Not much to add to the other reviews. But from the perspective of a vinyl lover I could not be happier. If you are looking for great highs and middles and smooth deep bass for your LPs these can't be beat.

Some of the most powerful bass capabilities I've seen on floorstanders this size. Incredible clarity.

If only it came in black...

I have been listening to these speakers for about five months post-breakin, and I must say that they are INCREDIBLE. I generally listen to tracks by artists like The Eagles and Jack Johnson, although my roommates insist on Hip-Hop when we have friends over. The bass of these is impressive enough that I don't see the need for a subwoofer, and the highs are clearer than anything I've yet heard. A couple of weeks ago, I visited several of my local hi-fi stores, looking for a good surround to compliment my Athenas. While I was there, I listened to many of their floorstanders by brands such as JBL, Klipsch, B&W, and some Paradigm. These other speakers were several times more expensive, and I must say I was unimpressed. I did not even need to A/B them against the Athenas to hear that they were nowhere near as clear and powerful sounding. I also noticed that I was listening to the speakers, not the music as I do back home in my listening chair.

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None.

Sound quality. Wonderful sound out of the box. I imagine that once they get broke in they'll sound even better. Very nice, smooth top end. Cymbals are crisp. Low end is very smooth, not boomy at all.

A studier grill frame would be nice. The floor spikes are nice, but should be made of something like brass with a sharper point that would penetrate carpet and connect the speakers with the actually flooring.

It was time for new speakers. My old Cerwin Vega's were starting to sound bad, and the foam surrounds were crumbling. I'd auditioned several speakers including Infinity, Klipsch, JBL and Polk. The Athenas had a nicer high end than any of the others. The low end is smooth and doesn't have the boomy quality I found in many of the others. I listen primarily to jazz and old R&B from the late 40s/early 50s. The first disk I played, Brubeck's "Time Out," sounded great. Better than what I was used to hearing with the old Vega. The Athen'a seem to be very well built. The speaker wire connects are very nice. The grills are so-so. They seem a bit flimsy. But if not abused they should hold up just fine. The price was terrific. $400 for the pair for a pair of speakers that sounded much, much better than speakers I auditioned that cost 2 and 3 times as much.

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Previous speakers were Cerwin Vege AT-15s. I bought them many years ago and they served me well. But time has taken it's toll. The Athena's are connected to a Harmond Kardon HK6500 integrated amp, via Monster Cables. Primary souce is a Technics 5 disk CD changer.

Great highs,great mids,great lows,great speakers with a can't be beat price.

nothing,nada, zip, zero.

I purchased these speakers after doing alot of reading on them. I also work part time at Best buy so I get to play alot with all the speakers on hand and found that no speakers there compared to the Athena's when comparing sound and price.I put them side by side to the Bose and the Klipsch F-1's, the Bose did not even come close (they are highly overpriced)the Klipsch had a good soundfield but were double the price and had no bass. I hated coming into work because I was enjoying them so much, my opinion if your looking for high quality sound with a great price purchase these quick because the word is getting out and we are selling them as fast as we get them in, so I know the price will not stay this low for long once the guys at Athena figure out what they have done.I purchased these with an employee discount so I got a real bargain.

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Bose,Infinity and pioneer.

Good bass and nice highs, future look and the spikes are good looking if not all that functional.

um, none at $79.00

Speakers are GRAND, as most everyone else has indicated. I got them for an open box/sale price that I could hardly believe. I am using them as rear surrounds with Polk RTi10's in front, an M&K sub and a CSi5 as the center. These have given new meaning to "surround" sound, with a solid source these speakers really do their work very, very well. And in all channel stereo they hold their own with the RTi10's even before being broken in.

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Polk, M&K, sony(es), infinity, yamaha

Great Value, Build, sound quality is superb, easily beats some $$$$$ speakers.

none

I bought these on an awesome sale at BB (sorry, its over). These speakers are amazing. Very well made and the sound is just incredible. I auditioned some EXPENSIVE speakers at one of those snooty audio stores and the Athena's sound just as good, if not better than some of the $1000-5000 speakers that I saw. At with an efficency of -92db you wont need a massive amp to run these speakers at good volume. Get them now, because the prices are rising!!!!!

- Excellent sound from music and movies - Size -- Not overly tall or wide - Price -- Nice to get more for less

None so far...

Excellent sound quality regardless of cost! Bought these speakers after I realized that I'm not a HTIB type of guy(especially for music). I've listened to them for well over the 100hr break-in period and I honestly haven't heard much of a difference, but that's okay because I loved the sound straight out of the box. The sound is so crystal clear that no matter how high or low the volume is you will hear everything that was recorded on whatever media you're playing. Movies sound great; enough bass that I disconnected my sub. Construction is solid. You'll either like the silver baffle or you won't(hopefully you'll figure that out before you buy them).

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Bose 901 Bose 301 Yamaha YHT-500

-soundstage -presense -clarity

-metallic sounding (?)

I bought these speakers as an open box item @ Best Buy for only $225, and what a deal they have proven to be! I have listened to them with both an Onkyo TX-SR501 HT reciever and a Denon DRA-395 stereo reciever linked with a standard 10 ga. cable. The speakers have a wide soundstage and excellent presense on the high end with decent bass response. It is probably the recievers, but I have noticed that these speakers have a slight mettalic sound to them and need proper tone adjustment to sound right. As of now Best Buy is selling them for $320 / pair, which is an absolute steal. I am also using the audition center and surrounds with a 10" Velodyne sub and the TX-SR501. For under $1000 I am simply elated with this setup!

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- B&W 603 - Cambridge Model 8 - Cambridge Ensemble II

Imaging, Front to back sound stage, Bass responce, Build and appearance. Oh yeah, Canadian too.

Kinda harsh untill you break them in. Give them at least 50 hours if not more.

I researched and auditioned for two months before I settled on the F1s. B&W, Paradigm, JBL, Bose were all considered in my price range which was no more than 800.00. Well for half the price, I got all I wanted! These are the best value I have ever owned and I have owned all kinds. What a great sound especially with my Carver system. These things really lend themselves to a monster sound stage performance using Sonic Holography. They sound great without it also. I may be able to wait for a subwoofer because these things just do not make me feel like I'm missing any bass at all.

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JBL 4312b, Polk RTL 11A, Bose AM5 II, NHT SB2 with a homemade suboofer from hell. 18Hz at 121dB!! Oh yeah and my first pair of speakers were those cool looking Kenwoods with the white paper 12 inch woofers :)

Price and overall just a good sound.

Bass slightly over emphasized.

As a man in my mid-30s, it was high time to update my "college stereo" in the living room. I moved my Sony STR-DE315 that I was using for a home theater to the family room but found myself in need of new speakers. Based on Consumer Reports, I had originally planned to buy either the bookshelf Sony SS-MB350H or the Floor-Standing Speakers Sony SS-MG750H or Polk Audio R30. What a dissapointment in all three! I decided to go through each and every brand of speakers Best Buy (and other stores) haf available for me to listen to. The Athena speakers hit me like lightening! I agree with other readers that the AS/F2 speakers are better sounding, but the AS/F1 can hold their own and are all I needed for my living room. If you're like me, wanting to purchase good speakers but not needing to buy the very best I think you owe it to yourself and you pocketbook to try out either the AS/F1 or AS/F2s. Initially I noticed an over-emphasis in the base with the F1 as other reviewers have written about. I have since then replaced my speaker wire from an 18 gauge to a higher quality brand 16 guage and the bass distortions were not noticed. Speaking of bass, if I do decide to move these speakers to my home theater...I doubt very much I'll need a subwoofer.

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JBL Bookshelf Speakers, Magnavox