i was going to sell both sets i have but before i did i switch my ht fronts from my paradigm titan and they sound just as good as my par i am into music more than anybody i have over sixteen sets of house speakers im going to get a picture to show everyone my system 2 sets of par micro and one set titan psb alpha mite and alpha b, sound dynamics rts -1 sony ss mb 150 h and ss 957,bose 901 v1 and 802 with yourkville audiopro 508 mixer ,501 need woofers, 2.2 and bose cubes,mirage frx three wow for music the athenas sound better in home th than the mirage that are 500 a set infinity il 30 wow for music ahenas sound better in ht and the infinity are 800, sm 62 wow when paired to my sub mirage 150 i piano fin sub and ref one i orderd a set of tweeters on ebay for 50 dollars and when i hooked them up one of the woofers foam done anybody have one or the refoam i think it still good, enerygy2.1 e listen to these and they shoot air at youfrom the ports in diff dererent directions i thouth the ghost were back my home theater pioneer vsxd810s the par titan fronts ,b and w 500 center mirage 150 sub enery vcss ser 4 wat dy pi and my 901 have the pioneer vsx 9300 i though i could hook up eveything at once to find i need a lot of amps to run everything but i found a quest qls 8.1 speaker switch so i had to buy to of them 80 dollars at futureshop my one pioneer vsx 810s can run all sixteen sets at once i didnt think it would work but i hooked up my mirage and psb alpa b and a set of the athenas worked great good for 100 wpc of all the speakers the 901 are the best of them all for there power 450 whats they others there that are good sounding frx il30 sound good but the 901can go to sond levels that cant be done by anything i have

I'm guessing at the year the AS-B1's were purchased. I have a pair and my daughter, a rock musician, also owns a pair. The reason I am writing this review is that I want to take exception to the reviews that describes the tweeter as harsh. I also owned the Athena towers using the same tweeter for several years and neither product ever exhibited harshness. They are lively, very efficient speakers but neither product ever caused listener fatigue. Both speakers, the bookshelf model and the tower, were used with highly rated electronics, including CD player, integrated amp, and stereo receiver. I suspect the harshness heard resulted from the associated electronics. My impression is the tweeter is smooth, lively, and clear, but not harsh.

I have lived with the AS-B1's and their big brother F2's now for a few years. Tried them in a 2 channel arrangement powered by a Chinese tube hybrid amp and a vintage Marantz integrated amp and sourced with a SACD player. I have also used them as rears in a panny xr55 based 5.1 HT system in which they complimented the large Athena F2's up front.

Since they are rear ported placing them too near a back wall is problematic. Unfortunately I found them somewhat fatiguing and sharp edged after listening to them for extended periods. I would have given them a higher rating except for the fact that they do not compare so well with the Cambridge Soundworks Model Six which cost even less.

I now use the B1's in a small bedroom system powered by a t-amp and sourced with a Xmod wireless. Their 90 dB sensitivity rating means that they can play quite loud with a t-amp.

Bass and wide soundstage which is what the Teteron tweeter is about. Their new LS line is using aluminum tweeter that's standard with everything else budget below $1K. It's really designed for HT though it can do some wonders with music.

Too wide soundstage. No typical crisp on brass instruments but it's a matter of preference.

The perfect budget HT bookshelf pairs but when used for music while attention grabbing initially, I get tired of the very wide treble with no real focus. But it's designed for HT and that's what you want so I shouldn't be complaining.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Pioneer, Sony, Bose, Philips, Onkyo HT speakers.

for a 5.5" woof & 1" tweet it is quite smooth and extended , rolling off without any boom... or coloration... just excellent!!!

none!!!!

i am an audiophile with a small budget! i have listened to more expensive bookshelf speakers such as the epos m-5 & an nht model bookshelf and considering i payed $89/pr on close out!!! such a soundstage & great construction!!! i moved here from out of town and sold my old onkyo/polk system.. & i would never go back...i can't wait till i make more money to afford to spend $$$ on high end type of audio!!! the athenas are highend type sound without the high $$$$$$

Similar Products Used:

epos m-5,,nht,,polk phase tech,nad,yamaha

Great Value Good Detail Nice Sound Stage

Exaggerated Highs

Ok, I bought these based on the price and the many good reviews (consumer and published). I was looking for HT speakers for a relatively small room. At the time I bought them, I had several other speakers in the house allowing me to do some side by side comparisons. All the comparisons were done with an A/B switch and the speakers powered by a yamaha RX-V630. Keep in mind yamaha has been known for being a "bright" receiver. The Athena speakers may perform better with a "warm" receiver. The speakers I tested the AS-B1's against were: Bosotn Acoustics CR95 and CR85 as well as Energy C-3. Keep in mind all of these speakers cost three times what I paid for the Athena. Bottom line, despite what you may read, a $120 speaker has a hard time keeping up with speakers in the $400-$600 range. My biggest complaint with the As-B1 is the axaggerated high end. These speakers can be harsh to my ears. I did a four day burn in, so I can't blame improper break-in. All the other speakers had a much fuller and more natural sound. After the side by side comparison, I did some basic music and HT listening. This gave me a chance to tweak my set-up for the Athena speakers. First thing I did was to turn down the treble. This helped quite a bit. While they still didn't have the full sound of the other speakers, they were not as harsh as during my testing. In my HT matched with the Athena AS-C1, the AS-B1 made for a nice set-up. Being a little bright didn't have as much of a negative impact in HT, however, the others offered better perforance during the music portions on the soundtracks. I'm keeping these speakers because they offer very good value.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustics CR95, CR85 Energy C-3 Axiom M3Ti

True reprodution of vocals and great imaging. Excellent tight bass response. Overall balance is the best I've heard at this price range.

None

Simply put, I use these speakers in my recording studio for final mixes. The price is awesome for the quality of sound. I even bought a second pair (floor demos for $110/pr)for mastering!

Similar Products Used:

I've used Dahquist, Magnapans, and Klipsch Speakers.

Price vs. Sound/Build quality Smooth/Realistic Midrange Very Detailed/Non-fatiguing Solid/Fast/Natural bass Nice imaging characteristics Quality Build for sub $200 speaker Exceptional Repro of female vocals

For $120-150 are you kidding. Soundstage is fairly flat compared to what I'm used to. Can be a tad boomy w/ some source material. For the money they cannot be beat!! Period.

I just recently decided to put a small modest system in my office/computer room. I spend a fair amount of time in there and was tired of blasting my main stereo from another room. I have a sound card with a digital out via Toslink. This hooked to an AMC Dac-8 D/A converter. That signal is fed into an AMC integrated amplifier which powers the speakers in this review, Athena AS-B1’s. I play mostly ripped FLAC files and regular cd’s through this system. I tend to be a very critical listener and don’t usually use music as background noise. I usually sit down listen and enjoy music. I like the sound to be realistic/uncolored and dynamic. I by no means have an ultra high dollar system but it is a high resolution system that certainly can differentiate based on the source material used. I like all kinds and styles of music especially female vocal and acoustic music. On to the review…… I saw these speakers advertised at Best Buy for $120. Now I’ve never bought any stereo equipment at BB, they just don’t carry equipment that I consider to be audiophile quality. So I went in with the idea that I could and probably would use the 30 day return policy. I read some reviews of the Athena line and the AS-B1 specifically so I decided to take a chance. In a sentence I’m very glad that I did!!!!!!!! These little gems are just wonderful sounding speakers. I keep forgetting I only spent $120. I’d be happy if I’d spent $350. They will sound better once broken in, but right out the box they have such a sweet uncolored sound. The midrange on these speakers is so smooth and natural and free of that nasal over emphasis most low dollar book shelf speaker’s exhibit. They sort out instruments at a level unheard of in this price range. All the instruments are vivid and clearly defined throughout the audio spectrum, with the obvious exception of bass below about 50Hz. But the bass rolls of so smoothly that there is only a hint of boominess on some bass heavy tracks. Most of the time this isn’t a factor, and is most likely related to the source material rather than the speakers themselves. The high are smooth and detailed if a bit rounded. They aren’t the last authority is detail but for their low price nothing comes even close. This is a very minor and picky observation on my part, however. The speakers always stay within themselves and never get to harsh. If pushed to an insane level they do become a bit compressed and loose their overall balance, but if you listen at that level consistently you probably would be better off with a bigger speaker. Any bookshelf is going to have its limits in this regard. They have such tight accurate natural quick bass. They roll off so nicely before any boominess sets in. Really quite amazed at the useable bass response. I never thought it was possible to get this type of bass from an inexpensive bookshelf. Imaging is very good to excellent. The definition during complex passages in music is one of the Athena’s real strengths. The lower register of the human voice is reproduced w/the heft that is needed to make it sound natural and smooth. Bass notes are delivered with authority and have nice weight and pace to them. Lower notes on both piano and Guitar have a realism that just blows my mind. How can a modest priced speaker sound so natural and composed? It has to be heard to be believed. Ok so I’ve raved about them, so now some of the short comings I’ve noticed. *****Disclaimer****** remember these are $120 speakers so the following notes are probably not fair, but I just want to make you aware. These are not fully broken in yet and may need some tweaking as far a positioning goes so this may correct what I’m about to say. All instruments are free of congestion and tend to be reproduced accurately(imaging is very good as far as instrument separation goes). The soundstage is pretty flat compared to what I’m used to. The instruments/voices have that felling of “air” and “openness” to them but everything seems to float right in front of each speaker. I can get a solid vocal in the middle of the speakers if I sit right in the sweet spot, but there is very little depth if any to the music. I’m used to hearing layers of musicians on my main speakers. I.e.; the drums behind the main singer, the back-up singers behind to the left/right; etc. those types of stage cues. I don’t get that with these speakers, at least not yet. The speakers on some passages with heavy bass can sound a bit boomy and unnatural. They aren’t the last authority in detail on the high end. Obviously bass much below about 55Hz just doesn’t register. That’s it…..that’s all I can complain about for these speakers. And for $120-150 I shouldn’t be complaining at all. I will NOT be using Best Buy’s 30 day return policy. These speakers are better than I ever expected an ultra budget bookshelf could be!!! Like I said I’d be just as thrilled if I paid $350.

Similar Products Used:

Mirage M-200i Polk Audio Lsi-7 Polk Audio 5B

Voice reproduction

Super low end is missing, but what is there is accurate, fast, neutral.

I've listened to many speakers over the last 15 years or so that I've been "into" audio. There are some products that I think are just absolute steals, and these AS-B1's are in that category. I cannot believe that Athena can sell these at the price that they do. I've got mine in my office, attached to an Adcom GFA-535 amp, an Adcom GTP-535 Pre/Tuner, and a Denon DCD-1500 as source, with Audioquest Type 4 speaker cables and Vampire Wire interconnects. They sound amazingly neutral, and extend pretty deep in the bass for their size. Soundstage is above average, voices sound clear and not "chesty." They do start to get a little "congested" if you push them really hard (about 110db peaks in my 160 square foot office) but you are going to get that with any speaker this size, and the other folks at work complain anyway. The best thing I can say is that I would purchase them again. And again, and again.

Similar Products Used:

Too many to list.

Solid bass response and non-fatiguing sound for a small speaker. Good value at "street price"

Lack of dynamics, cheap construction.

I kind of like Athena as an entry level speaker. They offer decent bang for the buck. I bought these for the office and tried them out for a few days at home. I did some quick comparisons with a few speakers I had around...Axiom M3Ti, Paradigm Mini-Monitors and Paradigm Atoms. Long story short, they were outclassed by all the speakers, but to be perfectly fair, it was pretty close between the Atoms and the AS-B1's. Considering all the good reviews Paradigm gets for the Atom, I can't fault these. You can find these on the web for well under $150 brand new, less than the Atoms, and at that price they are a very good bargain. These would make a very competent speaker in small rooms or in a modest home theater. But don't be fooled by some the reviews here...these aren't legend killers by any means...

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Atom, PSB Alpha's, Energy XL-150