Pardigm vs Athena

[RGA]

Spacedeckman

I heard Athena for about 8 minutes and it annoyed me but I did state that it was a bad room with bad equipment. In fact, it was my first BB visit in Reno...there are no BB's or CC's in Canada. Best Buy did buy Future Shop and the store here now look exactly the same as Best Buy. The Athena's were in raised a bit and he system was going in an open space. So it's very possible in a better environment they'd be fine...but then the company should ensure they're in a better environment.

Polk ran into financial difficulty because they were failing in the high end...so they were forced into selling out and going to Future Shop. Polk wasn't good enough as high end speakers but they're also too good for Future Shop. And those sound pretty bad in Future Shop. So I'm willing to keep an open mind on Athena.

If it were me and it was truly between these two speakers I would gamble on the Athena's simply because I could not live with the other. I still say going used can offer a lot here. My Wharfedale's were 2k new and now I would probably be lucky to get $400.00 for them - $300.00US. They are ten years old...but man.

And there are lots of very good oldr speakers going for low money.

[spacedeckman]

Polk and Boston put themselves in the position they are in now. They let the Canadians take over the "two channel" market in the US, preferring the growth in HT. They weren't interested in the stodgy old two channel business anymore. They didn't figure that if center channels also came over the border from the GWN, their candied butts would be handed to them. And that's what happened.

Apparently Polk has a better reputation north of the border. It hasn't had one stateside for years, and was kind of seen as a "Hot in the 80's" brand. Going mass market was their only choice for survival. Boston has survived better on the reputation front, but not by a large margin. I've never thought of them (okay, since 1980 or so) as a "too good for there" brand.

There is a bunch of good used stuff out there. The reason my system is as nice is it is comes in large part from used stuff. I like to refer to the stuff I have as cast-offs from the less smart. My speakers were used, my amp was used, my pre-amp was used, and my former phono stage was used. My prior turntable was used, as was my prior pre-amp. Yep, I speak used real well.

Okay, I lied, the Polk story isn't very interesting. Just dumb business practice.

Listen on...

[steltz02]

My dealer wont let my "use" the titans and take them back they claim that they are too small to cover that kind of stuff.
I am going to buy the athenas as soon as I get the money and see ho wthey sound in my room, hopefully it will bring my sytem together.

[Evan]

I purchased a Yamaha RXv490 & Titans about 8 years ago. I have since upgraded to the Marantz SR5300 and added a PS1200 sub.
I have never had a problem running Titans with the Yamaha. Now with the higher powered receiver and the addition of the sub, they sound even better.
I can say I am very pleased with the way the Titans have performed for the investment I have made.I would love to step up to a much larger higher end speaker but not for awhile($$).

[steltz02]

It looks like your old receiver and my new receiver are about the same.
Is the sound that the titans can put out pretty incredible with the yammy?
Have you heard any other speakers on your yamm that you can recommend?
THAnKS

[Evan]

It looks like your old receiver and my new receiver are about the same.
Is the sound that the titans can put out pretty incredible with the yammy?
Have you heard any other speakers on your yamm that you can recommend?
THAnKS

A friend of mine has a pair of B&W's that sounded great, better than the Titans(more range). The difference is in the size and price, he paid approx. $650 for his and I paid $275 for the Titans. So it's really not a fair comparison, they did sound great though. I can't remember off hand what model they are?

[kexodusc]

It looks like your old receiver and my new receiver are about the same.
Is the sound that the titans can put out pretty incredible with the yammy?
Have you heard any other speakers on your yamm that you can recommend?
THAnKS

My mom and dad are running 4 Titans, a PDR-10 and a CC-170 I use to have about 5 years ago off an RX-V795a Yamaha receiver...the Titans sound fine to me on the Yammie. There's no chest pounding bass, but I haven't heard a bookshelf speaker that accurately delivers that for under $800. Bass is adequate.
My only complaint will probably raise some eyebrows: I don't find there's quite enough treble, I'm not sure what range of frequencies, but it's clear that this set up isn't quite bright enough. This despite the older yammies and Paradigm speakers being known to be relatively brighter than other setups. I attribute this to my listening preferences. I generally enjoy treble relative to most people I know. As a result I adjust the treble control knob some when I visit them. They have a soft wallpaper and carpeted room though, and it's also possible room acoustics are responsible.

I'm really impressed with how solid the Titans perform, even after all this time. I bought a set of Axiom M3Ti's to replace a pair of Titans I had in my dining room...the M3Ti's are pretty decent, but don't sound as good all things equal. A bit better bass, but very lacking in the midrange. I noticed this immediately and was rather disappointed, I gave the Axiom a few months for "break-in" and I haven't noticed a difference. I think Axiom has concentrated more on finish and colors than sound.
To be fair though, some friends of mine swear they get better when you buy larger Axioms.

As for Athena...sold at Best Buy or not, I like them. There's an aweful lot of more expensive speakers out there that don't sound as good. There not the prettiest things, but oh well. I'm told Athena replaced Sound Dynamics...one of my favorite entry level brands a few years back.
Either way you go, you'll enjoy your setup, and both speakers are rather versatile and should serve you well for years to come.
You also shouldn't have a problem selling either used when you're ready to upgrade, as both have substantial followings.
Good luck!

[steltz02]

Thank you for your post kexodusc it made me feel much more confident in my buying decision no matter which way I go.

Because my local dealer wont allow me to bring the titans back if I dont like them, I am going to buy the Athena AS-B1 speakers at best buy. If I dont completely love them, I will take them back and buy the Titans.
Thank you all for all of the input.

Matt

[kexodusc]

Steltz,
I don't necessarily think that's the best approach...I'd hate for you to return the Athena's not liking them enough, and then find out that you also don't like the Titans but are stuck with them.
Where do you live?
Many states (and provinces in Canada) have laws that allow for anywhere from 10-30 days for buyer satisfaction after purchases...I''ve personally been burned at a few jobs by such laws. A bit of research on your part might reveal the same in your area...in which case you could test both speakers and return that which you don't like..
But beware...you could find yourself getting "the bug" in which case, no speaker, no matter how expensive, is quite enough for you. That, my friend, will cost you alot of money

[steltz02]

I am sure that many of the people on this forum are in that boat.

I live in Ruston Louisiana. In between Monroe and Shreveport.
The Best Buy is in Shereveport and the audio store that I found is in Monroe.

The audio store told me that they were too small to allow returns. If a store comes out front and says that they cannot allow returns, I am sure that it is competely legal.

You have a very good point though about buying the Titans and not liking them either, that wouldnt be any good. I will try to find another store in Shreveport which sells Paradigms.

I am thinking that that will be my best bet.

Thanks again

[kexodusc]

I had to offer to pay a "restocking" fee when I turned down a set of Veritas for my Studios. I have a friend who works at my local hi-fi shop though, that might have helped. It was 25 bucks or something silly. I only had the floor demos for a night, there was no restocking but anyway, I understand salespeople don't work for free.
Maybe you should consider bringing a few CD's you are familiar with to test out both speakers...if one doesn't turn you off or hit the right chord for you, in that price range with those 2 models, there's nothing wrong with just accepting the best deal.
Let us know how you make out.