Complete NEWB (1 Viewer)

I am just getting into the Home Theater world and have a few questions. I was dead set that Bose was the best that audio had to offer but after looking through posts on various sites, people have convinced me that Bose is overpriced severely. I have a 20W x 15L foot living room that has an opening to the dining room. I want satellites, room is large but don't want to decrease living space with 60-80lb speakers.
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sketch came out bad but it's L shaped with living room at bottom. 20width by 15length...
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Akil, welcome to HTF! It's still early (literally) but I suspect that you will soon have responses to your questions. I'll throw in some opinions:
1) The saying is "no highs, no lows, must be Bose"...you can get better sound from satellite speaker systems and a receiver that are definitely cheaper.
2) I have a Polk SurroundBar which is comprised of 5 small speakers and a separate subwoofer. The sound quality is fine, although the separation leaves a lot to be desired since the speakers are in a single array. A friend has Jamo. They sound good, too. IMO, specs are specs....if speakers are both rated to 20,000 kHz, you should expect to hear equivalent sound. But that is not always the case, considering Bose as an example. If you can, audition the speakers you are interested in, and let your ears decide.
3) You would still want a subwoofer with bookshelf speakers.
Which Denon are you looking at? I have a Denon 5803 A/V amp that I got several years ago, and it is still going strong....it does not have HDMI like modern receivers, but it still has analog 7.1 inputs, thus future-proofing my considerable investment. And you might as well get the extra two speakers while you can match them....there is plenty of 7.1 content on blu-ray to make it worthwhile.