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

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....

they sound fine with nad, creek, and lots of inexpensive gear. unlike lots of far more expensive speakers, they are well designed.