There are many components that go into building a truly spectacular home theater. Perhaps the most crucial? Cinematic sound. Relying solely on TV speakers may be fine for some; however, if you’re going for an impressive, immersive setup with a large screen, you’ll want to invest in something that really fills a room, whether that’s a set of multiple speakers, a bar soundbar and a woofer, just a soundbar, or an all-in-one product.
If you’re going for a complete setup, it’s essential to know what each part does. Soundbars are usually placed in the center of the room, under the TV. Additional front speakers can go to the left or right of the TV, while surround speakers are designed to be placed elsewhere in the room. Subwoofers are important because they bring out the low bass of whatever is playing, but placement is less critical. Wherever you have space, a subwoofer will still do its job.
There are a ton of home theater speakers on the market in a variety of price points. Whether you’re going for a modest setup for a small room or your home theater is the biggest room in your house, we’ve got you covered with well-reviewed choices across price points and equipment types.
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This four-piece set is an exceptional value for product quality and comes equipped with Dolby Atmos sound.
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This four-piece set includes a subwoofer, two rear speakers, and the Sonos Beam soundbar. The Beam delivers immersive sound while the mini-sub balances the bass. Setup is simple and can be done over Wi-Fi with the Sonos app. You can buy all three pieces of the set individually, but they’ve been designed to go together, working seamlessly to deliver Dolby Atmos surround sound in any room you put them in.
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Logitech’s seven-speaker set makes not includes a soundbar, but instead comes with five surround sound speakers that can be placed anywhere. It supports Dolby Digital Audio and DTS soundtracks, and everything is THX certified, so everything you listen to will sound as close to movie theater quality as possible. The set also comes with a subwoofer that can be placed anywhere to enhance bass.
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Like the Logitech set above, this doesn’t have a soundbar, but it’s more of a splurge if that’s what you’re looking for. One of the five speakers here functions as a soundbar, however, as the center channel speaker. The other four bookshelf speakers can go anywhere in the room and can be easily mounted on walls if that’s how you want your setup. The included 4K UHD AV receiver can also be upgraded to 8K if available. This set also features the Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer, which analyzes room acoustics to provide the best possible sound setup.
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At the very least, a soundbar is crucial for your home theater. This all-in-one piece combines a soundbar with a subwoofer, so you get Dolby Audio plus the bass-boosting capabilities of a woofer in one sleek piece. It’s optimized for 4K content with high-fidelity sound and is also ready to pair with the voice assistant of your choice – Siri, Google or Alexa.
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Something unique about Polk’s highly rated products is your ability to choose speakers from a specific range. The Signature Elite system has a few components that you can purchase individually to create your dream setup. With a beautiful walnut wood finish, the set looks as good as it looks, delivering Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatible sound. THE tower speaker retails for $449, the Center channel speakeraka soundbar, sells for $319, and the set of two bookshelf speakers is also priced at $319.
There is no specific subwoofer created for this system; Polk says you can use any of their woofers. We recommend the PSW 108 ($169.99) for a budget option and HTS 10 ($399) for a slightly more expensive model.
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If money is no object and you want a complete and highly revised setup, look no further. Nakamichi’s surround sound system comes with a center-channel soundbar, four satellite speakers that can be installed in the room, and two wireless subwoofers. New technology helps this system deliver 360-degree sound for the most cinematic experience, whether you’re watching sports, a sitcom, or a blockbuster action movie. With support for Dolby Atmos and 4K HDR pass-through, the sound quality will match the picture quality.