If you’re the proud owner of a modern soundbar that’s rocking your home with high quality audio, it just might be time to take that sound to the next level. Rather than being limited to just the front speakers of your sound bar, why not connect up a turntable? This will allow you to play vinyl records through your sound bar for an experience like no other.
If you’re a vinyl junkie, you’ll definitely want to consider a turntable. If you own a record player or turntable already , it will be simple enough to connect it straight up to your soundbar. But if not, don’t fret.
Here, I’ve compiled all of the knowledge needed to connect your turntable to your soundbar. The information in this article will also help you know which deck or turntable to buy in order to get the most out of it’s connectivity with your sound bar.
Table of Contents
Why we need to Connect a Turntable to a Soundbar?
When dealing with high quality sound, it’s important to know how to connect a turntable to a soundbar so that we can get the most out of our investments. There are many benefits when it comes to connecting your turntable to your soundbar.
Firstly, your choice of turntable will determine what type of speaker we can connect it too. We can either connect them in parallel or series and this will determine how much power we’ll need in order to get the most out of our investment in both audio and speakers.
Secondly, if we want to use our turntable as a speaker, we’ll need something like an amp, but if not, there’s no harm in using an amp anyway. It will just mean that we’ll need to find a different way of connecting it up to our soundbar. Either way, the option of connecting your turntable to your soundbar will be largely determined by your choice of turntable.
Connecting Your Turntable to Your Soundbar
Now that we’ve established why we might want to connect our turntable to our soundbar, let’s get down and dirty on the steps needed in order for this to work properly. Here’s everything you need to know about connecting your turntable up. These instructions are based on using a Hi-Fi Technica table as it’s suggested by JBL and is also one I use myself.
- What You’ll Need
- Vinyl turntable or record player
- RCA to “mini” stereo cable (3.5mm jack to 2RCA plugs)
RCA Y-adapter with single RCA output and 2 RCA inputs (2 x 3.5mm jacks placed side by side) OR RCA Y-adapter with single RCA output and two 3.5 mm mono audio cables) OR RCA audio cable with separated red and white outputs/inputs (the one used for audio devices, not video devices).
This last option will allow you to connect your turntable directly into the soundbar without the need of an amp or any other device in between.
A 3.5mm female to 3.5mm male audio cable. This will be for use when connecting the turntable to your soundbar .
Step 1: Connecting RCA Cables
The first step in connecting your turntable is to connect the cables so that you can plug in your turntable to your soundbar. The cables are different in this case, but they all get connected together with a Y-junction. It’s important that you remember which plugs go where, as it’s likely you’ll need both of them for this step.
At the top of the cable there are two terminals, one labeled “A” and another labeled “B”. These are for the vinyl cable. On the left side you’ll see three plugs, each with two terminals labeled “C” and “D” this is where you plug in your RCA cables.
Now to connect them together properly, go ahead and unwind these cables from one side to the other until they meet at a Y-intersection. Take some time to make sure that your cables are lined up as properly as possible as it’s very easy to make a mistake here if you don’t do it correctly.
Step 2: Connecting the Turntable to the Soundbar
Now that we’re connected our cables we can connect our turntable to our soundbar. The process for this varies completely, so take your time and make sure you do this properly.
On your soundbar, go ahead and unplug the 3.5mm female to 3.5mm male cable so that we can plug in our turntable using either of the options mentioned above (provided you decided on which one). On your turntable, plug in either of the two RCA cables into terminals B and D respectively (they both go to these same spots).
You can’t plug them both in at the same time because this will cause a short circuit. The red/white plugs from your turntable should be plugged into the RCA “C” terminals on either side of your RCA Y-junction.
The only thing left to do is plug in your 3.5mm female to 3.5mm male audio cable into both the turntable and your soundbar and you’re good to go! Don’t forget about the power cables too if you need them, because if you don’t have enough power to run your soundbar at full volume it’s likely that you’ll damage the speakers in the process.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, connecting a turntable to a soundbar is very simple and if you want to get the most out of it, make sure you make the most of the opportunities available in order for your vinyl monster to sing.
Here’s some additional information about connecting your turntable to your soundbar in case you still have any questions:
Doing so can change the way that your audio system looks. It can turn your old record player into something stunning and modern at the same time, so this update will be worth it.
FAQ:
Q: Can you hook up a turntable to a soundbar?
A: To connect a turntable to a soundbar, you will need a phono preamp. A phono preamp equalizes the turntable’s audio signal so it can be communicated through an external speaker system. It’s usually built right into the receiver or the turntable, but it can also be an external device.
Q: How to connect turntable to TV sound bar?
A: What are PHONO,LINE and Preamp? Connect a turntable with a built-in preamp to a receiver Connect a turntable without a preamp to a receiver Connect a turntable without a preamp to a receiver without a preamp Connect turntable to powered speakers Connect turntable to wireless Bluetooth speakers Connect turntable to mini Hi-Fi system
Q: How to make a soundbar turn on with the TV?
A: – Have the Vizio soundbar turn on automatically when the TV is turned on. – Be able to control the sounder volume using the XR15 remote. – Be able to mute the soundbar using the XR15 remote.
Q: How do I connect my soundbar to my TV?
A: First,you’ll need an optical cable that is long enough to connect your TV to your soundbar. … Remove the plastic covers from the prongs at the ends of the optical cables. … Insert one end of the optical cable into the matching port on the back of your Samsung TV.