Simply put these are fantastic speakers for the money . I was lucky enough to get a pair of AS-B2s for 18 dollars and some how scored the AS-F2s for FREE from a lady cleaning out her house . I always wanted the AS-F2s because i liked the AS-B2s so much . I am very grateful i got them for free nothing of this caliber are given away very often . Anyway right now i have them hooked up to a 75 wpc Yamaha receiver while i wait for my Vintage HK 670 to be repaired and they sound rich & powerful no complaints at all . I cant wait to here what they sound like off of my HK 670 (benched @ 90 wpc)i think it will be heavenly the HK makes crappy speakers sound good so i cant amagine how good these will sound . Even for the original price of these speakers they are well worth it . Quality & sound is of a much higher value then what they cost . And used market priced are very fair . If you can find a pair and hook them up to decent amp they will impress no doubt . They are a very solid investment that wont break the bank . Overall one of my favorite budget speakers series . Powerful rich clean sound . Highly recommended for sure .

N O N E

I have bought and sold many speakers over the years with the biggest regret selling my JBL LX66. Being a huge API fan of Canadian Made speakers the AS-F2 are just what I needed! These speakers may not sound exactly like the JBl but when I first listened to them that was my first exact thought, Currently running them off a HK PM640lxi 45w/ch and they have a great sound stage with treble and bass controls flat. Clear highs, and lots of lows, these speakers do not need a sub for music listening. If you are a stereo listener or a home theatre enthusiast you cant go wrong with these.A++

I have owned these Athenas for 5 yrs and I have really tried, I mean really tried to like them because of all the great reviews. When a major expert lauds these puppies you should at least give them a fair shot. I've read some of the other reviews and agree that FOR THE MONEY these are good speakers. In general, though, for good audio in a home theater or home listening room, they are not, they are just not good enough at all. The high sensitivity has the effct of good power use but also makes a tinney and shrill tone at more than a couple watts. I agree with one reviewer that these are good for a teenager in a college dorm or frat house, probably better than anything else that would end up there and probably better to everything in the price range. I just can't listen to them at higher levels...it becomes annoying in the mid to high mid range and I can't seem to manage that enough by just adjusting tone. The good news is you can get bonafide concert level sound out of these speakers...measured 118spl at 3ft at max rated power without amp clipping, and also completely intolerable to listen to. I replaced them with a pair of vintage ADS M12s for $400 and all I can say is ...aaaah now thats what I wanted all along. warm even delightful tone at everything but max levels. Its a shame that a pair of 20yr old vintage speakers far surpass these Athenas in the same price range but I'll tell you that for all the hype of these Athenas, that is exactly what happened. Remember that the competition in this price is not just other new mid range speakers, but great quality used ones.

Can not describe sound with text ..A lot of people try but it is so confusing .

none

got these after trying to listen to them at a very loud best buy (useless )and after reading all the good reviews they got .Sounded good from the start .I played them with a HK 125 first, then HK 3585 and a Denon 2706 ,an HK 340 and now an Onkyo 805 .The onkyo and the athenas combo is heaven .In the last few years i have tried many speakers ,looking to upgrade to a better one but always return them and stayed with the Athenas Since i got the onkyo i had the polk monitor 60 and 70 and the new athenas ls-500 jbl 880 .All went back .The Athenas Ls-500 need some crossover work .After listening to the F2s the Ls-500 sounded like a 50 dollar speaker Can not find anything to sound as good .I think i will try the KEF IG9 next .So under 1000 dollar a pair so far have not found anything better than the F2s
By the way if you like music and you can find an Onkyo 805 or better please buy it .Thay are sooooooo good

Smooth, musical, extended bass.
Value off the charts.

Some may find a little bright paired with certain amps.

I couldn't be more pleased with these speakers. I've tried a lot of speakers, some much more expensive, but I find these hard to beat, especially at the price they sold at. I've tried all the mid-fi brands, and nothing compares. I've learned not to buy any speakers without at least some type of audition unless the reviews and value appears to be overwhelming. That's what led me to these. They sound very smooth, yet clear and musical. The bass is accurate and extended. They do go loud when asked to, but sound good low as well. They also cast a huge soundstage which is very satisfying. I originally bought them for surround sound mains, but are now my primary stereo listening speakers until I find something significantly better.

Customer Service

No dealings with CS to comment on.

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Klipsch RF-7
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Klipsch vintage (Forte, KG5.5, KG4.5, KG4)

Price, power capability, aesthetics, huge soundstage

Tweeters can by hissy

I bought these when they first came out. You'll find my original review in Jan of 2003 just a few pages back. Now that the honeymoon is over four years later...I still like them. I'm not going to write that they sound as good as Def Tech, B&W or NHT but for the price, they can't be beat. They can take a lot of power. I used to power these with a Parasound 90x5 amp. Now I use a Sunfire Grand Cinema at 500x5. More power (quality power) = better, effortless sound. I noticed that alot of reveiwers used just a receiver. I don't think that will feed these thirsty boys... even if you're using the big Denons or Yamahas. You may not need 500w per channel but these are rated to take up to 300w. It's like this...you drop a 150hp Nissan motor into a Porsche GT chassis and body; guess what...you still got a 150hp Nissan.
These speakers, if powered well, have a big soundstage. The woofers will give you some bass, but let a subwoofer take care of that. The tweeters are bright and they can go loud. Watch Pearl Harbor if you don't believe me. As for the knucklheads that write about the mids and the bass. These speakers are only equipped with (2) - 6.5ish woofers and a tweeter with no bi-amp option. They can't take care of the mids and hi at the same time. You need a sub. Turn the crossover way down and volume about half way up and program all your speakers as "small" on your onscreen set up display. Hi's and mids are taken care of and you have dedicated power for the sub.

No boom, no edginess, no shrillness. Very good octave to octave balance. Very good bass. Friendly to quality ampllifiers.

None identified as of this date.

I don't make a habit of contributing to forums; however, the Athena F-2 is, in my experience, a special product. I found it a very smooth speaker with a decent soundstage, friendly to quality amplifiers of various manufacturers. Recent audtioning of other products suggest one might need to spend $1,000 or perhaps close to $2,000 to exceed the performance of the F-2's. I can find no weaknesses. I have had no problems with the product. The highs are smooth, the midrange is smooth, and the bass is full without boom or bloating. The drivers are well-integrated. As a stereo store owner from the 70's my employees and I became sensitive to the need to match components. I have been surprised how the F-2's sound essentially the same with the three amps listed below. There were differences. With the Cambridge, the reproduction was on the light side but smooth; with the Musical Fidelity, the reproduction was very smooth and full; with the Outlaw, the reproduction provided more detail, more resolution with good bass...quite a statement for that receiver. Keep in mind my ratings are in the context of a very modestly priced speaker. I doubt one can find a better product at this price point.

Customer Service

No problems to date. I don't think this product belongs in a mass merchandiser outlet because it cannot be properly demonstrated, but Athena went for distribution growth more rapidly than if franchising specialty dealers. Another issue...their modest cost would make it difficult to fit into the current lines of products in specialty stores, although many who do not cater to the very high end could do a good job with Athena. If I were in business today, Athena products would be the Advents of this period, and would go out the door in impressive numbers in my stores.

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WOW... Value .... Im Hearing Sound in movies that didnt exist with other speakers ive heard.Thay Can Reproduce Life LIke sound wit well mastered Audio (and correct settings)

NONE at this price point
well Size for some they are BIG

These Are A Great Pair Of Speakers for the price. My source is Kenwood THX select VR 6070 receiver/preamp. The sound reproduction is phenominal. I also have 4 Athena AS bookshelf Speakers In my 6.1 system (except 3 subs that are not ). Yes these speakers can be very bright. However With that being said that is due to the source material and how well it was Mastered. This occurs mainly on poor quality CD's. With well mastered Audio / DVD Playback. Close your eyes. These speakers will completey disapear, Pulling you into the middle of the experience. They have a decent soundstage are very transparent and in my case the Timbre matching is exellent. Out of box they do need some breaking in. The Bass Reproduction on the built in subwoofer is nice and warm ,enhancing the sound coming out of the Speakers. If you However want the full punch of explosions or Hip Hop, you will want a good sub or 2. These Are Better Then Anything You will Find in a major Retail Store for a lot less the price.

Customer Service

I got these over night from fed ex even tho i ground shipped them.

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Able to play very loudly with no [further] distortion.

Simply do not sound smooth. They are strident and harsh. Can produce a boxy sound with some music.

There is always someone willing to give a good review to a really bad movie. On the dust jackets of books there are always raves from someone. Nevertheless I, like others, thought that with such a sterling review by Stereophile of the Athena AS-F2, that there must be some credance to these speakers being good. I was wrong.
I've waited 2.5 years to write this up to satisfy those who believe in speaker burn-in. I'm afraid I, like a few others, feel that these speakers are strident and shrill possibly from an overemphasized upper midrange but certainly in the treble. At low volumes they seem to behave ok, but when turned up to the point where the sound fully emerges from the speakers into the room, they grate like Herrmann's Pyscho violins. At times, even when the programme material is being kind to the speakers, I seem to hear a sort of hollowness in the sound from them.
After trying a number of ways to "tame" these speakers, I ended up with a modification of the old tissue paper over the tweeter remedy [there are pros and cons to doing this] except I used four layers of kitchen roll over the AS-F2's tweeters, and the brushes on the opening to Gerry Mulligan's Night Lights is still more prominant than with other speakers I have; they don't sound great, but they sound better.
Incidentally the later model AS-F2.2, which replaces this one is fundamentally the same with cosmetic changes - silver colored speaker cones.

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Tight and accurate bass equaled by good highs

NONE!!

I was lucky enough to find a pair of Athena AS F2speakers for sale at a local audio shop .I'm 72 years old and I have had my share of speakers systems over the years .I have to tell you this is a very ,very, fine speaker system .I have read some reviews claiming THE F2s are very bright sounding , and are only suitable for a 16 year old .People making these claims mean well ,but I'm almost sure that they lack the understanding of proper speaker placement . Speaker placement is as important as the speaker itself . As I have said I have had my share of speaker systems AR3...AR3a...Boston acoustic t-1000 towers ,plus a few more .The AS -F2s sytems will hold there own against all of them , and when you consider price ,they can not be beat . I have not heard the new AS F2.2s but judging from the F2s they are worth a serious audition .With decent electronics and proper placement they make a great sounding system .