What Does a Home Theater or Smart Home Cost in Cincinnati?

Real ballpark pricing from a family-owned Cincinnati team — no surprises, no pressure. For an exact price, request a free in-home consultation and we’ll walk through your space, your goals, and your budget together.

Since 1988, Phantom Sound has been designing custom audio, theater, and smart home experiences for Cincinnati families. One of the first questions we hear from nearly every homeowner is, “What should I expect to spend?” Fair question — and one that most installers dodge. We don’t.

Below are realistic ballpark ranges for the work we do most often across Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and the Dayton metro. They’re not exact quotes — every home and every project is different — but they’ll give you a real sense of where things land.

TV Mounting & Installation

Starting around $275 for a basic mount on a standard wall.

Most full installs — including in-wall cable concealment, outlet relocation, and soundbar setup — fall between $600 and $1,200. Heavy or oversized TVs, fireplace mounts, stone or brick walls, and motorized mounts increase the price. We work with all major brands including Sony, Samsung, and LG.

Whole-Home Audio

Starter systems (3–4 zones) start around $3,500–$10,000.

A typical 6–8 zone whole-home audio system using Phantom Sound hidden architectural speakers, Sonos or Sonance in-ceiling speakers runs $8,000 to $30,000 installed. Larger homes, premium speakers, and integration with a Control4 or Josh.ai system can take this higher. Pricing includes speakers, amplification, wiring, and setup. The result can be music everywhere, speakers nowhere — sound that fills your home without dominating the design of it. This is the work we’ve been pioneering since 1988.

Home Theater Design & Installation

Entry-level dedicated theaters start around $10,000.

A mid-range home theater with a 4K projector, motorized screen, Phantom or Klipsch surround sound, and tiered seating typically lands in the $25,000–$80,000 range. High-end Dolby Atmos theaters with acoustic treatment, Epson/Sony/JVC laser projection, and premium seating can run $75,000 to $250,000+. Pricing depends heavily on room construction, acoustic treatment, and the AV gear you select. Unlike cookie-cutter setups from big-box retailers, we design every theater around your space, your style, and the way your family actually watches.

Smart Home Automation

Basic smart home packages start around $5,000.

A whole-home Control4 or Josh.ai system that ties together lighting, audio, video, climate, and security typically runs $15,000 to $50,000, with larger luxury homes going well beyond that. Pricing depends on the number of rooms, the level of automation, and what you’re integrating. One app, one remote, one experience — instead of a junk drawer full of disconnected controls. We’ve been doing custom integration since long before “smart home” was a buzzword.

Lighting Control

Starter Lutron Caséta systems start around $2,500 installed.

A whole-home Lutron RadioRA or HomeWorks system with keypads, dimmers, and shade integration generally runs $10,000 to $40,000+. We also offer architectural lighting using DMF and ProLuxe fixtures, which is priced per fixture plus design and installation. The right lighting changes how a room feels at every hour of the day. We design it so the light is always just right, with minimal effort from you.

Motorized Shades & Porch Screens

Motorized shades start around $900 per window for standard sizes, with most full-home installs falling between $8,000 and $45,000 depending on window count, fabric selection, and integration with your lighting or smart home system. Motorized porch screens for outdoor living spaces typically run $3,500 to $6,000 per opening — perfect for Cincinnati summers when you want the breeze without the bugs.

Networking & Wi-Fi

Professional Wi-Fi installations start around $2,500.

A typical whole-home Eero or Araknis network with enterprise-grade access points, a managed switch, and a wired backbone runs $3,000 to $12,000. Larger homes or properties needing outdoor coverage and remote management run higher. A solid network is the foundation for everything else — we strongly recommend this as the starting point for any smart home project. Here’s the truth most installers won’t tell you: a flaky network is the number one reason smart homes feel “dumb.” We build the foundation right so everything else just works.

Security Cameras & Surveillance

Camera systems start around $4,000 for a 4-camera install.

A typical 6–12 camera ICRealtime system with an NVR, night vision, and remote viewing runs $5,000 to $15,000 installed. Pricing depends on camera count, resolution, cable runs, and whether you want analytics like license plate recognition or facial detection. Watch your home from anywhere, with the same reliability we’d expect for our own families.

Outdoor Audio & Video

Outdoor audio starts around $2,500 for a basic 4-speaker patio setup. Full outdoor entertainment systems with weatherproof TVs, landscape speakers, and zone control typically run $6,000 to $25,000+. Whether it’s the pool, the patio, or the back porch, we’ll make your outdoor space sound and feel as good as the indoor one.

What Affects Your Final Price

A few things can move a project up or down within these ranges:

Home size and layout — square footage, wall construction, and existing wiring
New construction vs. retrofit — pre-wiring during framing is dramatically less expensive than retrofitting a finished home
Equipment tier — entry-level vs. mid-range vs. luxury gear can move the budget significantly
Integration complexity — how many systems you want talking to each other
Service area — most projects across Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and the Dayton metro carry no travel charges

Why we don’t list exact prices

Every home is different, and we’d rather quote you honestly than oversell or undersell what you actually need. As a CEDIA-member firm and authorized dealer for Lutron, Josh.ai, Control4, Sonos, Klipsch, Sonance, Sony, Samsung, LG, Epson, Araknis, ICRealtime, DMF, and ProLuxe, we can build a system at almost any budget — but the right answer for you depends on a real conversation about your space and your goals.

Ready for a real number?

Schedule a free, no-pressure consultation. We’ll walk your home, talk through what you want, and give you a detailed written estimate within a few business days.