I need help selecting speakers for a harmon kardon avr 125 reciever (1 Viewer)

[DuaneHangar]

My reciever is a harmon kardon avr 125. I do not have any large retailers that supply speakers that I could take home and audition as I live in a communitity approx. 150 miles from a major centre. I have made a short list of brands and models that I would like pick from. I need some opinions on which one of these choices is best suited to my amp

#1-front- Athena ASF2
centre- Athene ASC
Rear-Athena ASB2
Sub - Athena AS P400

#2 Front- JBL N38II or ND310II
Centre - JBL Centre II
Rear-JBL N26II
Sub - JBL PB10

#3 Front - Polk R50 or RTi70
Centre- Polk CSi40
Rear- Polk RTi38
Sub - Polk PSW404
Would getting the Polk RTi70 or the JBL ND310 be too much speaker for my amp and damage the amp and or my speakers?
Any kind of help suggesting which way to go would be appreciated.

 

[Chris Sherman]

Your amp will drive any of those speakers with no problem. Of the three you picked I personally would get the Athenas. They are made by API group in Canada, the same manufacturer that makes Energy and Mirage and the now defunct Sound Dynamics line. Athena has replaced Sound Dynamics as API's value line of speakers and offer probably the most "bang for your buck" of any speaker line out there right now. They also look like a much more expensive speaker tnan they are, build quality is very high. I run a Harmon Kardon AVR225 receiver in my bedroom and love it . I've got it paired with Sound Dynamics RTS speakers I bought on closeout from Audio Advisor. I think your AVR125 with the Athenas would be an unbeatable combo for the price.

 

[Chris Sherman]

One thing else you night want to consider regarding the Athenas. The ASF2's put out pretty good bass with it's dual 8" woofers. You might want to forgoe the P400 sub and live with the bass from your mains until you can save up a little more cash for a really good subwoofer. For a few bucks more you could get an SVS 25-31pci or PB1 12" subwoofer. Even an HSU VTF-2 10" sub would be a noticeably better sub than the 10" P400. I briefly had a Sound Dynamics RTS-1000 10" sub which is almost identical to the P400 with the same 100 watt , 400 watt peak mosfet amp and it was a decent sub but nothing special. Save up and get a really good sub it will be worth the wait. IMHO

 

[DuaneHangar]

Thank You Chris.

Addional info for above-
h-k amp : 45w x 5 or 55w x 2
room size : basement family room 24' x 12' 8'h
75% home theatre and 25% music (all styles)I prefer listening to music at lower volumes but I have a couple of teens that will probably crank it up. I was concerned that the h-k may be under-powered which may cause the amp to either clip (causing damage to the speaker) or burn-out the amp. Is this possible?

 

[Chris Sherman]

Possible , but unlikely. HK rates their receivers very conservatively and they are high current . I opened up my 225 which weighs around 27lbs. it has a very heavy transformer and two large capacitors ,it has plenty of reserve when needed. I returned an Onkyo SR500 which they rate at 65 watts per channel , weighs around 17 lbs. with two puny filter capacitors. I had to crank the volume to near max to get decent volume out of it and it sounded thin and compressed at high volume unlike the HK which never seems to run out of juice at loud listening levels and has plenty of warmth and bass . I prefer a warm sounding amp to a bright sound. I believe Onkyo receivers improve as you move up the food chain , the thing I am most amazed about HK is that even their entry level receivers sound great. Here's a link for reviews of receivers and i believe I have one for Athena reviews as well . http://electronics.cnet.com/electron...ml?tag=stbc.gp http://www.hometheatersound.com/equi..._asc1_asb1.htm]