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Steven Cohen/Insider
- I love movies and TV, so a capable home theater system is a must-have for my living room.
- After piecing together components for years, I finally completed my dream entertainment setup.
- A huge OLED TV and surround sound speakers help me create a theater-like experience at home.
I’m a huge movie buff and TV watcher, so I love to enjoy entertainment at home on the biggest screen and best speakers I can get my hands on — and fit in my apartment. After reviewing home entertainment and audio products for nearly a decade, I’ve used my experience and expertise to piece together my own dream home theater setup.
If you’re looking for recommendations for a killer entertainment system, these mid-range and high-end products are all excellent options. I’ve had my setup running for a few months now, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything performs.
Steven Cohen/Insider
LG 77-inch Class C1 Series OLED 4K TV, $2,899.99 on Best Buy
A good display is the centerpiece of any home theater and, as far as I’m concerned, the bigger the better. After seeing the distance between my couch and TV wall, I splurged on a 77-inch 4K OLED from LG to get that big movie theater feel. It’s expensive, but I took advantage of the Best Buy credit card’s handy 24-month financing. 48-, 55-, and 65-inch sizes are also available for more affordable prices.
Note: I own the 2020 CX model, but that’s been phased out now for the nearly identical 2021 C1 model.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Rocketfish Tilting TV Mount, $99.99 on Best Buy
To fix the massive display to my wall I opted for this simple Rocketfish mount. It offers some range to tilt the display and shift it horizontally, but it doesn’t pull out for full flexibility. I also opted for Best Buy’s mounting service so I didn’t have to worry about dropping a 77-inch TV.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Jamo S 5.1 speaker package, $1,346 on Adorama
This Jamo speaker setup lets me hear sound from every direction, even from above my head. Special attach to the front and rear speakers to bounce sound off the ceiling, and the effect is really cool. These add-ons are often sold out, but new stock is added from time to time. Even without them, the Jamo speakers deliver fantastic performance.
Note: Jamo’s 5.1 speaker package includes S801 bookshelf speakers, but I upgraded to the larger S803 model which has the necessary connections to pair with the Atmos add-ons.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Denon AVR-X3700H 9.2 Channel receiver, $1,599.99 on Amazon
This 9.2-channel Denon receiver has the specs to power all nine of my speakers and my subwoofer without any issues. It also has plenty of HDMI ports to connect other devices, like a Blu-ray player, to my TV. If you have fewer speakers, I recommend a cheaper receiver, like the 5.2-channel AVR-S540BT ($349) or Onkyo 7.2-channel TX-NR5100 ($599).
Note: I own the AVR-X3600H model, which has been replaced by the newer AVR-X3700H.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Perlegear Universal Speaker Stands with Cable Management Holds, $79.99 on Amazon
I have two cats, and they love to knock into things. This was a problem with my old speakers and flimsy stands, so I decided to go with something heftier. These Perlegear stands feel sturdy and don’t knock over easily. My speakers don’t quite clamp in completely, but they’re secured enough that I never worry about them falling off.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Amazon Basics High-Speed 4K HDMI Cable (6 foot), $8.17 on Amazon
Monoprice Premium Braided Speaker Wire (10 foot, 2-pack), $34.99 on Amazon
I’ve amassed a variety of HDMI cables over the years, but I find these Amazon Basics high-speed cables to be the most reliable for the money. I also love these Monoprice banana plug speaker cables. I hate having to cut speaker wire and then feed the threads into speaker terminals; these cables just let me plug everything right in with no hassle. I also have some handy cord covers to keep all my cables out of sight.
Steven Cohen/Business Insider
My smart TV has a good built-in platform for apps, but I still prefer to use a standalone streaming device to get the snappiest performance. The Roku Ultra gets the job done with support for all the services I watch, as well as all the video and audio formats I need. I also prefer Roku’s simple interface over other options.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Panasonic 4K Blu-ray Player, $495.99 on Amazon
Though I stream a lot of content, I still prefer discs to get the very best video and audio quality. This Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player offers excellent performance with advanced image processing. It’s also one of the few models out there that supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+.
Steven Cohen/Insider
Nintendo Switch, $299 on Amazon
I somehow got lucky and was able to snag a PS5 last November during a random restock on Amazon. I’m a big fan of Sony’s exclusive games, like “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” and new games look stunning in 4K HDR on my TV. I also own an Xbox One X, which is fantastic with Game Pass, and a Nintendo Switch so I can still play my favorite Nintendo franchises.
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