Athena Micra 6 or CSW MovieWorks 58? (1 Viewer)

[MaxX]

Recently just bought Athena Micra 6 to go with my old HK AVR300.
I was wondering if you guys could tell me if CSW MovieWorks 58 are any better than the Athena Micra 6 since they have 10% discount promotion. So they both turned out to be the same price.
I'm looking to get Pioneer 1014 in the future.

 

[AngeloEug]

Hey Maxx,

I just acquired a set of Micra6's and I recently purchased the 1014.

I was previously running the Micra's with a Yammie RXV596a and I thought that sounded "good".

With the 1014...OMG! There was an immediate improvement over the sound quality. Any 2 channel info was listened to in "direct" mode and I'm still learning the different DD, DTS, THX modes etc. I have to say that the Micra's can "almost" be run without a sub compared to their performance with the yammie.

For acapella information, especially Baratone/Bass the voices have brought a new dimension of sound. I would call it "depth". I'm running a Velo dps-10 as my current sub but I'm also trying out the as-p400 and maybe diving into an SVS pb-10 if I can dig into the couch to find more spare change.

My point was, that with the 1014 the Micra's came to life (cliche I know) but it was really that much of a difference.

Over the past few days, I have learned that it will be difficult to find someone who has intimate experience with newer equipment for opinions unless they work in a store that has both items you are trying to compare or that has immediate access for head to head testing.

If you purchased the items via retailer, take advantage of their return policy and listen to them yourself. I've learned this the hard way by putting numerous miles on my poor car lately just to fix this urge to buy.

I can say however that the Micra's are a nice system, I'm unfamiliar with the CSW's but can say that a high percentage of HT systems will fall short of full range fronts or decent sized bookshelves or monitors. I don't want to put my foot in my mouth with that statement but it is hard to change the laws of physics in terms of driver/cone size.

Myself, I'm limited for space and the Micra's fit my purpose. I'm fortunate to have the luxury of a larger sub than the OEM M225 but it's hardly a "bad" performer.

I recently owned a set of Wharfedale Moviestar 70+'s and thought that the center channel on that was much more pleasing to my ear than the Athena's however the overall quality was won by the Athena's.

Now, with the 1014, I don't miss the wharfedale's at all but I am curious to hear how much better the center would sound.

Sorry if I went off on a tangent but it's just my .02 and I'm slowly learning that the amount of time I spend on here directly affects the size of my billfold...

Good luck on your quest!

 

[MaxX]

Thanks AngeloEug.
How about CSW (Cambridge SoundWorks), Are they any good?

 

[AngeloEug]

Maxx,
I have "read" reviews about CSW but the only experience that I have had was at their retail stores in the local mall etc.

I never "seriously" listened to any of their speakers so I can't give you any feedback there.

Again, without having the two systems back to back it's a tough call. What is going to happen is that you will hear one thing in one sound/demo room and sometimes something totally different in home. This will happen with almost all "auditions" so my best suggestion, if you have a retailer that carries the CSW line, go there, buy it and play it back to back with the Athena's. If you like one over the other keep it and return the other one.

That's the easiest way to know you've bought the right speaker.

Hope this helps,

Angelo