Athena Speakers (1 Viewer)

[Jarek]

Hey guys, I might be able to get a deal on these speakers.. but I'm still on a budget. :frowning: Being a newbie I could use a bit of advice here. Which speaker combo would be better?
C-1
B2 for mains
B1 for rear surround
P300 Sub

or

C-1
F1 for mains
B1 for rear surround
NO dedicated sub.

My receiver will probably be either the Denon 1603 or the Onkyo SR-501. I'm leaning towards the Denon.
My living room/space is NOT very big, I listen to music/watch TV/DVD's about half and half. I'm not a huge audiophile but would like good quality sound, don't we all?

Right now I'm leaning towards the first setup since my living space is limited and the smaller speakers on stands would work better.. but if you guys think going with the F1's as mains is better then I will give that serious consideration and if I do go with F1's as mains it will be cheaper.

Thank you for reading this and for any help or advice you can give to a noob.

 

[James USAF]

C-1
B2 for mains
B1 for rear surround
P300 Sub

That is what I would go for...though I love my F2's

 

[DaveDickey]

Jarek,

I have the F2's in front, C-1 center, B-1 surrounds, and P400 sub. All of this is hooked up to an Onkyo TX-SR800 receiver.

A word of caution about Athena's paired with Onkyo amps... Both produce a rather bright sound. Together, they produce a very bright sound. Adjusting the tone controls does help, however.

Although my system does sound very good, I would have done much better to buy a warmer amp (such as NAD or Marantz, Pioneer). I suggest that you stay away from the Onkyo receiver for this reason.

Dave

 

[Chris Atkinson]

Crimney, I just bought a new set of Athenas (AS-F2, C1, B1) and an Onkyo SR600 6.1 receiver but haven't hooked them up yet. I was under the impression that both were actually 'neutral' or natural in sound instead of bright. That's kinda why I paired them up. I'll guess I'll see soon enough. Can't wait though!

 

[george_k]

How are the F2's at handling mids? The reason being is that I see they use 2x 8" woofers.

 

[Drew_W]

Update: I changed to a Pioneer Elite VSX-53TX, and this change really helped to tone down the speakers as compared to the Yamaha. The sound is a whole lot fuller and richer, and after a proper calbration (Auto MCACC, then fine tuning speaker levels with an SPL meter, although they weren't all that far off) these things really sound like a million bucks. A bright sounding amp doesn't do these speakers justice.

 

[DaveDickey]

Chris,

Since you already have the speakers and the receiver, I'd go ahead and hook 'em up and check out the sound. Relative "brightness" is a subjective thing. Try to run the Athenas for at least 50 hours or so before you form an opinion. When I hit the 50 hour mark with my speakers, they REALLY opened up.

Before I upgraded to the Athena / Onkyo combo, I had a very warm-sounding system. So, for me, the brightness is amplified somewhat, no doubt. However, I have done much research (after my purchase, unfortuneately), and I can attest to the fact that both Onkyo amps and Athena Audition speakers are on the bright side.

Godd luck. I'd be interested to hear what you decide. Also, if you ever have any questions about Athena speakers, go to their website and send Mr. Fraser an e-mail. He's very helpful.

Dave

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Got an e-mail from Athena today in answer to a query about surrounds. Seems they're coming out with one in December/January. Not too much info available, but according to Mr. Fraser at Athena (very helpful and prompt): "Its a 3 driver, single woofer dual tweeter bi-pole design. Its slim and will wall mount very easily." There's a review coming up in the November Sound And Vision of an Audition system including the AS-R1.
Just an FYI for you athenafficianados.

 

[Richard Bell]

I got a excellent deal on some Athenas from a canadian dealer (I live in MN). They were blowing out some AS-F2's when I called and I scored 2 brand new pairs for $767US SHIPPED.

I am running my Athenas with an Onkyo TX-DS595 receiver that puts out 75x5 and I get tons and tons of bass, even without a sub.

Fronts: AS-F2 (large)
Rears: AS-F2 (large)
Center: single AS-B1 (small)
Sub: None (would like to eventually get a SVS and a buttkicker2)

My other AS-B1 is sitting unused now until I get a 6.1 system.

The AS-F2's put out lots of bass but I would still like a hefty sub to add the rock bottom slam.