Headphone Output from TV

[Soi Sauce]

Hallo,

Just bought a new small sub-woofer system to replace the one that died after 10 years solid use. As with the one before, I've connected it to my TV but the sound level is noticeably lower even though it is a much more powerful system.

It plays music thru a usb input and that is fine, but the same music thru the usb and the tv loses a lot. The Tv is a 2 year old wide-screen.

The system connects via the TV's headphone socket, it has no AV output, so can anyone please help me as to how to maximise the sound output thru this socket. As said, this system is actually better than the last, but not when run this way, and I'm getting nowhere near its maximum performance. Not talking about loud, but range and depth of sound.

Alternatively, is there such a thing as a headphone socket to USB lead? Never heard of such, but it may exist and would possibly do the job.

Thanks.

Edited February 25, 2014 by Soi Sauce

[IMHO]

I suppose you've tried adjusting the volume on the TV, and have been through the TV's audio settings to make sure there's no type of EQ or auto-volume normalizing engaged? (or any other proprietary "super audio sound booster" type thing)

If yes, then it sounds like an impedance mismatch between your TV's headphone output, and the line input on your powered speakers. If the frequency range is also effected (how's the bass and top end?) it suggests a very large impedance mismatch.

Does your TV have a proper line output at all (i.e. red+white RCA jacks) - if so, they should be better impedance matched with the line input of your speakers, and could/should solve the problem. They might have a constant output level though, which would mean you would now have to adjust volume at the speakers, not at the TV...

Another option would be an additional pre-amp between the TV and speakers, but this starts feeling a bit overkill for such a setup.

Yes, there is such a thing as a headphone(line)-to-USB converter, it's called an Audio Interface (or ADC), but these things aren't particularly cheap, and there's no guarantee the USB input on your speakers would be compatible anyway - generally speaking, USB speaker inputs are generally designed to read audio files from flash drives, not support actual USB audio.

*Note: by "speakers" I'm assuming a simple 2.1 system where the signal goes to the subwoofer first, then that outputs to the main speakers. Substitute the word "speakers" for "stereo system" if there's a separate component the signal goes into before the speakers

Edited February 25, 2014 by IMHO