Skip to main content

These impressive custom home theaters will inspire you, fill you with envy

Need a little inspiration for that home theater project you’ve been thinking about? This should do the trick. From the simple and understated, to the fanciest themed rooms, these home theaters all bring something special to the table. If you want to build the perfect homage to your favorite sci-fi series, or your favorite superhero flick, or something totally original, it won’t be easy, or cheap. But when you dim the lights for the first time and fire up the system, it will be worth all the effort.

There are a lot of different options for designing your home theater, and not all of them just involve couches in a rectangular room. Some people have laid theirs out as game rooms, with pool tables and golf simulators. Others have opted for even less traditional designs, with full bar setups or poker tables around a set of TVs. If you watch mostly sports, you can set up several smaller screens around a pool table, or place them in a row over a full bar for an unforgettable experience that will ensure your friends always watch the game at your place.

There’s a lot of careful planning that goes into building the perfect home theater for your house, from deciding on a layout and theme, to choosing the right audio and video gear. These pictures should help you develop an aesthetic, and some design ideas, as well as helping you make that crucial decision between a television and a projector screen. But once you’re done with all that, you’ll have a room all your own to impress friends, kick back with family, or just catch up on your streaming. Work hard enough, and you might just find your house on our list.

Caleb Denison
Digital Trends Editor at Large Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched…
Amazon’s $35 Fire TV Blaster extends Alexa to all of your home theater gadgets
amazon fire tv blaster alexa home theater control

 

If you own an Amazon Echo speaker and one of three select Fire TV devices, Amazon has a pretty sweet proposition for you: Spend $35 on its new Fire TV Blaster and you'll be able to take command of your entire entertainment environment with just your voice.

Read more
First ‘Tuned by THX’ home theater speakers need no A/V receivers — or wires
tuned by thx wireless home theater speakers wisa platin audio monaco 51

THX has become synonymous with top-notch cinema sound in commercial theaters. However, the George Lucas-founded company (now owned by gaming giant Razer) has been increasingly focused on helping consumers get a better quality of audio (and video) at home. To this end, it has created a new technical service called Tuned by THX, which gives audio companies the opportunity to have their products custom-tuned by the sound experts at THX. While it doesn't guarantee that the speakers and audio components will knock your socks off, it's THX's way of saying that it has adjusted the characteristics of these components to deliver what is (in THX's opinion) the best sound that these components are capable of.

In automotive terms, it's like taking your car to a Formula 1 mechanic for a tune-up. They won't be able to magically turn your Fiesta into a Ferrari, but they'll still be able to coax more performance out of it than it had when it left the factory. With a Tuned by THX audio component, the difference can be very noticeable.

Read more
There’s a rare deal on the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones today
Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in black.

The massively popular Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones rarely appear in headphone deals, so if you've had your eye on them for quite a while, you're in luck because they're currently $51 off on Walmart. From their original price of $400, you'll only have to pay $349, but only if you hurry because we don't expect stocks to last long. You're going to miss out on the offer if you take too long, so don't hesitate -- add the wireless headphones to your cart and check out as fast as you can.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
The best headphones that you can buy right now are the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, and it's not even close. At the heart is their outstanding wireless sound, supported by top-quality active noise cancellation that uses two processors and eight microphones to block all unwanted sound, as well as crystal-clear hands-free calling using four beamforming microphones and advanced audio signal processing. The wireless headphones also offer Bluetooth multipoint connection so that you can quickly switch between different devices, touch controls for functions like adjusting volume and calling your digital assistant, and Speak-to-Chat and Quick Attention features to stop your music and let ambient sound in without having to take them off.

Read more