TV with external speakers

[Sam Takoy]

Hi,

I have a question that's probably off-topic for this group, but this is the group where I get all my answers so I'm going for it.

I want to connect my TV to external ceiling speakers in the kitchen.

Does anyone know of a TV that has a built-in pre-amp so I can go straight to speakers?

Alternatively, is there a tiny little preamp that's always on that I can easily hide, e.g. behind the TV mounted on the wall?

Two reasons why I am asking this. First, there is nowhere to put the pre-amp. Second, I will constantly be bugged about the lack of sound due to the pre-amp being off or being on the wrong setting, etc.

Thank you!

Sam

[gfretwell]

The last 3 TVs I bought have audio line out jacks. I have it hooked to regular PC speakers. You can get some real nice ones if you are willing to spend $60-70. Gearxs.com usually has some on sale but shop around..

[trader4]

I guess the question is what the audio outputs are capable of driving without assistance. I'd start with finding out the specs of the TV. If in fact an amp is needed, I would think either Radio Shack or Ebay would be a place to look. There has to be small ones for such applications.

[Jay Hanig]

I hate the crappy sound that TVs produce and have always hooked them up to a better system. I've got a home theater system for my main TV but what I did for the one in the kitchen is just buy a very cheap used stereo receiver off Craigslist and paired it to some small speakers.

The sound quality is light years beyond what I started with and I bought the speakers and the receiver for about $50. You just have to watch the ads for a few days and somebody will advertise some perfectly good equipment for next to nothing simply to get it out of their house.

Jay

[Eric in North TX]

A phono-amp would do what you want, it is just a pass through, with boost, no controls at all, just 4 rca jacks. I'm seeing them from under $10 on Ebay to over $100 elsewhere on the web. You would use your normal volume control on the TV

[ransley]

A pre amp is before the power amp, a power amp or amplifier powers speakers. You have a pre amp but do you have a power amp in the tv that allows external speakers. On the back you should have an audio and video out RCA jacks, this is pre amp level and not enough to drive speakers, this you would plug into a amp-power amp or powered PC speakers. Exteral speakers have connections that take raw wire like you have on the back of an amp so if you dont have those you need an amp. You probably need an amp of 5-10 watts. radio shack has Pyle Pro PCA1 a 2x15w power amp for 40$, it looks like its 30w peak or 10-15w clean power- 5w a channel.

[aemeijers]

Or drive through an apartment complex on move-out day at the end of the month, and look by the dumpsters. Most of my stereo equipment was obtained that way. Not as good a source as it used to be, since most younger folks (the kind that live in apartments) now seem to favor iPods and such over traditional stereos. Some of the stuff worked as soon as I plugged it in, a few needed the cat piss hosed out of them or a fuse replaced, but very little was actually dead. I've gotten 5 or 6 complete setups that way, and still have 2 or 3 after giving away or selling the others in garage sales. Half of my TVs came from the little gray stores as well. Good source for small microwaves, too. It was a lot easier when I still lived in the apartments and could peek in the dumpsters as I did my daily doctor-ordered mile walk- now I drive through a couple times a week, and only stop if I see something sitting on top or beside, or evidence of a move-out. (I pass my old apartments on my way to the grocery store, so it isn't out of my way.)

[Jay Hanig]

Once again, I recommend getting a used stereo amp off Craigslist. Why screw around with 15 watts per channel when you can have 100 watts for the same money? You don't have to play things any louder; the sound will just be cleaner with no audible distortion. Plus you don't have to worry about preamp/ power amp questions since a receiver includes both.

I did the same thing when I was looking for a boombox for the garage. I ended up with an actual audio system out there for less than a cheesy boombox would run from Target.

Jay

[J Burns]

Geeks.com seems to deal in closeouts. It has lots of multimedia speaker sets in the $5 range. They contain amplifiers and can be left on. Just disconnect the speaker wires and connect your speaker wires.

[Ron]

Why? All he wants to do is hookup two existing speakers in his KITCHEN.

[Ron]

At the same volume it won't sound any differently.

[Bob(but not THAT Bob)]

Your TV has a preamp - what you need is a power amp to run ceiling speakers:

Use either the Stereo Out or Headphone Out jacks on your TV to hook it up. Watch the video for details.

[Jay Hanig]

It certainly can. Crappy amplifiers like the ones they build into TVs have all sorts of harmonic and IM distortion. A better amplifier can have more than just measurably cleaner numbers; it can be audibly cleaner. Nothing grates on my nerves more than an overdriven amplifier.

If you push an underpowered amp too much, the sine waves clip and the resulting distortion is very audible. Enough clipping and you will destroy a set of speakers.

Jay