Need advice on sound equipment

HarryCaray · Aug 12, 2017

I know nothing about this kinda stuff, need some help here.

I'm moving into a place that has surround sound speakers already built into the ceiling in the living room. The wiring goes through the rafters and down the wall cavity, and then it comes out of a hole over by where the TV will be mounted. It is two sets of leads (the red and white casing and then exposed copper wire looking things). Not the red/white RCA plugs, but the bare wire at the end. It's basically speaker wire. I remember back in the day hooking these leads from the back of my receiver to my speakers.

My current setup is a Samsung TV run to a Sony HT-CT660 soundbar/sub using a digital optical cable. That is the only non-HDMI ouput coming out of the TV.

I also have Sonos in the house. I have an old connect + amp that I hook directly into my soundbar as well using RCA to RCA. Then I change input on the soundbar to toggle between TV or make it a Sonos room.

I want to hook up the TV and Sonos both through both the soundbar and into the surround sound speakers simultaneously.

How do I do that?

I'm guessing I need a receiver. Go from the TV into the receiver (will the receiver take digital optical as an input?) - then one output from the receiver to the soundbar (digital optical output?) and also plug the speaker wire leads into the receiver?

I'm lost here. Please help.

Hamilbet · Aug 12, 2017

Yes you NEED a receiver. The reciever will have posts for bare copper (speaker wire) to go from the reciever to the posts on the wall (to go to the speakers). Everything will connect to the receiver one way or another. (Everything)

And anything you have that has an RCA wire, you can cut that off and wire to a post. (or vice versa, put on an RCA) Its just a 2 conductor wire.

HarryCaray · Aug 12, 2017

Do most receivers these days have digital optical audio IN?

Betallsports · Aug 12, 2017

HarryCaray said:
I know nothing about this kinda stuff, need some help here.

I'm moving into a place that has surround sound speakers already built into the ceiling in the living room. The wiring goes through the rafters and down the wall cavity, and then it comes out of a hole over by where the TV will be mounted. It is two sets of leads (the red and white casing and then exposed copper wire looking things). Not the red/white RCA plugs, but the bare wire at the end. It's basically speaker wire. I remember back in the day hooking these leads from the back of my receiver to my speakers.

My current setup is a Samsung TV run to a Sony HT-CT660 soundbar/sub using a digital optical cable. That is the only non-HDMI ouput coming out of the TV.

I also have Sonos in the house. I have an old connect + amp that I hook directly into my soundbar as well using RCA to RCA. Then I change input on the soundbar to toggle between TV or make it a Sonos room.

I want to hook up the TV and Sonos both through both the soundbar and into the surround sound speakers simultaneously.

How do I do that?

I'm guessing I need a receiver. Go from the TV into the receiver (will the receiver take digital optical as an input?) - then one output from the receiver to the soundbar (digital optical output?) and also plug the speaker wire leads into the receiver?

I'm lost here. Please help.

Why do you need Both ???

There's no need for both, either one or the other and it depends on the size of the room

HarryCaray · Aug 12, 2017

Betallsports said:
Why do you need Both ???

There's no need for both, either one or the other and it depends on the size of the room

Yeah I was thinking that also, I can probably put the soundbar in another room and just use the surround.

One benefit of using the soundbar though is that it has a wireless sub that goes with it. I'm not sure how the 2 built in surround speakers will sound without a sub.

Even if I removed the soundbar from the equation I think I would still need a receiver if I want to hook up the sonos at the same time. Then I could change input on the receiver to toggle between sonos and the TV.

Question still would remain though, how do I get the TV into the receiver? It only has digital optical out. I have a converter that takes digital optical out and splits it to RCA, but it needs power and it's clunky - causes the wires to get too complicated/tangled. I either need a receiver with digital optical input or I need to use the converter, right?

HarryCaray · Aug 12, 2017

and yes I know the cable box has rca I could use but sometimes I run blu-ray or Chromecast or whatever else through the TV...I want the TV sound to go through the main system, regardless of what input I'm using on the TV.

Hamilbet · Aug 12, 2017

HarryCaray said:
Do most receivers these days have digital optical audio IN?

Yes

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Pioneer+Receivers/VSX-1131

Betallsports · Aug 12, 2017

HarryCaray said:
Yeah I was thinking that also, I can probably put the soundbar in another room and just use the surround.

One benefit of using the soundbar though is that it has a wireless sub that goes with it. I'm not sure how the 2 built in surround speakers will sound without a sub.

Even if I removed the soundbar from the equation I think I would still need a receiver if I want to hook up the sonos at the same time. Then I could change input on the receiver to toggle between sonos and the TV.

Question still would remain though, how do I get the TV into the receiver? It only has digital optical out. I have a converter that takes digital optical out and splits it to RCA, but it needs power and it's clunky - causes the wires to get too complicated/tangled. I either need a receiver with digital optical input or I need to use the converter, right?

Yeah wish i could help you, but I went with the geek squad to do all mine.
I also had a soundbar, but in the new house they had the surround sound set up, and of course they took the Receiver with them.

anyway bought a receiver and had them check on the wiring, etc.