The $700 Home Theater Miracle: How to Ditch Your TV Speakers Forever

Let’s be honest: the built-in speakers on your brand-new, paper-thin 4K TV are garbage. They’re tiny, they face the wrong way, and they make a $100 million blockbuster sound like it’s being played through a tin can. You bought a beautiful 4K panel to be immersed in the action, but you’re only getting half the experience.

For over a decade, I’ve tested, reviewed, and lived with countless home theater products. The biggest mistake I see beginners make is thinking they need a complex, $5,000 receiver-and-speaker setup to get good sound. They get paralyzed by terms like “pre-amp” and “7.2.4” and end up doing nothing, surrendering to those awful TV speakers.

I’m here to tell you that’s a myth.

You don’t need to be an audiophile or run a mile of speaker wire to get incredible, immersive sound. You just need three key components: the right TV, the right soundbar, and the right streamer.

This is my definitive, no-nonsense guide to building a cheap starter home theater that will absolutely blow you away—all for around $600-$700. This is the 80/20 rule of home cinema: 80% of the high-end experience for 20% of the cost.

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The Philosophy: Why This Three-Part “Combo” Is the Secret

Before we get to the specific products, you need to understand why this combo works. A great starter home theater is a balanced system where each part does its job perfectly.

1. The TV (The Visuals): This is your anchor. It needs to have a great 4K picture, but more importantly, it needs the right port to talk to your soundbar.
2. The Soundbar (The Audio): This is the single biggest upgrade you will make. We’re not just looking for “louder”; we’re looking for width, clarity, and rumble.
3. The Streamer (The Brains): “But my TV is already smart!” I hear you say. I don’t care. A dedicated streaming stick is faster, gets more updates, supports more apps, and has a much cleaner interface than 99% of built-in “smart” TV platforms.

The magic isn’t just in the products themselves, but in how they work together using a single, beautiful piece of technology: HDMI eARC. But more on that later. Let’s build your system.

The Visual Anchor – Best Budget TV

For a starter home theater, you’re looking for the sweet spot of value and features. You want a 4K QLED panel for great color and brightness, and you must have an HDMI eARC port.

Expert Pick: Hisense U6N (55-inch)

While TCL’s Q-series is a constant competitor, I’m giving the edge to the Hisense U6N (or its U6-series predecessor) this year. Why? It brings premium features like a Mini-LED backlight and Full Array Local Dimming (FALD) to a price point that is almost unbelievable.

• Key Specs & Features:
  • Resolution: 4K UHD (3840 x 2160)
  • Panel Tech: QLED (Quantum Dot) with a Mini-LED backlight. This is huge. Mini-LED and FALD are what create a high contrast ratio, giving you deep, inky blacks and bright, popping highlights.
  • HDR Support: Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10. This TV supports all the major formats, so you’re never missing out on the best picture, whether you’re on Netflix (Dolby Vision) or Prime Video (HDR10+).
  • The Magic Port: 1 x HDMI eARC (plus 3 other HDMI 2.0 ports). This is the non-negotiable feature for this build.
  • Smart OS: Google TV. It’s comprehensive but, as you’ll see, we’re going to bypass it.
• Performance & Real-World Insight: For the money (typically $450-$550 for the 55-inch), you will not find a brighter, more vibrant picture. In my testing, this TV handles reflections well in a bright room, but its real strength is movie night in a dark room. The local dimming allows it to create convincing black levels, so space scenes in The Mandalorian actually look like space, not a muddy gray.
• Pros & Cons:
  • Pros: Incredible brightness and contrast for the price, Mini-LED backlight, supports all HDR formats.
  • Cons: It’s a 60Hz panel (no 120Hz for high-frame-rate gaming), and the built-in Google TV interface can feel a bit sluggish.

The Game-Changer – Best Budget Soundbar

Welcome to the most important part of your purchase. A soundbar is what separates “watching TV” from “experiencing a movie.” We’re not just getting a simple stereo bar; we’re getting a dedicated subwoofer and a secret weapon: Dolby Atmos.

Expert Pick: Vizio M-Series M213ad-K8 2.1 Soundbar

I recommend this Vizio M-Series 2.1 soundbar to everyone starting out. It is a marvel of budget engineering. It’s a 2.1-channel system, meaning it has the main soundbar (2 channels: left and right) and a wireless subwoofer (.1).

• Key Specs & Features:
  • Channels: 2.1
  • Subwoofer: 5″ Wireless Subwoofer. This is critical. A separate sub is the only way to get real, floor-shaking bass. It’s the rumble you feel when a T-Rex footsteps or a bomb explodes.
  • Audio Formats: Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. This is insane at its price point (typically under $200). It uses digital processing to virtualize height, making it sound like helicopters are flying overhead. Is it as good as $1,000 systems with up-firing speakers? No. Is it a massive, immersive leap over standard stereo? Absolutely.
  • The Magic Port: 1 x HDMI eARC In. This is how it talks to the TV.
• Performance & Real-World Insight: I’ve set this bar up for friends and family, and the reaction is always the same: “I didn’t know my TV could sound like this.” The dialogue clarity is the first thing you’ll notice—no more “what did they say?” rewinds. But the real fun is that wireless sub. You place it in the corner of your room, and suddenly, the entire soundstage opens up. Action scenes have weight and impact. It’s a transformative experience.
• Pros & Cons:
  • Pros: Unbeatable price for a 2.1 system, included wireless sub, virtual Dolby Atmos.
  • Cons: The virtual Atmos is a cool trick but won’t fool audiophiles, no Wi-Fi streaming (Bluetooth only).

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The Brains – Best Budget Streamer

This component ties it all together. A dedicated streamer gives you a simple, lightning-fast experience that a TV’s built-in, ad-filled software just can’t match. It’s a quality-of-life upgrade you won’t know how you lived without.

Expert Pick: Roku Streaming Stick 4K

While the Chromecast with Google TV 4K is a fantastic choice (especially if you love Google), I consistently recommend the Roku Streaming Stick 4K for starter setups. Why? Its interface is brilliantly simple.

• Key Specs & Features:
  • Resolution: 4K UHD
  • HDR Support: Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+. It perfectly matches our Hisense TV’s capabilities.
  • Interface: Roku OS. It’s just a simple grid of apps. It’s fast, it’s clean, and it doesn’t push unwanted content on you.
  • Remote: The simple Roku Voice Remote includes buttons for TV power and volume control. This is essential.
  • Connectivity: Long-range Wi-Fi, which is great if your router isn’t in the same room.
• Performance & Real-World Insight: The speed is the key. Apps load instantly. You press the Netflix button, and you’re in Netflix. There’s no lag, no stutter, no waiting for the TV’s underpowered processor to catch up. The remote is the hero—it feels good in the hand and controls your entire system.
• Pros & Cons:
  • Pros: Incredibly simple and fast UI, supports all 4K/HDR formats, great remote.
  • Cons: Interface is less “curated” than Google TV’s, if you prefer content-forward discovery.

The “Combo” Secret: How HDMI eARC Makes It All Work

This is the expert-level trick that makes your “starter” system feel “premium.” All three of these devices are built to work together through HDMI eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel).

Here is your entire setup guide. It’s two cables.

1. Plug the Roku Streaming Stick 4K into an open HDMI port on your Hisense TV (e.g., HDMI 2).
2. Plug one end of an HDMI cable into the Vizio Soundbar’s “HDMI eARC” port.
3. Plug the other end of that same cable into the Hisense TV’s “HDMI eARC” port (this will be clearly labeled).
4. In the TV’s audio settings, select “eARC” as the output.

That’s it. You’re done.

Here’s what happens now: The Roku sends its 4K Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio to the TV. The TV displays the video and, thanks to eARC, sends the full, uncompressed Dolby Atmos audio signal down that single HDMI cable to the soundbar.

Even better, a technology called HDMI-CEC allows the devices to control each other. When you press the volume button on your Roku remote, it tells the TV, which in turn tells the soundbar to raise or lower the volume. One remote controls everything. It’s seamless, simple, and exactly how a home theater should work.

My Final Verdict: The Smartest Money You’ll Ever Spend

For a total investment of roughly $650 – $700 (depending on sales), this three-part combo gives you a true, immersive home theater experience.

You’re getting a vibrant, bright 4K Mini-LED picture that supports every HDR format. You’re getting a dedicated wireless subwoofer for bass you can feel. You’re getting virtual Dolby Atmos for an immersive sound bubble. And you’re getting a lightning-fast, simple interface that ties it all together with a single remote.

Could you spend more? Of course. You could get an OLED TV for perfect blacks or a 9.1.4-channel soundbar for “true” Atmos. But as a tech expert, I’m telling you: this cheap starter home theater setup delivers at least 80% of that high-end experience for a fraction of the price.

Stop waiting to build your dream home theater. This is the smart, simple, and affordable way to finally do it.

A guide to setting up ARC and eARC This video provides a helpful visual explanation of how ARC and eARC work, which is the key technology that makes this recommended combo so simple and effective.