Buying a pre-built home theater is like throwing away money

Upgrading your audio equipment is often very exciting. No matter how you slice it, your TV’s audio isn’t really adequate anymore. You might be used to it by now, but TV audio can be upgraded in so many different ways. A lot of people like to grab soundbars for this. They are easy to find at any retailer, and they’re often as simple as plugging them into your TV and using them.

Another option is the value-friendly home theater in a box. These are often a bundle of speakers along with something to plug them into that powers them. They are a cheap way to build an entire surround sound system without having to do much, or any, research at all. Instead of spending hours figuring out what fits in your budget and what the upgrade path is, you can buy one bundle and get it all.

It’s very easy to see one of these and think it can’t be beat. For some people, that’s true. However, if you know a bit about how home audio works, you’ll see the value isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If you have no plans of ever upgrading, then yes, they are worth it. However, if you get one of these bundles and are left wanting more, you often have to buy an entirely new setup to replace it.

If you have a lot of disposable income, that’s not a big deal, but I’d personally hate to be left with what’s essentially junk. That’s why I think it’s important to do a little bit of research before making a big purchase like this. If you do that, you can even find some home-theater-in-a-box alternatives that still fill the same niche. Speaker bundles are a much better bet, and you’re more likely to get some actual quality speakers that will hold up a lot better than cheap ones thrown together in a box bundle.

Get a speaker bundle instead

Save yourself the trouble

I never feel good about seeing expensive bundles that seem like good bundles, only to realize they’re essentially preying on people who aren’t very informed. Home theaters in a box very much fit that bill in my eyes, and it’s even more egregious when you realize there are plenty of other options out there that are far better.

I’m going to show off two examples of what I’m talking about. The first one is the Yamaha YHT-5960U bundle. This is a full 5.1 surround sound system with a small receiver. This would be a huge upgrade over TV speakers, and I have no doubt it’ll be better than most soundbars on the market, too. While 5.1 sounds good, there’s more to the story here. Just looking at the pictures shows you these aren’t very big speakers. That means they don’t take up as much space as bigger bookshelves or tower speakers do, but since you have to set two of them up as surrounds anyway, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want larger ones. On top of that, the receiver that’s bundled is just a 5.1 one. While that’s fine for most people, it means you have no room for upgrades if you want to add Atmos or upgrade to a 7.1 system. The kicker here is that the whole bundle costs $750 without a sale.

Speaker bundles are actually a much better value, and you have more control over the quality of speakers you get. Klipsch, while not the highest-end speaker brand, has a 5.0 speaker pack you can get for $600, and they blow away those little Yamaha ones. You’ll still have to pick up a receiver, but you can get a better one than what that Yamaha bundle has to offer, or you could get lucky like me and find a 7.1 receiver for $15 that comes with the same features.

It’s your money, but spend it wisely

There are many paths to take

Everybody likes to save money, and that’s why I’d always recommend a speaker bundle over a home theater in a box, despite the temptation the latter can provide. It’s always nice to have everything you need delivered to you without much thought, but this is very much a situation of you getting what you pay for. There’s no reason to go for an expensive box price like that when you can get a better bundle for cheaper.

I would generally agree that a home theater in a box outperforms a soundbar, but I wouldn’t want to spend that type of money on something that still leaves a lot to be desired. There are many better paths to take, and I would even recommend building a nice stereo setup with a receiver over a big bundle like that. Ultimately, it’s your money, but I would advise doing at least a little bit of research before dropping hundreds of dollars on a bundle that might not be worth it.