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Crutchfield Brand Guide

Enjoy theatre-like entertainment in your home

HDTVs produce stunning pictures, with lifelike color and detail, but they don't offer big, realistic sound for your movies and shows. To make the most of your entertainment, combine a great picture with full, engaging home theatre sound. You've got plenty of options for getting great sound, from multi-speaker home theatre systems to simple one-speaker solutions.

Component home theatre systems

A traditional component home theatre system, also known as a surround sound system, consists of a TV, video sources, a home theatre receiver, and speakers. For the best home theatre experience, this is what we recommend.

TVs

TVs

Home theatre starts with your TV. A big, clear picture is must-have, and bigger is usually better. Choose 4K or OLED for the latest TV picture technology, and pay attention to smart TV features if you're interested in streaming content. If you've got a dedicated home theatre room and you really want to go big, consider a projector that can produce theatre-like images on screens measuring as big as 100" or more.

Read our TV buying guide Shop TVs
Video Sources

Video sources

Blu-ray players, 4K media players, and smart set-top boxes — these are all examples of video sources that will provide the audio/video content you'll play on your home theatre system. These devices provide a wide variety of entertainment options — many connect to the Internet so you’ll be able to stream content like Netflix®.

Read our Blu-ray players buying guide Shop video sources
Home theatre receivers

Receivers

A receiver is the center of your home theatre system. In addition to providing surround sound processing and the power to drive your speakers, today’s home theatre receivers act as a connection hub for all of your of audio/video sources and your TV. Many of our current receiver models let you control your system wirelessly using a mobile app and some let you stream music from the Internet.

Read our Receivers shopping guide Shop receivers
Speakers

Speakers

Speakers connect to your receiver to produce the sound you’ll hear. A traditional surround sound system consists of at least five speakers plus a powered subwoofer. You have plenty of options when it comes to speakers, from floor-standing towers to in-ceiling models to complete surround sound speaker packages.

Read our introduction to home theatre speakers Shop speakers

Pre-packaged home theatre systems

We carry systems that are already matched together and ready for you to purchase — some combine a receiver and speakers, while others contain speakers and you’ll select a separate receiver.

Surround sound speaker systems

You can build your own speaker system, or choose a pre-matched system. These convenient systems are powered by your receiver and deliver immersive sound. They take the guesswork out of knowing which speakers will sound good together.

Shop surround sound speaker systems

Top trends in home theatre

Whether you're looking for the most theatre-like experience possible or a way to get great sound with a minimum of gear, we're on top of the latest trends. Check out a few below. To learn more, connect with our advisors or explore our articles and videos.

Dolby Atmos®

Dolby Atmos is a cutting-edge surround sound format that was developed to give movie soundtracks a more three-dimensional effect. It creates a "height" layer of sound above the listener. Available for a growing list of movie titles and supported by many newer home theatre receivers, Dolby Atmos delivers the most lifelike surround sound we've heard yet.

Watch our video on Dolby Atmos

Shop Dolby Atmos

Wireless surround speakers

People frequently ask us about wireless surround speakers. No home theatre speaker is truly wireless, because it will need to get power from somewhere. However, some home theatre systems feature a wireless transmitter that sends audio signals from the receiver to the speakers in the rear of your room. This eliminates the need to run speaker wire from the front to the back of your room. These speakers usually connect to a wireless receiver that goes in the back of your room and plugs into an AC wall outlet for power.

Shop wireless surround speakers

Sound bars

Sound bars are simple to set up, and they're great when you don't have a lot of room for speakers. Many consist of one long, slim speaker that sits beneath your TV plus a subwoofer to provide low-frequency punch. You get much better sound than your TV's built-in speakers can offer.

Learn more about sound bars

Shop sound bars

Complete the setup

No home theatre installation is complete — or functional — without helpful add-ons like mounts, stands, wiring and power protection.

Home theatre wiring

Home theatre wiring

Home theatre speaker wire

Shop home theatre wiring
Home theatre accessories

Home theatre accessories

Home theatre cables and installation accessories

Shop home theatre accessories

How will you decide?

Need help deciding which receiver, speakers, or other home theatre components are right for your home? We'd love to help. Call, chat, or email with our advisors.