Which receiver will best complement the Athenas?
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Okay, before the questions: my end goal is to EVENTUALLY piece together a HT system with the Athena Audition series 2 lineup. I'm going for a bargain system here, not top of the line or state of the art. That being said, I'm starting with the front speakers. I found the AS-F2.2s for $399 shipped. Next thing, and only other part I'm starting with, is the receiver. Right now I'm debating between the HK AVR-235 for around $290, or the Onkyo TX-SR503 for around $260. I've heard that HK definitely has the superior sound over Onkyo in general....thoughts? Would that definitely prove true with these speakers? For now I've got other speakers that are gonna fill in for the missing Athenas. Sometime down the line, when I get the money, I'm gonna get either some F1s or F2s for rears, probably bookshelves for surrounds, the center and sub. I'm not looking for advice on those currently, just the receiver selection.  I'm basically looking for the best receiver for under 300 for these speakers. Obviously has to have some good HT specs, decent power output, and be good for music as well. I'll probably be using this 50:50 with HT and music. Thanks all in advance. |
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Bronze Member Username: RsxmanPost Number: 53 Registered: Jul-05 | Go with HK all the way if that's your budget. Its a very good receiver and should balance out the brighter sound from the Athenas. |
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Bronze Member Username: MojoracerPost Number: 11 Registered: Sep-05 | Fry's has both the Onkyo and the HK on display, Circuit City may also. You should go listen for yourself... |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Thanx guys. No Fry's around here, but CC maybe. Problem with listening in store is they usually have different speakers connected to different receivers. Plus, I was wondering what sounds best with the Athenas. Anyone have an Athena/HK or Athena/Onkyo setup, or heard both and could comment? |
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Bronze Member Username: RsxmanPost Number: 58 Registered: Jul-05 | I had an Athena/Yamaha setup and like it a lot. But now I have new equip and like that much better than what I had. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 2271 Registered: Mar-05 | I agree with Eric. Also look at the Panasonic sa-xr55, for 2-channel music listening when you bi-amp them it's possible to tame the extra brightness by adjusting the A and B speaker levels differently. |
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Bronze Member Username: RsxmanPost Number: 61 Registered: Jul-05 | edster im going to have to check out that receiver at CC. Did some research on it and it looks really good. My bros bday is coming up so he might be the lucky one this time! check out my review on the fluance edster Eric |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 245 Registered: Apr-04 | I had the Athena AS-F2s with a Yamaha...much to metallic. I changed to NAD and the sound is oh so sweet. Remember to give the new AS-F2s a chance to break in...the tweeters need a few weeks to settle down. I've heard many times that the HK's were a good match for the Athena Audition line but have not personally heard the combination. |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Thanks Rick. I've actually been perusing these forums for the past couple days and read a few times that the HK's were a good match for the Athenas, hence my leaning towards the HK receiver. Also noticed that Yamaha's make them seem bright or metallic. |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 246 Registered: Apr-04 | Hey Uber...Be careful where you buy your Athenas from. They are now only available online. Buy from an authorized dealer listed on their website otherwise you will have no warranty. Also, a couple of the dealers will not allow you to return them for any reason so check out the return policies. I recently bought a pair of AS-F1s for the den and had a buzzing woofer. www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com would not take them back. Athena did repair the speaker free of charge but I had to pay for the shipping to the repair facility in New York. |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | thanks Rick, i appreciate it. I went to Athena's website and they actually link to audioadvisor.com, which is where i found them for $400 shipped. I checked out their service after purchase and return policies too...it all looks good. |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 247 Registered: Apr-04 | Yea...AudioAdvisor is good. I used www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com for the AS-F1s because they were the only ones that had the last of the Series One and they were only $139 each shipped. I didn't pay attention to the return policy though. It all worked out in the end. Athena was great to work with for the repair and I'm very satisfied with the way the speakers perform. Through all this I did learn that the reason the Audition line is no longer carried by Best Buy is that there were too many speakers damaged in shipping due to their weight. The new line is lighter. Athena is trying to get them back into real stores as they realize overall sales have dropped off since Best Buy stopped selling the them. By the way, The AS-F1s sound just like the AS-F2s but don't have the dynamic capabilities of the AS-F2s. Having just a single woofer, the AS-F1s are fine for people that are looking for good sound at moderate listening levels. |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Pretty interesting to learn that about Best Buy. I'd been wondering why they stopped carrying that line. When I started perusing speakers, the AS-F1s were actually the ones I was gonna go with. I've decided to purchase the AS-F2s first, and later I'll grab some AS-F1s for surrounds. I like my music LOUD BTW, thanks for all the info about the Athenas, Rick. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 2329 Registered: Mar-05 | The AS-F2s for $400 are a hell of a steal. I'm very tempted to get a pair for my bedroom system, should match well with the NAD separates...unfortunately the wife would kill me! lol Might have to settle for either the AS-B1s or B2s instead... |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 249 Registered: Apr-04 | Awww Man..the wife would get over it...eventually...Hehehe. Yea, the AS-F2s can effortlessly blow out your windows for sure and keep their clarity and detail. Great bass slam too! |
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New member Username: HontvnPost Number: 9 Registered: Sep-05 | Uber ... Where can you get the HK AVR-235 for ~ $290? I'm looking for this receiver too, but $350 shipped as minimum ... |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Hey Edster, Rick is right...your wife will eventually get over it ;) Ho, www.fotoconnection.com has the avr235 listed at $289. Couple days ago when I was looking they had a deal on shipping, but now its back up to $40 for ground, so it comes to ~$329 shipped...which is still the cheapest price I can find it for. |
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New member Username: HontvnPost Number: 10 Registered: Sep-05 | Hi Uber ... be careful with this online shop, I read many bad feedbacks ... http://shopping.yahoo.com/merchrating/user_rv.html?merchant_id=1002433 http://www.resellerratings.com/seller3471.html |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 2341 Registered: Mar-05 | You guys looking at HKs, look up Harman Audio on eBay, refurb but with full original HK warranty and they are known for excellent exchange/return service if you get a bad one. UBER: well my wife might not have to, I'm leaning towards the Alegria Lings for a totally different sound type than the Athenas which are kind of similar to my main system's Ascends. |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Ho, thank you, really appreciate that as it could have saved me from a great hassle. Edster, thanks for the eBay tip. They seem to have some great deals on there. I placed a bid and am waiting for about 4 hours to see how it goes. Also, I've heard some pretty good things about the Lings. Good luck with that! |
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A.Edwards Unregistered guest | Just purchased some B+W DM610 speakers. Not getting very good sound, or loud sound, from them. Using an old Kenwood receiver to drive them. Any suggestions to improve sound quality? Thanks. |
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Silver Member Username: Stu_pittNYC, NY Post Number: 615 Registered: May-05 | My suggestion is to start your own thread.. |
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Uber Charsimatic Jerk Unregistered guest | Haha, that's the worst thread hi-jacking I've ever seen. I'm gonna have to agree with Stu on this one |
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