7 Home Theaters for a Wide Range of Budgets

•Onkyo HT-S9100THX HTiB: $900 (as of November 21, 2008)

•Sony PlayStation 3 (80GB) Blu-ray player and game console: $400 (as of November 11, 2008)

Besides offering convenience and a relatively low price, home theaters in a box have another possible advantage: The entire sound system can be THX-certified to work properly all of a piece. The Onkyo HT-S9100THX (bottom) is, as of Thanksgiving 2008, the only THX-certified HTiB on the market.

Onkyo worked with THX on the HT-S9100THX to ensure that the 7.1 speakers would take full advantage of the amplifier's enhanced capabilities (such as a THX preamp front end). The speakers include 130-watt satellites and a 12-inch subwoofer capable of 20-Hz performance. The HT-S9100THX supports Blu-ray's Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats, as well as Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS-ES Matrix 6.1--and of course, 7.1 surround sound.

What Blu-ray player should you buy to go with the HT-S9100THX? I recommend the Sony PlayStation 3 (top); a great game console that doubles as a great Blu-ray player. After all, your games--like your movies--deserve to be heard in THX sound.