Athena AS-B2 or Energy C-3 or Axiom M22

[sip]

Which speaker would you recommend as the only stereo speakers? I can buy Athena for CD$150, Energy for $450 and Axion for $560. My receiver is a JVC 6240

[bargainseeker]

Which speaker would you recommend as the only stereo speakers? I can buy Athena for CD$150, Energy for $450 and Axion for $560. My receiver is a JVC 6240

All are good speakers for the money. I recommend the following: Go to the Athena and Energy websites to locate dealers in your area. Then listen to the Athena AS-B2 and Energy C3 speakers in person and pick a winner between these two. After that, compare that winner to the Axiom M22i during Axiom's 30 day trial period. Send or take back the loser.

One comment on your receiver. I could find no record of a JVC 6240. Did you mean the JVC RX-6042? If so, then it is a lower end JVC receiver. My personal experience with lower end JVC receivers is that they can be grainy and harsh sounding, particularly when driving revealing speakers. The Energy C series and the Axioms are very revealing speakers. I don't think you would be happy with the sound you would hear with this combination. Do you have any plans to upgrade your receiver?

[RGA]

I have not heard the Axioms or the specific Athena - but Athena punches well above its weight. I think all are likely going to have a little excessive treble from what I have read - and actually heard from Energy and Athena.

Energy Mirage and Athena are all under one umbrella(owned by the same company).

I would listen a lot to them - I might actually lean to the Athena give the price difference

[sip]

Bargainseeker you are right. My receiver is JVC 6042. I am thinking about exchanging it with Yamaha HTRS5730S and go with Athena AS-B2. Would I hear a noticable difference upgrading YJVC 6042 to Yamaha HTRS5730S, the Yamaha's entry level receiver?

[bargainseeker]

Bargainseeker you are right. My receiver is JVC 6042. I am thinking about exchanging it with Yamaha HTRS5730S and go with Athena AS-B2. Would I hear a noticable difference upgrading YJVC 6042 to Yamaha HTRS5730S, the Yamaha's entry level receiver?

I am nearly certain you will. I expect that you will find, as I did, that the sound will be clearer, more full and more natural when you upgrade from a JVC to a Yamaha or an Onkyo. However, I am not you and you may not hear what I heard. I do think it would be a good step to go with the Athena AS-B2 purchase.

If you are interested, J&R has a close out on one of Yamaha's last year's models here. It is comparable to this year's HTR-5750. J&R is an authorized Yamaha dealer.

[sip]

Thank you for your replies. My only concern with Yamaha HTRS 5730S is its out put is rated at 6 ohms instead of 8 ohms. i.e. 100 watts per chanel at 6 ohms. So the power at 8 ohms will be lower than 100 watts. Also the THD is higher - i.e. 0.7. Are these valid concerns ? Thanks.

[matt39]

Hi sip,

I think the Yamaha will be fine. I'd second the Athena recommendation. I didn't care for the C3s that much, thought there was too much treble but if you like a lot of treble they may be worth a look. I like the suggestion to audition the Axiom's against the others but the Athena seems very good and very cost effective. Hope this helps a little and good luck.

[kexodusc]

Sip, I replied already about to your thread about changing receivers...it is possible the Yamaha will sound a bit better, but I doubt it'll change much in all honesty.
As for speakers, you're really looking at a wide range here, I suggest you decide on your budget first.

I own the M3Ti's from Axiom and recently borrowed the v.3 Paradigm Mini Monitor to replace speakers in my home theater I had sold. The M3Ti's are very close in performance to the Mini's. Earlier trials with the C-3's gave me the same results (that is, I preferred the Mini Monitors just a bit). I think for under $300 these would be a better value for you than the M22's. But without a subwoofer you might want a bit more bass, and the C-3's certainly have that over the M3Ti's.

The Athena's in my opinion are the absolute worst of the group you've chosen, but that being said, are a great value at $150. The C-3's cost 3 times as much but are not 3 times better!!!

For your purposes, I'd be tempted to buy the best speakers I could afford, then later, look at upgrading your receiver (hopefully to something with pre-outs so you can add external amps later if desired). If you're not into home theater and are looking at a music only system, I'd recommend buying a used Harman Kardon, NAD, or Rotel integrated amplifier (receiver without the am/fm tuner) instead of the typical receiver. A 20 year old NAD integrated like the legendary 3020 or 3140 can be had for under $200 cdn on ebay or audiogon, and that will vastly outperform your JVC receiver, and probably outlast it too!
Buying used is a great way to build up a stereo system because, for example, should you outgrow that NAD you buy on ebay you can sell it for most of what you paid for it and keep going. When buying new, you're going to lose some money to depreciation.
Good luck, and welcome to the Forums!!!

[bargainseeker]

I am nearly certain you will. I expect that you will find, as I did, that the sound will be clearer, more full and more natural when you upgrade from a JVC to a Yamaha or an Onkyo. However, I am not you and you may not hear what I heard. I do think it would be a good step to go with the Athena AS-B2 purchase.

If you are interested, J&R has a close out on one of Yamaha's last year's models here. It is comparable to this year's HTR-5750. J&R is an authorized Yamaha dealer.

When I gave you the previous advice last night, I had not looked up the specifications of the Yamaha HTR-5730. Now that I have done so, I feel that my advice to you was overstated. While I expect that you would hear some difference between the JVC RX-6042 and the Yamaha HTR-5730, I don't think the difference would be dramatic since the HTR-5730 is very much an entry level receiver.

If it is too late to return the JVC receiver, then I recommend that you keep it for now. If it is not too late to return it, then I would recommend one of the receivers that I posted in response to your query in the Home Theater section.

I stand by my statement that it would be unwise to mate the JVC RX-6042 receiver with excellent speakers, especially ones with such revealing tweeters as those in the Energy C series and Axiom speakers. The amplifier sections and power supplies in low end JVC receivers are just not very good. JVC reliability is another issue, however. We have a JVC receiver in our bedroom that has been totally reliable.

[bargainseeker]

For other speaker options in the same price range as the Athena AS-B2, see this post.

[BMWK75]

I just bought Athena ASB1's for $200 cdn where the hey are you getting the
ASB2's for only $150 please let me know I am a cheap Bstard

Incidentally I have a Yammy HTR5650 amp and it is an excellent choice and will be used
to drive said speakers
Thanks
BMWk75

[thereal_1_]

After almost 2 weeks auditioning the Axiom M22Ti, I'm going to return them as I am a bit disappointed with the sound. I will get the Paradigm Monitor 5 v4 for almost the same money. It costs about $50 to ship them by ground via Purolator back to Axiom.