Best Budget 5.1 Surround Sound System

No entertainment setup is truly complete until you hook it up to a surround sound system, which typically consists of a set of speakers and a subwoofer. The difference between a typical stereo setup (such as the speakers that come with your television) and a surround sound system is the sense of immersion you get when watching a movie, which is why any movie theater worth its salt will typically invest heavily into a high-end, professional grade sound system.
Karim Lahlou
Updated October 12, 2016

No entertainment setup is truly complete until you hook it up to a surround sound system, which typically consists of a set of speakers and a subwoofer. The difference between a typical stereo setup (such as the speakers that come with your television) and a surround sound system is the sense of immersion you get when watching a movie, which is why any movie theater worth its salt will typically invest heavily into a high-end, professional grade sound system.

Of course, a movie theater will typically spend tens of thousands of dollars making sure that they are delivering an awe-inducing sound experience to an audience of hundreds, but you don’t need to spend nearly as much to significantly upgrade your living room to get a spectacular sound experience.

We at Dealspotr have looked at numerous reviews from experts across the web to determine the best budget sound system your money can buy. These include reviews from both technical experts who evaluate the minutiae of the speaker technology to consumer critics who discuss their overall impressions with the devices.

The Sound System

The Energy Take Classic 5.1 Surround Sound System is a high-value system that comes with 4 satellite speakers, 1 center channel, and 1 subwoofer to deliver stellar sound at a cost that seems dwarfish when compared to similarly performing sound systems. It’s compact form factor, beautiful gloss finish, and seamless transition between the subwoofer and speakers makes it the best budget 5.1 surround sound system your money can buy.

The Pros

CNET was among the first to give high praise to the Energy Take Classic 5.1 by saying that “altogether, the system is one of the best home theater values available,” which was enough for the publication to bestow it its coveted editor’s choice award. PC Magazine echoed this conclusion by writing that “for an ideal combination of home theater performance and music playback in this price range, the Take Classic 5.1 delivers.”

Naturally, the most important consideration of a home theater system is its ability to clearly and accurately playback music, which is something that the Energy Take Classic 5.1 does admirably. Top Ten Reviews describes the 4 satellite speakers in technical detail, elaborating that “the hyperbolic aluminum dome tweeters, along with the decently sized 3-inch drivers, cover a large soundscape of frequencies and don’t leave gaps in your sound quality.” The review goes on to give the subwoofer a 10/10 for sound quality and the center speaker got a respectable 8.8/010 rating as well.

The Cons

Of course, critics did have several negative things to say about the Energy Take Classic 5.1, though no two reviews mentioned the same pain points. Audioholics, for example, thought that the satellite speakers were too easy to overdrive with higher volumes while PC Magazine didn’t like that the subwoofer was too sensitive to where it was placed. Considering the lack of across-the-board criticism for the Energy Take Classic 5.1, we believe most of the cons are more taste-related than technical, which further bolsters the it’s performance as a top-tier system.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, there’s very little disagreement regarding the Energy Take Classic’s position as the best value 5.1 surround system out there. Considering the original system came out in 2009, it’s impressive to note that it has persistently remained in the Top 5 surround system lists year in and year out, which is why we consider it a solid purchase.