Athena's: Goddess? (1 Viewer)

[Cathy]

Hi. This is my very first post. I'm rather new to this home audio thing. I'm looking for a nice set of entry-level speakers, but I want them to be something I can still use when I eventually want to expand/upgrade my system. I've demo'd a few so far, but the Athena S2's have been the most convincing. I'm not sure if I'm listening for the right things.

Has anyone ever heard these speakers? What are your opinions? I've compared them to the Klipsch SB2, Paradigm MiniMonitors, Mirage FRx Three, and B&W DM303. In my opinion, the Klipsch's were too bright, and the bass from B&W wasn't impressive. As for the MiniMonitors and FRx Three, I can't really tell.

I would appreciate anyone's personal and/or technical input. Thanks in advance!

 

[BruceD]

Cathy,

Welcome to the forum!!!!

I haven't heard of them before, but that doesn't mean anything.

Can you give us a little more info on the Athena speakers?

Do they have a website? Where did you listen to them?

 

[felix_suwarno]

i heard someone said in this forum that athena speakers and axiom are really similar. the factory is the same. i could be wrong though. but if it were true, ya know, axiom is a good brand. and i did pay athena website a visit months ago. looked nice.

 

[Bob Sheen]

Athena's are marketed by the same company that markets Energy Speakers in Canada (Audio Products International Corp). They've basically replaced the Sound Dynamics line of speakers.
Web site at: http://www.athenaspeakers.com
I've seen and heard the Audition line....Nice speakers.
Bob

 

[felix_suwarno]

ohh yea i think i have mistaken axiom with energy.

 

[Cathy]

Bruce
Like Bob said, they're made by API. There are three very basic lines; the SCT line, Audition series that Bob mentioned, and the Point Five Series.
The SCT series only have 7 speakers in them. S1, S2, and S3, and to match, P1, P2, and P3. The S's are bookshelves and P's subs. And then, there's a center channel too. The rationale is, if you're on a budget, you can buy the S's, and then buy the P's later. Then you can connect them and turn the S/P combo into a tower.
They sounded nice to me, but I don't know if I'm able to discern any type of extraordinary performance... yet. I demo'd them at a hole-in-the-wall-I-think-these-things-are-"hot"-hifi store. Ehh... price was good though.

 

[BruceD]

Cathy,

I think you will hear from many on this board that full range towers for main speakers may not be the best way to go, but rather a sub integrated through the HT processor or receiver with monitor mains. I say that even though I happen to have tower mains and a sub.

This means the Athena product's bass module attachment to the mini-monitors may not be the best way to go.

I would try to find a dealer who will let you take a pair home for the weekend or longer to demo (store charges your credit card and then issues a credit card debit when you bring them back).

It is very difficult to know what you will like without listening in your own room. For instance, silk dome tweeters may sound different to you than metal tweeters.

What is your music/HT listening ratio? What type of music do you like best? Rock, jazz, vocals, classical?

 

[Cathy]

Bruce,

I think with the SCT line, you can use bookshelves as mains, and then have the option to convert both to towers, or leave them as mains and then use only one sub that isn't connected to anything. The frequency range on the S's go from about 50-20k. The sub goes from about 25 to 150.

The only place that sells them around here is a deep-discount place. It's one of those shady places that you're not sure where they get some of their stuff. It's an all-sales-final kind of thing.

For now, I think I'd use them more for music than HT. But eventually, I want to be able to still use them for HT when I have enough to expand/upgrade. As to the music I like to listen to, it varies... I'd say jazz, piano, cello, vocals, Pearl Jam, and Dave Matthew's band. I've read in many places that the S2's handle female voice pretty well.

 

[matthew_rm]

I find athena to sound bad. (Ht is OK) Just decide for yourselfe. If you don't like rock and rap you should be OK.

 

[Bob Sheen]

I find athena to sound bad. (Ht is OK) Just decide for yourselfe. If you don't like rock and rap you should be OK.

Which model were you listening to ?

Bob

 

[matthew_rm]

Which ever ones they sell at future shop. I havn't heard the higher ones much, but the sub's sure are bad. They look good, and are all right for the money I guess.

 

[Gil D]

Don't know the Athena but for $600US I would suggest you try B&W 602-S3, Sonus faber Concertino, and Polk LSi9. All do vocals very well. The Polk has outstanding vocals, highs and surprising bass at this price point, but the B&W and Sonus have more aggressive midrange.
I feel these choices are all significantly better than the others on your list and well worth the extra dollars, especially the Polk.

Also, you may want to check the Totem Arrow and Dynaudio Audience 52.