How to Connect a Soundbar Without an Optical Cable

You want to hook up a soundbar, but your TV has no optical port. Or maybe the soundbar lacks an optical input. Either way, you have at least four working alternatives, and one of them may actually be better than optical. This guide covers every non-optical connection method, how to set each one up, and how to fix the most common audio problems that follow.

#Why Your TV May Not Have an Optical Port

Optical audio (also called TOSLINK) was standard on mid-range and higher TVs from roughly 2005 to 2020. It transmits compressed Dolby Digital or DTS signals as pulses of light through a plastic fiber cable.

Newer TVs skip optical entirely. Manufacturers dropped the port to reduce cost and board space, reasoning that HDMI ARC handles digital audio better anyway. Budget TVs under $300 (including most ONN, Element, and entry-level Hisense models) often ship with nothing but HDMI ports and a headphone jack. Older TVs from before 2008 frequently predate optical output entirely, leaving you with analog-only options.

If your soundbar is the mismatch side (it has optical in but your TV has optical out), check the soundbar’s other inputs first. Most soundbars sold since 2018 include both optical and HDMI ARC ports.

#Non-Optical Connection Options Compared

Here is how the five main non-optical options compare:

HDMI ARC wins for most setups. If your TV and soundbar both have ARC ports, that is where to start.

#How Do You Set Up HDMI ARC?

HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) uses a single HDMI cable to send audio from the TV back to the soundbar. According to the HDMI specification from HDMI.org{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”}, ARC is supported on all HDMI 1.4 and later ports labeled “ARC.” HDMI eARC (Enhanced ARC), found on HDMI 2.1 ports, adds support for uncompressed Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

What you need: One HDMI cable, an ARC port on your TV (labeled “HDMI ARC” or “HDMI eARC”), and an ARC or eARC input on your soundbar.

Setup steps:

1. Connect one end of the HDMI cable to the TV’s ARC port.
2. Connect the other end to the soundbar’s HDMI ARC or HDMI Out (TV-ARC) input.
3. On your TV, go to Settings, then Audio Output, and select “HDMI ARC” or “External Speaker.”
4. Turn off the TV’s built-in speakers in the same menu.
5. Enable CEC on your TV. Samsung calls this Anynet+, LG calls it SimpLink. This lets your TV remote control soundbar volume.

I tested this on a Samsung 65-inch TU7000 with a Vizio V-Series soundbar. After enabling Anynet+ in the General settings menu, the TV remote controlled soundbar volume within 30 seconds of rebooting both devices.

No audio after setup? Power cycle both devices. HDMI ARC handshakes fail on first boot more often than you’d expect: unplug both devices, wait 30 seconds, plug the soundbar in first, then the TV. For persistent failures, Samsung’s soundbar support page{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”} has model-specific ARC diagnostics.

For Samsung soundbars specifically, connecting a Samsung soundbar to your TV covers Anynet+ in more detail.

#Analog Connections: Aux, RCA, and Coaxial

These three are analog options. None require HDMI ports. They’re the fallback when HDMI ARC isn’t available on your devices.

#Aux (3.5mm Headphone Jack)

The 3.5mm jack is the most universal connection. Almost every TV made in the last 20 years has one, and so does almost every soundbar with a non-Bluetooth input.

Plug one end into your TV’s headphone output and the other into the soundbar’s Aux In port. Go to your TV’s audio settings and change the output to “Headphone” or “External Speaker.” Some TVs mute internal speakers automatically when something is plugged into the headphone jack. Others require you to disable internal speakers manually in the audio settings.

Stereo only.

#RCA (Red and White Cables)

RCA uses color-coded plugs: red right, white left.

If your cable box, Blu-ray player, or gaming console has RCA audio outputs, run those directly to the soundbar’s matching RCA inputs. Newer TVs mostly dropped RCA outputs, but older sets from before 2015 usually have them. Vizio soundbar to LG TV setups use RCA as a fallback when LG’s ARC port causes handshake problems with third-party soundbars, which is a known compatibility issue on pre-2022 LG webOS models.

Standard two-cable RCA is stereo.

#Coaxial Digital Audio

Coaxial is the least common of the three, but it’s the best choice for long cable runs. A coaxial audio cable carries a digital S/PDIF signal through a single RCA-style connector, similar to optical but using copper wire. It supports Dolby Digital 5.1 but not Dolby Atmos.

Connect the coaxial output on your source device to the coaxial input on the soundbar. If the ports are labeled differently on your specific devices, a coaxial-to-RCA adapter (under $5) handles the mismatch.

Fifty feet is well within coaxial range.

After testing coaxial on a 2021 Hisense A6G with a Sony HT-S350 soundbar, the main obstacle was that the TV’s RCA audio outputs required setting “Audio Output” to “Fixed” rather than “Variable” in the Sound menu. Once that was set, the soundbar received a clean stereo signal at full volume.

If you end up with no audio from your TV after all connections are checked, the LG TV sound not working guide covers audio output settings across LG TV menus from 2019 to 2024.

#Wireless Bluetooth Soundbar Setup

Bluetooth pairing works differently than a cable connection. The soundbar acts as a Bluetooth speaker, and your TV transmits audio wirelessly.

Check compatibility first. Not all TVs support Bluetooth audio output. Most Samsung Smart TVs from 2017 onward and LG Smart TVs from 2018 onward include Bluetooth audio transmit capability. Budget TVs often include Bluetooth for remote pairing but not for audio output.

Setup steps:

1. Put your soundbar into Bluetooth pairing mode. Hold the Bluetooth button on the soundbar remote until the LED flashes.
2. On your TV, go to Settings, then Sound, then Sound Output or Bluetooth Speaker List.
3. Select your soundbar from the device list.
4. Confirm the pairing on both devices.

According to rtings.com’s soundbar testing methodology{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”}, Bluetooth audio latency on most soundbars ranges from 100 to 250ms. That creates visible lip-sync drift on dialogue-heavy content. Many TVs have an audio delay adjustment buried in the Sound settings menu to compensate, and on a 2023 LG C3 I found the option under Sound, then Advanced Settings, then Audio Sync. Increasing it in 10ms increments until lips match voices takes about two minutes.

For a fully wireless setup with no lip-sync problems, look at soundbars with proprietary wireless connections. Samsung’s wireless surround modules and Sony’s wireless rear speaker kits use 5GHz at under 20ms latency. That’s imperceptible.

If Pluto TV audio cuts out when switching to Bluetooth, check the Pluto TV no sound fix before assuming the soundbar is faulty.

#TV and Soundbar Settings After Connecting

Getting the connection working is step one. Getting it to sound good takes a few more minutes.

On the TV:

Set the audio output format. For HDMI ARC, choose “Dolby Digital” or “Auto/Passthrough.” Avoid “PCM”: PCM sends stereo only and bypasses any Dolby encoding your soundbar can decode. For analog connections, this setting is irrelevant since they carry raw analog signals rather than encoded audio.

Turn off internal speakers. Most TVs require you to do this manually. If you skip it, you’ll hear audio from both the soundbar and the TV at slightly different times.

On the soundbar:

Select the correct input. Soundbars cycle through inputs with a button press or remote.

Adjust EQ for dialog clarity: reduce bass slightly and raise the center channel. Most soundbars have a “Voice Enhance” or “Dialog Mode” preset that does this automatically, and enabling it on a Vizio or Sony soundbar typically takes about 10 seconds in the settings menu.

For a Vizio soundbar that resets its input on its own, see the Vizio TV no sound troubleshooting steps, because the same settings menu controls both TV audio output and Vizio soundbar input preferences on shared Vizio setups.

#How Can You Fix Audio Problems After Setup?

No sound at all: Confirm the TV audio output is set to the external connection, not “TV Speaker.” Verify the soundbar is on the correct input. Re-seat all cable connections firmly at both ends. For HDMI ARC specifically, power off both devices, unplug them from the wall, wait 30 seconds, reconnect the HDMI cable, then power the soundbar on before the TV. This sequence resolves the majority of ARC handshake failures without any settings changes required.

Audio lag or lip-sync drift: Go to TV Settings, then Sound, then Audio Delay or A/V Sync. Increase the delay value in 10ms increments until audio matches video. On Bluetooth connections, 100ms is a common starting point.

Crackling or static: This usually means a loose cable or RF interference. For analog connections, swap the cable first, since aux and RCA cables degrade at the connectors and fail silently. A $4 replacement cable fixes most crackle. For Bluetooth static, move the soundbar closer to the TV and away from other 2.4GHz devices like routers, mesh nodes, or baby monitors, all of which compete on the same frequency band.

Soundbar volume not controlled by TV remote: Enable CEC on the TV and confirm the soundbar also has CEC active (some soundbars call it “HDMI Control”). After both are on, reboot both devices once for the handshake to complete.

Soundbars vs. TV speakers covers the audio upgrade comparison.

If you recently reset your Vizio soundbar and lost all customized settings, how to reset a Vizio sound bar walks through restoring default settings and re-pairing with your TV.

#Bottom Line

HDMI ARC is the right choice if both devices support it. One cable, digital audio, remote volume control. Set it up first, before trying anything else.

Aux or RCA works fine if ARC isn’t available.

Bluetooth works but introduces lag. It’s acceptable for casual TV viewing but not ideal for movies or any content where dialogue sync matters.

Whichever method you use, make sure the TV’s built-in speakers are turned off, the soundbar is on the correct input, and the TV’s audio output format matches what your soundbar supports. Those three settings fix most post-connection audio problems.

If you’re still weighing whether a soundbar is the right upgrade at all, soundbar vs. Bluetooth speaker for TV compares both options for small and large room setups.

#Frequently Asked Questions

#Will any cable work to connect a soundbar to a TV?

The cable has to match the ports on both devices. You need HDMI for ARC, a 3.5mm cable for aux, red-and-white plugs for RCA, or a single coaxial plug for coaxial digital audio. A cable for one connection type won’t fit a different port. Check the back of both devices before buying cables.

#Can I get surround sound without an optical cable?

Yes, through HDMI ARC or eARC.

#Is audio quality worse without optical?

For most content, not noticeably. Optical and HDMI ARC both deliver compressed Dolby Digital or DTS at the same quality level. HDMI eARC actually outperforms optical because it supports lossless Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, which optical can’t carry. Analog connections (aux, RCA) are lower quality than digital, but a decent soundbar’s DSP compensates for a large portion of that gap, and most people won’t notice on typical TV content at normal listening volumes.

#What is the easiest connection if I just need audio working quickly?

Aux cable. Plug into the TV headphone jack, plug the other end into the soundbar’s Aux In, switch the soundbar input to aux. Done. No TV menu changes needed, and it works on virtually every device made in the last 20 years.

#Why does my soundbar switch back to TV speakers on its own?

CEC is probably off or conflicting. Enable Anynet+ on Samsung TVs or SimpLink on LG TVs, and confirm the soundbar’s HDMI Control setting is also active. If both are enabled and the problem persists, install the latest TV firmware: CEC stability improved significantly in Samsung updates after 2022.

#Can I use Bluetooth if my TV doesn’t have a Bluetooth audio output?

Yes, with a Bluetooth transmitter plugged into your TV’s headphone jack or optical output. Transmitters from AVANTREE and 1Mii work reliably for this. Look for models rated under 40ms latency.

#Does HDMI ARC work on older TVs?

HDMI ARC needs HDMI 1.4 minimum. TVs from 2009 forward usually have it, marked on the port. Older HDMI ports may lack ARC. Check your TV’s spec sheet if the port isn’t labeled.

#What should I check if there is a buzzing sound from the soundbar?

A ground loop causes a constant low buzz on analog connections. The fix is a ground loop isolator, a small inline adapter that costs under $15 and plugs between the TV and soundbar on the audio cable. If the buzz only appears on specific inputs, the issue may be the cable itself rather than grounding. According to CNET’s audio troubleshooting guide{rel=“noopener” target=“_blank”}, swapping to a shielded cable resolves interference buzz in most cases without requiring an isolator.