If you would like better, more enveloping sound than you can get from a soundbar, this system provides a full surround speaker ensemble with subwoofer and an HDMI receiver. As you can see, it doesn’t cost a lot and it will be much more flexible than a simple soundbar. It’s a much better buy than a typical home theater in-a-box system, and likely costs less too. Just plug in your set-top box and disc players and you are all set!
Monoprice 8247 5.1 speaker system $109
This speaker system isn’t the last word in sound quality, nor should you expect it to be for $109 including the subwoofer. The sound is acceptable and has found a lot of fans in the budget segment.
Sony STR-DH550 Receiver $199
This receiver has HDMI switching with four inputs, so you can connect a set-top cable or satellite box, a Blu-ray player, a game system, and still have one input available. It also has two composite video inputs if you have a Nintendo Wii. A USB port is provided for playing back music from digital devices.
Amazon Basics 16-gauge speaker wire, 100 feet $11
No need to spend more than this on speaker wire. It’s only $2.00 more to get 100 feet instead of 50 feet, so you may as well get the extra as you will probably find use for it someday!
HDMI cable $5.49
You will need another HDMI cable to connect the receiver to your TV. The HDMI cables connected to your television will now be connected to the HDMI inputs on the receiver. An HDMI cable is then connected from the receiver to the TV. When you select the source on the receiver it will send the proper signal to the television for display.
This Amazon Basics cable supports Ethernet, 3D, 4K, and audio return channel. In other words: it does all you will need both now and well into the future.