Average Home Theater Costs (with examples)

Go Big and Go Home Without Going Broke

If this is your first time on my site then welcome! Everything in the Home Theater section is designed to give you the best possible guidance for creating your own space. If you’re a returning viewer, this article may look a bit similar to some other content. I still feel the topic of determining the cost of your home theater is important. But if you’ve been following these other articles, you might already understand a lot of what I’m going to talk about.

In this article, I’ll go over the type of quality you can expect to get for certain price ranges. By the end of this article, I’m hoping to give you a better understanding of what budget you will need to create or upgrade your home theater.

This article includes everything from movie theater seats to projectors, screens, speakers, and some other accessories. I’ll also give an in-depth look into the products my family has purchased over the years for our set up. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or reach out at entertainmentden.ns@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond!

 

Table of Contents

My Family’s Set Up and Price

Quick Tips for Planning and Building Your Home Theater

Price Range Examples:

$1000 and Up

$2000 and Up

$3000 and Up

Related Questions 

 

*I based the pricing examples off of the products listed. I’m assuming you already know or have some sort of video players like a PS4, Xbox, or Blue-Ray player.

 

My Home Theater Set Up

My family didn’t buy all these products at once, which is the way I recommend doing it. Your media room can slowly get more and more awesome with each upgrade to a projector, screen, speaker system, and more.

I would say the last, real addition we made to our theater room was getting a high-quality projector ($600). Before that, we already had the screen and speaker system ready to go (I imagine most people already have a speaker system or one of these qualities that they’re planning to use).

I would say the total cost of our set up over the course of 2 years was around $2000.

 

Bose 2.1 Acoustimass Speakers: I don’t think they make the older model ones that we have anymore since we’ve had them for over five years. They’re equivalent to the same price and quality as the current ones that are on the market. I can’t speak on their newest model, but we’re still extremely satisfied with how it sounds. Even though they’re 2.1, they actually make a great attempt at providing a surround sound experience.

You feel like the audio is either come from all around the room or directly from the screen itself. They’re also more forgiving to a room with a lack of good acoustics. We have a lot of irregular surfaces in our theater room and the speaker still distribute sound very well.

Elite Screens YardMaster: This is the best standard screen you can get. It looks completely frameless and is so light you can lift it with your pinky. If you’re interested in the one we have you can check out my full article on it here.  The shortened version of it is that it’s a 120-inch screen made from a synthetic CineWhite material. It’s a lot better than putting a sheet up on the wall (we also got it for only $140).

Epson 2045 Projector: This one commonly swaps names with the Epson 2040 but they’re exactly the same. We got ours for about $600 from Best Buy with the intention to return it but we liked it so much we didn’t. I also did an in-depth video review of it in this article if you want to reference it. It’s a great starting projector and my family hasn’t felt the need to upgrade any further. It comes with dynamic settings and works well in indoor and outdoor environments.

 

 

Tips for Building / Planning Your Home Theater

These quick tips below helped my family make setting up our home theater a lot easier.

• Buy the projector and the screen together. It’s not essential that you do this. But if you’re switching from a TV to a projector you want this part to go smoothly and without any disappointments. It’s not exciting to get a good projector but then have to use it on a bedsheet until you save up again to get the screen. Most quality starter screens cost about $145 online. Compared to getting a projector in the $500+ range, the screen cost would be an easy addition to tack on.

 

• Notice what’s working with your sound systems. If you have your sound already established in your home theater room but aren’t satisfied, getting acoustic wall panels could be the solution. One thing I like to reiterate is that Best Buy does free sound improvement consultations where they send someone to your house to assess your set up. It’s easy to look online at good speakers, but that option is expensive and a lot more can be done to improve sound without upgrading completely.

 

Download the Home Theater Seating Guide

• Buy authentic movie theater seats later. You most likely already have some type of seating in your living room. If you want to get a home theater in action as soon as possible, the essential pieces of equipment should come first. Plus, these chairs are super expensive just for a single unit! If you’re looking for seating right now, I made one of my old articles into a downloadable word document since most of the images are copyright. I recommend downloading this and keeping it in your back pocket as you search for furniture. 

 

For each of these price ranges, I tried to maximize the quality and while staying within this price range. These don’t need to be followed to the tee and make sure to account for the price of taxes if you checkout online.

I went with 5.1 audio systems for all of these with the assumption everyone is aiming to implement surround sound. If you are not, you can substitute the speaker prices for that of a soundbar or 2.1 unit.

Disclaimer: I’m not sponsored by these brands but I do have some biases for certain companies that make some awesome products. I’ve done a lot of hours of research on the best ones and companies like Epson and Elite Screens continue to pop up.

 

 

$1000 Example

 

MonoPrice 10565 Speakers

Pros

• These speakers have clear crystal sound and great bass. It’s what should be expected from speakers over $200. It’s been well renowned for also being able to pick up small sounds during intricate scenes that you might not pick up with other speakers.
• Easy to install mounts and are conservative in design.

Cons

• Audiophiles will likely be too critical of this entry-level system
• Can’t crank up to full blast until after a few weeks of letting it loosen up and mellow out
• Need to get additional RCA splitter if you want to add a subwoofer cable

Verdict: This is an outstanding entry level surround sound system. It’s important to not get too technical on the sound dynamics. These are evenly balanced but critics are likely to find too many small discrepancies.

 

Elite Screens Yardmaster

Pros

• Super lightweight and easy to set up. You’ll never have to think twice if you need to take this down or set it up somewhere else.
• The material is perfect for all types of projectors. I’ve yet to test it out on 4k but I’m confident it could easily keep up with a 4k projector.
• Durable material and machine washable.

Cons

• Not as optimal if you don’t plan to use it for outdoors. It comes with stakes and a stand.
• Need to purchase separate and fitting hooks for mounting.

Verdict: A great indoor and outdoor screen for a very reasonable price. It’ll be everything you need it to be for your first movie theater.

 

Epson 2040 Projector

Pros

• Great brightness and easy to set up
• Can easily adjust the image left, down, up, etc.
• Eco mode allows you to significantly reduce the loudness of the fan without losing quality (it just gets a little bit dimmer)

Cons

• It’s heavy and it takes a little bit of creativity to mount it in the back of the room.
• It will heat up the room if it’s placed in a confined space.

Verdict: As mentioned earlier in this article, I love this projector so much that I don’t think I’ll ever upgrade. Most projectors are 1080p and after that, you usually have to jump into 4k to increase quality. This projector makes movies look almost as good as the movie theater itself. I doubt most people will want to upgrade after getting this one.

 

 

$2000-$3000 Example

 

Andrew Hones 5.1 Speaker

Pros

• Simple design. This will be easy to set up near shelves and in areas with irregular spatial distribution. You can separately buy some stands for them if you need to.
• Well renowned for good surround sound and quality.
• Great for home theater enthusiasts but not too overpriced. Great for a first set up!

Cons

• The wooden design doesn’t appeal to me.
• Will sound dead coming out of the box until several hours of breaking them in.
• I don’t recommend getting the tower option since the audio quality is reduced using those

Verdict: The speakers are larger than they appear in the photos so plan your space before you install these. These are best for people trying to set up a home theater for the first time.

 

Silver Ticket 120 inch Screen

Pros

• Can order these in a variety of aspect ratios
• 4k and UHD ready. Wide viewing angle of 160 degrees. This will easily keep up with any upgrades to your projector’s resolution.
• Durable and can easily stretch out any creases from set up or if it falls over.
• High-quality material on frame and screen itself.

Cons

• Not made from acoustic fabric screen– you wouldn’t be able to effectively put your speakers behind the screen.
• Not super easy to assemble like the Elite Screens Yardmaster.

Verdict: The assembly requires you to be precise in laying out the screen but it’s perfect for all needs once it’s up and working.

 

Epson Pro EX9220

Pros

• 3600 lumens! Ability to wirelessly connect to media devices (latency is a lot better than the Epson 2040).
• Fantastic color and white brightness even on different color projector screens.
• Easy to adjust no matter what angle you need to change on the screen

Cons

• Warranty is 1 year instead of the usual 2
• Doesn’t come with an audio out- have to get an adapter cable to make the system work with amazon fire or apple tv.

Verdict: This is an awesome projector that delivers good value for the money. Any projector this bright with a 1080p resolution is going to provide great image quality.

 

Flash Furniture Reel Series

(I pulled this from the downloadable guide I made)

Pros: 

• You could have a complete, 6 seater home set up for $2000. This set would be best if you need a lot of seats for a more affordable price.
• Even though this goes for about $350 per chair, people really like the comfortability of them, especially the headrest.
• Soft leather and gives you that big and squishy feel but you also won’t feel inclined to fall asleep right away. For me, it strikes the perfect balance.
• Deep consoles allow for sufficient storage of remotes and cup holders are nice and big.

Cons: 

• They aren’t power reclining, so the recline lever is a little stiff when you first get it but with time it’ll become easier.
• I honestly couldn’t find other discrepancies with these chairs. For me, this is a win and I’m glad I wrote this article so I can come back and remind myself that this one is the best I’ve found when I build a home theater again.

 

 

$3000 and Over Example

What changes once you break into this price range?

There are a couple of important upgrades you’ll notice to these products once you jump into a higher price point. With this budget, you can get an Ambient Light Rejecting screen. These screens are a lot more expensive because they bounce light off the surface much more efficiently than a normal one. They will basically make your screen look a lot more like 120 inch TV!

Higher end projectors will be brighter (more lumens) and last longer. They also get a lot bigger and look a lot sharper. I couldn’t find a projector with a resolution in between 1080p and 4k but if anyone has please let me know.

 

 

Enclave CineHome Speaker

Pros

• Completely wireless system (no need for a receiver or speaker cables)! They also don’t require an internet connection to communicate with each other.
• Customer service and tech support is awesome since this is a start-up company looking to beat higher-end competitors (they’re holding their own really well).
• Latency is nonexistent

Cons

• Need to be plugged into individual power sources. You’ll need to get a couple of transformers for the five plugs.
• Power cords are bulky and it takes some creativity to make their appearance more conservative

 

VIVIDSTORM 4k ALR 120 Inch Screen

Pros

• Light rejecting– more forgiving to light pollution.
• High grain projection material for the highest possible quality.
• Assembly and mounting is easy.
• Great price for the quality. A lot of companies like to beef up the price of these screens.

Cons

• Black border around the frame adds some dead space that just takes up more room on the wall than necessary. I have a bias for borderless screens.

 

Optoma UHD60 4k 

Pros

• 3000 lumens! The bulb life will last you well over a few years and consistently provide a bright image
• 4k resolution will provide a noticeable difference if you currently have a 1080p projector.
• Great for gaming as well

Cons

• No buttons on the projector itself to adjust image size- don’t lose that remote.
• Larger and heavier than other projectors (16 lbs)
• Lens shift isn’t that good so the projector has to be aligned perfectly centered on the screen.

 

SeatCraft Serenity

Pros:

• If you really wanted to, you could get a set of two for $1500! They use hand-selected leather with awesome touch and feel.
• Durability is a noticeable quality and it will always give you that “sink into the seat” feeling.
• You can also order it in various shades of black, brown, red or white to fit any setup.
• The tray table is uniquely removable compared to other models so you can take it to the concessions stand or kitchen if you needed to.

Cons: 

• The seats don’t actually attach to one another, but rather just slide next to each other.
• This means you can place them in any fashion you want but I think most people will just position them all next to each other like in the picture.
• Most people wouldn’t want to freely move them around since they’re extremely heavy.
• The various recline settings are nice but it doesn’t take much to over tilt and not be able to see the movie theater screen.

 

Related Questions

Is a projector or a TV better? This depends on how big you want your screen to be. It’s cheaper and way easier on the eyes to get a screen and a projector if you want a bigger setup. TVs can provide better image quality for less space. You’ll be paying way more per square inch if you go with a TV as well.

What are the hidden costs of setting up a home theater? My family had to install an additional outlet near the back of our room because of how many devices required plugs in close proximity to their actual location. Cables are also the biggest ones. Sometimes you need special adapters to connect your speakers and projectors into the same ports. You might also have to buy some durable wall mounts for installing your screen.

What makes higher end projector screens different? Screens are often very overpriced, but some of them are costly for good reason. You can easily get a great 4k screen for under $200, but screen quality can be upgraded by getting an Ambient Light Rejecting one. These can cost over $500 and I’ve seen some accurately priced at $1000.

How long did it take you to establish your set up? It took my family two years of steadily upgrading our space since it was too expensive to do it all at once. We started with getting the speakers, projector screen, Epson projector, and then LED lights in that order. The only thing we still have to do is get some better seating.

 

Conclusion

Figuring out the costs for each component of your home theater is an important part of the planning process. If you need more information regarding home theater products and buyers guides, be sure to look at my complete downloadable guide to home theater products.It’s a compilation of everything I know and have researched about home theater products. There’s also a checklist in it that you can print out and bring to stores like Best Buy to remind you of what your needs are.

I never really looked at blog posts in regards to a home theater set up (neither did my family which is like most people). We could have definitely saved ourselves some headaches if we had done some prior research, especially when it came to buying our first real projector. I wrote another helpful article on 4 things I failed to consider before I bought a projector. They’re not absolutely critical to doing it right, but it’s a quick read that could save you some hiccups down the road.

My aim for this article was to provide as much helpful insight concerning anything that had to do with the costs of setting up a home theater. I appreciate any and all feedback if this article was helpful to you (or not!). If you have any suggestions for future article topics, don’t hesitate to comment and I’ll do my best to respond. Thank you all for reading and stay up to date for the next article!