Is there a way to connect Vizio sound bar/wireless system without smart cast to Alexa?

[padams822]

I have an older vizio 5.1 sound bar, subwoofer and wireless speakers. Vizio said this model does not have smart cast and cannot connect vis Bluetooth to Alexa (but I can pair it with my iPhone & iPad). Is there a way to connect Alexa to the speakers?

 

[gareththegiant]

does the sound bar have either aux out or RCA out if so you can use go in via a 3.5mm jack

 

[padams822]

does the sound bar have either aux out or RCA out if so you can use go in via a 3.5mm jack

It does. But when I plug the echo plus into the sound bar, I lose sound on the 3cho and still can’t hear sound on the bar even trying all channels, AUX, input 1,2...

 

[gareththegiant]

volume up on both devices?

 

[americanaudiophile]

As suggested above there are two volume controls now. The soundbar volume could be turned down to much. The Echo Plus volume may not be up enough.
Bad cable from the Echo Plus to the soundbar? The plug at the soundbar might not be in enough.
Connect your phone instead of the Echo Plus and try a different cable.

 

[padams822]

I think I figured out I need a receiver connected to the sound bar system. I’m not sure why Bluetooth alone isn’t enough for the Vizio 5.1 I have, because Alexa can connect just fine to JBL Bluetooth portable speakers. I’ve looked into the Bose wifi audio system as a solution and it still has to be connected to a receiver. Without smartcast, Vizio won’t connect. My iPhone connects perfectly to the sound bar and Alexa, I just lose audio on Alexa with the 3.5mm aux. I’ve seen this reported in several reviews about the Echo Plud. Maybe they will do an update to fix the issue or Vizio will offer an adapter. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[bblevin]

Hi, I spent way too much time on this. I had BT connected through my dot to my Vizio sound bar, and it suddenly stopped working. I resent the soundbar and tried unsuccessfully to reconnect. Contact vizio - no help at all.
Solution - connect to the Dot using an analog cable. Works fine (low tech solution).
If anyone figures out how to connect to the amazon dot via BT, please let us all know.