Which speakers after AS-B1?

[gevorg]

Hi all,

My first speakers, Athena AS-B1, served me well for almost a year, and now I'm ready for an upgrade.

Here is my current system:

Benchmark DAC1 > Teac A-L700P Class-D Amp > Athena AS-B1 Speakers

What speakers would you reccomend after this? I'm looking for bookshelf speakers; small room; very good clarity & imaging; lows/bass is not important; and well matched for digital amplification. Oh yeah, price, under $1000. I don't mind used, as long as its easy to find.

Thanks for any suggestions!!

P.S. Before you ask, I'm mainly bought the DAC1 to be used for Sennheiser HD-650 headphones, not Athenas

 

[j_garcia]

Based on the specs of that amp, I wouldn't necessarily be looking to pair it up with $1K speakers. The only info I found said 30W @ 6Ohms rated at 1kHz, which isn't exactly a ton of power. I'd look for something efficient that was either 6 or 8 Ohms.

 

[gevorg]

Actually, its gives ~10-15watts @ 8 Ohms, and trust me, its more than enough for AS-B1s (Sensitivity: 90dB).
Its a digital amp, similar to Sonic T-amp, both of which compares to amps costing many times more.

 

[Sheep]

What is the purpose of this upgrade? What exactly is wrong with the B1's?


SheepStar

 

[gevorg]

There is nothing wrong with them of course, I'm just looking for better speakers

 

[j_garcia]

Many times more than the $30 price tag (Sonic T) isn't really saying a whole lot...

Don't fool yourself, digital or not, a 15w amp isn't going to handle serious speakers; none that I was thinking of recommending anyway. The AS-B1s aren't difficult to drive. No offense, but I've owned a pair, and just because the amp handles them fine does not mean it will work for a current hungry, decent pair of $1K speakers.

I'm not saying you shouldn't get better speakers, but you might do just as well to get some $500 speakers and a $500 integrated amp, or something along those lines, or less expensive speakers.

 

[gevorg]

No offense taken atl all.

As long as the speakers have high efficiency (90dB+), TEAC/Sonic amp will have more than enough power to drive them, regardless of their price

If the speakers are power hungry, there is always Panasonic digital receivers, which have 100 watts per channel. Unlike in analog/tube amplification systems, digital amplification is so cheap that most of the funds should go in components that affect the sound the most: speakers/source.

In my system and for my tastes, TEAC is better than Denon AVR-2805, and even Rotel RB-1050 amp.

 

[j_garcia]

Well, if you were to step up to something like the XR-55, that might be a little different. Digital amps are different, but they also do not have the same ability as a tube amp to put out considerably more than they are rated for. Yes, digital amps are efficient, but they are not magic.

Take a look at www.paradigm.ca the Studio 20s. There's a pair of Studio 40s on audiogon listed for $700 also. I'll come up with some others, because most that I'd suggest off the top of my head are either 4 ohm or lower sensitivity.

 

[jcPanny]

Upgrade from Athena

I also started with the Athena bookshelves and I am upgrading to the Axiom M22ti's. I think they should be a good performance (and price) setup up from the Athenas.

For 1K consider these boodshelf speakers with a small sub from SVS or HSU. Or you could go for a pair of floorstanders like the Axiom M60's. With your current Athena sutup, your are missing out on the 30-60 Hz range.

 

[patnshan]

I agree that with that small wattage, a high efficiency speaker is in order. I would take a look at Klipsch in your price range.

Pat

 

[NetGeek]

I just upgraded my Athena's too

I really liked their sound so I stayed with API and just purchased some Energy Connnoisseur's. The Athena F-2's were too big and the B-2 was too small, the F-1's worked out very nice but I needed to go to with a large Bookshelf for WAF and lack of room for floorstanders.

For the Front's I settled on three C-C3; this is their "Flagship" Center Channel & LCR speaker that was designed for horizonal or vertical placement; it is also a 3-way speaker and quite a bit larger than the Athena AS C-1, and I think it will fill the gap between the B-2's & F-1 nicely. I was going to go with 5 of them but settled on two C-3's for the surrounds, will see how that sounds and still might exchange them for another pair of C-C3's. The C-C3's have 2 - 6.5" drivers and the C-3's have a single 6.5" driver so they should be closely matched. I will also probably add the C-R3 for the rear channel down the line for a 6.1 configuration; the 7.1 Athena setup I had using the R-1's was just too much for my room.

I got these on clearence and bought them for half the price they were retailing for but did not get to do a proper audition; I heard the Connoisseurs once and liked their sound very much but they were cost prohibitive at the time.

A pair of the C-C3's arrived today and the rest should arrive tomorow; will let you know how it sounds. Does anyone have any experience with the C-C3?