Best Home Theater Speakers You Can Buy Today

If you prefer watching movies at home to the cinema then you know how important it is to have not only a big high-resolution screen but also high-grade speakers. It’s all immersive sound that makes you tremble while watching a horror film as well as feel the true catharsis while listening to The Four Seasons of Vivaldi.

So, high-quality speakers are a must for those who value nice sound. Of course, even the best home theater speakers can’t make a dull movie cool but they will never spoil the great one.

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Last update on 2023-05-26 // The links above are affiliate // Images from Amazon

How to Choose the Best Home Theater Speakers?

Looking for the best home theater speakers to offer you we took into account some criteria which we suppose to be the most important for the right choice. The first one is technical characteristics. Here’s the list of some notions you should be aware of before your purchase.

Subwoofer

This kind of speaker is aimed to produce low-frequency sounds. It is usually placed on the floor or at the lowest level as this allows it to show the best performance of bass frequencies.

Tweeter

Unlike a subwoofer, this type of speaker, aka treble speaker produces high-frequency sounds.

Satellite speakers

They are usually used to hand off low bass to a single larger subwoofer. Thus, these smaller stereo speakers are mostly used as a part of 2.1 subwoofer/satellite speaker systems.

Bluetooth connectivity

This option allows you to play music form such devices as smartphone or tablet wirelessly.

Input interface

Modern speakers have multiple audio input interfaces as they make them compatible with different devices.

3D capability

This feature means that your speaker has HDMI 2.0 or newer connection which supports 3D format. The point is that some Blu Ray discs and players support 3D, which can be streamed only through A/V receiver.

4K capability

This option presupposes that your speaker is compatible with 4K TV sets. As well as speakers with 3D capability, they have HDMI 2.0 or newer connection which is necessary for the 4k (2.1 allows even for 10k).

Price

Some people think that high-end stuff is always expensive. Obviously, that’s true but it doesn’t mean that cheap speakers are bad. Furthermore, you will be surprised to learn how speakers with the same low price differ in their options and quality. The most important thing here is to keep in mind that home theater speakers can be both budget-friendly and effective at the same time.

Thus, the other point which is important to take into account is price. If you are ready to spend a fortune on a new home theater system, your neighbor may be planning to save on it. And modern market knows it. At least it tries to predict customers’ financial potential and as a result, create products to satisfy their different needs. Our list of the best home theater speakers includes both expensive and budget systems to make you feel free while choosing the most suitable one.

What you should know for sure is that the more channels the speakers have the more expensive they will be. Note that speakers for movies usually have more channels in order to involve surround sound systems. Consequently, their price will be higher than those which are aimed mostly at music.

Design

And the last but not least is design. OK, you may say that it doesn’t matter as much as the technical side of the speakers but we won’t agree. We always advise choosing something that will inspire you and speakers aren’t an exception. Avoid products the general look of which irritates you. Moreover, pay attention to the size as they need to blend well in your setup.

Best Home Theater Speakers

SAMSUNG 9100S

Solid Wireless Rear Speaker Kit

If you’re looking to improve your home cinema sound system (sound bar basically), the Samsung 9100 rear speaker kit would make for a great buy. First things first, for a little bit less than $150 you’ll end up with a couple of wireless speakers that look and sound the part.

The 9100s are designed to blend-in with your existing home cinema setup, they look great and have impeccable build quality. The main thing to understand is that these babies will definitely add depth and surround sound to your Samsung sound bar, and they work pretty good as soon as you turn up all the rear frequencies.

The thing is, in the “default” setup, the sound level may be very low at first, but if you go to settings-rear speakers, you’ll find a secret menu that will allow you to adjust the different rear frequencies for the rear speakers. Basically, you’ll have to press the settings button on the remote until you get to Rear Speakers, and then hold down the setting button until the screen reads Rear Level, and you can increase the volume.

Once you do that, the 9100s will sound fantastic. Another thing to contemplate is that each of the left and the right speaker comes with its own power cable and connects to the soundbar wirelessly, which means you can place them wherever you desire.

Sound quality is not bad considering the speakers’ dimensions/weight, and it must be told that these 2 speakers will really make a difference, as they’ll put you in the middle of the cinematic experience.

Pros:

• Well built
• Nice design
• Solid sound
• Good value for money

Cons:

• User interface not the best

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Fluance SX-HTB

Durable Home Theater Speakers

This stylish complex of 5 speakers will surround you with radiant tunes from the list of your favourite soundtracks. All speakers are matched perfectly well, so you will enjoy their harmonious performance.

Fluance SX-HTB has premium 1-inch neodymium balanced silk dome tweeters that are ferrofluid cooled for vibrant high-frequency response. Besides, there are 4-inch poly-coated midrange drivers, the butyl rubber surrounds of which provide clear sounds. What is more, such drivers guarantee rich and accurate vocals.

Except for the pre-cited tweeters, this Fluance speaker system has powerful floor-standing dual 6.5-inch woofers, responsible for high definition sound as well as optimal low frequency response. Their smooth acoustic imaginary will make sure that you won’t miss any single note and will make you feel like in a true cinema.

These speakers have a durable crafted audio-grade MDF wood construction. Such build provides minimized cabinet resonance and allows speakers to produce natural sound. By the by, Fluance SX-HTB has a warranty with lifetime customer support.

So, what we really like about this 5.0 channel speaker system is its ability to harmonize the stylish look and a sound performance. Fluance SX-HTB speakers are suitable for any living area.

The only thing which can keep you from buying this system is its price – $400. So, if you are planning to get budget speakers then this may be not as good option as Emotiva Airmotiv B1 or ELAC Debut B6 which have a more affordable price. Another thing is size. Just keep in mind that you’ll need some space to place this speaker system at your home.

Pros:

• silk dome tweeters
• durable wood construction
• powerful woofers
• smooth acoustic imaginary
• stylish look

Cons:

• price
• size
• no subwoofers

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Platin Milan 5.1 with WiSA SoundSend

Good Sound, Great Technology, Exceptional Value

The Platin Milan is a very interesting home theater system featuring wireless surround sound, 5.1 Channels of Uncompressed 24-bit 48 kHz Sound, making for the perfect addition to your smart TV. Retailing for less than $100, the Platin Milan is WiSa certified, which means it meets and exceeds the highest globally-recognized standards for wireless speaker systems, ensuring superior performance, reliability, and interoperability.

Think THX with a twist of globalism, and you’ll understand what WiSa is. The speakers are designed to save as much space as possible, and to blend in with your décor for providing an immersive home theater experience. The Sound Send transmitter is capable of decoding theatrical audio formats like Dolby HD and Dolby Atmos, and the setup is incredibly simple: all you have to do is to plug the speakers and the SoundSend unit into power outlets, and then connect the main unit to your smart TV. The SoundSend will take care of the rest automatically, as it will identify and assign channels to the speakers via its independent wireless network dedicated to your Milan system.

Everything is very high-tech with this home cinema, and once you install the dedicated app on your smartphone, everything will be awesome. For movies, the speakers sound pretty good for their size and price, and the center channel is perfectly capable of to producing crisp and clear dialogs with almost accurate vocal tones; albeit, the surround channels also produce good balanced sound.

If you’re into music, keep in mind that these speakers were not designed with music in mind, but they are pretty forgiving, in such they’re really enjoyable if you optimize the settings in the app.

Pros:

• Great sound
• No latency
• Easy to use
• Dolby Atmos
• Axiim Link
• Solid build quality
• Good value for money

Cons:

• Some issues with LG firmware

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Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 DTS:X/Atmos Sound Bar

The Authentic Cinematic Experience in your Home

Designed for people who want the true cinematic experience in their living room, this is an entire home theater system equipped with two 10-inch wireless subwoofers, four rear speakers (for sound effects), and one front soundbar.

The subwoofers take care of the bass, producing ground-shaking lows that turn any movie into a reality. Due to their action, the sound is dispersed throughout the room, without any localization and there is no distortion.

The four rear speakers connect to the subwoofers using RCA wires and help produce the ultimate surround experience. Each speaker has a powerful tweeter (for clear high frequencies) and a full-range driver to create the perfect surround effect. In addition, these are modular speakers, so you can use them as dipoles or as 4 individual speakers.

Lastly, the soundbar features three advanced audio processing engines and SSE Technology to deliver spacious sound with extra details. The soundbar is equipped with dual center channels for incredible clarity in movie dialogs and music lyrics.

When the soundbar is paired with the subwoofers and rear speakers, this system can produce up to 9.2.4 channels of Dolby Atmos or DTS:X object-based multi-dimensional audio at about 110dB of powerful sound.

Pros:

• The speakers, subs and soundbar look & feel like premium quality products
• The sound is clear and rich
• The bass is thumping and quite powerful
• Soundbar with ARC HDMI port

Cons:

• The remote receiver has a very short range
• It requires a certain type of room to deliver an optimal sound experience

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KEF LS50 Meta

Impressive Sound and Elegant Design

To make a long story short, the LEF LS50 Meta are the neck plus ultra of music listening, making for truly phenomenal stereo speakers even for audiophile-grade users. These KEF speakers are not cheap, but if money is no object to you, you’ll end up with fabulous design, easy setup, incredible versatility and superb sound quality, not to mention a plethora of connectivity options from a triumphant improvement over the previous LS50 generation.

Even if it may sound strange, these speakers are well worth the money if you have the budget, as KEF is one of the best brands out there when it comes to high end speakers. And the LS50 Meta are capable of phenomenal, which means they’re perfect for your home cinema.

To begin with, these stand mounters are the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2020 winner and they’re basically redefining the standards in their price bracket. Basically, KEF took an already good speaker, the LS50, and made it even better, using its innovative Metamaterial technology; the speakers areesigned around the Uni-Q 12th Generation with Metamaterial Absorption Technology driver array, which means this solid, compact loudspeaker is capable of delivering detailed sound anywhere in the room.

The cabinet is made from MDF and a polyester resin combined with glass fiber and calcium carbonate, something called Dough Moulding Compound. The Uni-Q driver array, where the tweeter sits in the throat of the mid/bass unit has been thoroughly reworked and built using Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT).

Each speaker weighs 7.2 kg, looks great, and to make a long story short, they make for a legit improvement over the LS50, being significantly better than their predecessor. To give you a precise metric, the Meta offers 40% more goose bumps compared legacy LS50s.

The only drawback is that you will most probably require a subwoofer if you’re into movies, i.e. you’ll have to spend extra.

Pros:

• Fantastic sound
• Impeccable build quality
• Innovative technology
• Looks great

Cons:

• Expensive for home cinema

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Logitech Z906

Great Sound in a Modern Package

A home theater system designed to create a sound that moves you, the Logitech Z906 comes with some powerful features.

The system packs 1000 watts of peak power (continuous 500 watts of power), is THX Certified, and offers inputs for multiple audio sources. This means you can hook up your TV, your computer, and your console to the same unit. Furthermore, the design is modern and compact, which makes it easy to integrate into any type of indoor setting.

With both Dolby Digital and DTS encoding, this 5.1 system is perfect for any type of entertainment. Even more, the speakers convert the sound from old audio recordings into an immerse sound experience, fit for today’s standards.

Pros:

• Booming and clear sound
• Modern design
• Easy to setup
• Supports up to 6 devices
• Comes with all the necessary accessories

Cons:

• The wires are somehow flimsy
• Mid-range is not the best
• Not a good fit for audiophiles

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Klipsch Black Reference Theater Pack

The Perfect Cinematic Experience in your Home

This is the perfect home theater system for people who don’t like wires. The speakers connect to the sturdy subwoofer using a 2.4GHz network, which is ideal for delivering the perfect acoustic performance.

The sound performance is great due to the Injection Molded Graphite woofers, which provide a fantastic low-frequency response with minimal distortion. Furthermore, the aluminum tweeters are perfect for delivering a clean and natural sound.

The subwoofer element may be a bit bulky, but the wireless connectivity is definitely a plus. Also, the speakers can be easily mounted on the wall or placed on furniture, with a minimal footprint.

Pros:

• Wireless connectivity
• Incredible acoustic performance
• Impressive design
• Powerful sound

Cons:

• Doesn’t come with a receiver
• Price a bit steep

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Sonos Beam

A Simple Setting with Powerful Features

Who said that you need bulky subwoofers and complicated receiver for good audio entertainment? Sonos proved all you need is a well-engineered sound bar with some interesting features!

First, the sound is immersive and brings enough power to the mix that you can enjoy music, video games, and movies without missing out anything. However, the feature that makes Beam one of the coolest sound systems on the market is the integration with Amazon Alexa. This gives users the possibility to control the sound with the voice.

But it’s not just about voice controls. Alexa is fully enabled on the Sonos Beam so you can get news, have it search for information, and more.

Finally, Beam can be connected with other Sonos speakers throughout the entire house. This way, you can create the perfect sound system without using any wires.

Pros:

• Impressive sound quality and spaciousness
• Extremely easy setup
• Wireless connectivity with other speakers
• Settings can be controlled using the app
• Smart features and Alexa capability

Cons:

• Sonos only supports the DD codec
• Some compatibility issues
• No Bluetooth connectivity
• Soundstage is not too wide

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Bose Surround Speakers

Transform your Soundbar into a Home Theater System

These small yet powerful speakers are perfect for upgrading your Bose Soundbar (500, 700, or the SoundTouch 300) to a home theater system. The design is modern and the build is sturdy with a premium feel to the materials and overall weight.

While they appear small in size, the sound they produce is large, rich, and quite powerful. Users will experience crisp, clear highs and thundering lows regardless of the volume level, which is quite impressive considering their size.

When paired with a compatible soundbar, they create a wonderful surround experience. The good news is that you don’t have to accommodate extra wires – these are wireless speakers. You can use them as accessories to a compatible soundbar or as wireless speakers that accept BT connectivity, it’s all up to you. Still, if you want a home theater system, it’s best to use them in combination with a recommended Bose soundbar.

They have a wall-mounting system and a wide base, so you can either place them on the wall or on a desk, according to preferences.

Pros:

• The sound is crisp, loud, and quite punchy
• Compact size
• Easy to set up & mount
• They work as wireless speakers or paired to a soundbar
• No wires

Cons:

• They don’t come with wall mounts
• The price is a bit steep

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ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2

Acclaimed by Critics & Loved by Users

ELAC may not be as famous as other brands, but their Debut series sure is! They managed to create a pair of speakers that deliver pitch-perfect audio quality while also keeping the price affordable. Furthermore, the speakers’ cabinetry is wood, which improves the audio quality.

The Debut B6.2 bookshelf speakers are equipped with a 6.5-inch Aramid fiber woofer and a 1-inch Soft Dome tweeter to create a wide soundstage. The front can be as is or you can install a magnetic grid, to give it a more covert look and protect the inside elements.

It’s true, this is only a two-channel surround system, but the sound is clear and powerful. Not to mention, the experience is immersive for music, games, and movies.

Pros:

• Clear sound and wide soundstage
• Elegant design
• Wood cabinetry
• Punchy bass
• High-quality wiring
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Control of the bass is not stellar
• They need some breaking in period
• Placement in the room is important

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Summary

Today the range of home theater speakers is more than just wide. You can choose anything varying from the best budget system to the most expensive and qualitative. There are systems which consist of up to 6 speakers as well as those in the form of a single unit.

Still, if you are a true fan of the home theater then you may be more interested in HTIBs (Home Theater Speakers in Box). Such systems include not only speakers but also subwoofers for high-grade bass, additional amplifiers and AVR receivers. The other thing which will make HTIBs even more functional is their wireless connection.