Home > Consumer Reviews > Athena 15345 Point 5 MKII System Home Theater Speaker Package, Silver/Gloss Black

First of all, these are great speakers, with a superlative sound quality, and I highly recommend this purchase now and will do so again at the end of this review. Now that this is out of the way, let me list out a few caveats you need to watch out for first, before I move to the strengths.

But first of all, the guy who left a 'Single' star in another review - don't mind him. Athena, or for that matter, any other manufacturer, WILL NOT honor warranties if the item is purchased from some unauthorized "An e-tailer" like he did. Even though it is extremely rare that you will end up with defective speakers like he did (assuming he did buy it 'Sealed manufacturer retail
box'), you don't want to take any chances just to save 20-30 bucks. Makes all the more sense to buy from Amazon or OneCall, the only two Authorized places that seem to stock these speakers nowadays. (BestBuy may have a few laying round, but be prepared
to pay daylight robbery prices).

First of all, the size. These are not "a bit larger" than the Micra6 like someone said. They are a whole lot bigger. Don't be expecting weenie Home theater satellites, these are proper
bookshelf speakers, only at the smaller end of the size spectrum. I'd say that volumetrically, each of the bookshelfs are 3 to 3 1/2 times the size of each Micra speaker. They are quite heavy for the size and deep too, so I do not quite recommend mounting these on walls, even though it comes with all the mounts and clamps. Cheap sturdy stands are available for like 30 bucks + Shipping from PartsExpress. The boxy shape allows you to place them on any flat surface. However, the Piano lacquer finish looks like an open invitation to scratches, so make sure you have enough rubber padding on all contact surfaces.

Looks and feel. Now, surprising as it is, to me, these look kinda uglier than the pictures would suggest. The color combo of Glossy Piano black on the sides and a dull light silver front baffle, and cheap black plastic rear panel, along with the quirky curves and humps and all those separate speaker grills give it a strangely odd-chic appearance, akin to a Korean-make car, only less hideous. Doubtlessly, they would have been far prettier in all-black, however that option, unfortunately, is not available in the 5.1 configuration.

Like the other reviewers said, they do sound "tinny" straight out of the box, but let me assure you, it's not bad. I'd say the sound he called "tinny" is the AWESOME treble offered by the Athena 1" Teteron tweeter, which even this model seems to share with every bigger Athena speaker (Amazon's description says 0.5" Tweeter, the Athena website says 1"). Of course, once the woofers settle and start thumpin' like they should, the "tinniness" would not be pronounced at all. In fact, I noticed quite a bit of improvement in the bass dept. within the first couple of CDs played.

But the first thing you notice, esp if you are upgrading from something generic, is the incredible Sensitivity of these little things. The satellites are rated at 89dB, while the Center is 91dB, quite an achievement for speakers this small. My old speakers were the Onkyo SKS-HT240 6.1 system, which, even though are pretty good, are not quite sensitive - I was getting the same loudness at 18-20 on the Athenas that took the Onkyos 26-28 to achieve. Could make a big difference in Amp longevity, heat build-up, even electricity bills etc.

I had ordered a pair of Athena Audition Series As-B1.2's too from Amazon and they arrived a week before these did. I am breaking those in too, and I am accomplishing the concurrent breaking in of 7 speakers by interchanging the AS's and the S.5's as Front speakers, and playing them in 'Stereo' thru my AV Receiver (I have even turned off my Subwoofer, and set the Speaker Settings on the receiver to 'Large', to let them work thru their full dynamic range), and I am playing a variety of music, from Genesis to Korn. For the center speaker, I turned up its level pretty high compared to the others, and played a few DVD-Audio Discs and 5.1 Concert DVDs that I have.

Now the most important consideration. Sound. Rest assured, the sound is not "tinny", just high on treble. And the bass response keeps on improving with each passing hour of playing. However, do not be under the illusion that this system can EVER get by without a subwoofer -- YOU WILL NEED ONE. I know it sucks that you need to spend almost the same money as the other 5 speakers to buy a single speaker to handle a measly 60Hz or so out of a 20,000Hz aural spectrum, but them 60 are pretty important Hertzes, so it's a worthwhile investment. I do not feel you need to buy the Athena's expensive ASP series - I can think of a lot of competent subs in the $100-$180 range (Velo VX10, Mirage Nano, Dayton 10" or 12", Yamaha SW215 etc. etc.), and Amazon itself has lots of good options, just makes sure they are from a reputable SPEAKER manufacturer who are honest with Specs. They should be able to handle sound as low as 25Hz and have at least 8" Woofer. (I have a Dayton 10" 100W got from PartsExpress for $115 shipped, which works pretty well mated to the Athenas. If you have a bigger budget and need a bigger thump, I am quite sure you can definitely do better. For the thump I needed, I am very happy with the Dayton.)

Technology has progressed so much that weenie satellites combined with a sub can produce seriously big sound... But this is the first time I'm hearing this kind of bass and sonics coming from speakers this small WITHOUT the aid of a subwoofer. I am VERY IMPRESSED. With the receiver set to output 'Stereo' and the Speakers set to 'large' and driving just two of the S.5's, the sound is awesome... very good deep Hi-Fi sound. Once I added the subwoofer to the mix and made it 2.1 and leaning back on the sofa 12 feet away, I had to tell myself that I was not listening to $600/pr Tower speakers... the Daytons match well, providing just enough lower-end assistance that the little Athenas cannot Reach... but the Athenas shoulder the majority of the sound Duties and are a SMASHING SUCCESS AT THAT.

Once I connected the full Point5 system, and played them back without a subwoofer (5.0), they were quite impressive, the fronts and the Center holding up quite well, even though the lack of a Subwoofer is quite noticeable. Let me reiterate, the strong treble put out by these speakers make a subwoofer even more necessary. Turn the sub on and make it 5.1, and damn, I am in Hog heaven. This system can do pretty well at 5.0 when playing back most music, however, to catch the lower frequencies of DVDs, no way around it -- get a Sub.

Comparing with the AS-B1.2's: The AS's are the most basic Speakers in the Audition Series. They both do sound different and the AS-B1's definitely put out better bass than the smaller S.5's -- minus a subwoofer, the S.5's definitely sound "tinnier" Because of that, and even adding a subwoofer, the AS-B1.2's are noticeably better, but I am in no way suggesting that the S.5's put out inferior sound. The S.5's are great, the AS-B1 is greater, that's all.

LONG-TERM INVESTMENT:-

In conclusion, BUY THESE. BUY 'EM BLIND. ESPECIALLY if these are going to be your first HT speakers. At the price Amazon is offering it, it is the best HT Speaker bargain out there. And in the long term, I can assure you, this will be the best speaker Investment you've ever made in your life. Also, invest $150 or so on a decent subwoofer along with this, and you get a highly COMPETENT 5.1 system for $350, which, unlike lots of inferior speakers that will be forced out into the bedroom or even the back porch once you trade up, this one has all potential to stay on in the Main Home theater/Living room forever. Once you can afford better or want to move into 7.1 surround, put all your upgrade money into a pair of higher end Bookshelf speakers or Floorstanding speakers, and move the front S.5's to rear Surround. These S.5's and even the C.5 to a certain extent, are more than competent enough to stand up as Surround speakers against anything that's out there.

They're that good.

I did a LOT of research when it came time to replace my Bose Accoustimass 6 speakers. Not wanting to make the same mistake again (spending too much money on inferior products), I eventually settled on these Athena speakers after weeks of research. I am so glad I did. I matched these up to a Vellodyne CHT10 sub. But, before hooking up the sub, I tested out the Athena's on their own and was blown away over how much better these sounded than the Bose with its feeble bass module. Far better audio range, very tight, great sound stage. Adding in the sub was the icing on the cake. In addition to the great price, these speakers come with a really nice integrated wall mounting system, good wiring system and really sharp looks. As a bonus, Athena uses the same tweeter design on their high-end speakers, so it will be easy to blend these with upgraded Athenas down the road. IMHO, you would have to spend a LOT more money to beat these speakers.

I have owned these speakers for a little over a year now. The sound these speakers produce is surprisngly warm and lifelike from what is a relatively small speaker. This is no doubt to the fantastic build quality of these speakers. From the piano lacquer case to the stylish silver front these are beautiful speakers in my opinion. They are very heavy for their size and extremely sturdy. One of the binding posts broke on mine (caused by me, not a design flaw), and Athena technologies shipped me out a complete new binding post and hardware, no questions asked. Excellent customer service. You can not beat these speakers at this price.

In reading other reviews of these speakers I decided that these would be the best for me. I am using them in a rather large living room and the satellite speakers just didn't seem to pump out enough good quality sound. I cannot begin to describe how great these speakers sound. Don't be fooled by the price. Also, follow the break-in procedures as described in the manual, you won't believe the difference in the sound after the break-in period. If you're looking for high quality sound and the best price these are the speakers for you.

The speakers are only a slightly bigger than the Micra6 and have a typically richer sound (associated with larger speakers). Since this is an old model, I expect Athena to stop manufacturing this soon (Which probably might explain the rock bottom prices- and makes this the right time to buy one.).

They look pretty nice from the front and not so nice from the side (Unorthodox design of silver faceplate and black box). I watched 'The Ghost and the darkness' with these, and boy, was it amazing! (The break in period is a bit long.. It took roughly a month for my speakers to start sounding to its full potential)

Go ahead, grab these if you are planning to build a sub $500-800 home theater.

Essential extras- JVC 302B/402B Panasonic XR-55/70,A decent subwoofer