Read only good things about these speakers. What to they excel at, and what are they lacking? What's their competition? Do they have any at this price?
The 1" tweeters are very nice, and the woofers pack a surprising amount of mid-bass. They destroy the Polk R15s and R20s which are in the same price league, and of course the likes of Sony, Pioneer, etc. that you find at big box places. Not sure how they'd compare to the $160 Infinity Primus 150s though, these are the other highly regarded low-budget speaker.
However, the B1s will have more tipped up highs than a good neutral speaker like the Ascends which cost 3x more. Neither one is likely to ever be called "warm"---if "warm" is what you're looking for.
I would expect the Epos to be better from what I've read but hey at 3x the price they better be.
Save Up....For the Paradigms...clear, sweet and warm. Got a friend that has them driven by a NAD. He plays clasical music...Don't know what they would do with rock or pop music.
"How much do they pay you for blood? Do you really need two kidneys?"
I know where you're coming from. In grad school, I contemplated going to a sperm bank, sorry, a fertility clinic to get some money for a McIntosh integrated amp. They pay pretty well. The down side is that you have to basically sign a contract for several deposits, and can't do your own thing on the side so to speak. My girlfriend at the time - now my wife - didn't think it was a good idea, for obvious reasons.
I never ended up getting the McIntosh. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what could have been if I had a little more self control...
Anyway. I owned a full athena setup for sometime. I really liked them but used a yammie so the sound was very bright and that was my first real exposure to audio.
Needless to say I've been trying to adjust to the warmer sounds from fluance and pioneer elite.
The Athenas are great speakers, There really isn't any downside to them. Unless you use a bright receiver, then you may not like the sound too much.
This is all academic, I don't think I'll be buying a pair of Athenas. I've just read so many good things about them @ $149., that @ $99. it might be worth buying a pair...just in case.