Where to go to listen?

[MIKED33]

I keep reading about BIC, Athena and other speaker names I've never heard of -- I want a 5.1 system and don't want to spend much more than $400-$500.

The descriptions of these speakers sound good, but where could I go listen to these? Would a Tweeter or mom & pop HT store carry something like this? Tweeter just seems overpriced.

Any advice on a solid 5.1 set-up would be greatly appreciated. Room is only 13x14 and using it for HT 90% of the time. I really want a good center speaker b/c poor dialogue drives me nuts!

Thanks!

btw, i have a onkyo sr504 receiver and samsung 5053 plasma...just no speakers

 

[Sheep]

Athena is a HUGE brand. Found in Best Buy(US), Circuit City (US) Futureshop (Canada) and a slew of other stores.

BIC, I don't know.

SheepStar

 

[Takeereasy]

Just contact the parent company for each product and ask for local dealers. Bic: http://www.bicamerica.com

Athena: http://athenaspeakers.com/

Athena's parent company is API. API owns some very nice brands IMO, including Energy and Mirage. The technology in energy seems to trickle down into Athena but at a much lower cost. Not saying that they are the same, but there are similarities. I do think Athenas new models of floor standers are a big step down from the older versions.