Related: 10 things to consider when shopping for a soundbarīesides having the right connectors, you should also consider a soundbar with a virtual surround or 3D mode. What you’re looking for is a 3.5mm audio jack (generally labeled “AUX In”) that connects to the twin RCA connectors on your TV via a Y-shaped adapter cable (read on for help with picking the right cables). You’ll see fewer current soundbars with an analog audio inputs than with optical connectors, but they’re still reasonably easy to find, particularly when it comes to budget soundbars in the sub-$200 range. You’ll find plenty of soundbars on the market with optical and 3.5mm analog audio inputs that will work with older TVs. That said, there are more and more soundbars (particularly newer ones) that have only HDMI ports, so be sure to look carefully. If your set has an optical audio output, good news: soundbars with optical inputs are (as we mentioned earlier) easy to find. Many older TVs-even those as far back as the 1980s-will have these familiar-looking RCA plugs situated on their rear input/output panels, which can deliver analog stereo audio signals.Īs you’re shopping, keep an eye out for soundbars that have audio inputs that match your TV’s outputs. No sign of an optical output? Then look for a stereo pair of RCA audio outputs, one for the left channel (commonly white and marked “L”) and a second for the right channel (commonly red and marked “R”). Many older TVs have at least analog stereo RCA audio outputs or even a multi-channel optical digital audio output. Not only can optical audio connections handle compressed (but not lossless) 5.1- and even 7.1-channel Dolby Digital and DTS sound, they’re also widely supported by the latest soundbars. If your aging TV lacks HDMI, the next best thing would be an optical (or Toslink) audio port, which has a squarish opening with a pair of small notches on each side. The first step is to check the back of your old TV to see what kind of audio outputs are available.