Expert: Wayne Tapia - 11/23/2011

Question
Hello Fellow AllExpert Wayne

I have a inexpensive 24" TV. The sound is very tinny.
I want to hook up some speakers that will sound better.
I have been using computer speakers and hooking them into the Ear Phones jack.
I get a humm from the speakers. Are there speakers that I can use to eliminate the humm?
Or am I going at this all wrong.
Thank you for any information you can give me.

David (Judo)

Answer
Hi David,

Well, there are a few things to consider... First of all, does your TV have any other audio outputs available? If it has stereo audio jacks (red & white) or a digital audio output (either an optical or "digital coax"), you could hook them up to any stereo/receiver with available inputs.

If the headphone jack is the only option, let's examine the speakers you're using. If they are passive speakers (non-powered), they usually sound rather "tinny" and weak. If they are powered, if they aren't well shielded they could be picking up interference from the TV which is causing the hum. There's also the possibility of a ground loop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity)). Make sure you're running the powered speakers and the TV from the same electrical circuit, as  not doing that can be one of the possible culprits of a ground loop.

If you want a fuller tone, you can look into powered speakers that have a subwoofer included in the set.

Hopefully this helps a bit. Definitely hit me up if you have more questions.