# Speakers to TV via Digital Optical Out?



## Stoner19 (Dec 30, 2009)

I have 2 extra satellite speakers that are not being used for my home theater so I would like to use them in my bedroom to improve the quality of sound from my TV. I have major issues with voice being too soft and everything else being too loud and adjusting the audio settings on the TV don't make it any better... 

I'm trying to avoid spending much $$ and have very little space to work with so I really don't want a receiver in the bedroom...Does anyone know of an alternative way to connect these 2 speakers to my TV using the Digital Optical Out port on the TV? I've seen some converters but the output is RCA and not standard speaker wire or the input is coaxial and I need Optical/TOSLink.


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## Stoner19 (Dec 30, 2009)

A few more details:

TV is a Panasonic TCL32U3 and the speakers are Orb Audio


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

you need and amplifier to power the speakers. If you add self powered speakers, then it would be ok. 

cheers


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Does your home theater have a second zone? If it does you could hook up your tv to the second zone and use your sources from your theater. If you want to have your tv used as a source you could run a cable to your receiver in the theater and then run wires to your speakers in the bedroom.


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## Stoner19 (Dec 30, 2009)

I already have the speakers so I'm not looking to purchase another pair. I've looked into the mini amps, but none of them have TOSLink input, they are all RCA


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## Stoner19 (Dec 30, 2009)

ellisr63, certainly a creative idea but my home theater is in my basement and my bedroom is on the second floor of my house so that option really don't work.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Are your new speakers more efficient then your tv speakers? The only way I can think of without getting a amp or wiring to your theater would be to hard wire the new speakers to the TV which would void your warranty. You do know the optical is for 5.1 correct? I am also thinking that if you use the 5.1 you may not be able to use your tv speakers anymore.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

One other option... a soundbar. From what I have seen they have a optical input.


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Yeah, that's a tough one. I have a Panasonic in the bedroom and it only has a Toslink audio out too. I have it connected to an old Kenwood VR-507. I am not aware of anything out there that will do what you want. If you don't mind spending a little money, a little amp like the Wadia 151 will do the trick.


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## Ikarius (Nov 22, 2011)

So, a couple of clarifications; toslink/digital is not automatically for 5.1. It's capable of carrying a variety of formats, ranging from stereo, to bitstream 5.1 (an individual stream for each channnel), to various dolby and DTS formats, which require a AVR or processor of some sort to convert into separate signals for each speaker.

A digital/toslink signal is unamplified, and it's not actually a waveform. Beyond the conversion of DTS & dolby formats to individual channels, there's a digital-to-analog conversion step required to turn it into an analog waveform, and then there's amplification required to turn that waveform into enough energy to drive a speaker.

Powered speakers sometimes have the necessary hardware to do those steps, but you are looking to do this with Orb speakers. The Orb satellite I/II speakers are not powered, so they do not have any of the hardware.

Now, I'd suggest dropping the "toslink" requirement, and see if the TV has some RCA outputs. You could likely plug those into a relatively small amp and hook that to the Orb speakers. Without putting in a full blown AV receiver, this is likely the best you'll be able to manage. You might look at the AudioEngine N22 desktop amp. The Orb Mod1 satellites are rated for 15-115 watts of power, and the Audioengine says it's rated for 22 amps per channel, so it should be capable of driving the speakers, despite being on the low end of what they say they need. Your mileage may vary. If you look at other mini/desktop amplifiers, pay attention to what they say they can drive before purchasing.

Good Luck!
Ikarius


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## Ikarius (Nov 22, 2011)

Oh um, clarification; I think having re-read your original post that your TV may only have toslink out. The FiiO E17 USB DAC headphone dac has a 3.5mm sp/dif input, and I believe you can get a cable to go from toslink to 3.5mm sp/dif. Unfortunately, it doesnt look like the amp stage in the Fiio is sufficient to drive your Orb speakers. You might try giving FiiO a call and asking them if they have something capable of doing the job.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

ellisr63 said:


> One other option... a soundbar. From what I have seen they have a optical input.


I second this thought :T:T I have a samsung soundbar....plus it came with a wireless sub :bigsmile:

Takes money to make things happen :devil:


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Do you have a desktop computer in the room?

If so, do you have PC speakers connected?
Do they sound better then your TV speakers?

You could run stereo audio from your cable box to audio in on the desktop. It's a $3 solution


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## Stoner19 (Dec 30, 2009)

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I really want to use my Orb speakers so buying a sound bar is not an option and no desktop computer in the room. I've discovered that Orb makes a mini amp so I might give that a go. I did double checked the TV and it is definitely only TosLink for audio out. The device I mainly use for this tv is my AppleTV so I'm limited to TosLink and HDMI there. DVD player used on occasion. We don't have cable/satellite so I don't need to hook up a cable box at all. The AudioEngine looks nice but I still. We'd to convert digital to analog audio to make that one work and the Fiio looks like its only 3.5mm out and I need standard speaker wire connections. Will keep looking around but I'm thinking that getting a toslink to RCA converter and the Orb amp or mini booster might be the way to go


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