I’m a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, currently handling 12 guides on audio products and providing technical measurements for our headphone guides. I’ve worked as an editor or writer in audio publishing for more than 30 years, and I’ve previously served as a consultant on speaker tuning and measurement for some of the world’s biggest tech companies.

For this guide:

• I conducted brand-concealed listening tests, placing all of the speaker systems behind thin black fabric to hide their identities and bringing in various listeners to get feedback.
• I ran frequency response measurements on the speakers to find flaws that our listening sessions might have missed.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

A surround-sound speaker system, combined with a suitable AV receiver, is a fantastic investment for any dedicated movie lover because it delivers an experience more like that of a commercial cinema—and more like what the filmmakers intended when they mixed the movie’s sound.

The speakers built into TVs are too tiny to play loud or to reproduce bass, and at best they can create a poor simulation of surround sound. Soundbars can offer a substantial sonic upgrade over TV speakers, but a good surround-sound speaker system plays louder, sounds clearer and more natural, produces more realistic surround-sound effects, and delivers the kind of seat-shaking bass you can hear in a good movie theater.

Separate speakers take a bit more work to plan and set up than a soundbar, but the work is worth it if you want to experience movie-theater-quality sound.

A basic surround-sound speaker system usually employs a “5.1” arrangement: front left and right speakers, a center speaker (mostly for dialogue), left and right rear speakers (for surround-sound effects), and a subwoofer (that’s the “.1”). For most people, a 5.1 setup will provide an adequately realistic surround experience, but you can also add extra surround speakers to the sides or rear for more-enveloping sound, as well as additional subwoofers.

You can also add speakers in the ceiling or use upward-firing speaker modules that sit atop your front and rear speakers and bounce sound effects off the ceiling to produce the overhead surround effects that Dolby Atmos and DTS:X movie soundtracks provide (you also need an AV receiver that supports those formats, and a flat ceiling for it to work correctly).

This guide focuses on the “5” part of 5.1: front left/right and surround speakers matched with a center speaker. We discuss our subwoofer recommendations in a separate article. Other than the aesthetic appeal of having your entire system come from a single brand, there’s no reason your subwoofer needs to be of the same brand as your speakers.

We used the following criteria to help us decide which speaker systems to test:

• Type: We requested bookshelf speakers instead of tower speakers for the front left/right and surround channels. We think most people will prefer this configuration because it’s more affordable, it detracts less from the look of a room, and in most cases it has no real sonic disadvantages compared with a system that employs tower speakers, as long as you use the speakers with a subwoofer.
• Price: For our main picks, we focused on systems priced between $1,000 and $1,500 because, in our experience, that’s where speakers generally deliver the best bang for the buck. However, we wanted to hear how much of an improvement we might get from a pricier system, so we also brought in several in the $1,501 to $2,500 range.

To power the speakers, I used a Sony STR-ZA5000ES AV receiver. Considering the STR-ZA5000ES’s 130 watts per channel of rated power (into two channels at 8 ohms), I knew it would have enough power to get the best performance from these systems. This receiver has many features intended to optimize the sound of the speaker system it’s connected to, but I turned all of those off because we wanted to hear what the speakers could do on their own.

I set up all of the speakers in my listening room (here are the dimensions and layout), which I’ve used since 2002 to test hundreds of audio systems. Countless manufacturers have set up their speaker systems in this room, and I’ve performed many measurements in it over the years, so I know its properties well.

Before we did any formal testing, I ran each system in my home for several days to familiarize myself with it and make sure all the speakers were well broken-in. I paired each system with a Rogersound Labs Speedwoofer 10S subwoofer. For smaller systems, I set the receiver’s crossover frequency (the frequency at which the receiver sends the sounds to the subwoofer instead of to the speakers) to 120 Hz to ensure that the smaller speakers weren’t unduly stressed. For larger systems (those with at least 5.25-inch woofers in the satellite speakers), I set the crossover frequency to 80 Hz.

Next we conducted brand-concealed listening tests. I placed all of the speakers behind thin black fabric to hide their identities and brought in various listeners to get feedback.

I used a selection of movie and music clips that I’ve found to be revealing of speaker sound quality—most notably, the opening chapters of Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the opera scene from The Fifth Element, and Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” (video). I started with the smaller systems and moved up gradually to the larger ones, telling the panelists nothing about the models’ identities. For the panelists, I played the movies at a volume 6 decibels down from Dolby reference level, which means each channel could hit a maximum of 99 decibels. This is as loud as most home theater enthusiasts would want to play their systems, and louder than most families would be likely to listen. For music, I turned the level down an additional 3 decibels. For my longer listening sessions, I played the systems both louder and softer to see how they’d sound at a range of levels.

During these tests, I asked each panelist to judge the speakers based purely on sound quality, including the following characteristics:

• How natural did the system (especially the center speaker) sound when playing movie dialogue?
• How clear and undistorted did the system sound when playing loud movie soundtracks?
• What sense of envelopment did the system produce when playing movie soundtracks and stereo music?
• How well did the speakers blend with the subwoofer? Did they have enough bass to create the impression that the panelists were hearing full-range speakers rather than separate speakers and a subwoofer, or did it sound as if there was a hole in the lower-midrange/upper-bass region?

After we finished the listening tests, I polled the panelists to get their impressions of each system’s sound quality. Then I showed them the speakers and asked them what they thought of the size and design. This factor is especially important with a surround-sound speaker system because generally you need to place the speakers in a way that makes them readily visible in a room, and because five or more speakers are far more noticeable than two.

Following the listening tests, I ran frequency-response measurements of all the speakers. This served as a check on our tests, to make sure we weren’t picking something that strayed outside of well-established engineering norms. Decades of research (PDF) has shown that listeners consistently prefer speakers that produce a “flat” frequency response—producing all frequencies of sound at approximately even levels—and maintain similar frequency response on- and off-axis. We have included the frequency-response measurement charts for each pick.

Note that all of the speaker systems we tested are of similar configuration, and all are designed along the basic principles outlined in Floyd Toole’s book. Thus, most of them delivered very good sound reproduction in our tests; for the most part, we determined our picks by small margins and after much deliberation.

Polk’s Signature Elite Series speakers are the best all-around solution for a modestly priced surround-sound speaker system. This system—a subtle update of our previous pick, the Polk Signature Series—has a neutral sound character that works beautifully for movies and any type of music. They also look great, with a stylish modern design that should suit just about any room.

Polk offers a wide variety of speakers in the Signature Elite Series, but for most living rooms, the best combination of price and performance can be found in two ES15 bookshelf speakers for the front left and right channels, two ES10 mini bookshelf speakers for the surround channels, and an ES30 center speaker. Although you could use the larger ES15 for the surround channels as well, you don’t really need to, and the smaller ES10 may prove much easier for you to install at the side or back of your room. If you want to set up a 7.1 system, simply get two more ES10 speakers.

Depending on the layout of your room and your system, you might want to consider using the ES35 center speaker instead of the ES30. The advantage of the ES35 is that it’s only 4.25 inches high versus 7.5 inches for the ES30, which means you might be able to put it directly in front of the TV on a TV stand without blocking the picture. The downsides of the ES35 are that it sounds thinner than the ES30, which makes voices sound less natural; it’s longer, at 24.44 inches versus 20.17 inches for the ES30; and it’s typically about 30% more costly. But if it’s the only thing that fits, the mild sonic compromise is worth it.

Polk says the new Elite Series has sturdier enclosures than the original Signature Series, which should vibrate less and thus exhibit fewer resonances that could change the sound. The woofer and tweeter are a little different; they now have a slight gold tint instead of the silver/aluminum color of the previous model. But the specifications of the new models are similar.

Although we didn’t have samples of our previous Polk picks on hand for comparison, our listeners reacted much the same way to the new models as they did to the previous ones. In our tests, the combination of the ES15, ES10, and ES35 delivered a powerful, full sound with both stereo and surround sources; unlike most products in this price range, the Signature Elite speakers don’t have any readily audible flaws that can distract your ears when you just want to sit back and enjoy the sound. Larger, more expensive systems will distort the sound less at high volume, so the Signature Elite system may not be the best fit for an especially large room or for someone who likes to crank up the volume.

As with the previous model, the ES15’s bass seemed subtly pumped up. This gave kick-drum notes and explosions in action movies a little more power and made it easier to get a good blend between the ES15 speakers and the subwoofer—and when we tried the ES15 without a subwoofer, running full-range, it handled the loud, deep bass notes in hip-hop recordings even better than the larger ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 did.

The ES30 center speaker matches the sound of the ES15 pretty well, so when sounds move from the center channel to the left or right channel, their timbre doesn’t change in a way that sounds weird. It does seem to have a bit more emphasis in the upper midrange relative to the ES15; as we found when we tested soundbars with hard-of-hearing listening panelists, an emphasis in this range can make dialogue sound clearer.

In our tests, the ES10 mini-speaker didn’t have enough bass to play on its own, or to blend smoothly with larger subwoofers, but it serves very well as a surround speaker, where bass reproduction isn’t important. The ES10 also offers user-friendly features. It includes a keyhole screw mount plus a socket for a ¼″-20 speaker mounting bracket, so you can easily hang it on a side or rear wall or suspend it from the ceiling. At 8.5 inches high, the ES10 is small enough to fit inconspicuously on a bookshelf. It’s also inexpensive enough that adding an extra pair of surround speakers probably won’t bust your budget.

The Signature Elite Series speakers are available in a black, white, or walnut woodgrain finish. They look great without their magnetically attached grilles, but because the drivers are completely exposed, you’ll probably prefer to use the grilles if your household includes kids or perhaps an overly inquisitive golden retriever.

My technical tests revealed the Signature Elite Series models to be exceptionally well engineered for their price, and very similar in performance to the previous Signature Series. You can find more details in our Measurements section; to sum it up, the Signature Elite Series speakers had no significant performance quirks that I could find, and they can reach very loud levels in an average room when paired with practically any AV receiver.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

We wish Polk offered an optional, upward-firing Atmos module or a version of the ES15 with an Atmos speaker built in. If you want Atmos, you could use a third-party Atmos speaker module, such as the Sony SS-CSE; although this module will fit atop the ES15, it would overlap the sides of the ES10. You could also install two or four ceiling speakers for Atmos, which would deliver much more realistic overhead surround effects but would require much more effort and expertise to install. Or you can check out our runner-up, the ELAC Debut 2.0 series, which includes an optional Atmos speaker.

For someone who is a little more interested in serious home theater sound, ELAC’s Debut 2.0 speakers are likely to work better than the Polk Signature Elite Series. The speakers in the Debut 2.0 line are generally larger and more robust sounding than those in the Signature Elite Series; the B6.2 bookshelf speaker we used for the front left and right channels is 57% larger than the Polk ES15.

Those sizes allow the ELAC system to sound clear and unruffled even when it’s playing loud—though to get the most out of these speakers, you may need a more-powerful-than-average receiver. Also, the Debut 2.0 line includes an optional up-firing Atmos module that can sit atop the main speakers and bounce sound off the ceiling if you want to add a sense of overhead effects.

But you do make some trade-offs. Any decor-conscious cohabitants likely won’t forgive the plain, hard-edged black woodgrain enclosures, and the speakers’ larger form may make them more challenging to integrate into your room. They also use old-school friction-fit grilles, so the look of the front baffles is somewhat marred by grommet holes (four per speaker in the case of the B6.2 and B5.2, eight in the case of the C5.2). However, the tweeter is covered with a fixed metal grille, so there’s no need to worry about accidental damage if you use the speakers without grilles.

The system we tested used two Debut 2.0 B5.2 speakers for the surround channels. This speaker is 27% smaller than the B6.2 and usually a little less costly, so it’s an appropriate choice for surround channels. You could use the B6.2 for the surround channels, though, if you intend to play your system loud.

In our tests the Debut 2.0 speakers had a big, full sound that blended easily with a subwoofer and allowed (and perhaps even encouraged) listening to action movies at loud levels. Yet even at high volumes, they didn’t sound harsh or strained. Like the Polk Signature Elite Series, they had a smooth treble that wasn’t fatiguing and rarely caused voices to sound sibilant. If you don’t like a lot of bass, note that one of our listeners thought the B6.2’s bass was a little overwhelming and made some male vocals sound bloated. Another listener agreed that the C5.2 center speaker sounded a bit bloated.

ELAC’s optional A4.2 Atmos module makes it easy to add immersive Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound if your AV receiver supports those technologies. The A4.2’s footprint is almost exactly the same size as the top of the B5.2 (it’s about 1/16 inch wider on each side) and only about a quarter of an inch narrower than the top of the B6.2, so it looks pretty good atop either speaker. We recommend using Blu-Tack or a similar adhesive to secure the A4.2 modules to the bookshelf speakers so they can’t be knocked off accidentally.

According to my technical tests, the Debut 2.0 series speakers we tried were clearly the product of careful engineering. My measurements revealed no significant performance issues except one: For a given volume setting on your AV receiver, they put out about 2 decibels less sound than the Polk Signature Elite Series. Of course, you can just turn up the volume, but that 2 dB volume increase will require a whopping 60% more power from your amp. So we’d caution against mating these speakers with a typical under-$400 AV receiver if you plan on playing your system loud. For more detail, see the Measurements section below.

The charts below show the on-axis (directly in front) and off-axis (30 degrees to the side) frequency response of our picks. The accepted tolerance for the on-axis frequency response of a high-quality speaker is plus or minus 3 dB—meaning that, when given a certain signal level from an amplifier, a speaker reproduces all frequencies of sound within that tolerance. The resulting line in the chart should look fairly flat, with no significant peaks or dips.

We also measured sensitivity, which lets you know how much power a speaker needs to play at a certain volume. We fed the speaker a 1-watt signal and measured its volume output (in dB) from a distance of 1 meter away. A higher sensitivity means the speaker needs less power to play louder.

Polk Signature Elite Series

Within the speakers’ operating range, the Polk ES15’s frequency response stayed within ±2.0 dB, the ES30’s remained within ±2.4 dB, and the S10’s (not shown in the chart) stayed within ±2.0 dB. The response of the ES15 and ES10 stayed relatively smooth off-axis, but as is common with woofer-tweeter-woofer center speakers, the ES30 showed a big midrange dip at 30° off-axis, so demanding listeners should be sure to grab the center seat on the couch.

Sensitivity was 87.2 dB for the ES15, 86.8 dB for the ES10, and 88.7 dB for the ES30. Those results are typical for speakers of this sort, and they indicate that the Signature Elite Series models will easily break 100 dB with any AV receiver; that’s about the volume of a gas lawn mower or a garbage truck at close range.

ELAC Debut 2.0 system

Within the speakers’ operating range, the B6.2’s frequency response remained within ±1.8 dB, the C5.2’s stayed within ±1.9 dB, and the B5.2’s (not shown in the chart) remained within ±1.7 dB. They all showed a narrow dip around 16.5 kHz, but that’s way out at the edge of most adults’ hearing range. As with the Polk Signature Elite Series, the Debut 2.0 speakers’ response stayed relatively smooth off-axis.

Sensitivity was 84.5 dB for the B6.2 and B5.2 and 84.1 dB for the C5.2. This means that, given the same amount of power, the Polk main speakers will give you about 2 dB more volume than their ELAC counterparts, and the Polk center speaker will give you 4 dB more volume than the ELAC center speaker. A couple of decibels might not seem like a big deal, but getting an extra 3 dB of volume from a speaker requires twice as much power from a receiver, so home theater enthusiasts who like to crank their systems up should be careful about pairing the ELAC system with a cheap, low-powered receiver.

We’re planning to merge this guide into our bookshelf speaker guide to provide clearer and more cohesive recommendations. For our next round of tests this fall, we’ve requested the Dayton Audio B65 passive speakers and C40 center speaker; the ELAC Debut 3.0 DB53-BK bookshelf speakers and DC53-BK center speaker; the JBL Stage 250B passive speakers; the KEF Q1 Meta passive speakers; and the Triangle Borea BRC1 center speaker (to go with the Borea BR03 bookshelf speakers).

We evaluated the systems below primarily as surround-sound systems, with an emphasis on movie-watching. If you’re looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers to use primarily for music, check out our guide to the best bookshelf speakers.

ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 and UC5: This system has a notably smooth sound, but in our brand-concealed tests it came across as a little dull, with a soft treble that made the sound less involving and exciting. In both our measurements and our listening tests, the center speaker’s sound didn’t match that of the bookshelf speaker as closely as we’d like.

KEF Q350 and Q650C: I enjoyed this system’s enveloping sound, but it didn’t sound as clear when played loud as our former upgrade pick, the now-discontinued Monoprice THX system, and voices had a slight boost in the midrange that made them seem a bit unnatural.

KEF T301 and T301C: We requested this system because of its flat design. The speakers are only 1.5 inches thick, so you can easily wall-mount them. In our tests, they couldn’t match the dynamics and clarity of our top picks, but they did sound pretty good, so if you want a wall-mounted system, they’re a good choice.

Klipsch RP-600M and RP-600C: In my tests, this system sounded good overall, just a little too trebly and bright for my taste; voices sounded clear but not natural.

MartinLogan Motion 4i and 8i: Our panel liked the looks of these mod-styled speakers but thought they put a bit too much emphasis on the treble.

Monoprice THX-265B and THX-365C: This system, which features integrated up-firing Atmos speakers and can play much louder, was our upgrade pick for several years. However, the bookshelf speaker has been out of stock for a long time, with no availability date offered, so we assume it has been discontinued.

Paradigm Monitor SE Atom and SE 2000C: This system sounded somewhat pumped up in the bass and treble, which made voices sound less natural than on our top picks.

PSB Alpha P5 and C10: We liked the way these speakers sounded, but their bass performance wasn’t quite as clean as that of our top picks. They’re also rather pricey for the performance and finish.

Q Acoustics 3020i and 3090Ci: The 3020i is the current runner-up pick in our guide to the best bookshelf speakers for most stereos, and this system was also one of our favorites for home theater. Our panelists thought the better bass performance of the Polk Signature and ELAC Debut 2.0 speakers made them a little better for home theater, though.

RSL CG3 and CG23: We liked the compact design and gloss finish of these speakers, but their small woofers make them more challenging than the larger speakers to mate smoothly with a subwoofer.

RSL CG5 and CG25: These speakers have a beautiful, elegant design and a vivid sound, but in our brand-concealed tests, we found the treble a bit too strong.

SVS Prime Bookshelf, Prime Center, and Prime Satellite: This slick-looking system impressed our panelists with its clarity and power. It came close to being a top pick; we faulted it only for the treble becoming a little rough-sounding during loud passages.

SVS Ultra Bookshelf and Ultra Center: This system came close to our former upgrade pick, the now-discontinued Monoprice THX system, in performance, but it sounded a little brighter and didn’t come across quite as clean when we played it loud.

Axiom Audio Epic Mini: This relatively large system missed the first cut in our tests for a previous version of this guide.

Bowers & Wilkins MT-50: This compact 5.1 system is beautifully designed, but in our tests it didn’t sound quite as natural as some other compact systems we tried. Still, it’s one of the better choices in the compact system category.

Focal Dôme Flax: Our panel loved the sound of this compact 5.1 system but thought it too pricey for a small system.

GoldenEar Technology SuperSat 3: This compact 5.1 system, which can easily mount directly to walls, sounded very good in our tests but uses small satellites that don’t blend easily with the included subwoofer.

Paradigm Cinema 100 CT: This was our top pick for a compact 5.1 system in the previous version of this guide, but even though it’s still listed on Paradigm’s website, its availability seems questionable.

Pioneer SP-BS22-LR and SP-C22: These speakers were a previous budget pick, but the tower speaker that was in the system we tested has been discontinued. We didn’t make it a pick this time because we’re not sure how much longer these speakers will be available, but if looks don’t really matter to you, four SP-BS22-LR units and one SP-C22 would be a great choice for a budget system.

This guide was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.