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Bronze Member Username: TinymanPost Number: 27 Registered: Jun-05 | As requested, I'm posting my review of the AS-F1.2 speakers. As background, I'm not an audiophile by any means, nor do I have experience with many speakers. And without further ado (I wrote this at work)... Review of AS-F1.2 Sorry for not posting this review earlier, my life of late has been very busy, and I haven't had a chance to start on this review until recently. Athena AS-F1.2 (2) = $330 shipped Onkyo TX-8211 Reciever (50 WpC) = $90 TOTAL = $420 for my setup, not counting the money for speaker wire. Not bad! Under the budget I was expecting to make, and I really like the results. Unfortunately, I don't have much to compare the AS-F1.2 against, so this review will be fairly short. If you look at the first post, my speakers were the AIWA speakers, so these are in a completely different league. After hearing the JBL Northridge series at Best Buy, and comparing them to my speakers, the AS-F1.2 easily surpasses the E60. The bass response is much more noticable, and the E60 had a very scratchy sound to them. There really isn't any question in my mind about these speakers. At their price and size, I really did expect a better performance from them, given the stiff competition that is going around. Between the E80 and my speakers is a bit of a toss up. When I heard the E80, it was certainly able to put out a lot of bass, more so than I get out of my AS-F1.2's. However, the E80's didn't shine so well in the higher frequency regions, and lost an amount of accuracy. The AS-F1.2 is a very clear and precise sound - I see now what was said earlier about getting out what you put in. If it is a good recording, then the reproduction of the sound will be extremely nice, however on poorer/lower quality recordings, the static seems more apparent. For my type of listening (classical music), I wanted more of the clarity in the upper regions, and I think the Athena's did a better job in the upper region then the E80's produced. If I wanted speakers that could rattle the floor a bit, the E80's seemed quite capable for doing that (remember, I only got to hear them in Best Buy). The Polk audio R30 speaker was a real disappointment in comparison with the Athena AS-F1.2 to me. While it was cheaper, the price difference is not that great, and is insignificant as compared to the difference in quality. Given the two speakers, my opinion would be to pay the bit of extra money for the Athena's, and get a speaker that performs much better. The Polk R30 falls short in the high ranges, and the sound that it does produce is very scratchy, to say the least. Of the speakers that I have compared in this review, I think the Polk R30 really is bringing up the rear. The only other speakers I can compare these to are my father's old B&W speakers. I have no idea what kind of speakers those are, and they are about 25 years old, maybe a bit more (but still going strong). I don't know of any repair or maintenance work that he has done to his speakers. Between the two, they are comparable in the bass regions, however his speakers have really lost a lot of the definition in the high regions. Vocals tend to be indistinct, and for sound like talkshow hosts, it can be very 'muddy' trying to listen to them. I don't know about anyone else, but I have no problem running either my speakers or his from my 50W reciever. I can get it easily loud enough (and too loud for my tastes) with no problem, and the sound is great to my ear, which is what really counts at the end of the day. Since I haven't heard Athena's on a 100+ WpC reciever, I don't know if they would perform better on one, or if it would be worth the money to invest in one. However, I don't really care to find out if they would - what I'm getting right now is certainly suitable to me. Comments/Questions? Also, I haven't put either set of the feet on - I'm going to be moving again in about a month, and I'll be switching from hard wood floors to carpeted floors, so I intend to put on the silver-color spikes that were supplied with the speakers. Also, as a side note I think these would look really awesome if they were all silver, instead of silver and black... it looks nice either way, but all silver would look really neat. And even better, I just realized I got paid $7.50 to write this review. Thanks, Peter L. |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 1607 Registered: Mar-05 | Enjoy the Athenas, Peter! I think you did real good for $330. And yeah, those R30s are horrific. I've seen them for $120/pair at Frys but I'd only use them for surrounds. |
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Bronze Member Username: TinymanPost Number: 28 Registered: Jun-05 | This didn't occur to me until after writing the review, but here is the link to my decision leading up to buying the Athena AS-F1.2 speakers https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/140838.html I was very pleased to get a pair of them for $330, and I doubt that I could have really done better for the price. The only ones that would have really competed for me were the Northridge E80's, which would have only been about $40 more I think. |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 233 Registered: Apr-04 | I'm glad you like them! |
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New member Username: Black05hemiSo Cal Post Number: 4 Registered: Jun-05 | Athena's are awesome...I own the F-2's...I sold my E90's last year, and kept them... |
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Silver Member Username: TwebbzAnn Arbor, Michigan USA Post Number: 235 Registered: Apr-04 | Yea, the AS-F2s are incredible. I have both the AS-F1s and AS-F2s. |