Adding a subwoofer to a Sony HDTV

by rreed2000

I would like to add a wired subwoofer to my Sony KDL-50W800C. As far as I can tell there is only one audio output on the tv (optical digital). And I would like the subwoofer to work with the tv's internal speakers to provide full range sound.

And here is the biggest challenge - I don't want another remote control. I want to use the tv remote to turn the volume up and down and have the subwoofer increase and decrease in volume proportionally. I don't mind driving the subwoofer with an amp, but I don"t want to have to touch the amp. It should turn on when the tv is on and off when the tv is off.

Is this possible?

Sony makes a wireless subwoofer for the tv that does all of this, but I live in a wifi congested area and expect real problems withany 5GHz link for wireless - which is what Sony uses.

Appreciate any pearls of wisdom anyone can toss my way.

pudds

TV speakers suck, even the best ones. Get yourself a sound bar with a sub and you'll be much happier.

tc110407

This is a better question for /r/hometheater. As far as I know, the only way to get the audio from the TV directly has the drawback of turning the internal speakers off. Sony's wireless sub was their solution to your exact issue. I'd say just buy it from a place with a decent return policy and try it out for a week or two.

sleepyguy007

get a reciever that supports ARC and connect it to that HDMI port

morphinapg

(Assuming your tv works the same way as mine, Sony x930d)

Yes this is possible and you shouldn't need a wireless sub to do it. I've tested it with my wired sub from my 7.1 system on my TV and it worked just fine. You just have to set the headphones port to subwoofer instead. Volume on the remote controls the subwoofer just the same, but like you said you may need some kind of external amp as well if your sub doesn't get loud enough with the line out it's given. In my experience, my sub's volume was just fine, although maybe a notch lower than I would have liked.

I've since gotten a soundbar (Sony 780) however because the speakers on the TV just weren't good enough.

rreed2000

All good comments. Thanks guys. I actually use a soundbar and subwoofer with it now and it works fine. But I would love to find one that will just automatically turn on when the tv turns on and allow me to use the tv volume control. I am getting fed up with all of the remotes. For now, I am going to give morphinapg's advice a try. Simple and it works, brilliant. Thanks again.