Athena Audiotion Series 2 brochure

[ducker]

perhaps that's a...
we know we had a kickass product at an incredibly low price point for the sound quality. We can skimp a little on this one aspect and hardly effect the sound quality at all and increase the profit by quite a bit...!!

I guess the final verdict is once we hear them (broken in) up against an original F2.

 

[Takeereasy]

Futureshop ny my house is clearing out the b1's for $99 cdn. That is a great buy.

 

[Ohmage]

That doesn't sound positive

Agreed. Let's say that the two 8 inchers and tweeter weigh 15 lbs combined (this is conservative), that would leave the ASF2 cabinet at 36 lbs (51 lbs minus 15 lbs). If the drivers are nearly identical, then the new ASF2.2 cabinet weighs in at 29 lbs; that is a 19.4% decrease in cabinet weight! Very disconcerting. What kind of new wood would be this much lighter, unless there is actually less wood? And then the ASF1 goes from a hefty 41 lbs to a lean 29 lbs in the ASF1.2 incarnation?! That is 29.2% lighter! Wow!

Buckeyefan 1 mentioned "they could have gone from 1" MDF to 3/4" or 1/2" MDF"; I think the 19.4% to 29.2% decrease in weight IS akin to reducing the thickness of the MDF from 1 inch to 3/4 inch or more. Shame.

It is sad to say that the ASF2.2 may not be the worldbeater it was anymore. Athena groomed a waterboy in the ASF2, and built a champion; those championship gloves have turned into glass slippers. It is a good thing I was able to buy my dad a brand new pair of ASF2's for early Father's Day a couple of weeks ago.

You may only hear slight sonic differences with less than average equipment, but any half decent equipment should reveal any obvious sonic deficiencies. Not good. We'll have to wait and see.

Ohmage.

 

[Ohmage]

Originally Posted by Joe Fraser - Athena Technologies
The wood supplier changed, and the cabinets were a bit lighter than before. According to the engineers it didn’t change the sound hardly at all. They are still MDF, and are braced just as before.

But what it did was allow us to retail them for the same price as we did when we launched Audition in 2002.

It’ll be quite hard to locate AS-F2’s, but that’s your decision.

Best Regards,

Joe Fraser
Brand Manager
athena TECHNOLOGIES
A Division of Audio Products International Corp.
www.athenaspeakers.com

I dug up this old thread just to make a point. I am still waiting for the Audition Series 2 to be released from Futureshop in Canada, so that I could go in for an audition, still no luck.

Regarding the quote, "...allow us to retail them for the same price...." Sounds like a good deal, no? Not at all. We're paying the same price for a lesser product, therefore we are effectively paying more for this new series than the original AS-F1's/AS-F2's, and for a product that will most likely be sonically poorer due to the changes.

Ohmage.

 

[stonep]

I dug up this old thread just to make a point. I am still waiting for the Audition Series 2 to be released from Futureshop in Canada, so that I could go in for an audition, still no luck.

Regarding the quote, "...allow us to retail them for the same price...." Sounds like a good deal, no? Not at all. We're paying the same price for a lesser product, therefore we are effectively paying more for this new series than the original AS-F1's/AS-F2's, and for a product that will most likely be sonically poorer due to the changes.

Ohmage.

It appears that some who once enjoyed Athena F2's, will have to move on to other speakers. Its not a good sign here, and it is clear they are saving money to increase profits and offer a lesser product. While the NEW F2.2 might still be a good speaker, it won't be like the original. While I still feel energy/athena are a good company I can't continue to support a company who is selling a product for the same price with not the same build quality, but They where honest to a certain degree in that email.

Time to find the new low range diamond in the ruff.

 

[JJMP50]

It appears that some who once enjoyed Athena F2's, will have to move on to other speakers. Its not a good sign here, and it is clear they are saving money to increase profits and offer a lesser product. While the NEW F2.2 might still be a good speaker, it won't be like the original. While I still feel energy/athena are a good company I can't continue to support a company who is selling a product for the same price with not the same build quality, but They where honest to a certain degree in that email.

Time to find the new low range diamond in the ruff.

Although the weight loss concerns me, I would wait for final judgement. Athena (or API) has been an excellent speaker mfg co for some time and I think they deserve at least an audition before condeming the new audition line.

 

[Takeereasy]

I agree with bird. For all anyone knows they could have found a way to reinvent the wheel. So far athena has made outstanding bookshelfs and towers for the money. This is only their second line of these speakers, let's reserve final judgement untill they have been given the once over by owners of the previous model. I do have to confess to a degree of doubt myself with regards to the weight reduction, but who knows.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

Holy cow! Those subwoofers take up the whole living room! Definately low WAF!

 

[karsfri]

This is the first time I write somthing on this site but I've been reading it for couple of months.

I've had my eyes on the Athena F2 since February, and finally I could afford them today (I am a student so I work only during the summer). Like most of you I have concerns about the "weightloss" so I found a pair of the old ones on ebay I purchaised. But I always ment to buy at least for of them but couldn't find any more on ebay so I bought a pair of the F2.2 from audioadvisor l along with the center channel (AS C1). So it looks like I might be the first one to compare these two models (uncommited that is). I live in Iceland so they will not arrive until the 22. of July but I'll be sure to write a review as soon as the new models are propperly broken in. Ohh and by the way, the amp I'm using is the sony str da5000es.

 

[Audiosouse]

Weight <> Sound Quality

Last time I checked weight doesn't determine sound quality. With proper bracing, which they've incorporated, a few missing pounds is a non issue. Talk about making a mountain out of a mole hill! If anything, it makes our lives easier.

Cost savings is definately a factor, lighter shipping weight means lower shipping costs. How can you possibly knock a company for wanting to increase profit margin that offers speakers of this quality...at this price point! For all you non business types, profit allows API to reinvest in R&D so we get even better products for lower prices in the future. Damn good deal if you ask me.

Since all API companies share technology (Athena, Energy, Mirage and Spherex), the drivers are obviously new as updates have occured at Energy as well. I personally think the .2 models are better looking. All this and price increase!

I dare anyone to show me a speaker that outperforms Athena at anywhere near their price point. I double dare you to find a manufacturer that designs AND manufactures their products in Canada and still prices them like Athena. Even Axiom outsources to China (I would rather support my local ecomony).

If I waited until series 1 went on sale, this is how much a 5.1 system would have cost me in CDN $:
Athena AS-F2: $449
Athena AS-C1: $99
Athena AS-R1 Dipole Surround: $79.97 ea. or $159.94/pair
Athena AS-P300 subwoofer: $199.97
Total: 907.91!

That's regoddamndiculous! If I sound pissed that's because I am! My Paradigm Monitor 7v3's alone were as much as this whole system! I've convinced myself they sound 2 1/2 times better and nobody will tell me any different!