[kuli50]

What's the better value for an entry-level? I'm having trouble deciding.

 

[joulesbaud]

I'm trying to find out the same

 

[rnatalli]

Pretty comparable. I would look at the Pio 521 from Newegg as that has room correction.

 

[jdsmoothie]

Neither the 1312 nor the 309 includes any room correction feature so choose which one has the features/inputs/outputs that you need. Stepping up to either the 1612 or 509 would likely be an improvement in audio quality if that is important to you.