How to Connect a Soundbar to a Receiver (Should You Do It?)

There are a few different reasons that someone may want to connect a soundbar to a receiver. I explain exactly how to connect the soundbar to an audio/video receiver and what the pros and cons may be.

In general, it's not the best idea to connect an active soundbar to a receiver because it's just not meant to do this. Most soundbars (active soundbars) are meant to connect directly to the TV. Only passive soundbars should be connected to an A/V receiver.

Mini Stereo Mixer (on Amazon):

For more information on the differences between passive and active soundbars:

How to Properly Connect any Soundbar to a TV:

Soundbar Channel Numbers Explained: 2.1, 3.1, 5.1, 7.1, etc.:

[vetteconnoisseur]

So i just upgraded my home theater system with a Vizio 5.1.2 Atmos surround bar and while it sounds absolutely fantastic (and spacious), i wanted to also utilize my Pioneer Dolby Digital/5.1 receiver as well. The Pioneer throws tons of POWERFUL sound as it has 2 left, 2 center, 2 right as well as 2 left and 2 right surround speakers...not to mention an analog connected Yamaha (powered) 8" subwoofer. Since all of our viewing content is via FireCube 4k streaming, i finally was able to synch both the Vizio and Pioneer audio systems playing Dolby (Atmos and Digital 5.1) surround outputs. Essentially-i connected the Pioneer via coax (digital input) converted Toslink from my Samsung 85" 4k and the Firecube 4k directly to the Vizio 5.1.2 via HDMI. The Vizio is HDMI 2.1 connected to the Samsung 85" via eArc. The Vizio strips the Dolby digital stream directly off the Firecube for Atmos and DTx output processed to its 8 channels (speakers), and also passes the pcm stream to the tv hdmi input. The optical Toslink from the tv simultaneously gets decoded by the Pioneer and sends output to its 10 connected speakers + attached Yamaha powered sub. The challenge was audio synchronization between both systems which was finally achieved by adjusting the TV audio output delay in conjunction with the same process on the Vizio 5.1.2 audio delay setting. When i say this final configuration sounds incredible, it is no joke. My whole living room literally shakes from the sound! The Atmos encoded opening scene from MadMax is so immersive you actually feel like you're about to get run over by the bandits. Anyhoo - great vid and great information here! 👍

[michaelwright]

I did it years ago with a top of the line, at the time, Polk sound bar and a 12" velodyne sub. It actually sounded incredibly good. We had no room for speakers in our space, and quite honestly it worked. I had it connected to a Denon AVR, 4800 I believe.

[michaelporter]

Yep I wanted to use my receiver as a HDMI control so your advice to just hook my sound bar directly to my TV using the optical input was the best advice

[linodizzle]

Thank you. I’m a beginner to home theater systems etc..
Back in November I purchased a Sony STR-DH590 AV receiver as well as a LG 3.1.2 sound bar with Dolby Atmos. After watching your video, I now know that I won’t be needing the receiver for my home theater. Instead I bought the LG SPK8-S 2.0 rear speaker kit. Unfortunately I can not return the receiver. So I guess I can hook up the AV receiver to the TV in my living room or bedroom. I was going to use the receiver for its HDMI inputs for my home theater since my projector only has one hdmi port, but I just purchased a Phillips HDMI switch to plug into projector allowing connection to up to 4 additional hdmi devices. Had I watched your video sooner it would have saved me a couple of hundred dollars. Great video.

[markwalsh]

Your third scenario is exactly what I'm going to be trying. I currently have a 5.2 setup with a receiver and a projector. I have 4 HDMI devices, including PS5 and Xbox X. I'm thinking about buying the new Hisense Laser projector, and a center channel or even a soundbar won't fit well between the short throw projector and the screen. So, I'm thinking about the new Sony HT-A9 4.1 and a sub, which is getting great reviews. The problem is, projectors have limited HDMI's, so I'm thinking of using the receiver as a high-quality HDMI switch, and use the HDMI out from the receiver that would go to the projector, to go to the Sony control box HDMI in, then HDMI out to the projector - what I don't know, is if the HDMI output from the receiver is sending everything I would want, like high res audio, dts, and other data that the sound system would need. Unfortunately, I cannot find a 4k 120hz HDMI 2.2 switch, which would be the best solution

[michaelmcclary]

Hey Jonah, I just bought a new TV and a soundbar. I previously had the old TV hooked up to a receiver with a surround system. I wanted to upgrade so I went with the sound bar. My issue is that I have 2 rear built in speaker right above my couch. Is there a way I can use those 2 speakers thru the receiver while still having the soundbar in place.
Thanks

[rahuls]

Thank you, this helps a lot. 1. I wanted to know what would happen if I - and you explained what would happen and why that would? This helps me understand a lot of things. Thanks for all these scenarios - even things that might not sound best. Just a basic 'this won't sound good would not have helped me understand. Hence your video is awesome :)

[ivanfreely]

There is one other scenario which I'm facing right now. Trying to get the AM/FM radio from an old Pioneer receiver (SX-2700) to come out on the soundbar where the soundbar is already connected to the TV via TOSLINK while the cable box and Blu-Ray player is connected to the TV via HDMI. I'm aiming for the minimized look.

The only viable solution ( to me ) that I can think of is via the receiver's TRS jack for the headphones but it looks so messy. Another way (perhaps too dangerous for the soundbar) is to jury-rig a 3.5mm cable to connect to the receivers "Spring Clip" speaker connectors and plug the 3.5mm jack into the soundbar. The worry is that I could damage the soundbar should someone accidentally crank up the volume on the receiver.

[hearhisvoice]

Thank you for your video. Very informative. My question is, I have connected my devices (TV, 5-CD player, PC, Blu-Ray, DVD) to my Onkyo receiver. I am able to output or hear my TV sound to my Vizio soundbar. However, I can only hear my CD player sound through my Speakers. Is there a way to hear my CD player sound through the soundbar? Thank you.

[tiloalo]

I had the issue of not having a place to mount the front right speakers properly.
I ended up buying the passive soundbar from Harman Kardon, which includes the 3 front speakers (with direct speaker input).
Has been perfect so far, looks like a soundbar, but is hooked directly to my regular 5.1 amplifier.

[dougiemac]

New sub. Enjoying your videos!!! Short and to the point. Greatly appreciated. 👍🏾👍🏾

[thatsentertainment]

I plugged in a passive Yamaha YAS 109 soundbar to my 5.1 surround and a hdmi splitter but would like to know if this would also work with an active soundbar.

[DougalsMD]

Here's my scenario. I have a nice receiver and 5.1 setup; however, I move fairly often to new apartments and am tired of always having to fix the holes in the wall and wiring speakers around the room. Also I'm tired of looking at exposed wires as it's not easy to hide in a removable manner for apartment life. So I was thinking about getting a soundbar to replace my 5.1 system ( I understand the sound quality will not be as good) for the ease of it. The problem with this is that I have multiple sources and only one input on the tv that can accept 4k video and none of the soundbars I've seen accept multiple hdmi inputs. The receiver solves this by having passthrough of 4k video through all of its hdmi ports. What would you suggest to run a soundbar with multiple 4k hdmi sources? Thanks in advance!

[Chlldkrote]

Yep. Last scenario for me. What if I don't have a TV, but projector which doesn't have any outputs (neither ARC, nor AUX). I've seen AV receivers that have optical out - why could it be a bad idea to connect the soundbar to it?

[ewsdneaxeaxe]

This is a great advice for a newbie👍👍👍

[youcuriousjtube]

Hello, Jonah. My reason for wanting to connect a soundbar to an AV receiver is that I am planning on upgrading my TV to a bigger set (52 to a 65 inch). I have a Onkyo AV 5.1 receiver with all the speakers: center, left, right, back left, back right, subwoofer. The setup I have is the TV is set into the corner of the room, and the left and right speakers are on stands beside the TV. When I get the bigger TV, there will be no room for left/right speakers. There will be room for the center speaker, and by investing a soundbar, I would be replacing the left/right and center speakers. So you are saying that this configuration is not something you recommend?

[artphotography]

Thanks for these videos. Pretty interesting trying to make it work or see how it works. Not sure if I misunderstood your last reason. But You didn't mention if the connection is through hdmi arc of these 2 devices or even adding a tv also hdmi arc. In order of powering tower speakers with the receiver and been able to listen through all 3 soundbar and towers. Any experiences or ideas with this escenario? Thanks

[joelcordeiro]

Thank you for your video, and I have a question. If your soundbar only has one extra HDMI and I want to have more for other devices hooked up, can I add plug in an HDMI adapter to the HDMI on the soundbar which then would give my three HDMI ports and I can plug in other devices?

[robainscough]

Another reason to us a receiver with a soundbar is for the dual output Bluetooth headphone support that receivers provide. I've tried all kinds of BT/output conversion devices and NONE work with my Bose BT headphones where I can want to have SoundBar output + BT Headphone output ... the Denon AVR X4800H does support main output and BT headphone output together. Sadly my new LG OLED TV does NOT support independent BT heahphone out with SoundBar output (bizarre but sadly true). As listed below my plan is TV eArc --> X4800H eArc --> X4800H HDMI out (dual outs) --> LG Soundbar HDMI ... viable? Edit: my LG SoundBar is 5.1 and supports Digital Optical input

[Mowers]

Hi, I enjoy your channel. Is there a way that I can connect a wireless lapel microphone to a receiver, and ultimately output through a sound bar. This would be at a church for a single speaker to talk to a small group.