RCA to Digital Converter or new speakers altogether?

[Archimboldi]

whoops -- meant digital to RCA in the topic title

I'm sitting here listening to the music in Norfair in Super Metroid buzz the hell out of my TV's speakers and it reminded me that I need a good audio solution for my set up.

I have a panasonic plasma that only does optical out for external speakers, so I can't connect my Swans M-10s to it. I love these speakers, so I'm having a hard time replacing them, since I know I won't get anything on par for the price I paid (about $80, iirc.)

I was thinking of getting this:
http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Audio-Analog-Converter/dp/B0013LWK3A/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

but yeah, that's another $57 I'd rather not spend.

is my only other option new speakers?

[Robocop2]

Its been a while since I looked at speakers but I don't know of any reasonably priced speakers that accept an optical connection. Have you looked at Radio Shack? They used to sell a convertor that would do that I believe.

[Rickstilwell1]

I just bought a receiver and hooked up my speakers to that. RCA cords go out from the TV out into the input on the receiver ( I chose CD in because I don't use a CD player and AUX is for my computer). Then my speakers come out of the receiver.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Get a simple video switcher and plug all the components you want to hear through your swan's up to the switcher. A lot of switchers have a 2nd audio port out via a mini jack. If you have a switcher like that then plug your switcher into your tv like normal and run a mini to rca connection out to the speakers from the secondary port out on the switcher. That way you have the option of using your TV for sound or your swans. You may need some RCA couplers to extend the RCA jacks.

If you want to go the cheaper route and just hook up your snes to the swans then run the RCA audio red and whites directly into the swans (may also require a set of RCA couplers and extension cables), and run the yellow into the TV. Either way you go you shouldn't have to pay more than $15 or so, if you're savvy.

Here's the design of switcher I'm talking about. I have this same one but I found it for $8. Look around the net and on ebay and you can find something comparable for less.


http://www.amazon.com/RCA-VH911-Video-Switch-Box/dp/B00008X5DE/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1267883843&sr=8-7


EDIT: Without knowing the model number of your plasma, I'm going to make a guess.. but that digital optical out is most likely only for Over-the-Air Digital TV signals. Meaning that it will not output any other thing you may have connected to your TV. So you're probably wasting your money on the device anyway.

[Archimboldi]

The whole thing is that I want to control the volume through my tv remote. It doesn't look like a switcher will do that.

I think the digital audio output is for hooking up external audio...amazon has a good return policy, so I'll probably end up ordering the thing.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

The whole thing is that I want to control the volume through my tv remote. It doesn't look like a switcher will do that.

I think the digital audio output is for hooking up external audio...amazon has a good return policy, so I'll probably end up ordering the thing.

A lot of the times the outputs on TVs don't allow you to control external audio amplifiers or powered speakers via the TV remote, if the TV allows this you'd have a setting in the audio menu of the set giving you the option of "variable" or "fixed" audio outputs. And if I'm not mistaken an optical signal won't have the option of controlling output levels, becuase of the different way it operates (even after you convert it). Whereas analog outputs like RCA jacks are electrical in nature optical outs are not.

I'm pretty sure you'll end up returning the device because the audio out is used for the OTA signals anyway. That and this device and a switcher would operate in the same way... they're passive and don't give you any control over the output level. If you looked in the manual (if you have it) or gave me the model # I could let you know after looking up the manual online.