Consumer Reports tests home-theaters-in-a-box

Watching movies in your living room with surround sound is great, but getting set up
can set you back big bucks. Home-theater-in-a-box systems can save you money
and hassle. The box has all the components you need: a center channel speaker,
two speakers for the front of the room, another set for the back of the room, and a
subwoofer to enhance the bass. Many systems also come with a Blu-ray player. The big
advantage is that all the components come together in one box—everything connects
easily.

In Consumer Reports’ audio lab, testers checked out dozens of those systems, costing
$250 to almost $2,000. Some of the best systems had audio quality that approached
that of separate components.

An $800 system, the Samsung HT-E6730W, is among them. It delivers terrific sound,
includes a Blu-ray player, and has other nice features such as an iPod dock, so you can
listen to your iTunes library as well.

If you don’t need a Blu-ray player, you can get a surround-sound system for half the
price. Consumer Reports recommends the Yamaha YHT 497, which costs about $400.
It delivers very good sound and also has an iPod dock.