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I looked for a megathread for this but didn't see one, hopefully it's in the right place. I'm having an issue that I would think is kind of common, but I can't seem to find good information on. I am trying to add a small standalone powered sub to a Polk Signa S2 soundbar, since the little sub with the soundbar isn't really cutting it. The soundbar is currently connected directly to the TV through the (only) ARC enabled HDMI port. The add-on sub is powered, and takes standard analog L/R RCA line inputs. The TV does not have analog out. I'm looking for a device that I can plug in-line with the HDMI going to the soundbar that will split the sound throughput off to analog outs that I can use to drive the sub, while passing the HDMI signal through untouched so that the soundbar works normally. Obviously I'd like the add-on sub to be volume controlled by the TV also if at all possible. I found this and other devices like it, but am not sure this will work, since it says "While using the HDMI ARC function, you can only get audio from the extractors Optical output and not the RCA." Most of the devices I'm seeing have similar disclaimers. I then found this D/A converter that may solve this issue, but before I go nuts buying all of this poo poo and then daisy-chaining all of it together is there something I'm missing? A better / simpler way to do this? The TV does have an optical digital out, but I don't think you can run it simultaneously with other sound output (although I haven't tried this yet). Since I have a few other devices I'd like to connect without digging around behind the TV, I bought this 4 to 1 HDMI switch with audio extraction to try to get around this problem, but haven't had much luck with it (although admittedly I haven't played with it much yet). So far, I've gotten errors on the TV when I try to watch the Roku on it (while plugged into the switchbox), stating that my device is not connected properly and to check my HDMI cable. Other times, I can get it to play but with no sound to the soundbar. I think it's because I had the soundbar HDMI plugged into a port on the box, and the box plugged into the ARC port on the TV, and the soundbar requires ARC to work? I was hoping the switchbox would pass the ARC signal seamlessly so that the soundbar would work properly when connected to it, but it seems that's not the case. If anyone else has done this and has ideas on how to make it work (along with the device(s) you used to do it) please 
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Aug 26, 2022 19:50
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 21:24 |
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Soundbars are almost always self contained systems and you should probably just save money for a big upgrade instead of trying to incrementally improve it with outboard stuff. The options you mention seem like you’d have problems with volume control or synchronization of the signal. There’s also the fact that soundbar subs are probably tuned for higher frequencies than stand alone ones.
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Aug 27, 2022 00:31
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qirex posted:Soundbars are almost always self contained systems and you should probably just save money for a big upgrade instead of trying to incrementally improve it with outboard stuff. The options you mention seem like you’d have problems with volume control or synchronization of the signal. There’s also the fact that soundbar subs are probably tuned for higher frequencies than stand alone ones. Point taken, and that is definitely in the cards once I'm able to move to a different place. Where I am now, however, my options are limited and I don't have the space / desire to spend money outfitting a room with a setup that will be dismantled within a year or two and may not work properly in a new space. So, putting "good enough" band aids on what I have now it is. Plus they were running a sale on that sub last week and I got it for like $38, so I figured I'd find a way to make it work, and even if I couldn't, I could probably find a use for it elsewhere. I thought a bit about signal sync issues, but figured that with something like a sub, any loss of sync with the main soundbar would likely be minimal (hopefully) and not terribly noticeable regardless since it's only subwoofer frequencies. The soundbar currently does not have sync issues with the TV. If anything I place in-line with it causes issues, I believe (although not 100% sure) that the TV has a sync adjustment to compensate. I would very much like the volume to adjust with the remote - that's one area where I think I may have issues, even if I can get it to work. The TV / Roku remote does control the volume to the soundbar through the TV menu at the moment, but I'm not sure that will transfer to something that's splitting an analog line-out from a digital signal.
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Aug 27, 2022 02:32
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That additional subwoofer isn't going to be any better than the Polk one there.
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Aug 29, 2022 16:33
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Lolcano Eruption posted:That additional subwoofer isn't going to be any better than the Polk one there. It's an 8" driver vs the 5.25" in the Polk (although I don't know how the quality / wattage compares)  . This would be in addition to the Polk, not a replacement, plus it's a small room so I don't need much.
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Aug 30, 2022 01:00
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