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need advice on some budget speakers? - Page 3

post #31 of 93
11/9/03 at 2:33pm
Thread Starter 
No online discounts for employees, company rule, gonna go check out the Athena line at Best Buy now, hopefully i can get a discount. Hopefully the 25 watt amp will be powerful enough, its for my bedroom, which is probably 18x15x8??? so yeah, brb
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post #32 of 93
11/9/03 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
just checked online, the as-b2 and others of the athena line are not carried in stores
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post #33 of 93
11/9/03 at 4:30pm
You can ge them at audioadvisor.com though
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post #34 of 93
11/9/03 at 5:08pm
Quote:
Originally posted by pirate
just checked online, the as-b2 and others of the athena line are not carried in stores
REALLY?
I see these.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp
id=cat03043&type=category
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post #35 of 93
11/9/03 at 5:10pm
Quote:
Originally posted by eyeteeth
REALLY?
I see these.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp
id=cat03043&type=category
OOPS, thats better.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&type=category
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post #36 of 93
11/9/03 at 5:14pm
The Athena's are not carried in-store?

They are avilable at my local Best Buy store. I would think that's the same for every Best Buy store.
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post #37 of 93
11/9/03 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
i meant actually in the store, most of those are online availability only

what i meant was that best buy did not carry the as-b2, only the as-b1, which i decided to find out about

so... i got the athena as-b1 for far below the $170 we sell them for, get ready for it -- $85.05 pretax

good value i think, too bad we didnt carry the acoustic energy aegis, psb, or as-b2, cause they'd be half off as well most likely......

thanks for your help guys
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post #38 of 93
11/9/03 at 5:58pm
WHOO HOO!
CONGRATS.
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post #39 of 93
11/9/03 at 6:46pm
Does the Athena BS1 use a 5 or 6 inch woofer?

If it uses a 5 woofer, it may not integrate with a sub later on.

I had the same problem with NHT SB1, which uses a 5 inch woofer. There was a gap in the mid bass region.

Later I sold the SB1, and bought a pair of NHT 1.5's, with 6 inch woofers. The integration was much better (though still not perfect). I am going for towers next.
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post #40 of 93
11/9/03 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
ummmmm let me check....

5 1/2" polypropylene woofer


would you say a psb alpha b would be a better deal for $150 than the athenas for $85? disregarding price, are they better sounding?
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post #41 of 93
11/9/03 at 7:15pm
I don't that much about PSB.

But I have read extensively about satellite/sub systems when I was making purchase decisions myself.

The online consensus is that a satellite incorporating a 6 inch woofer will in general integrate better with a subwoofer than a satellite with a 5 inch woofer will.

And in general, a tower will integrate better still with a subwoofer.

No matter how large a bookshelf sized satellite is, there will always be an audible gap in the midbass region, whether used by itself or used in conjunction with a subwoofer.

The sub crossover is usually set between 100 and 80Hz. Anything higher will make the bass localizable.

That's why it's a good idea to start out with small towers.
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post #42 of 93
11/10/03 at 12:19am
It's always tricky to integrate satellites, whether bookshelf speakers or floorstanding ones, with a powered sub. However, I think the AS-B1 will go sufficiently low enough that a smooth transition from the satellites to the sub will be OK.

pirate was asking for advice on speakers less than $200.00/pair. The only floorstanding speakers that will match any of the previously mentioned bookshelf speakers in sound quality was the Mirage floorstanding model (forget the model number), which AudioAdvisor was clearing out at $250.00/pair w/ no shipping charges. I think given pirate's budget and the employee discount he received, he scored BIG TIME!! Congrats!! Keep us updated on how the Athena's work out.

I have often found NHT bookshelf speakers, especially the previous generation, hard to integrate with a sub. I used to own the SuperOne, which was rated down to 62 Hz with a 6 1/2 inch Acoustic Research midrange/woofer, and its low frequency output falls off way above that. The 1.5, given its larger cabinet volume, should do better. But as I recall, they were only rated down to 55 Hz. The current SB2 and SB3 is much Much better in this department, but at a lot more money.
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post #43 of 93
11/10/03 at 12:28am
Well, $200 per pair is a tough call.

I am sure the upgrade bug will hit Pirate soon. I really think the Athena floor stander is a great deal. REALLY liked it when I heard it. But alas, no room in my small apartment.
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post #44 of 93
11/10/03 at 12:32am
The SB1 has a really shrill voice to it, I'd say just stay away from NHT speakers, their floorstanders are good, but so directional it's not even funny.
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post #45 of 93
11/10/03 at 12:34am
Every bookshelf's response curve falls off somewhere above its stated minimum frequency.

That's why all satellite/sub combos have this mid bass gap.

NHT superzeroes were notorious with this problem, because of its 4 inch woofer. Though it is a really good budget speaker if you can live without the low end.

NHT superones has 5 inch woofers.

NHT 1.5's has 6 inch woofers, and a much larger cabinet. I think the bass rolls off around 70 Hz or so. I set my sub crossover at 90Hz.

NHT SB3 is basically an updated NHT 1.5. Though it is rated to go lower. But I have not heard of it.

NHT 1.5 was made in the days before NHT was bought by Recoton, and everything was made in the U.S.

After Recoton's acquisition, the productio moved to China.
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