$1,500 5.1 Channel Expandable Recommended Home Theater System

There are a lot of ways to spend $1,500 in the audio world. For the “cost is no object” crowd, $1,500 wouldn’t be an unreasonable sum to pay for speaker cables. For others, it’s the cost of a nice set of bookshelf speakers. We recently demonstrated how you could put together a 5.1 system HTIB killer for only $750. With just a little more budget, you can take things up a notch, most notably with better bass response, nicer aesthetics and most importantly, upgradeability to immersive surround sound.

Disclaimer: For your convenience, we chose products available either direct from the manufacturer or through our Amazon affiliate page. As an Amazon Associate, Audioholics.com benefits from qualifying purchases so we appreciate you using our links. The products we select have either reviewed favorably on Audioholics in the past, or we've had direct experiences with.

$1,500 5.1 "Expandable" Recommended System YouTube Discussion

Loudspeakers: RSL CG3 5.1 Speaker System

MSRP: $999 (free shipping) | RSL CG3 System Review | Buy Now

RSL has done it again. They managed to pack a lot of sound into a very compact form factor with their new CG3 series of speakers. Anchored by the patented Compression Guide technology and for almost half the cost, RSL's CG3 5.1 Home Theater System comes darn close to the performance and refinement of their acclaimed CG4 system. If you thought that a small-sized system couldn't pump out big, dynamic, and engaging sound then think again. You'll be disabused of any previous conceptions you might have. To save cost, and get perfect timbre matching, we recommend 5 identical CG3 speakers along with their Speedwoofer 10S subwoofer.

The folks at RSL were pretty frank about their goals when they developed the Speedwoofer 10S subwoofer, available for only $399 with free shipping.  They looked to the competition, starting with the best subwoofers in the $500 range and “didn't stop building until we had one that substantially outperformed the rest.”  Speedwoofer 10S offers a solid foundation for music or movies easily meeting the Bassaholic Medium rating, and fall just shy of our Large rating.

RSL Speedwoofer 10S Subwoofer

Start with one of these subs and later expand your system to two for better bass across all of your listening seats.

Note: There are many viable options today in in-expensive, but surprisingly good performing speakers available today online. In small compact form factor, we could have just as easily recommended the SVS Prime 5.1 Satellite System with an SB-1000 subwoofer but the edge in bass goes to the RSL Speedwoofer 10S in this instance.

We've covered products from Dayton Audio  as an alternative featuring floorstander speakers. Even the old AJ Pioneer speakers are still a good value at $489 for a complete 5.0 system. These speakers have balanced sound, are in a small form factor and don't look half bad in a small to medium sized living room environment. However, if you want an entire matching system in compact form factor, don't miss out on this package from RSL.

Alternatives: Dayton Audio MK442T- $199/pair, MK402 Bookshelf Speaker- $69/pair and MK442 Center Speaker- $50; Pioneer 5.0 AJ System- $489

Alternative Subwoofer: HSU VTF-1mk3- $399/ea

A/V Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR494

MSRP: $379 | Buy Now

When it comes to budget receivers, Onkyo usually leads the pack in most features per dollar. The new TX-SR494 is no exception. At 80wpc (2CH driven), this model offers 7 internal channels of amplification to run your current 5.1 system with the ability to add two height channels when you're ready to dive into immersive surround sound from Dolby Atmos to DTS:X. In the meantime, you will be able to virtualize the height channels with a future firmware update for Dolby Atmos Height Virtualizer and DTS Virtual:X. All of your 4K video needs are met as the HDMI switching support 4K/60p and HDR (HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, BT.2020). Onkyo sweetens the deal with their AccuEQ with subwoofer EQ and AccuReflex room correction system.

Alternative: Pioneer VSX-LX104 - $399

UHD Blu-ray Player: Sony UBP-X700

MSRP: $159 | Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player

Note: It used to be Monoprice was the place to go for budget speaker wire, but as with many products these days it's hard to compete with Amazon. With Monoprice jumping from $13 to over $21 for 50 ft of 14 gauge speaker wire we had to look elsewhere. Enter KabelDirekt through Amazon. For $18 you get 50' of 99.9% oxygen free copper speaker cable.

Summary

The base system we recommend here is just under $1,500 but we do recommend adding the RSL C34E Atmos height channels and an additional Speedwoofer 10S in future upgrades. That will get you in at a little over $2k, but well worth it for the improvement in bass and immersive surround sound.

Yes, technically we blew our $1,500 budget by $115. Of course we’d expect with a bit of shopping around, you can also find lower prices than what we’ve listed for some of the components or you could just delete the UDH Blu-ray player in favor of streaming from your favorite streaming device (ie. AppleTV, Firestick, Roku, etc).  The only things you need now are a movie and some popcorn. Don't forget the importance of setting bass management and calibrating your system. Enjoy!