How To Connect Speakers To Older L C D Television

[wpcoe]

I have an older (4 year old?) LCD television in the bedroom, which is probably laughably outdated by today's standards, but the image quality is good enough for me. Problem is, something has happened to the built-in speakers: voices sound like they're nasal and in a deep well. I would like to buy some affordable external speakers, but am a total idiot when it comes to that.

Below is a photo of the jacks I have available. Is the "line out" pair of red/white jacks for audio out to speakers?

I don't want/need state-of-the-art 5-channel audio, just a nice pair of stereo speakers to place on the TV stand next to the TV, so should I look at a place like Power Buy, or would a computer tech mall (like Pantip in Pattaya) have what I want?

[BudM]

I have an older (4 year old?) LCD television in the bedroom, which is probably laughably outdated by today's standards, but the image quality is good enough for me. Problem is, something has happened to the built-in speakers: voices sound like they're nasal and in a deep well. I would like to buy some affordable external speakers, but am a total idiot when it comes to that.

Below is a photo of the jacks I have available. Is the "line out" pair of red/white jacks for audio out to speakers?

I don't want/need state-of-the-art 5-channel audio, just a nice pair of stereo speakers to place on the TV stand next to the TV, so should I look at a place like Power Buy, or would a computer tech mall (like Pantip in Pattaya) have what I want?

The RED and WHITE RCA line level audio output jacks are for hooking up to the external amplifier that drive a set of speakers. You cannot hook up the speakers directly to these two RCA jacks. You should first check the audio setup on the menu control panel of your LCDA TV, it may have not setup up correctly, such as tone controls, balance, level, ETC. I doubt very much that both speakers went bad at the same time.

[wpcoe]

The speaker(s) on the right are the culprit. The left seems pretty much okay. Using the "balance" control, I can only move the emphasis to the left, but the right still outputs enough sound to spoil things. Besides, I prefer stereo sound.

I've slid the treble and bass levels from 0 to 30 (the max), but the stupid right channel is garbled at all levels, although it's only for certain voices/sounds. Hard to describe, but I was hoping to get an inexpensive workaround.

[BudM]

The speaker(s) on the right are the culprit. The left seems pretty much okay. Using the "balance" control, I can only move the emphasis to the left, but the right still outputs enough sound to spoil things. Besides, I prefer stereo sound.

I've slid the treble and bass levels from 0 to 30 (the max), but the stupid right channel is garbled at all levels, although it's only for certain voices/sounds. Hard to describe, but I was hoping to get an inexpensive workaround.

You may have bad amplifier problem in the TV. I would suggest get a POWERED PC speakers, but you have to get and adapter cable from 2 RCA male plug to mini stereo female jack to use the PC speakers with your TV. One thing about using the RCA line level audio output from your TV is that most of them are fixed level, meaning it does not vary the audio level when you using he volume control on your TV, but you can check the MENU on the sound control panel of your TV to see if it will let you choose the fixed or variable audio out on the RCA jacks.

[wpcoe]

That sounds promising. If I understand correctly, with a simple 2-to-1 adapter/connector I could test using my powered computer speakers as an alternate to my TV's built-in speakers?

(PS: Thanks to the mod who moved this thread. I looked and looked for an appropriate forum, and didn't even see this one as a sub-forum. Khor tot!)

[astral]

The RED and WHITE RCA line level audio output jacks are for hooking up to the external amplifier that drive a set of speakers.

This will give you better sound on ANY tv.

Depending on the TV and transmission you may find that the Dolby Pro signal comes out on these sockets

and can be decoded by a suitable amp to give surround sound.

[wpcoe]

I bought an inexpensive (B150) RCA-to-mini stereo adapter at Amorn and hooked up my old inexpensive computer speakers -- I think I paid about B300 for them several years ago -- and, voila, I have sound from my TV that is perfectly clear and undistorted.

Next is to buy a 2nd set of speakers so I don't have to keep swapping them from my computer to my TV.

[soundman]

There are many small 2.1, built in amp, bookshelf type systems available on the market for under a thousand baht that actually sound reasonably good, and can be hooked up to the computer or TV just using standard RCA connectors, usually without the need for jack adaptors, these days.

Best place to buy these are in the IT centres. The supermarkets (tesco etc) also have reasonable selections, however, seem to be more expensive than the IT centres.

[astral]

There are many small 2.1, built in amp, bookshelf type systems available on the market for under a thousand baht that actually sound reasonably good.....

Since the OP is looking for a better sound, I am dubious about the computer speaker setups.

I would advise listening first before buying.

[wpcoe]

There are many small 2.1, built in amp, bookshelf type systems available on the market for under a thousand baht that actually sound reasonably good.....

Since the OP is looking for a better sound, I am dubious about the computer speaker setups.

I would advise listening first before buying.

If I've got the lingo correct, "2.1" means left+right channel speakers plus one more (usually a sub-bass)?

I've currently got my two-channel (left+right) powered computer speakers working nicely with the TV. Would an extra speaker be worth the investment?

I see Bose has a US$89 (~B3,000) set of (two) computer speakers, but that's probably overkill for my TV usage. A couple of Thai lakorn dramas, Fox & BBC news, occasionally Channel V, and DVDs of some USA TV series -- doesn't require much in the way of high-quality audio. I'm looking for "better sound" than the distorted audio my built-in TV speakers now provide, but not necessarily looking for the crispest high notes nor richest bass baritones.

The main downside of using the external speakers, as mentioned above, is that the TV volume control doesn't affect them, so the curse of widely varying volume from channel to channel is a bit of a PITA. Luckily the TV's "mute" function silences the external speakers, giving me a chance to dash to the speaker itself to adjust the volume.

[astral]

The main downside of using the external speakers, as mentioned above, is that the TV volume control doesn't affect them,

Perhaps you should consider a more up market approach where you get a remote with the amp?

I run my TV from a satellite box and only have the Video cable connected.

All sound comes from the surround amp.

[Benjie]

Samsung do a fairly inexpensive soundbar that fits underneath the TV, That would be the most obvious solution.

[wpcoe]

After all that, I was peacefully watching TV last night and pfffft! the TV turned itself off. Only a slight smell of electric smoke, but the TV is toast. Maybe it's "only" the power supply, but after the speakers and now this, what's next? (The power button which is normally red when the set is off, and blue when the set is turned on, went off and stays off now.)

I don't even know where to take the TV for repairs ... New Zen brand bought four years ago at Carrefour Pattaya.

So, now I'm in the market for a new TV. <sigh>