There’s something about going to the movies that is so addictive.
The combination of popcorn, giant screen, and incredible immersive sound is something that you can’t replicate with a regular TV at home.
If you’re looking for that true home cinema experience, you need to invest in high end home theater speakers that can bring your films to life.
However, with the wide array of different kinds of speakers on the market, it can get overwhelming.
Luckily, we’ve broken down the best high end home theater speakers so you can find your perfect match.
So, let’s get started!
Quick List: Top 8 High End Home Theater Speakers in2024
- Klipsch Cornwall III Heritage Floorstanding Speakers – Runner Up
- ELAC ARB51-GB Navis Premium Bookshelf Speakers
- Earthquake Tigris Dual Home Theater Tower Speakers – Best Overall
- Martin Logan Edge High Performance In-Wall Speaker
- Klipsch RF-7 II Floorstanding Speaker
- KEF LS50 Mini Monitor Speakers – Most Popular
- Klipsch RC-64 III Center Channel Speaker
- Mirage OMD-28 Omnipolar Floorstanding Speaker
Researching High End Home Theater Speakers
We put hours of research into finding the absolute best high-end home theater speakers of all kinds.
We looked for diversity, so we found the best units for the most common kinds of speakers.
These include tower speakers, bookshelf speakers, center speakers, and in-wall speakers, so you can build upon your existing home theater setup.
Space is a commodity, so we made sure to find the best speakers that fit small, medium, and large home theaters, optimized for balanced sound no matter your setup.
If you’re investing money in high end speakers, sound quality is more important than ever. That’s why we ensured that we chose the speakers that have the most sophisticated audio technology, for balanced, detailed sound that is truly three dimensional.
There are a lot of similar speakers on the market, so we also sought out units with unique design features that set them apart from the competition. These include speakers with superior connectivity, unique driver design, and the classiest aesthetics.
Overall, each one of these speakers excels in its particular class, and we’re confident you’ll find the right high end home theater speaker for your entertainment space.
The Best High End Home Theater Speakers in2024
1. Klipsch Cornwall III Heritage Floorstanding Speakers
The Klipsch Cornwall III Heritage Series floor standing speakers are our pick for the best overall high end home theater speakers, with their superior design that prioritizes classic sound and aesthetics.
✔️ What we like: The perfect combination of beautiful aesthetics and classic, superior sound.
❌ What we don’t like: The size.
Standout Features
- 3 way playback
- Vintage design
- Warm soundstage
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Never has this been truer than with the Cornwall III Heritage speakers, which prove why the vintage design from 1959 can still stand its own against modern units.
They’re available in either glossy black or walnut, with each speaker grain-matched to ensure design continuity. The aesthetic is both vintage and timeless, suiting the home theater of any audiophile that appreciates tasteful style.
Our only complaint with the Klipsch Cornwall III Heritage speakers is that they’re simply enormous. Weighing in at 98 pounds and standing at almost 36 inches, you’ll struggle to find space for them unless you have a medium to large sized home theater.
However, the size pays off, with 100W of volume that can fill your space with warm, balanced sound.
We love the 3 way design of the Klipsch speakers, which includes a horn-loaded midrange and treble, titanium high-frequency compression drivers, and a mammoth 15-inch woofer.
The separation of the drivers allows each one to work on its frequency range, resulting in extremely accurate and balanced sound that doesn’t shy away from the bass.
What we most appreciate is how wide and warm the soundstage is, reproducing extremely natural sound. Some modern speakers lose the heart of music and movies by making sound precise to the point of clinical, but the Cornwall III Heritage speakers are not guilty of this crime.
You will need a premium receiver to get the best out of the Klipsch Cornwall III Heritage speakers, but you won’t be disappointed with this addition to your high end home theater.
- Speaker type: 3-Way Powered - Tweeter: 1″ Soft Dome Concentrically Mounted - Midrange: 4″ Aluminum - Woofer: 5-1/4″ Aluminum
The ELAC ARB51-GB Navis bookshelf speakers are an excellent addition to your sophisticated and modern high end home theater setup.
✔️ What we like: Thoroughly modern bookshelf speakers.
❌ What we don’t like: The port design.
Standout Features
- Class D amplifier
- Discovery Connect wireless transmitter
- Concentric driver design
Minimalism is the name of the game when it comes to the ELAC ARB51-GB Navis speakers. They’re simple but elegant in appearance, with modern features that streamline your home theater setup.
If you’re looking for minimal installation fuss, the ELAC speakers fit the bill with their Discovery Connect wireless transmitter. This allows you to avoid hiding away ugly cords or wasting time on installation and get straight down to listening.
However, you won’t want to hide the speakers themselves, with a sleek and modern appearance that speaks to the quality of the contents. The focus of these speakers is on audiophile quality sound without embellishments or unnecessary design elements.
The speakers have a 3 way design that includes a concentric midrange driver and tweeter setup, as well as an aluminum cone woofer. Each of the drivers comfortably handles frequencies across the total range from 44 Hz to 28 Khz, with extremely precise and detailed sound.
They particularly excel in the midrange, but overall, the soundstage is balanced and expansive.
They also feature an in-built Class D amplifier, which can handle up to 300W of power and fill a medium sized room. You have the freedom to place the ELAC speakers in any part of your room and enjoy the highest quality surround sound.
Some users have complained about audible bass chuffing in songs that use extremely low frequency bass. This could be avoided with a wider and longer port, but unless you’re a bass fanatic, you’re unlikely to be bothered.
3. Earthquake Tigris Dual Home Theater Tower Speakers – Best Overall
- Frequency Response: 25Hz-40KHz
The Earthquake Tigris dual home theater tower speakers live up to their name with wall-shaking volume and rumbling basslines.
✔️ What we like: Thunderous bass from enormous, imposing speakers.
❌ What we don’t like: Not suitable for small or medium sized rooms.
Standout Features
- Extended frequency response
- Powerful volume
- Long excursion bass woofers
The Earthquake Tigris tower speakers are a pricey investment, but well worth it for the power and frequency response that they deliver.
The 3 way speaker design combines a 1-inch super tweeter, dual ball-loaded midrange drivers, and 8-inch long-excursion bass woofers, for impressive sound from 25 Hz to 40 Khz.
These speakers are perfect if you’re looking for heavy bass without investing in a home theater sub, because they can reach the lower frequencies while maintaining precision and accuracy.
The Earthquake Tigris speakers can also handle up to 500W of power, which can easily fill a large sized home theater with wall-rattling sound that brings music and movies into the third dimension. However, you will need to pair them with a powerful, high quality amplifier to get the most out of the sound.
These tower speakers combine power, volume, and elegance, with a sleek black design and lacquer finish that deserves to be shown off.
Our only complaint is that the tower speakers need a lot of space to work their magic. If you try to use them in a small or medium sized room, the midrange is too pronounced and can overwhelm the bass and treble.
The speakers are also exceptionally large and bulky, packing almost 90 pounds of weight each, and measuring almost 5 feet high.
However, if you have the space to accommodate the Earthquake Tigris speakers, they will reward you with a huge soundstage that hits your ears from all directions and transforms your home theater experience.
4. Martin Logan Edge High Performance In-Wall Speaker
The Martin Logan Edge in-wall speaker is sophisticated and worthy of its high end price tag, featuring superior audio technology.
✔️ What we like: Well-designed in-wall speaker with smooth, balanced sound.
❌ What we don’t like: Weak on the low end bass.
Standout Features
- Discrete design
- Folded Motion tweeter
- 5 drivers
Audiophiles often criticize in-wall speakers for delivering lower quality sound, but the Martin Logan Edge speaker easily overcomes this prejudice. Even the pickiest audiophiles will be impressed by the intelligent design and superior sound of this high end home theater speaker.
Like other quality in-wall speakers, the Martin Logan Edge speaker sits flush against the wall and can be easily camouflaged with its paintable grille. Blink and you’ll miss this discrete speaker, which can be firmly secured with its rigid and durable mounting lock system.
It’s extremely durable, with MDF baffle that eliminates resonance and a die-cast aluminum chassis that protects all the elements and ensures smooth playback.
The speaker boasts an impressive 5 driver design, which combines dual aluminum cone woofers, dual aluminum midrange drivers, and a low distortion Folded Motion tweeter.
It performs well across a frequency range from 42 Hz to 25 Khz, but particularly excels in the midrange, due to its unique tweeter design.
The Folded Motion tweeter works like an accordion and squeezes air through its diaphragm, which eliminates distortion and improves frequency response. It also has a larger surface area, which creates a larger soundstage that is clean and clear.
This design needs 90% less excursion than a standard tweeter design, making it vastly more efficient and allowing smooth sound without harsh details. The tweeter is also rotatable, allowing it to evenly disperse sound in any installation setup.
Our only problem with the Martin Logan speaker is that it can be weak at times in the lowest frequencies. However, it’s an in-wall speaker, and you should consider investing in a subwoofer if you’re looking for powerful bass in your high end home theater.
5. Klipsch RF-7 II Floorstanding Speaker
- Fills large rooms with movie theater/concert quality sound
The Klipsch RF-7 II floor standing speaker is a solid choice if you’re looking for a simple but high quality addition to your high end home theater.
✔️ What we like: A large, reliable speaker with a warm, balanced sound.
❌ What we don’t like: Comparatively weak mid-range.
Standout Features
- Tractrix horn technology
- Dolby Atmos compatibility
- Superior spatial resolution
You can instantly recognize that the RF-7 II is a Klipsch speaker from its classic black and copper appearance that walks the line between classic and modern.
More than aesthetics, Klipsch is renowned for their sophisticated audio technology, and the RF-7 II is true to the brand.
It features the Klipsch proprietary Tractrix horn compression driver, which uses a circular horn with square mouth to achieve a better high frequency response, extension, and soundstage. The driver also has a compressed rubber surround that has superior damping and eliminates resonance for seriously smooth sound.
This high frequency driver works together with dual 10 inch spun copper cerametallic woofers, which are the perfect combination of rigid and lightweight. They’re durable and efficient, allowing the RF-7 II to reach rich, warm lows.
The attention to detail with the audio technology leads to excellent overall spatial resolution, allowing you to hear each instrument and element clearly and beautifully. The speaker particularly shines in acoustic tracks but has an open and natural sound regardless of the genre.
It’s compatible with Dolby Atmos technology, which brings the soundstage into the third dimension and makes music sound like a concert and movies like a cinema.
Our only complaint is that due to the 2 way design, the Klipsch RF-7 II doesn’t have such a pronounced midrange as other competing speakers. However, at the lower end of the high end home theater speaker price range, it’s excellent value for money and consistently reliable.
6. KEF LS50 Mini Monitor Speakers
- The LS50 radiates an extremely large listening sweet spot and delivers a remarkably fast, clean, and expansive sound with its Uni-Q driver array.
The KEF LS50 mini monitor speakers prove that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to high end home theater speakers.
✔️ What we like: Small but sophisticated speakers that are designed to impress.
❌ What we don’t like: Sometimes the sound is too bright.
Standout Features
- Lightweight and compact
- Superior cabinet design
- Uni-Q drivers
If you’re looking to introduce more surround sound but you’re lacking space in your home theater, the KEF LS50 speakers could be exactly what you need.
They’re compact and lightweight, weighing in at less than 16 pounds each, and easily fitting on a small shelf or speaker stands. However, they’re not to be underestimated, and can handle up to 100W of power per speaker, from 47 Hz to 45 Khz.
The design of the KEF speakers is sophisticated and durable, with a glossy and attractive outer and reinforced interior. The cabinet has curved baffle shaping, internal bracing, and a unique port design that has a flexible membrane and geometrical structure. These features work together to minimize turbulence, eliminate distortion, and allow the tiny speakers to deliver huge sound.
The speakers themselves have a 2 way bass reflex system that uses Uni-Q drivers. This unique KEF design has the tweeter and midrange drivers mounted in a single assembly, which creates greater coherency of position, directivity, and time. This results in a larger soundstage, greater efficiency, and clean and natural sound.
They are also easy to install, with binding posts that are compatible with pin connectors, spades, and banana plugs, allowing you to start listening almost immediately.
Our only criticism of the KEF LS50 mini monitor speakers is that some users have complained about the brightness of the sound in some frequencies. However, this is a small complaint when compared to the strengths of the pint-sized, high end home theater speakers.
7. Klipsch RC-64 III Center Channel Speaker
- All-new 1 3/4" titanium Compression driver
The Klipsch RC-64 III is the perfect center channel speaker if you’re looking for powerful and high quality sound.
✔️ What we like: An enormous speaker with volume and soundstage to match.
❌ What we don’t like: The size and weight.
Standout Features
- Superior compression driver design
- Tractrix horn technology
- Huge power handling
The RC-64 III is an absolute monster of a speaker, weighing roughly 55 pounds and measuring nearly 3 feet in width. It can handle up to 800W of power, making it the perfect center channel speaker if you want room-shaking volume.
It achieves this powerful sound with a combination of 4 6.5 inch woofers and a 1.75 inch horn-loaded tweeter.
The tweeter uses the Klipsch proprietary Tractrix horn design, which optimizes the driver for better frequency response and a more efficient, larger soundstage. Each of the 4 woofers is isolated in a cast iron frame that eliminates resonance, allowing all drivers to deliver accurate and precise sound from 54 Hz to 24 Khz.
A new compression driver design includes a phase plug, which improves phase coherence and creates superior sound pressure linearity. Overall, this is a sophisticated speaker with a balanced, detailed sound.
We particularly like the intelligent crossover design, which attenuates the low end frequencies from the widest drivers when reproducing the higher frequencies. This ensures that all parts of the room receive the same sound, whether you’re sitting to the side or directly in front of the center channel speaker.
This, paired with the dual binding posts that can be used for bi-amping or bi-wiring, makes the Klipsch RC-64 III easy to integrate into any shape of room or kind of home theater configuration.
The only issue with the RC-64 III is the size of the speaker. While its sound allows it to produce the enormous volume and powerful sound that it does, it won’t fit in smaller home theater system setups.
However, if you can find the space, you’ll be rewarded with immersive sound that transforms your entertainment room into a true home cinema.
8. Mirage OMD-28 Omnipolar Floorstanding Speaker
- Applications: The OMD-28 is a versatile tower speaker because it is full-range and can be used as a front main or surround speaker. You can use this speaker to help create a complete home theater...
The Mirage OMD-28 Omnipolar floor standing speaker distinguishes itself from other tower speakers with its unique design and radiating sound.
✔️ What we like: A unique speaker that can fill the room with sound from any position.
❌ What we don’t like: The terminals.
Standout Features
- Omnipolar design
- Flexible installation options
- Deep bass
The main drawcard of the Mirage OMD-28 is its Omnipolar design, which uses the natural reflections of a room to radiate sound in a perfect circle. This creates more immersive and realistic surround sound, no matter where you’re seated in the room.
It achieves this surround sound by the drivers which fire upwards into the Omniguide sound diffuser, which disperses it through the room.
These drivers include a 1.1 inch titanium dome tweeter, a 5.25 inch multilayer midrange driver, and dual 8 inch woofers that radiate downwards.
The drivers are isolated in different enclosures for more precise sound and working together can reproduce an extended frequency range. The subwoofers can handle as low as 18 Hz, making them a great subwoofer, or a supplement to your existing sub.
The Mirage OMD-28 is easy to integrate with your high end home theater, due to its versatile placement options, Mirage speaker voice matching compatibility, and three pairs of terminals. Our only criticism is that the terminals don’t accommodate all common spades, so you may need to make adjustments.
However, if you have the space to accommodate the tall and bulky tower speaker, you’ll benefit from the true Omnipolar sound that brings the movie into your living room.
A Guide to Choosing High End Home Theater Speakers
What kind of setup do you have?
This may sound like a no-brainer, but you should consider what speakers you already have in your home theater.
It’s all very well and good to add yet another tower speaker to your setup for extra volume, but you might have overlooked the possibility of bookshelf or in-wall speakers for a more holistic surround sound. These speakers are ideal if you’re limited on space and wanting to expand the soundstage with detail and clarity.
Tower speakers can work well either at the front or back of your home cinema, but you need the space to accommodate them. In a small space, you’re going to be limited on floor space or not have the room composition to achieve balanced sound.
Each speaker has a maximum amplification that it can handle, whether that’s 100W or 800W. You need to look at the size of your space and consider what volume is necessary and appropriate for your home theater so that you’re not left disappointed or overspending on power.
If you’re adding to an existing home cinema, it’s also important to consider connectivity. Some speakers can wirelessly connect to your receiver, relieving you of the frustrating task of wiring everything up. Others have in-built amplifiers, so you won’t need a separate amp.
It’s also important to look at impedance and connection terminals to make sure that new additions will be compatible with your home theater.
What kind of sound are you looking for?
If you’re obsessed with bass, then you should look to a tower or floor standing speaker for its larger drivers and surface area for reaching the lower frequencies. Some can achieve subwoofer frequencies for sound that really gets under your skin.
Those that prefer detail and natural sound over pure bass should look to 3 way speakers that have dedicated drivers for each kind of frequency. Vintage-style speakers often have a warmer and more realistic sound that is perfect in its imperfection.
Whichever your preference, you need to remember that all speakers in a home theater are working together, so you’re filling the gaps that your other speakers are missing or not as strong at reproducing. You want the overall effect to cover all frequencies and details, so you can hear and feel your films come to life.
What’s the difference between different driver designs?
One of the key differences in speaker design is the number of drivers included. 2 way speakers usually use a bass driver that handles low and mid-level frequencies, with a tweeter for higher sounds.
3 way speakers have dedicated drivers for lows, mids, and highs, allowing each driver to focus on its frequencies and therefore deliver more precise and accurate sound.
However, even within the same category of speakers, you will find differences in design.
Many speakers combine midrange drivers and tweeters in the same location, whether that be a concentric or single assembly setup. These designs allow for greater directionality, responsiveness, and accuracy.
However, if you’re not a tech-head, then your best bet is always going to be a sound test to see which high end home theater speakers best fit your needs.
The Ultimate Home Theater Speakers on the Market
Home theaters are becoming increasingly more popular, with people realizing that they don’t need to go to the cinema to have the immersive movie experience. It’s important to invest in quality equipment for the highest quality sound, so we’ve found the best high-end home theater speakers on the market.
Whether you’re looking for tower speakers, bookshelf speakers, or you’re not sure, we’ve found the best designed and best sounding speakers to bring new life to your home theater.
Further Reading:
- 7 Best Wearable Speakers (Neckbands, Watches & Clip Ons)
- 9 Best Bike Speakers (Take The Beats On Your Bike)
- 8 Best Motorcycle Speakers (Under $50 to Over $400)
- 8 Best Wireless Speakers For TV (All Budgets)
- 13 Best Outdoor Rock Speakers (Under $50 to Over $400)
Trent is a music lover, musical instrument player and passionate audio afficionado.