Today $2,000 gets you a tremendous home theater system. Not just a component, or a pair of cables, but the whole deal. There are some great values out there that let you put together a system that you, your family, and your friends can enjoy for a long time. You’ll probably stop going to the movie theater as much since you will enjoy the home viewing experience far more. We offer both direct view and projection options, and even a $1,000 package if you want to start out smaller.
Last Updated: July 3, 2018
$2000 TV System | $2000 Projection System | $1000 Budget System
$2000 TV System
TCL R617 55″ TV
The TCL R617 improves upon what was already a great TV last year. It does HDR much better than other sets in this price range, while a full array backlight makes SDR look very good as well. The design is hugely improved over last year, and with Roku integrated it can stream from almost any source.
Alternative: If you can, we’d highly recommend stretching the budget to upgrade to the 2018 Vizio P-Series. It has added back a TV tuner and with integrated Chromecast, it can stream content from almost any source, and the motion quality with a 120Hz panel and better backlighting is worth the 20% price premium over the TCL, but we needed to choose the TCL to stay under budget.
Denon AVR-S640H Receiver
For a receiver, Denon finally introduced a 5.1 channel model with network streaming for 2018. The Denon AVR-S640H
is our pick by offering 5.1 channels and support for HDMI 2.1 features like automatic low input lag and adaptive frame rate. It is easy to set up as it walks you through everything, can drive any speaker you’re likely to use it with, and the HEOS integration and AirPlay 2 support offer lots of streaming services for internet audio.
Upgrade: The Denon AVR-S740H
has a front HDMI input and support for DTS:X and Dolby Atmos.
SVS Prime Satellite 5.1 Speaker System
The SVS Prime Satellite 5.1 system is compact in size, but paired with a wonderful 10″ sealed sub can produce a great home theater audio experience. This 5.1 system has identical front, center, and surround speakers for ideal matching, and a far better subwoofer than you expect to find in this price range.
Alternative: The ELAC Debut 2.0 5.0 system offers better bass from the speakers, but you’ll need to add your own subwoofer to the package for truly deep bass. Even without one, it’ll still do quite well.
Bluesound Pulse2 Soundbar
If you’d rather have a sound bar and surround audio, the Bluesound Pulse sound bar sounds great and comes in black or white finishes. It sounds wonderful and you can add a pair of wireless speakers for surrounds for a true surround system.
Alternative: The Sonos Playbar is still a wonderful soundbar after all these years, and can expand to support true 5.1 audio. Just like with the Bluesound, you’ll also want the TCL 55R615 instead of the 55R617.
Accessories
For your AV system, there might be a few accessories you’ll need to round it out.
- Monoprice speaker wire does the job for a low price, and speaker wire is almost all the same
- Monoprice banana plugs make it easy to hook up speakers if you plan to move them around
- For a subwoofer cable, we use this basic Tartan model and have never had interference in our houses
- A Sony UHD Blu-ray player lets you watch 4K HDR content with lossless audio, including Dolby Vision content. Or our reference 4K Blu-ray player is the Panasonic UB820 that offers superior HDR image quality.
- The Apple TV 4K is the best media streamer we’ve used and offers Dolby Vision to pair with the LG OLED.
- The Harmony Elite remote offers a touchscreen for quick access to commands, but also physical keys to make it easy to use in the dark. It also controls your smart home devices as well.
- HDMI cables from Monoprice and Amazon work perfectly and are cheap
- A flat panel mount where you hide all the cables in the wall can create a clean setup
- A power bridge setup lets you hide the cables inside the wall for a clean setup
$2000 Projection System
Epson Home Cinema 2100
The Epson Home Cinema 2100 is very bright even in the quiet Eco mode, has accurate colors and good shadow detail. A USB port lets you power a media streamer stick for movie nights on the go, and you won’t suffer from any rainbow artifacts while watching.
Upgrade: Projectors in the $1000 price range don’t offer the same level of value, so if you want to step up, go all the way to the $1500 Epson HC4000 with 4K, HDR, and WCG support.
Silver Ticket Screen
A basic white screen is easy to design and Silver Ticket does the best job for the price. Easy to assemble, neutral with no color tint, and a price that is much less than any screen that comes close to the performance. Available in standard 16×9 and 2.35:1 aspect ratios.
Receiver and Speakers
A projection system can use the same picks from our TV system without any worries.
Accessories
The same accessories from the TV system also apply here, except you might want a nice projector mount that’s easy to adjust instead of the TV mount. We use this one from Peerless because it’s easy to install, hold almost any projector, and makes lining it up with the screen perfectly a simple task.
$1000 Budget System
Maybe you’re just starting out in home theater, have a smaller budget, or are looking for a secondary system that costs less. If that is the case, this basic $1000 system has you covered.
TCL R617 55″ TV
The TCL R617 improves upon what was already a great TV last year. It does HDR much better than other sets in this price range, while a full array backlight makes SDR look very good as well. The design is hugely improved over last year, and with Roku integrated it can stream from almost any source.
Sonos Beam
The Sonos Beam sees the company finally delivering a soundbar with an HDMI input so it’ll easily pair with a TV using HDMI-ARC. It offers the ability to turn into a true 5.1 system by adding some surrounds and a subwoofer, and offers the best music streaming experience along with Alexa.
Alternative: The $300 Yamaha YAS-207 is a more conventional soundbar with an included subwoofer and fantastic image quality, but no integrated assistant and worse streaming support..
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