Solved! Connecting Audio-Technica turntable to Bose Soundbar 700

[chiragk]

Dear all,

I have bought an Audio-Technica turntable (LPW40WN) for my wife and am trying to connect it to our Bose Soundbar 700.

The turntable only has an RCA output and the Soundbar doesn't have an RCA input nor does it seem to have an auxiliary input. I have looked at some threads on this forum that have suggested using the RCA cable to connect to the TV and use that to connect the Soundbar to the turntable. I have tried that but without success. Our Samsung flatscreen TV doesn't recognise the turntable if I only plug in the audio plugs of the RCA cable. It does recognise it if I also plug in the inactive video plug of the RCA cord, but says there is no signal since there is no video source connected.

What do you recommend I do! Would any suggestions on the best way to make the connection.

Thanks and best wishes,
Chirag

 

[hang-the-9]

You won't be able to use the turntable with the soundbar you have. You need a separate powered speaker or replace the soundbar with one that has RCA or 3.5 mm input. You may be able to get a analog to optical audio adapter for the turntable but then you need to connect that to the soundbar so the TV would need to be on the HDMI ARC port and things are just messy at that point.

This would be a good cheaper speaker to use with the turntable https://www.amazon.com/Edifier-R128...4E0RTEBNZCR&psc=1&refRID=PCJ90RJB64E0RTEBNZCR

For something with more low end and better audio quality https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CDU3IAI/ref=emc_b_5_i?th=1 You can actually replace your soundbar with these speakers since they have an optical input for the TV.

 

[chiragk]

Thanks, hang-the-9. The optical cord thing might work but I'd read somewhere that I won't be able to have both TV and turntable connected at the same time even if they were in different ports. These speakers look great and I might just go with them, though we don't want to replace the soundbar since we have Bose surround speakers that go with them and this is working well for all other purposes.

Another question before we purchase one of the Edifier speakers: I had read that another option would be to connect the turntable to a Bluetooth transmitter that can then be used to connect wirelessly to the soundbar. Would the sound quality be much lower this way?

Thanks again
Chirag

 

[hang-the-9]

Thanks, hang-the-9. The optical cord thing might work but I'd read somewhere that I won't be able to have both TV and turntable connected at the same time even if they were in different ports. These speakers look great and I might just go with them, though we don't want to replace the soundbar since we have Bose surround speakers that go with them and this is working well for all other purposes.

Another question: I had read that another option would be to connect the turntable to a Bluetooth transmitter that can then be used to connect wirelessly to the soundbar. Would the sound quality be much lower this way?

Thanks again
Chirag

If your soundbar has bluetooth then yes you can use an adapter that way. No real loss in quality with using it, at least not that you would be able to tell from the speaker you have. You would need a pretty good set of accurate and detailed speakers and amplifier to tell the difference, Bose is not in that category, their speaker systems are pretty muddy compared to most others.

An issue you may run into is low sound output using the adapter, the audio out on the turntable is not very strong, it needs a pre-amp and an amp to run it, a bluetooth adapter would have issues with the signal strength and it may be low even if you turn up the soundbar. I bought this model for my TV to connect to my bluetooth headphones using optical out, but it can be used as a transmitter with RCA/3.5 mm cables also https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RYQ2DD7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[chiragk]

Thanks again. This is very useful. Not being an expert on these issues, had gone with the Bose soundbar with Bose surround sound speakers to connect with the TV and for digital music. Am now considering replacing this with a system that offers better sound quality and allows me to integrate the turntable with the TV and digital music, but won't break the bank. Could these Edifier speakers be combined with other speakers to create such a system? Or are there other integrated systems that you would recommend?

 

[chiragk]

Just a note: The central channel and the bookshelf speakers can be wired, but the surround speakers would need to be wirelessly connected since it is a largish room with a toddler running around. (A bonus would be if we could control the TV and the speakers on a common remote.)