Expand Table of Contents
There’s nothing quite like a good surround sound speaker system, but the best home theater systems can cost a lot of money. You don’t need to sacrifice good sound quality for an affordable price though, not when there are so many budget home theater systems out there. Get the experience of a surround sound home theater system without paying the thousand-dollar prices—just consider one of these sound systems that we’ve tested out for you to choose from.
According to our tests, the best budget surround sound system is the Logitech Z906. It's affordable, versatile and easy to set up.
7 Best Budget Surround Sound Systems
If you’re looking for home theater system speakers that have solid sound quality, you can rely on Logitech. These speakers have a good sound to them that makes them quite enticing to buy.
You might want speakers with a good base, a solid sound, and a unique surround sound. If that’s the case, look no further than these Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro speakers, which let you connect anything you want to listen to.
Bose is known for their long-lasting speakers, and for good reason. Try out their Acoutsimass 5 Series V, which is large, but fills the room with sound.
If you can figure out how to set up these speakers and increase the volume properly, you might just love these Samsung speakers, which are made to provide you with true surround sound.
You can get the movie theater sound at home with these Onkyo speakers that are made to be easy to set up and that sound well, even though you might want to pair them with a powered subwoofer.
You can’t go wrong with Klipsch, which is one of the best satellite speakers for good sound, not to mention that they’re easy to mount and figure out, although the price point is a little higher.
Set up this sound bar to sit anywhere in your home and get all of the wonderful surround sound without having to struggle with a complicated set up thanks to the JBLBar, with the included virtual surround sound too.
Pros
Cons
Summary:
There’s a reason why Logitech is such a well-known, reliable brand of speakers. These THX-certified speakers have 5.1 digital surround sound that’s made to help you hear every single detail in your sound tracks. Just plug them in to hear the 165-watt subwoofer, or you can even mount them on the wall. With 500 continuous watts of power, you’re really able to get that thunderous base—and you can get that sound no matter what device you plug in. You’re able to plug in up to six devices, after all, from your computer to your game console and more.
We loved that when we had our devices plugged in to the 3.5mm jack or the wireless power set up, we simply adjusted the sound control using the compact and wireless remote. Using that remote, we could also personalize our home theater experience to get the best sound that we wanted.
Related content: where to place a subwoofer
Pros
Cons
Summary:
If you’re looking to really transform your living room into a real theater, you can’t go wrong with the Nakamichi Shockwafe Pro. These speakers are made to elevate the sound around you with the spatial surround elevation technology. Just set them up to see how they sound with the 3 advanced audio process engines and the large speakers. With up to 7.1.4 channels of audio and two 2-way rear speakers, we could really experience a dynamic sort of surround sound.
Thanks to the front surround effects, you’ll also be able to listen to a wider soundstage too. That’s because you have the 8-inch wireless subwoofers that really deliver you the base you’re looking for.
Pros
Cons
Summary:
When you pick Bose to be your stereo system, you’re choosing a spacious stereo system that offers you a sleek performance. Thanks to the surface area of the speakers, you’ll receive a lot of clear, lifelike sound. Listen to those crisp low notes after you set up the speakers, which we found to be an easy process. Thanks to the fact that all the cables and connectors are clearly marked, it only takes a few minutes to get everything plugged in properly.
We enjoyed the redesigned speakers, which are made to be slim enough to put almost anywhere in your home theater, thanks to the style. Then, of course, there are the angled drivers inside that redirect the sound, and the rubber feet that stop your Bose from slipping off of a shelf.
Pros
Cons
Summary:
You don’t have to worry about wires or cords in your home theater with these Samsung speakers, which are made to provide you with wireless surround sound. They’re light enough to mount them on the wall without any cords, but you can plug them in too if you don’t want to wirelessly pair them with your television or gaming system—or any other system.
We also enjoyed the fact that even with no wires to the main system, there were never any problems with dropped sound or connections.
Pros
Cons
Summary:
You have a range of sound when you choose the Onkyo surround sound system: full-range sound, some acoustic-suspension, 4 surround speakers, and 1 subwoofer. That’s a lot of sound, and since you can connect just using Bluetooth with your phone or PC, these speakers are some of the easier ones to use.
We liked the smart receiver technology, which will remember devices and start playback whenever they detect the connection. Thanks to the DTS playback, it’s also simple to hear the sound jump around the room without losing any home theater audio quality along the way.
Pros
Cons
Summary:
You might get stuck placing your surround sound somewhere if its too heavy or if you have to plug in the cords. Not with this Klipsch Reference Theater Pack, which includes a wireless subwoofer for you, along with a keyhole wall mound and a threaded insert if you’d like to hang the speakers. We liked how we had a lot of flexibility with the Klipsch, not to mention a lot of sound.
And that home theater sound is something that we noticed right away when we plugged these satellite speakers in—figuratively, since they can be paired wirelessly too. The subwoofer works well to fill the room with lower frequencies, and the 2.4GHz allows for solid connectivity and quality sound no matter where you place them in the room.
Pros
Cons
Summary:
You have an impressive 550W of total surround sound system power with these JBLBar speakers for your home theater. That’s thanks to the 10 inches of wireless subwoofers that provide you with a deep sound that you can access using Chromecast, Airplay2, or Bluetooth.
We thought that the home theater sound experience sounded good when we plugged these speakers in, but for us, the big seller here was the fact that you’re working with a bar. Instead of multiple bulky speakers, you only need to set up one speaker and the actual bar, so the set up is very easy and you won’t need to use up a lot of space. The whole home theater system is sleek, easy, and simple, which is great compared to some other options.
How to Pick the Best Budget Surround Sound
Just like choosing the best high end home theater speakers, you need to consider various factors before you settle for a specific option. These include:
Room Size
Before you pick your home theater system, consider the size of your room. If you have a larger room, you’ll need something with more power. So, for example, if you’re placing your sound system in a smaller room, you might only need 50 watts, but for a larger room, you’ll probably need something that works at 150 watts or more.
Related content: What is a passive subwoofer?
Wireless Connectivity
It might be important to you to have a solid wireless connection with your speakers. This will allow you to connect everything to your sound base, and to create a sort of multi-room system. With good Bluetooth too, you’ll be able to connect your mobile devices, stream music, and movies, and ultimately have a higher audio quality overall.
Speakers
Take a look at your actual home theater speakers to consider the size and shape of what you’re buying. You want to pick something with the right components, after all, and with the channels and surround sound to really cover your room.
Along with those speakers though, consider the placement of your actual speakers. You’ll want to make sure that you have room in your home for a big set of speakers, but you’ll also want to consider where you can get the best sound quality. Try to place your speakers on either side of your TV, and angle them towards where you’ll sit.
Related content: https://headphonecritics.com/best-2-1-speakers/
Conclusion
There are a lot of options out there when it comes to the best budget surround sound systems. You might feel your head spinning a little bit when you look at all these options, but rest assured that one of them will be great for your home. Consider what speakers will work best for you, where they will go in your home, and make your purchase. With these in mind, you’ll have the surround sound system you’ve always wanted at a price that doesn’t break the bank.
