There’s never enough space in a small house. If I want a foosball table, I’m out of luck. If Mrs. Cubert brings home a rowing machine, we’d lose our second family room. Finding an affordable, minimalist home theater with great picture and sound feels impossible.
Still, a home theater is something I’m willing to make room for. Before the kids, I’d put together a decent system bit by bit: a pair of B&W speakers, a huge sub, and center and surrounds from Boston Acoustics. I even bought a $400 DVD player back in 1998 and dropped some cash on Monster cables—because, hey, Monster meant better, right? (Turns out the only thing worth the hype was their heavy-gauge speaker wire.)
The problem was the TV. I’d built an audio setup that could shake the walls, but I was still watching on a 27″ CRT. Even S-Video couldn’t save it. We upgraded to a 32″ LCD about twelve years ago, but by then most movies were widescreen. Great—so now I got black bars on top and bottom and had to squint to see the whole picture. Sure, I could crop to 4:3, but that cuts off action on the sides. You never know when Jawas will be hiding out there.
Then the kids came. Watching Lord of the Rings marathons took a back seat to diaper changes and toddler duty, so I sold most of the gear on Craigslist. That was nearly six years ago—sold the B&Ws for decent money, kept the 32″, and later added a Samsung 40″ LED for the main living room. We embraced streaming, added an Apple TV, and the Blu-ray player went to the basement right around the time Comcast did.
For the last five years, I was happy to get my big-screen fix at the theater. New releases every few months gave me a good excuse for “me time” or to take a nephew to a movie. But lately a new thing has happened: the kids are five and can sit through a whole movie. We’ve started doing movie nights at home—stovetop popcorn, rum and cokes for me, and $3.99 rentals on iTunes when Netflix doesn’t have what we want.
Even so, the 40″ screen feels small. The family’s fine with it, but I want something bigger. Of all the reasons I ever wanted a home theater, showing the original Star Wars trilogy to the kids is top of the list. Our kids turn six later this year—exactly how old I was when I first saw Darth Vader stride through that corridor. I want them to feel that same magic. But the obvious question: can we afford it?
Shopping is a mixed bag for me. I enjoy browsing sometimes, but I mostly do deep online research—reviews, YouTube, Amazon ratings—until my eyes glaze over. For the sound upgrade I narrowed it down to two options:
A) The pricey route: Sonos Playbar with subwoofer—about $1,398.
B) A cheaper option: Yamaha YAS-270BL soundbar and sub—about $300.
Why even consider Sonos? They’re like the Apple of speakers—great design and branding. But is that worth an extra $1,100? With kids around and drinks flying, do I really want a very expensive sound system within spill range? And with a small house, do I need sound that huge? Plus, I write a blog about not wasting money—so I try to keep my head on straight.
What we do need, though, is a big screen. The 40″ upstairs won’t cut it, and the 32″ downstairs won’t either. Either go big or keep going to the movies—and Disney probably isn’t putting the original trilogy back in theaters anytime soon. THX recommends a 90″ screen for a fully immersive experience, but our basement wall isn’t that big. A 65″ screen, though, will fill your view at about nine feet away. That’s massive but doable. I’ve sat in front of a 60″ at my in‑laws and felt a little motion sick thanks to their factory image settings, so I’m aiming for 65″ with good calibration.
OLED looks amazing but prices are high—$2,000+ for a quality set from LG or Samsung. Vizio’s “Quantum” line gets close to OLED quality for less, but still around $1,800. So, add the cheaper soundbar at $300 and a $1,800 TV and we’re at roughly $2,100. Ouch.
Why consider dropping that money? Winter helps: family movie nights line up perfectly with cold, snowy evenings when you can only build so many LEGO Death Stars before you go stir-crazy. You could argue it’ll save money by cutting theater trips, but we weren’t big theatergoers anyway. There are other perks: Wii bowling on a huge screen, hosting the Super Bowl, workout videos that actually make you move—the possibilities are fun.
It mostly comes down to the annual bonus—if it’s decent, we might swing it. We’re still paying the mortgage and saving for financial independence, so priorities matter. The good news: after years of pricey childcare, public school and cheaper after-school programs are easing that burden. Now I just need to remember my own advice about not falling for shiny things.
Got a home theater setup you’re proud of? Share it in the comments below!