How to build a budget home theater setup

Just watch Dune once with TV speakers or a basic soundbar, and you’ll understand the appeal of a real surround sound system. You may already have stunning visuals thanks to that new OLED set, but if the enormous sandworms of Arrakis don’t rattle your living room with butt-shaking goodness, then you’re missing out on an essential element of that film. Thankfully, it’s never been easier to bring the surround sound experience home without investing thousands of dollars in Hi-Fi components.

Pro tip: Think ahead as much as you can

It’s easy to snap up the cheapest surround sound system you can find, or overspend beyond what you actually need. So before you buy anything, I suggest sitting down and thinking about what you need now, and project ahead a few years to see if things may change. If you’re stuck in a small city apartment, it’s probably not worth investing in enormous speakers that you can never play loud. But if you’re moving within a year or two, maybe you can start with a smaller system and build up.

Different rooms may also require different types of equipment. It makes sense to go wire-free in a family room that’s always filled with kids and their toys. But if you’re lucky enough to have a basement or some sort of dedicated home theater space, feel free to go big. Just leave yourself room to upgrade: Consider an Atmos receiver, even if you’re not buying Atmos speakers yet.

Get a soundbar system

Soundbars have come a long way over the last decade. It used to be that you’d sacrifice a significant amount of quality to have a tidy little box sitting underneath your TV. But today’s entries are much better at mimicking two separate front channels and a center speaker. Some models also support newer immersive audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X by bouncing sound off of your ceilings with upward firing speakers. (That may seem a bit silly, but this technique does a decent job of simulating overhead sounds.)

As a bonus, soundbar systems only need one cable to connect to your TV. They also typically rely on wireless subwoofers and rear speakers, which don’t require stringing any long cables around your living room like a traditional surround setup. Naturally, you’ll still need to power those up, though, so be sure to have outlets nearby.