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Jon Martindale Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
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Ask any audiophile about the best home theater system, and they’ll rattle off lists of amplifiers and tweeters, mids and subs, and it all gets a bit complicated. But you can skip over all that and get an amazing home theater system in an all-in-one package. The Samsung Q990D combines a powerful soundbar packed full of speakers with two rear speakers and a rumbling subwoofer for a super immersive sound.
For those of you in smaller apartments or with compact home theaters, check out the Sonos Immersive Set With Beam for all the power you need in a tiny footprint. Pick up the LG S95TR soundbar and speakers if you already have one of the best OLED LG TVs to pair it with. We’ve leveraged our expertise in tech and audio gear to recommend the best home theater systems you can buy in 2024.
Best Home Theater System Overall: Samsung Q990D Soundbar and Speakers
See AlsoAyreon - The Theater Equation (Review)Между Живота и Смъртта. Ayreon – „The Theater Equation“ – Memoria de futuro – Памет за бъдещетоThe Theater Equation [2016, Progressive metal opera, BDRip, 1080p] :: RuTracker.orgAyreon ★ The Theater Equation [2016, Progressive metal opera, Blu-ray, 1080i] :: RuTracker.orgBest Compact Home Theater System: Sonos Immersive Set With Beam
Best Budget Home Theater System: Roku Streambar Pro
Best Premium Home Theater System: LG S95TR Soundbar With Speakers
Best Home Theater System Under $500: VIZIO M-Series 5.1.2 Immersive Soundbar and Speakers
Best Home Theater System Overall
A Truly Spacial Experience
Configuration: 11.1.4 | Connection: Wired/Wireless | Dolby Atmos/DTS:X: Yes/Yes
Best for: Enjoying your favorite movies, shows and games with high-quality, immersive sound.
Pros:
- Powerful sound across its 22 speakers
- Has a range of wired and wireless connection options
- Supports the latest technologies and AI enhancements
Cons:
- Expensive
- Soundbar takes up a lot of space
The Samsung Q990D soundbar and speaker system is a great home theater system with powerful sound from its expansive array of speakers. It comes with a giant soundbar that takes up a lot of space, but that's due to the sheer amount of internal speakers it has. Together with the subwoofer and rear speakers, it creates an immersive sound, with Dolby Atmos and spatial audio support creating audio that has verticality, making you enveloped in the sound in ways that less comprehensive home theater systems can't manage.
Older movies and shows can enjoy AI upmixed audio for greater immersion, too, and eARC simplifies connectivity. The HMDI 2.1 ports also support variable refresh rate and 120Hz refresh rates, with the HDMI pass-through adding no latency for a responsive gaming experience. Setup is quick and relatively easy, despite the range of speakers and components in this system, with wireless connectivity letting you place them without being concerned with additional cabling.
Best Compact Home Theater System
All You Need
Configuration: 5.1 | Connection: Wired/wireless | Dolby Atmos/DTS:X: Yes/no
Best for: Enjoying quality sound in a small footprint.
Pros:
- Strong bass from the Sub Mini
- Compact size makes it great for apartments and bedrooms
- Easily streamed from other smart devices
Cons:
- Expensive
- Lacks channel complexity of larger home theater systems
For smaller apartments, compact home theater rooms or bedrooms, a compact system like the Sonos Immersive Set is ideal. It combines the excellent, smart Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar with a pair of Era 100 rear speakers and the surprisingly powerful Sub Mini for a spatial, immersive sound that offers impressive power, despite its small footprint. The Beam Gen 2 is an awesome soundbar, with great quality sound and strong smart features, making it easy to connect wirelessly with your smartphone or other device to stream music through the whole system. It also accepts voice commands via Google Assistant or Alexa.
The main speakers are wired, but you can setup eARC over the HDMI 2.1 connection to simplify cabling. You don't have the additional sound channels that you might get from larger soundbars and speaker configurations, but for a compact 5.1 system, the Sonos Immersive Set offers surprising quality and immersion for smaller home theater spaces.
Best Budget Home Theater System
Audio And Streaming In One
Configuration: 2.0 | Connection: Wired/Wireless | Dolby Atmos/DTS:X: No/No
Best for: Setting up a home theater with good sound, for less.
Pros:
- Decent sound upgrade over standard TV speakers
- Includes 4K streaming support and voice-activated remote
- Expandable with speakers and subwoofers later
Cons:
- Limited bass without a subwoofer
- Lacks surround-sound capabilities
- No Dolby Atmos support
If you're just setting up your home theater and you want improved sound but don't want to spend too much, a soundbar is a great way to do it. For us, the best soundbar under $200 is the Roku Streambar Pro. It's a good audio upgrade over your TV, and with its built-in 4K Roku streaming functionality, you don't need to also shell out for a streaming stick when kitting out your home theater. That's an additional savings that can go toward the TV or the TV unit, or just to help reduce your overall setup costs.
The sound from the Roku Streambar isn't flagship-quality, but it's a big improvement over your TV's built-in speakers. It offers impressive volume and, though it doesn't manage the lowest of frequencies, its bass isn't bad for a soundbar without a subwoofer. Other frequencies are better represented again, giving it a surprisingly full sound. The included remote is the more advanced one with a built-in headphone jack for private listening and a microphone for vocal searching. The Streambar Pro is compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and Homekit, making it easy to stream content from Apple devices.
Best Premium Home Theater System
Feature Packed For Power And Clarity
Configuration: 9.1.5 | Connection: Wired/Wireless | Dolby Atmos/DTS:X: Yes/Yes
Best for: Powerful and immersive sound.
Pros:
- Clean, powerful sound with great Dolby Atmos support
- AI room calibration makes setup and speaker placement easy
- "Wow Orchestra" boosts sound with TV speakers
Cons:
- "Wow Orchestra" only works with LG TVs
- Expensive
If you want something close to the pinnacle of pre-packaged home theater systems, then the LG S95TR soundbar and speaker setup is ideal. It offers a comprehensive 9.1.5 channel configuration for a truly immersive sound that sounds fantastic at lower volumes, and powerful and punchy at the higher end. The subwoofer can hit the deepest of low rumbles, while the rear speakers and soundbar offer excellent clarity for dialogue and lighter notes. The Dolby Atmos integration is excellent, making this a home theater system that sounds much more like being at a real cinema experience.
Setup is quick and easy with the AI room calibration tool that gives you tips on where to place your speakers for the best sound quality. The "Wow Orchestra" feature lets you use the TV speakers and the home theater system at the same time for even greater nuance and power to the sound. There's also a built-in "Night Mode" that automatically flattens out the sound a little to prevent bassier or louder notes from waking the neighbors or your kids.
Best Home Theater System Under $500
Immersive Surround Sound At A Reasonable Price
VIZIO M-Series 5.1.2 Immersive Soundbar and Speakers
Configuration: 5.1.2 | Connection: Wired/Wireless | Dolby Atmos/DTS:X: Yes/Yes
Best for: Getting great sound for under $500.
Pros:
- Offers a loud, punchy sound
- Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital support make it great for surround sound movies
- Works well as a Bluetooth speaker
Cons:
- Lacks support for Airplay, Chromecast
- Not as immersive as higher-end systems
The Vizio M-Series soundbar, speakers and subwoofer make a great home theater system for those looking to spend less than $500. It offers a loud, powerful sound with strong bass and impressive surround sound. It offers good surround sound immersion, and comes with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support for better object placement. It has upward facing speakers within the soundbar, but not the satellites, so it's not quite as immersive as higher-end home theater systems, like the Vizio Elevate, but the immersion is still there.
Vocals and dialogue are particularly well-represented in this home theater system, with the option of boosting them further for added clarity. There's no Chromecast or Airplay support on this system, but it does have Bluetooth, so you can stream podcasts, music or audiobooks from your phone and other smart devices.
MORE FROMFORBES VETTED
Why Trust Forbes Vetted
The Forbes Vetted tech team is well-versed in all things digital. We’ve researched and tested hundreds of tech products, in addition to covering the latest tech news. We also have a whole library of audio reviews and recommendations.
- Forbes contributor and author of this story, Jon Martindale, has extensive experience in the tech space. Martindale formerly ran his own PC hardware review website, and has been testing and writing about home audio for years. A couple of his recent articles are on the best 75-inch TVs and the best outdoor TVs.
- Rebecca Isaacs is Forbes Vetted’s consumer tech editor and is an experienced technology reporter and home-entertainment expert. She’s had hands-on testing time with many of the latest TVs and home theater systems of recent years.
- The tech world moves fast, so we routinely review are content and check it for relevance and accuracy. This article was last updated in August 2024.
How We Chose The Best Home Theater Systems
To find the best home theater systems of 2024, we relied on our own expertise, thorough brand research and input from industry leaders.
- We looked at the latest models from reputable brands like Samsung, LG, Roku, Sonos and Vizio, among others. We then examined the specs and overall performance of each home theater system, and examined their speaker configurations, audio quality, connectivity and feature support.
- Martindale has tested some of these home theater systems himself, and we also leveraged our team’s personal experience with many of these models to determine if they should make the final list.
- In addition to our hands-on testing, we spoke with product experts and industry leaders to help us determine what sets the best home theater system apart.
- We dove deep into each product’s reviews and made sure all models had strong user reviews of at least 4 out of 5 on major retailers.
- Because everyone has unique needs when it comes to home theater systems, we made sure to recommend a variety of options, including budget options and more compact designs.
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