TV with better speakers


Just wondering if I can hook up some small bookshelf speakers to my TV.It has audio and video outs.
Thanks..btw,this is my first thread in H.T.
As long as Im here,I'll ask another dumb question.
Being a 2 channel audiophile I know zip about H.T. or related topics.
I have a SACD player and was wondering what I would have to do to add 2 surround speakers in addition to my main speakers.There are outputs on the back for 2 ch., front,surround,center/sub.
All I care about is adding surround.
My preamp is a basic tube pre with no H.T. 'gadgets' on it.
I have the feeling this is going to cost me some $$!!
Thank you-
david99
David, You may need some kind of integrated amplifier or receiver if those audio ouputs are the typical line level outputs. It should work fine otherwise.

If they are tied to the TV's volume control, then you're in business as is...
Some televisions have audio out capabilities that allow you to connect an external speaker to the television's internal amplifiers. The more common audio out is a line level signal that would require additional amplification. The best fidelity will be attained by by-passing as much of the audio electronics in your television as possible and using external amplification. I would recommend that you use powered monitors to add surround capabilities. It will keep your system as simple as possible. Go to a Guitar Center, or similar store, and check out their selection. The brands (KRK, Event, Mackie) aren't well know in audiophile circles, but they are high quality products. A set of $400 (sale price) powered monitors can easily do the job.

BTW, it is my experience that surround sound really dosen't add that much to the movie experience.
As far as SACD is concerned, you have either 2 channel stereo or 5.1 channel surround. The 5 channel outputs on your SACD player are discrete outputs and would require amplification and volume control via a surround pre-amp with 6 discrete inputs. To add only surround speakers and not a center speaker would not work with this format. There is no way to set up an SACD player to work in a 4 channel mode (no center). The only way you could do what you want is to use a surround processor with a Hall or Church type mode that takes a 2 channel input and uses DSP to decode some rear channel info. I wouldn't reccoment this since most of these DSP modes sound anything but natural. Surround sound for music can be great if its engineered and mixed right, but 2 channel SACD is an amazing format and I think anything you would do, short of 5 new speakers and a 5 channel amp/processor, would be counterproductive.
I may be interpolating a bit, but when you say you want surround, are you talking about surround sound for movies or surround only for SACD? The SACD 5.1 format is not the same as the DTS 5.1 or Dolby 5.1. If your SACD player is a DVD player as well, those 6 line level analog outs may be SACD/DTS/Dolby. You are, as others have observed, best off staying away from the outputs on your TV, and using outputs closer to the source, whether that is the DVD player, DSS/CATV box, whatever.

If the analog outs are SACD/DTS/Dolby, you might get away with running L/R front into your existing 2CH pre, the question is what to do with the others. On the cheapo side, you could run them into a HT receiver and use the outputs off of that--you could just mark where the levels are appropriate to balance the sound from your existing 2CH system and the new HT preamp.

Here's the dumb part. If you get an HT processor or receiver, you may be able to run digital coax or toslink off the DVD/SACD instead of using the analog outs. That won't, however, allow you to decode SACD through the same outputs, since the digital format is different.
All Im interested in is surround music with SACD
Like the new Floyd SACD is reported to sound amazing in surround.
As far as my TV all I have to go with it is a VCR.
I told you Im not experienced w/H.T. Believe me now? Shit,I have trouble getting 2 ch.down!
Thanks for the replies guys.