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AVR and Speakers for under $1500

Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 8, 2012

I am considering buying a Denon AVR-2112CI receiver with Bose Acoustimass 10 speakers. I chose Bose because I have a small living room (15x20 feet). I have a 46-inch Sony LCD TV, and the space to put a 5.1 speaker system is 2.5x5 feet. I've been saving for a year and cannot decide whether I should buy Bose.

I recently came across your site and found your Top Picks for A/V receivers and compact speakers. In particular, I was interested in the Pioneer VSX-1021 AVR and the Cambridge Audio Minx S215 or Definitive ProCinema 600 speaker systems because they are smaller than the Pioneer SP-BS41-LR system.

I hope you can advise me on which receiver and speaker system to get. My budget is between $1000 and $1500.

Emmanuel

First of all, I would definitely not get the Bose Acoustimass 10. In my opinion, that company's speaker systems are more about marketing the Bose name and less about performance, which generally isn't as good as many other systems out there.

I agree that the Pioneer speakers are probably too big for your very small space—how can you even fit yourself in a space that's 2.5x5 feet? And why would you have so little space in a room that's 15x20 overall? Of the two alternatives you mention, I'd probably go with the Cambridge Minx S215, which got slightly higher marks all around than the Definitive Technology ProCinema 600.

In terms of AVRs, we reviewed both the Denon AVR-2112CI and Pioneer VSX-1021. Because of the Denon's relatively poor video performance, it did not receive a Top Picks designation, while the Pioneer did—plus, it's $100 less than the Denon. Pairing the Pioneer VSX-1021 with the Cambridge Minx S215 will set you back $1350, which is right in the pocket of your budget.

If you have an A/V question, please send it to askhometheater@gmail.com.

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