Athena ASF-2: are these speakers for real???

Hi Ka7Niq!

I went to the Sound and Vision web site and found the article I believe you are referring to here: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=1&article_id=511&page_number=1

Nowhere does the article imply that the Athenas are "just plain hard and fatiguing sounding". I admit that the Sound and Vision measurements show a rough treble range. Have you listened to the speakers or are you basing your statement on the Sound and Vision measurements?

As stated above, my friend has two sets of the F2. One set does sound hard and fatiguing. When he had them in his system, before they became his "big end tables", he did not enjoy the music and hardly listened. When he put the good set back in the system he enjoyed the music and found that he was listening to music all the time. I have listened to both sets and concur with that one set is very fatiguing and one is not. Anyone purchasing should examine the speakers and make sure they are "the good ones".

Can I listen to even the good set as long as I can my Von Schweikert VR-4jr? No I can not, because the Athenas are fatiguing to me compared to the VR-4jr. But, without naming names, there are plenty of speakers in the same price range as the VR-4jr that I would say the same thing about.

If my budget were limited to less than $500, either by circumstances or choice, I could easily live with the Athenas. And my friend could easily afford a system well in excess of the cost of mine and he is happy with the Athenas.

Have fun!

Thanks for all the input on the above. I finally bought a pair. I'm currently residing in Vancouver now and came across an "open box" pair at Future Shop (sister company to Best Buy) for $299 CAD!! How can I pass up on this excellent deal. My speaker cables alone cost me about that much. Just as a sidenote, my current system has replaced the following: Mirage OM7 speakers, Sonographe SA-250 amp, Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 Signature preamp, EAD T1000/DSP7000mk3 digital front end. On that end, I wasn't really looking for the Cambridge/Athena combo to be anywhere near the performance of my previous set up but after further burn in of the Athenas, I am quite impressed with the sound. For $300 CAD, I don't think I can do any better!!! Full sound with natural mids, above average imaging and soundstagin, and excellent low end. The highs could sound a bit tizzy at times, but hey, for the money I spent, I can't complain. Bravo to Athena!!!!

Gemini,

Sounds like a great price! I am glad, but not surprised, that you are happy with them.

I am curious ... What type of insulation do you see when you look in the port?

Thanks!

They are for real....the problem that people have with the speakers is that to get the most from the speakers you must use "high-end" fronts.....believe it or not. The Athena's present an enigma of sorts, A low cost speaker....$399.00 with free shipping from audio advisor....should not sound so good with high end amps. Well....I purchased them for $399.00 to run off a teac receiver....garage music. They sounded terrible. But I had read the tech info so I hooked them up to a pair of Legacy ultra mono blocks with their stream pre-amp and my venerable Rega planet 2000....and the sound was.....miraculous?.....yes. I run Legacy Focus 20/20's on that system. were they as good as the legacy's? NO. But...they were better than they should have been! The problem is.....what person would run an $10,000 front end into $399.00 speakers..???? NO ONE! But, with that said, hook them into a Prima Luna prologue one and the magic returns!!!!!! A $1000.00 integrated amp!!! They are an excellent bargain in Hi-Fi....probably the best. Thanks, Mike

Now a stereophile recommended speaker....