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Best Surround Sound Systems in 2024

Tran Ngoc Thuy
  Mar 28, 2024 8:06 PM

If you’re a film buff, rigging yourself up with a decent surround sound system will enhance your experience no end. It’s not just about the extra volume, but about creating a situation where you’re in the sound rather than listening to it. It isn’t just film that’ll get a boost – Surround Sound Systems will also upgrade your music listening and gaming.

With a decent speaker set, your home entertainment system levels up. To help your search, we've rounded up 21 of our Best Surround Sound Systems - all of which are suitable for most living rooms - considering price, design, features, and sound quality.


Buying Guides

There are a lot of things to talk about a surround sound system. We’ll walk you through, and point out the advantages as well as the disadvantages of each option:

1. The number of speakers in a sound system

Every human being has two ears. That’s the main reason why stereo speakers are the most common and popular in the world. In the past, people used to use mono speakers to produce artificial sound or more than one speaker but sound exactly the same. 

So, what counts? The speakers in a system actually count into the number when they somehow sound different from each other. To set an example, the stereo sound system might consist of two different speakers, each produces sound for one ear, or an additional center speaker to produce sound that is in front of you.

There have been hundreds of sound system definitions; however, we’ll list out some of the most notable ones:

  • Mono sound system: The name suggests that the system only includes one channel of sound, and the channel can probably be played by multiple speakers. Those speakers sound exactly the same and don’t create any feelings of the 3D environment.

  • 2-channel sound system/stereo: You have all come across this type of sound system when you put on your headphones, use iPhone 7 or later, which feature stereo sound, etc. The systems separate sound into two channels, one for each ear, to create the illusion of sitting inside the scene

  • 3-channel sound system/surround or stereo: the name stereo doesn’t mean two channels, instead it means that all the speakers stand in front of you. When it comes to 3 channel systems, you have two options: one to put all three in front of you, calling them left, right, and center, two to put them around you to create a surrounding feeling.

    Sometimes, you might come across something called 3.0 or 3.1, which is the code for 3-channel sound systems. The “.1” is denoted to the systems that feature an LFE (low-frequency effects) channel, or we usually call a subwoofer.

  • 5-channel sound system: This type features three speakers in front of the listeners and two in the back, one on the left and one on the right. It used to be said to be the most realistic sound setup; however, the more speakers the better, so it’s not the best anymore: Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System.

  • 7-channel surround: This is the thing we’re talking about. A 7-channel surround sound system is great while affordable for budget audiophiles to try and experience. It is an extension of the 5-channel systems with two additional side speakers on the left and the right: Klipsch 7.2 Walnut System.

  • 11.1 surround: This type is expensive, truly, and heavy. It’s usually set up at cinemas and luxurious home theaters

  • 22.2 surround sound: the system features 24 speakers being put around the listeners to create what is called the Ultra High Definition Television. This type has been demonstrated at several international events such as the London Olympics 2012: Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 Channel 1000W.

2. How powerful you need your sound system to be

To put it in perspective, your laptop’s speakers consume a total of more or less than 5W. For our surround sound systems, the typical power usage is roughly 500W to 1000W. That highly depends on the size of the room and how many people will listen to the sound produced by the speakers. A large number of speakers obviously consume two or three times more power than a traditional stereo setup. Here is some popular power usage rate:

  • 250W - usually applied to 3-channel sound system and for small rooms

  • 500W - average for 5.1 and 7.1 surround system

  • 1000W - to system for large-sized room

3. What kind of music you want to play

In this paragraph, we will talk a little more professionally. For an average listener, you would not have to worry much about the type of music you want to play; however, for audiophiles, we care about the notes and the vibes, and we switch from speakers to speakers to choose which is the best for the music we want. 

  • For pop listeners: Pop music focuses much on the vocal of the singers; therefore, you need speakers with strong, pure, and consistent middle range

  • For rock listeners: Rock music loves to feature instruments, that’s why the bass and the treble have to be concentrated more than the mid.

  • For EDM listeners: You know what it is, bass. You’ll need powerful but pure, strong but not too hard bass and sub-bass speakers. The role is usually taken by the subwoofers in the speaker system.

4. The quality of the music

The quality of music is usually measured by the bit rate and the sampling rate. These are the definitions of those:

  • The sampling rate determines how frequently the microphones record the sound coming from the source as well as how frequently the speakers play the sound, or re-create the sound wave, and deliver it to the humans’ ears. The higher the sampling rate is, the smoother the music is.

  • The bitrate: when compressing the audio signals, people use some algorithms to transform the signals and drop some insignificant bits in order to reduce the file size. Those dropped bits can’t be recognized when being played by normal speakers; however, it would sound much better if present in high-quality speakers. 

This one provides great music quality Q Acoustics 3000i 5.1.

5. The partner devices

The next step is to think of what devices you want to play music with. It could fall into categories and here’s how you think about them:

  • Your phone: Your phone outputs the sound by a 3.5 audio jack, which needs a compatible AUX port on the speakers. Additionally, you can play music via Bluetooth, and in that case, you need to have Bluetooth integrated into your system

  • Blu-ray and DVD players: Blu-ray and DVD players support the surround sound system very well; they offer various ways to connect to the setup and those ways are always corded. Be sure to check with your players and to buy a sound system with a compatible port.

  • Music players: This is tricky, not because of the compatible ports, but the quality of the music. Music players are made to decode high-rate music, with sky-high bitrate and unimaginable sampling rate. That’s why you need a setup that can play music at that high rate.

6. Wireless technologies and streaming

It is always right to keep up with the latest wireless technology. Although wireless connections could not provide great details and low latency like wired ones, we are definitely seeing some improvements every day. There are multiple ways to enjoy music without having to plugin, including:

  • Wi-Fi streaming: Latest speakers include support for Wi-Fi connections and apps. Therefore, you can start thinking about streaming your music from a server, a music provider or even synchronizing it from other sources. In this case, Spotify or Apple Music should not be good enough for you. This is not sponsored, but Tidal is offering lossless music and its music can be streamed from a variety of devices. 

  • Bluetooth streaming: You should be familiar with this. However, you should learn more about the codec the phone uses to communicate with the speakers. Some popular ones are the SBC, which is the standard and every device supports, aptX and aptX HD by Qualcomm, LDAC by Sony for greater sound. Make sure that both your system and your device should share common support for the technology you want.


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Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API


Best Products

1. Klipsch 7.2 Walnut System 

You would never doubt the sound quality of the brand Klipsch. Klipsch 7.2 Walnut System is one of the best surround systems we have tested. By buying this set, you’ll get all of these speakers delivered at your doors: 2 Klipsch RP-5000F Floorstanding speaker, 1 Klipsch RP-404C Center Speaker, 4 Klipsch RP-500M Surround Speakers, and finally 2 Klipsch SPL-120 Subwoofers.

We would not get into details about each of these speakers, but what you have to know is that they sound outstanding together. All speakers are made of wood and make themselves a 7.2 System. The unfortunate thing about this set is that this is more like a traditional set of speakers instead of a modern one; therefore, there aren’t many connection options for the set. You are going to know a lot about wires, ports, adapters to get this thing to work the best.

  • 7.2 sound system

  • 12-inch subwoofers

  • Titanium LTS Vented Tweeters with Hybrid Tractrix Horns

  • High performance from the respected brand Klipsch

  • Poor connection options

2. Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 Channel 1000W

Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2.4 Channel 1000W, by Nakamichi - a brand that has been around for more than 70 years, is the greatest 9.2.4 surround system we want to introduce today. With 2 subwoofers and four 2-way surround speakers, the system promises to create the perfectly true 360-degree sound that flows around you.

The “.4” denotes that the system works with Dolby Atmos, and is advertised to be able to play the true Dolby Atmos sound from your TV, such as the Netflix Dolby Atmos.

The speakers are sized 10”, consume the total power of 1000W, to produce the famous refined cinema-level sound with absolutely no distortion. Although it doesn’t get Bluetooth and sorts of things, it’s designed for the buyers to set up and bring up the acoustics in approximately just 30 minutes

  • High performance

  • Powerful subwoofers and surround speakers

  • Dolby Atmos

  • Signature sound from Nakamichi

3. Sony STR-DN1080 7.2-Channel Home Theater

It would be so wrong if you don’t mention a product from the ultimately famous Sony brand. Sony STR-DN1080 7.2-Channel Home Theater stands among all being the best 7.2 home theater system we’ve come across. The set has 9 items, including a set of AV receivers, an active subwoofer, and 7 Sony speakers.

Sony speakers provide great details, powerful bass, and truly lifelike sound. The AV receiver doesn’t only work as a sound receiver but also as an image receiver. It delivers both HDR 4K videos and 7.2 surround sound signals at the same time.

The Dolby Atmos is supported by default, and guess what’s great? Voice Control. With Google Home, you can control how the set works with your own voice, from your phones, your car, or from anything that has Google on it.

  • From Sony

  • 7.2 home theater system

  • AV receiver

  • Google Home integrated

4. Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System

Designed to be affordable by everyone, Logitech Z906 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System consists of four 67-watt wall-mountable speakers, a 165-watt subwoofer, and the Dolby Digital technologies. Under intense circumstances, the set can deliver up to 1000 watts of power for thunderous, room-shaking audio.

The system is certified with THX, guarantees true cinema-quality sound for you. It might not be the best sound system out there with tens of speakers, but it’s got new features for 2021 technologies.

It provides support for up to 6 devices to connect at the same time, including your computers, music players, TVs, game consoles, and many more. It also comes with an infrared remote to change songs, adjust volumes, or amplify the sound a little.

  • 500-watt total

  • Affordable price

  • 5.1 surround sound system

  • Good device support


FAQs

1. How can I set up my surround sound system?

It depends on the kind of your surround sound system and the port it supports. Some systems only support the type of connections to traditional optical amplifiers, which is the best but not flexible. In this case, you’ll need to hire a technical assistant to help you with the setup, or learn the setup yourself, though it might take time.

On the other hand, some brands equip their systems with modern wireless technologies to help simplify the setup process. Be noticed that wireless technologies don’t always provide the as good sound as wired connections and usually come with latency. An example is this Yamaha YAS-207BL.

2. Do I need to purchase an additional DAC for my phone or my computer?

Well, you should. DAC, or Digital to Analog converter, plays an important role in decoding and re-creating the sound, before delivering it to your ears. Built-in DAC is usually the small less-power-consumption type, which does the job not very well.

Therefore, you should purchase a professional DAC for your computer or your phone to enjoy the best music with your speakers. FiiO E10K USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier.

3. How much power does a system take?

Normally, a surround sound system takes up to 1000 watts of power, and that would be hard to find a system that works with under 250 watts of electricity. After all, you should expect an average of about 500 or 600 watts.

4. Should I use Bluetooth to connect to my speakers?

Sometimes, yeah. Here are two things that come with Bluetooth connections:

  • Low audio quality

  • High latency

For the first thing, you can be a smarter listener and choose a better code to stream your content. My advice is that you should either use the Qualcomm aptX HD or the LDAC technology by Sony to stream your content. Even on aptX or LDAC, you wouldn’t come close to what wired connections can provide, but for wireless advantages, it’s much better.

Secondly, high latency has been significantly reduced with later technologies; however, it’s still not advised to use wireless connections to play games and tasks like that.

5. What is 3.1, 5.1, 7.1?

3.1, 5.1, 7.1 define the number of channels that the system illustrates. The obvious fact is that the more channels the more realistic the sound is and also the price goes up.

Therefore, you should check carefully before deciding to buy your surround sound system. Check this out for more information DALI Katch One Soundbar.


Final Thoughts

If you feel like a pair of headphones or laptop’s stereo speakers aren’t good for you anymore, that’s the time for you to look for a surround sound system. A surround sound system is complicated and needs to be considered carefully. Here are the best surround sound systems in our picks:


4.2
6 ratings