Harman Kardon is one of the leaders in audio equipment manufacturing because of their functionality and versatile nature. To enhance the TV’s sound experience, users can connect their Harman Kardon Soundbar to a TV. Moreover, the connection procedure can be done in various ways, including HDMI, Optical, Bluetooth, Aux, and Optical. If not all the ports, you can find at least any one of the above-mentioned ports on your Harman Kardon Soundbar with which you can connect both devices.
If you have bought a new Harman Kardon Soundbar and have no idea how to connect it to your TV, then follow this article. Here, I have provided all the possible ways to hook up a soundbar to your TV, along with ways to troubleshoot if you are unable to do so.
Possible Ways to Connect Harman Kardon Soundbar to TV
The five possible ways to connect a Harman Kardon Soundbar are given below.
| CONNECTING METHOD | CONNECTION TYPE | PURCHASE LINK |
|---|---|---|
| HDMI Cable | Wired | Get from Amazon |
| Optical Cable | Wired | Get from Amazon |
| Bluetooth | Wireless | Get from Amazon |
| RCA Cable | Wired | Get from Amazon |
| Aux Cable | Wired | Get from Amazon |
Connect Harman Kardon Soundbar to TV via HDMI
Here, we’ll connect the soundbar to your TV via HDMI cable. This is the best way to connect your Harman Kordon Soundbar to your TV, as it produces lossless audio. The procedure to do this method is as follows.
1. Take out the HDMI cables that come with your soundbar.
2. Now, pair one end of the cable to the HDMI port of your Harman Kordon Soundbar.
3. Connect the other end to the HDMI ARC port of your TV. Do remember that soundbars only work with ARC ports and not any others.
4. After this, turn on your soundbar and your TV.
5. Go to your TV Settings and enable the HDMI ARC feature. In addition to that, set the Digital Output to PCM under sound settings.
6. After this, start playing any of your favorite media and hear it through your Harman Kardon Soundbar.
Connect Harman Kardon Soundbar to TV via Optical Cable
The Optical Cable method can be a second choice when you cannot connect your Harman Kardon Soundbar via HDMI. You may not get the same quality as HDMI, but it can still be considered a worthy alternative. Here’s how we do it.
1. Pick up the Optical Cable that you received along with your soundbar.
2. After this, connect one end of the cable to the Optical Out port of your TV. It is also called Digital Audio Out.
3. Insert the other end to the Optical Input port of your Harman Kardon Soundbar. You can find it on the backside of your soundbar.
4. Now, turn on the soundbar and the TV it is connected to.
5. Then, set the Digital Output on your TV to PCM.
6. Afterwards, you can start playing your favorite songs on your TV and hear them through your Harman Kardon Soundbar.
Connect Harman Kardon Soundbar to TV via Bluetooth
Connecting your soundbar via Bluetooth is one of the most convenient ways to pair with your TV wirelessly. But, the quality of sound you hear through this method is lesser than that of HDMI and Optical. If your TV doesn’t have the Bluetooth feature, get a Bluetooth adapter online.
1. Turn on your Harman Kardon Soundbar.
2. Press and hold either the Bluetooth button on the soundbar or its remote and put the device into pairing mode.
3. Now, go to your TV Settings and enable Bluetooth. The steps to enable Bluetooth varies between TV brands.
4. Your TV will detect the soundbar. Navigate to it and pair both devices.
Note: In some cases, you will be required to pair both devices via a Bluetooth code.
5. After pairing, set the audio output on your TV to Bluetooth speakers.
6. Once enabled, you can start hearing music through your Harman Kardon Soundbars.
Connect Harman Kardon Soundbar to TV via RCA Cable
RCA cables are a set of color-coded wires. This method is quite old and produces poor-quality sound. But, if you can’t connect your soundbar to the TV through any standard methods, then you can use this method. An RCA cable looks like the one provided in the picture below.
1. Connect one end of the cable to your Harman Kardon Soundbar. Connect each colored wire to the RCA port with the same color.
2. Insert the other end of the wire into the RCA port of your TV. You can find the RCA ports mostly on the back of your TVs.
3. After this, turn on both devices.
4. Now, start playing any media on your TV and listen to it through your Harman Kardon Soundbars.
NOTE: Not all models of Harman Kardon Soundbars have RCA ports on them.
Connect Harman Kardon Soundbar to TV via Aux
Among all the methods, this one is the most handy way. Here, we’ll use an Aux cable, which is an Audio cable with a 3.5mm Jack. It looks like the one shown in the image below. The procedure to do this method is given below.
1. Connect one end of the Aux cable to your Soundbar. If you don’t have a cable, buy those cables online.
2. Insert the other end of your smart TV. You can find the Aux port in the same region as the other ports.
3. After this, power on both devices, start playing any media you want and experience it through your soundbar.
How to Fix Harman Kardon Soundbars Not Connecting to TV
In case of minor technical issues or errors, your Harman Kardon Soundbars won’t be able to connect to your TV. However, users themselves can fix the issue by following certain workarounds. Those methods are given below.
- If you are connecting both devices via HDMI, ensure you’ve inserted it into the HDMI ARC port of your TV.
- Ensure the connecting cables are not damaged physically. In case of damage, your soundbar won’t be able to receive the audio signal from your TV.
- If you’ve set the wrong audio output on your TV, you won’t hear any sound. Set Digital Audio Out to PCM or any other format and fix the issue.
- Sometimes, problems with your TV can cause connectivity issues too. So, check the input on your TV and restart the device once to fix the technical issues on your TV.
- Sometimes, power cycling or simply restarting your Harman Kardon Soundbar can fix the issue, as this method removes all the residual charges on the device.
- Your Harman Kardon Soundbar becomes incompatible if it is running on outdated firmware. Therefore, update your soundbar and see if the issue gets resolved.
- If you are connecting over Bluetooth, ensure both devices are not very far from each other. Otherwise, you’ll face connectivity issues.
- If no method works out, then factory reset your Harman Kardon Soundbar. After a reset, all the minor bugs and errors get removed, and you’ll be able to connect to your TV without any problems.
Even after trying out all the possible methods, if you are still unable to connect your Soundbar to your TV, then you need to contact Harman Kardon customer support. Explain your specific problem and get the required solution. As they are experts, they’ll be able to pinpoint the exact issue and get it rectified.
FAQ
Depending on the soundbar model, you can pair a Harman Kardon Onyx via Aux and Bluetooth. You can also go through the user manual of Harman Kardon and learn more about that.
