Home theater expert Scott Henskee works with homeowners with all types of budgets at Marshall’s Inside Connections, the home installation specialists in North Carolina. In this article, he explains the best ways the people can build their own home theaters without spending a lot of money.
Budgets tend to be subjective, and what is a low-cost system to one person might seem like way too much to spend on a system to someone else. Nonetheless, a realistic budget and being honest with yourself and the professional that you are consulting with is key to getting what you want out of a home theater system no matter how much you plan to spend.
Before I consult with someone about possibly installing a home theater system, I ask him todetermine how much he is willing to spend. Whether the homeowner is looking towards purchasing a top-of-the-line system or a box system, they need to tell us that before we can begin designing a plan to fit their needs.
If a customer is looking to buy an out-of-the-box system, that will probably not give them the best quality. If you are looking for a home theater on an inexpensive budget, such as a home theater in a box for $399, then those might not be the best system, since that installation might cost you more than the system. So I advise people to just be prepared for that.
From my perspective personally, if I were to build a home theater system knowing I couldn’t afford to get top-of-the-line products in every regard, then I would spend the bulk of my money on the receiver. The receiver is probably the single most important piece of a typical home theater system because that is the heart of the unit. When it comes to the receiver in your system, you always want more power on reserve than you need. Speakers like power, and even a mediocre speaker can sound better with a quality receiver giving it plenty of power.
So for homeowners who might be interested in getting a home theater system set up but aren’t sure where to devote most of their resources, I would definitely encourage them to spend as much as they can afford on their system’s receiver.
