Receiver for Athena Speakers

 

James
I have been steadily upgrading my system. Fronts are now Athena as-f1 with as-c1 center channel running off a JVC 7010. This actually works well on movies but just fair on music. I am looking to replace the receiver with Yamaha 1400/HK 325/Nad ?. First does anyone use any of these combinations and how is it wroking for you. 2nd I have spent considerable time reading this forum and it seems that Yamaha is considered rather bright as probably is my JVC. I also have heard that the newer models 1400/2400 have lost this brightness--is that true. I actually do not get much free time to try to audition equipment and generally have trouble trying to assess it under the different conditions and hook-ups in a store. My athenas for example changed quite a bit after about 150 hours of breakin--this was hard to believe but it did happen. They were harsh and irritating and I almost returned them, now they are still have lots of high frequency but much smoother and not irritating-go figure.
 

James:

I also have Athena's F2, B2 and will adding the C1 shortly.

I originally bought the Yamaha 2300 only to return it because it sounded very harsh to me.

I now have a NAD 752 which, so far, it's only been a week, I am happy with.

Athenas are a little forward sounding and therefore a slightly laid back receiver is better.

On another thread, people with more experience than I have, rated the "mellowness" of receivers as follows. H/K, Elite, Marantz and NAD in decreasing order. H/K being the most mellow.

I am glad to hear the Athenas loose a bit of the harshness as they break in. Its difficult for me to tell when something happens very gradually if its mellowing or my ears are getting familiar with the sound.

I hope this helps a little.

TC
 

James
TC Smith
I originally bought the Athena as-f1 after using an as-c1 for almost a year with other speakers. It was so good I wanted to match up the front system with it. The as-f1s bothered me so much with high frequency that I couldn't listen to music for very long on them. I contacted Athena about it and they stated that their speakers required a long breakin. This took over a month before they seemed to mellow out. As I type this they are running and are now very good, still lots of high frequency energy but silky smooth now. Nad is easily on my short list, as is HK but I keep hoping that the feature rich Yamaha new models will be much better than the old ones. This forum seems to have some very good opinions in it and I am hoping for more information from them.
 

Johnb
I too own a 2300 and have enjoyed it. My speakers are bit more mellow and don't have the brightness problem. I vistited my son at the Tweeter store because he said I had to look at the new Yamaha's. I couldn't even come close the Z9 but I did see and hear the new 1400 and 2400 series. They were very impressive. He fired up a Denon in that same price range $799 to $999 and the difference was obvious. I must addmit it took setting the receiver up with its built in set up system but when it fine tuned itself, it was awsome. I must say I would pay the extra $200 for 2400 for the power and the 2nd room setup. Lot's of good receivers out there and I admit not knowing anything about your speakers. I have heard though that the Yamaha is a bit sweeter then in past models. I didn't have a chance to listen for any length of time as I would if I was ready to make a purchase.
 

James:

I too asked NAD (Canada in my case) about Athena's break in period and was told it was very short about 50 hours, 100 max.

But regardless of what the manufacturer says, and whether it is 100 or 1000 hours, what is important is that they only sound better and better as they age.

Wish I could say the same about myself. ;)

JohnB:

I liked the Yamaha a lot - as verified by the fact I bought it. It's specs are impressive and I felt it had many features the NAD did not have.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the marriage between Yamaha and Athena was not harmonious and the result was a lot of painful high frequencies.....this reminds me of a previous personal relationship, but I digress.

What I'm trying to say is that I agree with you in that Yamaha is a great product when matched with the right speakers. Which reminds me of my current relationship.

TC
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