Cheap Home Theatre – Is a Home Theatre in a Box a Good Choice?
You might be thinking that it is impossible to find a cheap home theatre, but this is definitely not the case. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a traditional set, you can readily opt for a home theatre in a box. These products have gained huge popularity for their low prices, so it is worth reviewing their benefits and drawbacks.
A standard home theatre in a box includes a surround sound receiver and speakers. Usually, there are six speakers – a center speaker, two front and two rear speakers and a subwoofer. In some cases, the set comes with a DVD player. It is also possible for it to include a more sophisticated disc player, such as a Blue Ray disc player, and/or a CD player.
You are probably wondering how cheap a home theatre in a box is? The most inexpensive models cost just over $200. Still, if you opt for a system with more and more sophisticated components, you may end up paying up to $2,000. Despite this, most models from reputable manufacturers range from $200 to $800.
In general, such a cheap home theatre has all the components you need for getting the perfect movie entertainment at home. The system comes with all the wiring you need to connect the components to one another and to the television set. A universal remote control, which allows you to control all system components plus the TV, is also usually included.
Some might say that the biggest drawback of a system in a box is that it does not include a television set. This is not entirely true, however. If you already have a flat screen TV with good resolution, the system can only add to it. Similarly, you can readily enjoy watching movies on your old TV, while saving for a sophisticated HD television set, which is quite expensive.
The components of the home theatre in a box are quite compact. You can expect the receiver as well as the speakers to be very small. This is an advantage, on one hand, since you can readily fit all the components in your living room without having to remove any furniture or add new stands.
On the other hand, the small components have some limitations. For instance, you might not be able to plug in your audio system or game console to the receiver. More importantly, the surround sound quality might not be as high as that of the traditional expensive systems.
In general, the surround sound quality is one of the biggest issues buyers have, when deciding between a traditional system and a system in a box. The latter does not necessarily have a worse sound quality. However, the smaller power output means that it might not be able to fill the room with sound. Similarly, cheaper systems tend to have higher total harmonic distortion (THD) and lower sound to noise ration.
Overall, it is up to you to decide whether such a cheap home theatre is the right solution for your needs. It is worth evaluating the pros and cons of a system in a box in line with your personal needs and preferences.
