Large screen TVs are no longer a luxury at least not for the past decade. Large TVs are fairly common and affordable. This enabled a whole new industry to develop. What we now call home cinema systems are basically large TVs and a home theater system. Superior image quality is not paired with superior sound quality and the vast majority of people can afford to have a small cinema in the comfort of their own home. Today we will get into the details of what makes a great home theater system and what offerings the market has.
A good home theater system must offer high fidelity sound and a good coverage of audio frequencies. This means bass, mids and highs. To achieve this, a multi-speaker system is preferable like a subwoofer and satellites. Most home theater systems come with their own built-in amplifier and they are optimized for movies but they can still play music while still offering an immersive listening experience. What comes next is our selection of home theater systems that are worth checking out.
Onkyo HT-S5800 5.1.2-Channel Dolby Atmos Home Theater Package
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The Onkyo HT-S5800 is a powerful home theater system that comes as a complete package. This particular kit includes the 5.1 channel speakers and a dedicated amplifier. Each speaker has a power output of 115 watts while the amplifier is capable of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoding. The system also supports Bluetooth wireless audio streaming and comes with an advanced music optimizer that tweaks the sound for a better listening experience.Pros
- Bluetooth audio streaming
- Dolby Atmos support
- Double bass function
Cons
- Bass is weak
The subwoofer is not powerful enough for the entire system. The sound can be tweaked to offer a decent amount of bass but only for lower volumes. At the highest bass setting, with mids and highs volumes lowered it sounds decent but it takes a good amount of tweaking to get it right. See more:
Samsung HT-J5500W 5.1 Channel 1000-Watt 3D Blu-Ray Home Theater System
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Samsung HT-J5500W is a great 5.1 watt audio system. It is not that expensive and it is quite powerful. The system is capable of an output of 1000 watts and supports Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround. In terms of connectivity options, the system has 1 USB, 1 HDMI out, 1 Digital Audio. It also supports a Wi-Fi connection and Bluetooth audio streaming. As for playback, the home theater system has a Blu-Ray player and support for 3D movies.Pros
- Inexpensive
- Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround
- 3D Blue-Ray player
Cons
- Rear speakers get desynced
The rear speakers from the system are wireless. Sounds like a great feature to have but the problem is that about once in a while, they get desynchronized with the system and need to be setup again. Also there is no option to make the wired speakers to eliminate this problem. See more:
Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System
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Onkyo SKS-HT540 is one of the few 7.1 systems that managed to get into our list. Each speaker has a 130 watt output with 2-way bass reflex and a 5-inch 230 watt subwoofer. The system is fairly easy to setup and only takes a few minutes to get ready. Amplification is built-in into the subwoofer which will save space and reduce the amount of cables. As for sound quality, the home theater system works great for movies and listening to music.Pros
- Powerful speakers and subwoofer
- Great sound quality
- 2-way bass reflex system
Cons
- Sound quality is not stellar
Everyone would expect a 7.1 system to sound great. The Onkyo is a great home theater system but the drivers used are not that great. It is still a good system and sounds great especially for movies. Music is still enjoyable but for the money the sound quality should have been better.
Yamaha YHT-3920UBL 5.1-Channel Home Theater in a Box System with Bluetooth
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Yamaha YHT-3920UBL is a great home theater system that offers some of the best sound quality for a decent price tag. It is a 5.1 speaker system with a dedicated amplifier and plenty of features. The model supports Bluetooth audio streaming and Virtual Cinema technology. It offers extra bass which enhances listening experience and has more than enough sound optimization options. The system is quite loud and it should be more than enough for a medium to large living room.Pros
- Powerful subwoofer
- Virtual Cinema and Bluetooth audio streaming support
- Dedicated amplifier
Cons
- Poor quality connectors and wires
The kit includes all the required cables to set it up properly. The only issue is that the quality of the cables and the connectors is fairly poor. It takes a bit of work to secure the wires properly and ensure that they will not come out accidentally or that they actually make proper contacts.
Best Home Theater Systems in 2019 