Warning: Athena Subwoofers

[natejax]

I have a 6.1 setup with all Athena speakers, including their 12 inch subwoofer, the AS-P6000. A couple weeks ago, the sub lost about 90% of power. At first, I thought it was completely dead, but then i found that by turning sub volume up to 10 and increasing the sub gain on the receiver all the way, I got modest bass.... This sub does not go down very far past 30hz, but it does produce clear, powerful bass even at the lowest volumes...

First I contacted Athena. They referred me to a service center in FL (Simply Speakers of Pinellas Park)... When I called simply speakers, they informed me that if it was an Amp problem, i shouldnt send it there. i called back athena and after a little bit more aggravation, it was agreed that they could in fact repair the sub if it was an amp problem... so i boxed it up and sent it in...

I got a call back a few days ago, stating that the sub tested fine. there was ntohing wrong with it (they said), and that i should check my RCA cable and receiver. They shipped the sub back to me at my expense. I tested another sub on my RCA and receiver and it was fine. I called back Simply SPeaker and showed them a thread on AVSFORUMS where other owners had reported the same problem.. they dismissed it as "intermittent" and not something they could fix and claimed it should work properly when i received it.

When I got the sub back, hauled it downstairs, and opened it, i noticed it had been packed up upside down.. it is a downfiring sub and the woofer was left completely exposed except for a few styrafoam peanuts (it was supposed to be covered with cardboard that fit into the styrafoam box framing...

in any case, i hooked the sub work and it was a dud.... i swapped the RCA - still a dud.. changed the power source - still a dud... i brought it over to a friends and swapped it out with his subwoofer and the bass fell silent... so obviously its not my wiring, receiver, power source, or electromagnetic interference, or any paranormal activity that could be particular to my home...

I recently found out that Athena (and Energy speakers) was acquired by Klipsch, and apparently their service department is being reorganized... I have seen complaints on AVS of people who can't even get a response from Athena on a warranty issue, so i guess I am doing better than most...

in any case, i fired off an email and will follow up with a call on monday to Athena so the ball will be back in their court.

My advice to anyone considering a budget subwoofer:

Avoid Athena - look at the Bic H-100 or the Daytons (both of which have reputedly excellent service)

Advice to anyone buying an HTIB: don't buy an HTIB, but if you must, do not buy one from Athena because it will have a powered subwoofer and if the amp in the sub dies (warranty or not), you might have a heap of scrap metal on your hands...

i will certainly update this thread if Athena makes good on their warranty..

 

[supervij]

natejax, I'm dismayed to hear about this! I've had my P400 for a couple of years now, and it hasn't failed on me yet. (Not that I expect it to.) Please keep us updated, since this info will be very helpful to me in case something does go wrong with mine.

Best of luck!

cheers,
supervij

 

[billy p]

Wow

I never had a problem with their customer service. Then again my concerns were questions only. I think this was the link the OP was talking about at avs http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=715440

 

[natejax]

unfortunately, it happens in business all the time. Klipsch may have bought API because they wanted to maintain Athena for what it was and gain the profits. Unfortunately, the typical business approach would be for Klipsch to cut and trim both workforce and production costs - resulting in a decrease in quality and service . Then they would leech the revenue until the Athena brand dies out.

In any case, I will certainly keep everyone posted.

 

[Haoleb]

Intermittent problems are the worst for anyone involved. I had an ittermittent problem with a NAD integrated i had and when i sent it back to the dealer to be serviced they called saying the service center couldnt find anything wrong. I assured him there was something wrong with it or else i wouldnt have paid 70 bucks to send the thing back, They send it back to the service guy again and supposubly the problem was a volume control. Whatever the case once i got it back it didnt have the problem anymore.

As a tech, intermittent problems are bad because if you cannot replicate the problem even though you know it exists you cant fix anything. Of course with your specific problem I would expect them to replace the amplifier section completely but I spose theyre just not that great of a company.

 

[colin.p]

I've had my 6000 for over a year and so far so good. I got the extended warranty, good for 9 years, when I bought it at Future Shop. I hope it quits, so I can trade it in on the Velodyne DPS 12
The extended warranty is good in some cases, as I had to replace a microwave oven a couple of months ago, and got back almost the full purchase price when it quit after 4 years.

 

[Sheep]

The P400 is a much better subwoofer then the P4000. Both those subs are pretty rought. Very light, boomy, I dislike them.

As far as API customer service, dunno. Havent had anything go wrong with my stuff.

SheepStar