Premium Home Theater Systems – high-end audio for the serious audiophiles

Li-ling Ooi Entertainment, Home & Kitchen, Speakers, Theater Systems 0

While in earlier times of basic entertainment, a home theater system was not a truly essential piece of kit, these days however, it is becoming a standard in most homes. The overall enhancement to the viewing experience in terms of sound quality and it’s surround effect makes a major contributing factor to it’s necessity.

From a weighted heavy bass that ensures you don’t miss out of the heavy action, to the higher tweeter speakers, to their placements within your space, a home theater system (along with a great TV Screen: check out our posts on 4K TVs here) allows you to lose yourself completely for a few hours in the world of make believe – whether it’s realistic and action packed or sci-fi and beautifully imaginative.

Table of Contents

Top 10 Best Premium High-End Home Theater Systems

Here in this post we take a look at some of the best and most amazing options of premium Home Theater Systems that will allow you to re-create a complete cinematic experience in your own home. Note that some of the theater systems on our list below are speakers only and will require an AV Receiver if one is not readily available. Where required, we recommend suitable AV Receivers to go with the speakers. Here is our line-up:

1. Klipsch RP-280FA Home Theater Speaker System – SPEAKERS ONLY

2. Klipsch R-3650-WII In Wall System #2 (R-5502-WII) with PL-200-Onkyo TX-NR626 7.2 Ch Network AV Receiver – IN WALL

3. Bose Lifestyle SoundTouch 535 Series III Home Entertainment System

4. Bose Lifestyle SoundTouch 525 Series III Home Entertainment System

5. KEF T205 5.1 Home Theater System (White or Black)

6. Sonos 5.1 Home Theater System

7. Bose SoundTouch 520 Home Theater System

8. Polk Audio TSi Series 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker (TSi 500, TSi 200, CS10 and PSW108) – SPEAKERS ONLY

9. Yamaha YHT-599UBL 5.1-Channel USB Home Theater System – COMPACT

10. JBL CS6100BG High-Performance Complete 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System – SPEAKERS ONLY

BONUS: Klipsch R-1650-W In-Wall 5.1 Home Theater System (R-2502-W) with BIC/Acoustech Platinum Series PL-200 subwoofer – SPEAKERS ONLY

A Closer Look

Let’s take a look at each of these systems.

1. Klipsch RP-280FA Home Theater Speaker System – SPEAKERS ONLY

If space is not an issue, nothing beats full size speakers. To add to that, here is full size system with full size sub woofer and bi-directional rear channel speakers as well as full size front and middle channel speakers. Smaller speaker packages are available in the form of RP-260, RP-250, RP-160 and RP-150. The Reference Premiere RP-280 home theater system is the top of the line in the Reference Premiere series.

Features:

(2) RP-280F, (1) RP-450C, (2) RP-250S, (1) R-115SW
Linear Travel Suspension Titanium Tweeters
Spun Copper Cerametallic Cone Woofers
90×90 Hybrid Tractrix Horns
All New Tractrix Ports
MDF Cabinet with Brushed Polymer Veneer Baffle Finishes
Strong, Flexible Removable Grilles

System consists of:

Klipsch RP-280FA Tower Speakers in Black (pair)
Klipsch RP-450CA Center Channel Speaker in Black
Klipsch RP-250S Surround Speakers in Black (pair)
Klipsch R-115SW Subwoofer

We recommend the following multi point surround theater amplifiers

2. Klipsch R-3650-WII In Wall System (R-5502-WII) with PL-200-Onkyo TX-NR626 7.2 Ch Network AV Receiver – IN WALL

3. Bose Lifestyle SoundTouch 535 Series III Home Entertainment System

4. Bose Lifestyle SoundTouch 525 Series III Home Entertainment System

5. KEF T205 5.1 Home Theater System – White or Black

As one of the world’s thinnest high performance home theater systems, the new T205 system combines several landmark innovative driver technologies incorporated into cabinets only 35mm thin. With KEF’s new T Series speakers, you get exceptionally slim profile speakers that generate all the intricacy, spaciousness and dynamic range of a high end conventional design. With three deceptively compact model T301s as front satellites and centre channel and T101, plus the discreet T-2 subwoofer, the T205 system is powerful enough to fill most normal rooms with a compellingly detailed 3D sound image.As easy to set up as they are on the eye, they make the perfect entry level surround sound system for the latest generation of flat screen TVs. A special wall mount bracket (included) has been designed for ease of installation without adding any more depth to the speaker itself. T301/101 Satellite Speakers Feature: Ultra-slim bass driver offering clean, forceful response that brings the action vividly to life, New large vented tweeter provides warm, natural sound that’s so real you feel you’re there, Can be mounted on the wall or on the included desk stand (centre includes a kickstand), wall bracket also included. Optional Floorstands sold separately, contain extra crossover components that tell the speaker its operating in free space and adjusts output by +3db

Slim speakers, serious sound
Ultra-slim bass driver
Large new vented tweeter

6. Sonos 5.1 Home Theater System

Immersive 5.1 HiFi sound with the SONOS PLAYBAR, SUB, and a pair of PLAY:1 wireless speakers.
Stream music from your favorite music services, and control it all wirelessly from the Sonos Controller App on your smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
PLAYBAR and SUB bring sophisticated home theater acoustics and soul-shaking bass.
The PLAY:1 pair serves as rear speakers, bringing deep, richly textured surround sound to your system.

7. Bose SoundTouch 520 Home Theater System

8. Polk Audio TSi Series 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker – SPEAKERS ONLY

This Polk Audio Speaker Package includes (1) Pair of TSi 500 Floorstanding Speakers + (1) Pair of TSi 200 Bookshelf Speakers + (1) CS10 Center Channel Speaker + (1) Polk Audio PSW108 Powered Subwoofer
TSi 500: Equipped with four 6.5-Inch diameter bi-laminate organic fiber cone woofers, Recommended Amplification: 20-275 watts/channel
TSi 200: Equipped with two 5.25-inch diameter bi-laminate organic fiber cone woofers, Recommended Amplification: 20-150 watts/channel
CS10: Two 5-1/4 in. Bi-Laminate Composite Dynamic Balance Drivers are lightweight and stiff with good damping for high efficiency, excellent bass and lower distortion.
PSW108: 50-watt RMS amplifier, 10″ front-firing driver

Recommended AV Receivers

*discontinued, last units available.

9. Yamaha YHT-599UBL 5.1-Channel USB Home Theater System – COMPACT

The YHT-599U provides simple operation with network control via free Yamaha AV Controller App, plus enhanced audio capabilities with CINEMA DSP 3D for an enveloping home theater experience from a 5-channel speaker package and a powerful 6-1/2″ 100 W subwoofer.

With expanded Apple® connectivity, including AirPlay®, versatile USB input for iPad® compatibility and MHL® (Mobile High-Definition Link), this system is also ready for the future with sophisticated technologies like 4K video pass-through and 20 percent less power consumption with ECO mode.

5-channel powerful surround sound
115 W per channel (8 ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9% THD, 1 ch driven)
80 W per channel (8 ohms, 20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.09% THD, 2 ch driven)
HD Audio format decoding: Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™; Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio™
Full discrete amp configuration
Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit DACs for all channels
Direct mode for high quality sound reproduction
Low jitter PLL circuitry helps optimize sound imaging
FLAC or WAV 192 kHz/24-bit audio playback
Full range speaker system with 6-1/2″ 100 W powered subwoofer

10. JBL CS6100BG High-Performance Complete 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System – SPEAKERS ONLY, COMPACT

Titanium-laminate dome tweeters for outstanding high frequency sound
10-inch subwoofer rated at 300-watts (peak)
Dual 3.5-inch mid-range satellite drivers
Elegant, high-gloss black finish
Wall brackets included for satellites and center channel
Video shielded

BONUS: Klipsch R-1650-W In-Wall 5.1 Home Theater System (R-2502-W) with Acoustech Platinum Series PL-200 subwoofer – SPEAKERS ONLY, IN-WALL

Klipsch R-1650-W with Acoustech PL200 Subwoofer

System consists of:

2 Each R-1650-W In Wall Speakers
2 Each R-1650-C In Ceiling Speakers
1 R-2502-WII In Wall Center Speaker
1 BIC Acoustech PL-200 Subwoofer

Features:

Good sensitivity and power handling: works well with 100 watt/channel receivers
The R-1650-W employs a 6.5-inch polymer-cone woofer and a large motor structure for high sensitivity and strong bass output. A 1-inch polymer-dome tweeter distributes smooth, clear highs over a wide area
A coaxially mounted 1-inch polymer-dome tweeter distributes smooth, clear highs over a wide area. By upholding the same best-in-class standards as all Klipsch products, the R-1650-W loudspeaker makes it possible to bring high-performance audio into the home without taking up valuable floor space or breaking the budget