Question How to connect my Xbox Series X with my soundbar and gaming monitor ?

[Sym166]

Hello,

I need an advice for how to connect Xbox Series X with the soundbar and gaming monitor. Previously it was working with an optical to HDMI adapter but I had too many issues with this solution, from lack of HDR to UHD movies not working at all. I had to plug my xbox directly with hdmi 2.1 cable and now its fine with all features on.

But...

Xbox and monitor dont have optical port.

Devices:
Xbox series x
Creative soundblaster x katana v1
Asus rog strix pg38uq gaming monitor

Is there any way to keep my xbox plugged in hdmi 2.1 and then plug my soundbar to the second hdmi 2.1 port on the monitor and still be able to use sound?

I can eventually buy a different soundbar. As far as I know, xbox compatible soundbars use hdmi arc output. But not sure if I can plug this cable into my gaming monitor's hdmi 2.1 hdmi port?

I will be appreciate for any solutions or advices and possible soundbars. I was looking at soundblasterx katana v2x or se but if there is any good soundbar with similar price (250-300£) I will be happy to check them. Would be nice if they support dolby atmos but it is not a must.

Thanks!

 

[dwd999]

Perhaps you could try an hdmi splitter for the signal coming out of the xbox with 1 hdmi going to the monitor and the other going to the soundbar.

 

[Sym166]

Can I please have a link to any of these? So much stuff on the internet and I dont know what I am looking for. My monitor only supports hdmi 2.1 port and 4k120hz.

It wont affect quality of sound and display like my previous adapter?

 

[thestryker]

Something like this would probably work: https://www.amazon.com/OREI-Splitter-Duplicate-Supports-Management/dp/B0CMZ8B6N2/

The issue that tends to happen is problems with DRM with UHD BR if there's a problem to be had with any devices like this. All adapters also seem to have their own issues which is the unfortunate part of current consoles not including toslink for when you're not using a TV.

 

[Sym166]

Och, orei is the brand I currently have optical to hdmi and this was causing problems when I couldn't run any uhd movie. Screen was blinking black and turning off.

That toslink thing. I think on microsoft website, they suggest to use this with soundbars so it should work with xbox x

 

[thestryker]

That's a DRM issue or a bad box.

AFAIK Microsoft doesn't support any way of hooking up Xbox Series consoles to optical outside of having something else process the audio (tv/receiver etc).

 

[Sym166]

They said optical was removed because not many people used it. Sure... Everyone wants it for soundbars.

So I need a soundbar that has hdmi 2.1 arc port + one of the splitters, so I can plug one hdmi to a soundbar + monitor and one hdmi xbox + monitor.

UGREEN HDMI 2.1 Switch, 4K@120Hz HDMI Switch 3 In 1 Out, 8K@60Hz HDMI Switcher Support VRR & ALLM, Dolby Vision & Atmos, High-Speed 48Gbps HDMI Splitter 3 In 1 Out for PS5, Xbox, TV Box, DVD Player https://amzn.eu/d/hJbwX9h

HDMI 2.1 Switch 8K HDMI Splitter HDMI Switcher Ultra HD High Speed 48Gbps HDMI 2.1 Splitter Support 8K@60Hz 4K@144Hz Compatible with Xbox PS5 HDTV/Projectors Monitors https://amzn.eu/d/j9VhpT7

Will any of these work?

 

[thestryker]

In theory the second one should work because it claims to be bidirectional. It also mentions HDCP support so it should be good for 4K BR.

 

[Sym166]

Is there any decent soundbar that will work will all of these?

I found some information. If soundbar has hdmi arc port, I can plug it directly to my monitor's hdmi 2.1 port and should work without any splitter or adapter, but not sure. If not, as above. I will look for soundbar, but which one...

Edit: was looking at this one
https://uk.creative.com/p/speakers/creative-sxfi-carrier
Seems it has all specification I need to run it with or without splitter. Little bit pricey but I think I can squeeze few £ extra.

 

[LordVile]

Hello,

I need an advice for how to connect Xbox Series X with the soundbar and gaming monitor. Previously it was working with an optical to HDMI adapter but I had too many issues with this solution, from lack of HDR to UHD movies not working at all. I had to plug my xbox directly with hdmi 2.1 cable and now its fine with all features on.

But...

Xbox and monitor dont have optical port.

Devices:
Xbox series x
Creative soundblaster x katana v1
Asus rog strix pg38uq gaming monitor

Is there any way to keep my xbox plugged in hdmi 2.1 and then plug my soundbar to the second hdmi 2.1 port on the monitor and still be able to use sound?

I can eventually buy a different soundbar. As far as I know, xbox compatible soundbars use hdmi arc output. But not sure if I can plug this cable into my gaming monitor's hdmi 2.1 hdmi port?

I will be appreciate for any solutions or advices and possible soundbars. I was looking at soundblasterx katana v2x or se but if there is any good soundbar with similar price (250-300£) I will be happy to check them. Would be nice if they support dolby atmos but it is not a must.

Thanks!

Depends on the monitor but you should be able to just use it over ARC

 

[Sym166]

Depends on the monitor but you should be able to just use it over ARC

My monitor is asus rog pg38uq. It has 2x hdmi 2.1 (it doesnt say arc, so probably normal 2.1) ports. Should be enough for xbox and other for soundbar. For pc i use displayport

 

[dwd999]

Perhaps you might do just as well connecting the monitor's earphone jack to the sound bar's aux input. Since its basically just a stereo soundbar with simulated surround sound there might not be much difference compared to using hdmi or optical. There just aren't that enough speakers (e.g. 5) for real surround sound.

 

[Sym166]

I must update my question. The problem I had with the screen blinking....I found the orei splitter I have is running on hdmi 2.0 4k60hz, not 2.1. 4k120hz. This is probably why I have so many issues with screen, uhd and other things. That splitter is optical to hdmi...

So that means I dont need to buy a new soundbar. My one is good enough. I just need to buy a new splitter supporting 2.1. and all these issues will fix. My bad...

My next step is to buy 2.1 splitter and then I will update this thread if it doesn't work.

@thestryker can I have a different link for that orei splitter for later? This one does not work anymore. Getting white screen

 

[thestryker]

This is the one I'd linked earlier:
https://www.orei.com/products/1x2-hdmi-splitter-w-audio-out-1-in-2-out-ultrahd-8k-edid-bk-102

This is one which also has optical:
https://www.orei.com/products/1x2-hdmi-splitter-w-audio-out-1-in-2-out-ultrahd-8k-edid-bk-102a

 

[Sym166]

Brilliant, thank you! I will go for the one with optical included, just in case I will upgrade soundbar in future or if it doesn't work properly.

Xbox: out
Soundbar: out (if I upgrade to hdmi one)
Monitor: in

Is that right?

 

[thestryker]

Xbox out to splitter in then splitter outputs to soundbar and monitor inputs.

 

[Sym166]

Quick edit.

New soundbar is on the way. I had some issues with screen with splitter and my old soundbar. So from now on all should be fine with connections.

I have extra question. Because xbox series x doesnt support many headsets, can I still have a sound by plugging in 3.5mm jack into new soundbar? Soundbar will be connected by hdmis to xbox and monitor with passthrough (eventually with different splitter if that wont work). Not sure if xbox will recognize this. Anybody tried that before?