It’s never been easier or more inexpensive to build a home theater with a real sense of scale and oomph. On the display side, TCL and Hisense have become players to the point that, as we’ve noted in the past, you can get well-reviewed, feature-rich TVs at massive sizes like 75-inch and 85-inch for under $1,000 or even TCL’s 98-inch TV for roughly $2,000. That’s a TV with about the same footprint as a queen-sized mattress. On the audio side, there are plenty of surround sound options at different price points, some of which are wireless beyond a singular HDMI connection to your TV. Even at a time when inflation is hitting Americans hard, building a high-quality, immersive home theater is more accessible than ever.
****
However, with so many options, you’ll need to educate yourself as a consumer. Not every model TV from every brand is made equal, with some missing features you’d expect. All-in-one surround sound options aren’t as plentiful at lower price points, at least from name brands, and even if you want to couple a receiver with a set of speakers, you need to know what exactly you want to do with them to pick out the best fit for you. How much of a priority is music or integrating the “height” effects from the newer Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound standards? That just scratches the surface, so let’s look at some things you need to consider before building your dream home theater.
