Should I go with Athena or Bic Venturi!!!

[irvin]

Looking to upgrade my Home Theater. Which set up is better.

BIC Fronts: DV64
Center: DV62CLR
Surrounds: DV62BSI

Athena: Fronts: AS-F2
Center: AS-C1
Surrounds: AS-B2

 

[MacManNM]

The BIC if you spring for the extra $50 and get the crossover mods.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Flip a coin. You really can't go wrong. I think the BIC's have a nicer cabinet and are better built, but I've never heard a negative comment about the sound of Athena's Audition line. You've narrowed it down nicely.

 

[supervij]

I have the Athena setup that you're contemplating. Music and movies sound awesome. I don't know anything about the Bics, but you won't be disappointed with the Athenas.

Good luck with the decision!

cheers,
supervij

 

[Shakatak]

Hello

I have the exact BIC set up that you are thinking about.Great performance for the money.
I have had Ed at EFE do some crossover work and I must say it was money well spent.Fuller, richer deeper sound with a larger sound stage.
IMO hard to beat BIC's for the money.I have suprised many people with the performance of these BIC speakers.

 

[irvin]

how about going with 3 DV62clrs as fronts. How would that sound.

 

[jaxvon]

Three DV62CLR speakers would also sound good. I plan on getting all of mine modded as soon as I get the cash...

 

[irvin]

whats the reason for getting the mods done. How are your Bic's sounding right now?

 

[rgriffin25]

Buy the Athena's if you like a lot of bass. There is a pretty big difference between the BICs and the Athena AS-F2 in the bass dept. If bass is not an issue then you should be very happy with the BICs. They are hard to beat for the price.

 

[jaxvon]

whats the reason for getting the mods done. How are your Bic's sounding right now?

They're a tad bright, and the crossover mod is designed to fix that.

 

[irvin]

I think I will go with the Bic Venturi line with 3 DV62CLRS for the fronts and DV62SI for the surrounds. I think this will be a good set up. I will mainly use for movies so I may not need the crossovers modified but who knows I will have to listen to them first before I make any decisions.

 

[ducker]

Have you actually listened to both setups? At least the the front pair?? It sounds as if there is a good bit of difference between the BIC fronts and the Athena.

I would personally want to hear them both myself before pulling the trigger on a purchase.

 

[Brakner]

Looking to upgrade my Home Theater. Which set up is better.

BIC Fronts: DV64
Center: DV62CLR
Surrounds: DV62BSI

Athena: Fronts: AS-F2
Center: AS-C1
Surrounds: AS-B2

I have tried the Athena setup you have listed and thought the sound was uneven and the front L-R of my theater to boomy. The MCACC on my 1015TX would auto adjust the sound on the L-R to match the center which was defeating the purpose of having full range floor standing speakers.

I switched out the surrounds for AS-R1’s and the fronts and rears for AS – B1’s, this matched all drivers and made the sound more real and even for movies.

 

[cbc]

@Irvin-

I too just ordered two of the BIC "centers" to use in my 2.1 system.
Looking forward to hearing them. Also before you contemplate having the crossovers modded, read what this guy had to say about it

http://www.slottweak.com/bic/bic.htm

It sounds like the key thing is to get some time on the BICS playing program material to break them in before doing any serious listening. They seem to sound too bright right out of the box, but come around after some time being used.
I just sold my Athena B2s/C1 center on ebay so I could get these BICs. The Athena's were pretty good, but after comparing them to the Infinity Primus 150s, which had a much better midrange & more natrual treble response for vocals, I wasn't all that enamoured with them any more.
I'll report back after I get the BICS & have run them for a bit

cheers

 

[malvado78]

@Irvin-

I too just ordered two of the BIC "centers" to use in my 2.1 system.
Looking forward to hearing them. Also before you contemplate having the crossovers modded, read what this guy had to say about it

http://www.slottweak.com/bic/bic.htm

It sounds like the key thing is to get some time on the BICS playing program material to break them in before doing any serious listening. They seem to sound too bright right out of the box, but come around after some time being used.
I just sold my Athena B2s/C1 center on ebay so I could get these BICs. The Athena's were pretty good, but after comparing them to the Infinity Primus 150s, which had a much better midrange & more natrual treble response for vocals, I wasn't all that enamoured with them any more.
I'll report back after I get the BICS & have run them for a bit

cheers

See the following article about your speaker break in comment.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13377

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Buy the Athena's if you like a lot of bass. There is a pretty big difference between the BICs and the Athena AS-F2 in the bass dept. If bass is not an issue then you should be very happy with the BICs. They are hard to beat for the price.

The BIC Venturi DV64 and DV84 towers are sealed enclosures, utilizing passive radiators. They won't have the deeper bass the Athena towers have because of their design. These sealed towers sound great with music. As far as the center and bookshelves, I'd lean towards the Venturi's in the bass department. The first thing new owners of the DV62si and DV62CLRS mention is the unbelievable amount of bass these speakers have.

 

[irvin]

So Buckeyefan what you are saying is that I will get get better or lower bass with 3 DV62CLR-S rather than the DV64 or DV84. The DV63CLR-S are truely some awesome speakers. Can't wait to get them.

 

[jaxvon]

So Buckeyefan what you are saying is that I will get get better or lower bass with 3 DV62CLR-S rather than the DV64 or DV84. The DV63CLR-S are truely some awesome speakers. Can't wait to get them.

I don't know if they output more bass than the towers (MacManNM has both I believe, and should be able to tell you), but I have the DV62si bookshelves and a DV62CLR. When I had them at home in my basement, I could get them cranked to the level where I could feel the bass vibrate the couch a little bit. This is in a small, but open basement and I was about, oh, 12 feet from the speakers. That's powerful bass for bookshelves. Don't expect them to have bass like a 15" sub. They won't. But for the size of the speaker, it's amazing the kind of bass they can crank out.

 

[MacManNM]

I think the DV84's have a nice tight bass. They don't seem to go down quite as low as the DV62clr's. The clr's have a nice sound, and really sound great with the Frias mod. Out of the box the clr's are a bit muddy in the midrange, I didn't really notice it until I used them as my mains, listening to music. So if you are thinking about using them as mains, get the mods. The DV84's are a good music speaker, coupled with a decent sub you will be very happy. I think that combo is a little better for music than the clr's. Either way I think you will be happy. I listened to the Athena's last year and thought the BIC's sounded better, even stock, for what it's worth.