[youngin57]

I went to order up my Athena AS-B2's but the store I buy from is no longer going to be selling them. I could get them there for $200 Canadian but now may be forced to pay full price ($299) elsewhere. The sales guy says he can get me the floor models from the rest of the chain stores but he can't guarantee the condition as he hasn't seen them and they could take a couple of weeks to arrive. The only saving grace is he says he can give me the floor models for $179. I was ready to pull the trigger on 6 B2's and a C1 but now I have a little more thinking to do. Guess I just needed to vent that out.

How low has anyone else seen these priced?


young...

 

[intence]

I believe there is going to be a v2 of the Audition series, but I may be wrong. Was it Future Shop that had them? I know that they carry them in Canada, depending on how far you are from the border, Best Buy in the US also carries them.

 

[DMF]

Easy choice. Go for it. If you think the floor model is too damaged, just don't close the deal. That's a very good price.

 

[swerveddy]

This may be for the best I would recommend listening to some other brands if you can, is there a Best buy nearby? Although a terrible place to audition, have a listen to the infinity primus 150's which imo were more tha several classes above those athenas.


I know there are alot of happy athena owners here and to their defense I will not critize them too much , only say that for music I thought you could do a great deal better in that price range.

 

[intence]

Keep in mind he's quoting in CDN dollars probably ... although the difference is smaller than it used to be.


Just out of curiosity, see how much Mirage, Paradigm, Energy, or PSB are in comparison to the Athenas.


If i'm not mistaken the Athenas are made in China, and so the difference between the US/CDN price would be minimal (either way they have to ship/import them back). The other brands still have many models made in Canada, and you may enjoy a price advantage as they're made locally (no import duties etc.)

 

[youngin57]

Future Shop has the B2's for $299 and i've only seen them on sale once and that was for $149 right after Christmas but I didn't have the money then to pull the trigger. For competition I can get:


Paradigm

Atoms v4 $228

Mini Monitors $459

Titan $249


Mission

M30 $190

M31 $229


PSB

Image 1B $349.99

Alpha 4T $419.99


Klipsch

RB15 $399.00


Infinity

Primus 150 $219

Primus 160 $449


I really like the idea of buying Canadian if that becomes a deciding factor. I know most of these are assembled overseas but at least I can help my Canadian economy.

FWIW I get to the US border at least 5 times annually and my brother crosses everyday, not to mention most of my inlaws live in a town that borders Michigan.


young...

 

[lostcause]

crap...I have my own bummer story on athenas. I went to a couple of best buys today to listen to them. At one store their display was all messed up so I had to crawl behind it, trace some wires, reassign the input on the receiver, connect the speakers, and voila...20 minuted later-SOUND!!! I should have charged them to fix the mess they had with wires connected wrong, inputs assigned wrong on the receiver..etc..etc...


Anyways, they wouldn't haggle on price and since I am a horrible customer and haggle on any item over 50 bucks, I left.


Went to another one and lo and behold, as I'm getting ready to walk out, and actual manager comes up and asks me if I need help. Well, I finally got a deal from him...he knocked 50 bucks of the price of the pair...still a bit higher than they had them 2 months ago, but it was comparable to current online prices so I told him to write it up....here's the fun part....turns out they only had 1 speaker in stock!!! BAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thus ended my speaker shopping day.

 

[swerveddy]

Out of those I would look into listening to the paradigm titans and the infinity primus 150's - the PSB's are nice as well, and you might like the sound of the missions, Overall I would rate those models quite a bit higher for music than any of the lower budget athenas.


In my search I found the primus 150's to be the best out of the group. Are you in the ottawa area by any chance?

 

[youngin57]

I am in Wasaga Beach, Ontario about 1 1/2 hours north of Toronto. The system I am building is for 90% home theater and only 10% music. I really enjoyed the Paradigm sound and they are my second leading candidate based on value. I used to own a pair of PSB Stratus Silvers that I loved to death but had to part with them to afford baby stuff when the times got downright desperate. The Infinity's are probably the only speaker on that list that I have yet to demo as they are at a furniture store out of town and I only get there every once in a while. I will however make a point to go there and listen to them based on your suggestion.


young...

 

[youngin57]

I just picked up a pair of Infinity primus 150's for $50 on ebay so i'll give them a listen and if I don't like them then i'll move them to the back. If I do decide I like them which centre channel matches them?


young...

 

[jliehr]

Athena will have the new Audition line out in April or May

 

[Mathew J]

Quote:

Originally posted by swerveddy Out of those I would look into listening to the paradigm titans and the infinity primus 150's - the PSB's are nice as well, and you might like the sound of the missions, Overall I would rate those models quite a bit higher for music than any of the lower budget athenas. In my search I found the primus 150's to be the best out of the group. Are you in the ottawa area by any chance?

Cannot speak to the Paradigm's, PSBs and the Missions but personally I found that my Athena B1s sounded considerably better than the Primus 150s...I can only imagine that the B2's sound even better...

 

[swerveddy]

I disagree entirely, but that goes to show you how people hear sound differently I found the athenas to be about the worst of the bunch in my auditions just passable for some music, and mostly geared for HT. I can tell you right now that the midrange on the infinities is many times less colored. Simple plotting of an FR curve for the 2 speakers would further show this.


Just an FYI, stereophile gave them a rave review:



here is a snippet:


"1) The natural and uncolored midrange of the Primus 150 rendered all male and female vocals with a rich, natural, holographic sense of realism and body, without a trace of coloration. On classical and jazz recordings, woodwinds, pianos, and acoustic guitars were reproduced with natural attack and decay, with harmonics into the extended, natural, and airy high frequencies.


2) The levels of detail resolution and low-level dynamic articulation of the Primus 150 were unheard of for $200/pair. This attribute, combined with the Primuses' ability to disappear while reproducing well-recorded works on a wide, deep soundstage, may make the 150 the speaker for classical music aficionados who cherish the reproduction of concert-hall ambience. Moreover, the speaker is very useful as an analytical tool; I could analyze the articulation of a soloist's style as well as decipher multipart instrumental arrangements.


3) Although low- and mid-bass were inaudible with these speakers, the quality of the upper bass was reproduced with extraordinary clarity and authority."


You can read the rest of the review here.

http://stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/404infinity/

 

[youngin57]

I am not overly concerned with musicality as this room is used 90% for home theater and I don't listen to multi-channel audio although I am thinking of checking it out before the formats die off. I am planning on setting up a designated music only system at a later date with good tower speakers upstairs as that's where we listen to most of our music.


young...

 

[youngin57]

swerveddy


I almost forgot to ask if you picked up the Infinity center channel with your 150's and if so is it any good. Or if anyone else has heard the infinity centers and have any comments i'd be more than happy to hear about your experiences.


young...

 

[swerveddy]

Youngin57, personally I think you made a very good choice to go with the infinity. Having said that , I also believe that they do an excellent job for HT - a very versitile speaker. I have not heard the center but I know someone that recently purchased one and she is quite happy with it. She has this hooked up to her computer ( a little overkill ) but I bet it sounds truckloads better than any mm system by a long shot


here is the thread: http://www.3dss-forums.com/cgi-bin/w...b=5&o=7&fpart=

 

[huskerpat]

Quote:

Originally posted by youngin57 swerveddy I almost forgot to ask if you picked up the Infinity center channel with your 150's and if so is it any good. Or if anyone else has heard the infinity centers and have any comments i'd be more than happy to hear about your experiences. young...

I'm headed to the store in a bit to pick up the primus center. one of the local stores is having a big sale. I picked up a pair of primus 150's for $100. Not sure what I'm going to use for rear speakers though. I've managed to come to a compromise with my wife and will be looking for inwall speakers for the rears.

 

[youngin57]

How much is the center going for and where are you at? Let me know what you think of it.

By the way there is a guy selling 150's on ebay brand new right now that has quite a few of them starting at $9.99 each for anyone that may be interested.


young...

 

[youngin57]

I guess I should have read that you're in cornhusker country before I asked. I work with a guy thats from Nebraska.


young...

 

[huskerpat]

Quote:

Originally posted by youngin57 I guess I should have read that you're in cornhusker country before I asked. I work with a guy thats from Nebraska. young...

It's a disease. Go big red!


I got the c25 for $130. the primus 150's are backordered until the middle of next month, but my house won't be done until August, so I have time.