Take part in a short activity and share your valuable opinion on new design concepts for AVSForum! >>> Click Here
Our native mobile app has a new name: Fora Communities. Learn more.

Can I hook up my TV to my ceiling speakers?

10230 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by RayGuy, May 16, 2021

thegrillseargent

Discussion Starter · May 15, 2021

I have my TV on my wall and 2 speakers in my ceiling that we use with our Sonos. I'd LOVE to be able to physically hook up the TV audio to those speakers if possible.

The goal isn't to create 5.1 surround sound (although I'd love to learn how to do that as well for future reference). In this case, I merely want to get the sound to these ceiling speakers since the TV sound isn't the greatest, even with the sound bar. What's the best way to do this?

Also, is there any type/brand of TV that would accommodate this even better?

I have access to the space above, so that isn't an issue at all. I'm happy to provide any additional detail if needed.

Thank you, in advance, for your help.

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

Mark Beileiter

· #2 · May 15, 2021

It all depends on the distance between your TV and the speakers? This type of setup is usually not recommended, as the voices are separated from the TV and it makes watching TV, very strange indeed, as the people are speaking or the action is taking place on-screen, but their voices and sound are coming from above. It'd be better getting a couple of in/on-wall mounted speakers, either side of your TV and start from there. I'm sure others will be able to give you some advice as well. Good luck.

smithsabom

· #3 · May 15, 2021

Can you? yes. Will you like it? only you will know. So it sounds like you have a Sonos Amp driving the ceiling speakers? If so, it should have an available input - analog. This will require your TV to have an analog audio out.

From there its is pretty simple: analog out from the TV to the analog in on the Sonos Amp.

if you TV does not have an analog out, then you will need a converter. Converters can be found fairly inexpensively via Amazon. the typical digital out for TV is optical ( Toslink)

digital out > converter > (converted) analog out to amp's inputs.

Alternatively, you could replace your sound bar with a Sonos unit. I have found them to be good for dialog clarity. And as a bonus you should be able to reassign your amp/ceiling speakers as surround channels. or at the very least sync them for music.

good luck

See less See more

RayGuy

· #4 · May 15, 2021

Costco has Sonos Soundbars ...

thegrillseargent

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 15, 2021

Mark Beileiter said:
It all depends on the distance between your TV and the speakers? This type of setup is usually not recommended, as the voices are separated from the TV and it makes watching TV, very strange indeed, as the people are speaking or the action is taking place on-screen, but their voices and sound are coming from above. It'd be better getting a couple of in/on-wall mounted speakers, either side of your TV and start from there. I'm sure others will be able to give you some advice as well. Good luck.

Thats a good point Mark and advice I will certainly take.

Given that now I will put 2 in-wall speakers near the TV, how would I go about hooking those up to the TV for general TV audio output? Are there specific speakers that are suited for this?

Mark Beileiter

· #6 · May 15, 2021

@thegrillseargent If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you could go to one of the on-line stores and see if you can get yourself a decent pair of powered bookshelf speakers, that you could mount either side of your TV. Many of them have both digital and analogue inputs, being either coaxial or fibre optic (Toslink) (digital) or stereo RCA (analogue) inputs. All you need to do with these is to connect them up to your TV and plug them into a power socket. No need for any type of amplification; being a two or multi-channel AV receiver or AV processor. Good luck.

Reactions: 1

thegrillseargent

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 15, 2021

Mark Beileiter said:
@thegrillseargent If you don't want to spend a lot of money, you could go to one of the on-line stores and see if you can get yourself a decent pair of powered bookshelf speakers, that you could mount either side of your TV. Many of them have both digital and analogue inputs, being either coaxial or fibre optic (Toslink) (digital) or stereo RCA (analogue) inputs. All you need to do with these is to connect them up to your TV and plug them into a power socket. No need for any type of amplification; being a two or multi-channel AV receiver or AV processor. Good luck.

Thanks Mark! My goal is to keep the wall looking as clean as possible and don't mind putting some money into the right configuration. I just can't seem to find out what kind in-wall speakers would actually hook up to my TV. And to be honest, as a noob to this, I'm not even certain the type of connection I'm looking for?

kblackburn101

· #8 · May 15, 2021

thegrillseargent said:
Thanks Mark! My goal is to keep the wall looking as clean as possible and don't mind putting some money into the right configuration. I just can't seem to find out what kind in-wall speakers would actually hook up to my TV. And to be honest, as a noob to this, I'm not even certain the type of connection I'm looking for?

you need an avr first , none hook directly to your tv except powered speakers like Klipch fives . Regular speakers are a lot easier then installing in walls and replaceable.

IN WALL SPEAKERS - HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

Monoprice, Inc. (DBA. MonoPrice.com) specializes in the wholesale distribution of world class cable assemblies for home theater, PC, and high technology industries. MonoPrice.com offers a wide range of products from standard PC products, network cables, and HDMI cables to custom cable assemblies...

www.monoprice.com

www.googleadservices.com

Klipsch The Fives (Walnut)

Powered speaker system with Bluetooth® and HDMI

www.googleadservices.com

jmbrad

· #9 · May 15, 2021

There are many ways to connect stereo speakers to a television.

One of the easiest is with a set of active speakers that have a built-in amplifier. But I'm not aware of any in-wall active speakers.

The other way is to use an external amplifier and passive speakers. Or an AVR (audio video receiver) as a hub for all of your video and sound and passive speakers.

kblackburn101

· #10 · May 15, 2021

Look at actuall speakers many are good enough looking not to hurt your room ....

www.crutchfield.com

Floor Standing Speakers: Tower Speakers - Crutchfield.com

Shopping for Floor-standing Speakers? Our Virginia-based experts love helping folks find the right gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

These would be the best , if you buy a receiver in ceiling can be used for Dolby Atmos .

TheSwartz

· #11 · May 16, 2021

As someone who has learned the hard way messing with in-ceiling speakers.. more than a couple times..

99% recommend not even wasting your time with this*

But.. if the following applies, read on for one circumstance that I don't think I see mentioned, and then some other thoughts:

The ONLY time I used in-ceiling speakers*, and was kinda happy with it, was a setup in a very small room where I had proper center, left, and right speakers along with a sub (albeit placed directly on the facing wall because the room was so small!). Then I used two in-ceiling speakers that were already installed, that just happen to be sitting directly above and behind your head when sitting in the couch in that room (which I was able to position about 2 feet from the wall and hence a couple inches in front of those ceiling speakers). I then did some fancy wiring and put in a one way switch (look this up, I forget details but was important to do this) which allowed me to switch those speakers between my whole house audio system and the receiver for that theater in the room -- then I used those as the Left and Right surrounds for a 5.1 system, but could also turn it back to the house audio system running off a different receiver.

Otherwise. I do understand the desire to do something 'better' than TV speakers. I really dislike those sound bar things that do the fake surround sound (again, learned from mistakes and messing around), but I would choose that over ANY in-ceiling setup any day*.

One last thought: I think some people really underestimate how awesome a very nice 2.1 Stereo system (Left & Right with a sub) can be if space is limited. I am currently doing that in my small office where I put in an old, large CRT TV for retro-gaming, with old Sony tower speakers I got from Goodwill (albeit, paired with my old Denon AVR-X7200WA and a half-way decent sub, and all I did was the auto Audyssey setup). It is actually awesome! One further tip regarding subs; look at SVS for some nice, small ones.

Hope something in there is helpful!

*of course, I am NOT referring to using in-ceiling speakers as height channels in an Atmos setup. But I assume this is already understood.

See less See more

thegrillseargent

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 16, 2021

kblackburn101 said:
you need an avr first , none hook directly to your tv except powered speakers like Klipch fives . Regular speakers are a lot easier then installing in walls and replaceable.

IN WALL SPEAKERS - HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

Monoprice, Inc. (DBA. MonoPrice.com) specializes in the wholesale distribution of world class cable assemblies for home theater, PC, and high technology industries. MonoPrice.com offers a wide range of products from standard PC products, network cables, and HDMI cables to custom cable assemblies...

www.monoprice.com

Klipsch The Fives (Walnut)

Powered speaker system with Bluetooth® and HDMI

www.googleadservices.com

Thanks Kblackburn. I was hoping to not need a receiver and also keep everything clean with just some “hidden” in wall speakers. But from what I’m hearing, it doesn’t seem like that’s an option for me.

guitarjim

· #13 · May 16, 2021

Yes, you can use them. Yes, you would be better off and make it easier on yourself to buy a soundbar instead.

Elihawk

· #14 · May 16, 2021

Yes, speakers require amplification. You either need powered speakers, as suggested, or an Amp/AVR if you want to connect to the existing speakers.

kblackburn101

· #15 · May 16, 2021 (Edited)

thegrillseargent said:
Thanks Kblackburn. I was hoping to not need a receiver and also keep everything clean with just some “hidden” in wall speakers. But from what I’m hearing, it doesn’t seem like that’s an option for me.

Yeah it’s not worth the hassle of ripping wall up. Focus on either finding an receiver or soundbar that works with sonus in ceilings , not that in ceilings really are good for much ...
I’d get towers as fronts and a good sized center , on walls or stick to soundbars Sonos would work with your current Sonos amp right ??
Get a diagram see if your in ceilings are in right spot for Atmos ...

www.htd.com

Versa HTS1

DetailsWhile Versa speakers are designed with aesthetic features that make them suitable for displaying in nearly any room, the Versa HTS1 was first and foremost designed for great sound and the high volume performance often demanded by surround sound systems.The key ingredients for achieving...

www.htd.com

In wall powered speakers would be massive I’d rather have towers if they existed anyway .... thankfully they don’t
Regular speakers are king 👑 lots of options with good finishes , they can make your room look superior not inferior...
Ofc I don’t mind ugly speakers if they sound good, tv speakers suck ... and Soundbar are mediocre but better than tv speakers.

www.cnet.com

Dolby Atmos: Everything you need to know about the spatial audio format

From Apple Music to home theater, here's how Dolby Atmos can envelop you in your favorite music and movies.

www.cnet.com

RayGuy

· #16 · May 16, 2021

Look at a 3.1 soundbar for your scenario. In-wall speakers are more trouble than they are worth. Keep in mind that when you put a speaker in a wall, the volume level at the rear of the speaker is the same as at the front (unless you get one with an integral back box, and those are usually quite expensive). With a typical in-wall speaker, the sound travels inside the structure of the wall to other rooms. Also, things can rattle inside the wall (and there is nothing you can do about it). Not to mention the cost and PITA of the actual installation. In addition, you can see the screen on the wall, so how is that any different than seeing a speaker?

A soundbar can be mounted just below the TV, so, in essence, it is one item on the wall.

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.