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General discussion

External speakers for 52" 630 Samsung

Dec 8, 2008 3:35AM PST

I recently bought the 630 in 52" and discovered I hate the sound. Does anyone have any suggestions for decent external speakers which would have the proper jacks. I would like to spend no more than $200. For reasons which are too long to go into here, I don't want to use my surround system...just external speakers for everday tv watching.

Thanks for any help.

Discussion is locked

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Amplifier
Dec 8, 2008 7:25AM PST

Grammatt,

Welcome to the forum.

The audio jacks in the back are not amplified for external speakers. What some users have done is plug in powered computer speakers (2.1) into the headphone jack, and depending on the brand you purchase, you could get some really great sound out of those.

Just an idea. Keep me posted.

--HDTech

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Reply
Dec 8, 2008 10:40PM PST

So it's not as easy as getting a set of Yamaha (or other) 3-way left/right channel speakers? The tv puts out plenty of sound...I just don't like the higher tone (tinny) quality of it.

I really appreciate your help!

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Not with RCA jacks...
Dec 9, 2008 4:59AM PST

Grammatt,

It's not as easy as hooking up non-powered speakers to the back. The signal that the RCA outputs needs to be amplified, either in the case of a home theater/stereo system, or speakers that have their own amplification.

It a smiliar concept in hooking up, say, a turntable to unpowered speakers. There is enough juice to pass the signal, but there needs to be an amplifier between the turntable and the speakers. It's a crude comparison, but my intent is to illustrate the need of amplifying the outgoing audio signal via RCA jacks.

--HDTech

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RCA vs. headphones jack
Dec 10, 2008 12:16AM PST

So any type of powered speakers? How can I tell if they have RCA jacks online? Because of my location, I'm probably going to be buying online.

Any particular speker(s) you would recommend? Are the RCA jacks with powered speakers a better option than computer speakers into the headphone jack?

Sorry to be a pain. This is a bit outside my experience. Your help has been greatly appreciated.

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Suggestions
Dec 10, 2008 6:37AM PST

If you are comfortable purchasing refurbished equipment, I'd suggest taking a look at the ZVOX 325--it can be had for around $200 on ebay (the manufacturer sells their refurbs there with full waranty, look for the ZVOX store). I recently purchased one and think it sounds very nice for everyday TV watching (I have an LN40a550). It's a single box, amplified unit. It has 3 speakers and a subwoofer in the box (one cable to hook up). The only real downside is that you lose the TVs ability to control the difference in volume between tv shows and commercials, so I often find myself reaching for the remote when commercials come on. It can be hooked up to either RCA jacks or to the headphone jack. They also sell a smaller, less expensive version (ZVOX mini), but I haven't listened to one so can't comment other than to say the reviews I've seen are generally favorable.

You also might want to take a look at the Sony HT-CT100 (sound bar + subwoofer). It gets pretty decent reviews. Refurbs can be found at sonystyle.com in the outlet. I think these go for something close to $200.

Good luck.

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Thanks
Dec 11, 2008 2:13AM PST

Thanks for all your help