output. Sucks right?
Therefore, you should check the back unit of your TV and also along the left and right corners – see what jacks and ports are available.
If you have a modern LED TV, your appliance will definitely have either of these three ports – optical output, 3.5mm headphone jack and HDMI ARC output.
If you see many ports on your TV but don’t know which one’s what, look closely, it should be labeled in small letters. If you don’t see any labels, check the User Manual booklet to know which port is dedicated for what cable type.
2. Check Available Outputs on Subwoofer
Now, you need to understand what type of subwoofer you have and what kind of external devices your subwoofer supports. Does your subwoofer have line-level inputs? Do you see any optical (RCA) inputs or speaker-level inputs? Being equipped with the answers to these questions above will come in handy to determine the right method for establishing a connection.
3. Decide Where to Locate Your Subwoofer
Finally, it’s time to select the ideal location for placing your subwoofer in regards to your TV. Many people prefer putting their woofers behind the TV, but we don’t think it’s a good idea. Our team experts believe the subwoofer should be positioned either on the left or right side of the TV, or simply next to the soundbar.
When you’re deciding on the location, the rule of thumb is to position it somewhere a third from room walls and on the side of the TV.
For instance, if the TV is placed in front of the front wall, the subwoofer should be placed a third of the distance from that wall. But definitely don’t put it in the middle, otherwise people may accidentally trip over it.
To get the best audio quality, you should have the subwoofer facing the front of the room or where your audiences will be more concentrated.
4. Measure the Distance
Have you successfully positioned your subwoofer? Now, you gotta measure the distance between your woofer and your TV so that you can buy cables of the correct size and adequate length.
5. Buy Appropriate Cables
Got the measurements ready? Now, rush to the nearest hardware shops and buy RCA/optical/HDMI cables (depending on which ports you have available on both your subwoofer and TV). Don’t buy cables of exactly the same length as the distance measured – it’s wise to buy slightly longer cables by 2-3 inches than your measurements.
Okay, so we have the measurements ready, cables ready, subwoofer has been placed as well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s jump straight into pairing them together!
Top 2 Ways You Can Connect a Subwoofer To Your TV Without a Receiver
Follow this step-by-step guide to establish a connection without any hassles:
Method #1: Direct Connection Using Cables
For a direct connection, you won’t need any other devices or additional wires.
Step 1: Locate the audio output port on your TV.
Step 2: Grab an HDMI cable and connect one of its ends to the TV’s HDMI port
Step 3: You may also use optical cables or RCA cables if you have the necessary inputs and outputs available on both the devices.
Step 4: Next, find out where the audio input jack on your subwoofer is.
Step 5: Once you’ve found that, connect the other end of the HDMI cable (or RCA cable) to the subwoofer’s input port.
And there you have it! Wasn’t that difficult, was it? If you don’t want to get into the mess of cables and wires, you can follow our next method where we use a converter instead.
Method #2: Using a Converter.
Okay, you may be asking yourself, ‘Why the hell would I need a converter for?’
Well, let’s say, you have an HDMI port on your TV but your subwoofer only includes a headphone jack for 3.5mm cable. When you have two different inputs and outputs among the two devices, a converter will really come in handy for solving the issue.
Judging by its name, you may have already understood what a converter does. Yes, it literally converts the audio signals into compatible ones that would be read by the TV and the subwoofer.
Let’s take a look at the steps:
Step 1: First off, you need to connect the digital coax output directly to the TV.
Step 2: Now, you need to connect the other end of the digital coax input cable to the converter.
Step 3: Plug in the HDMI cable through the converter. Once this is all sorted, all you’re left to do is to connect the other side of the HDMI cable to the subwoofer’s input port.
That’s it, you’re done making a connection. Honestly, we know this method was a little too complex compared to the cable method we showed earlier. Although it may seem confusing at first, you’ll get the hang of it gradually, so don’t rush through and take your time.
Nevertheless, what should you do if this method doesn’t work? Then you should check the connections again to see whether any cable feels loose and whether the cords have been inserted into the right ports.
Wrapping Up
Although things are easier when you’re connecting your subwoofer to your TV with the help of a receiver, you can still make things work without it. Your receiver got damaged at the last minute? Don’t worry. You can use RCA cables, HDMI cables or 3.5 mm wires as alternatives to a receiver. You may also use a converter, as we have outlined previously, if you have opposite types of input and output options available in front of you.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How do I connect my subwoofer directly to my TV?
Answer: You can make a direct connection only if you have got a HDMI port on both, your TV and subwoofer. If you do, just use an HDMI cable and run it from your TV’s output to your subwoofer’s input.
2. Can you connect a passive subwoofer to a TV?
Answer: Well, you will have to use the passive subwoofer with an AV receiver by pairing it to an external amplifier correctly keeping in mind the polarity. Now that it’s a powered subwoofer, you can make connections between your subwoofer and your TV.
3. Can we connect a woofer without an amplifier?
Answer: Depends on what type of subwoofer you own. If you have a passive subwoofer, you will definitely require an external amplifier for a better nuanced sound experience. However, if you have a powered subwoofer, you’ll not require an external amplifier to make connections with other external devices.
4. Will a subwoofer work without speakers?
Answer: Yes, sure. It is possible to make a subwoofer work without the use of a speaker system. However, keep in mind that whatever you’ll be listening to will be in mono and not stereo.
