My Home Theater

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erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
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Originally posted by: nomrah
The receiver just arrived, it's a lot bigger than I was picturing.

Anyways, I went back on the hunt for a pair of "skinny" tall speakers. Came across these Athena WS-100s. The look is exactly what we want. Reviews I've read have been positive. Any first hand experience with these? Little pricier than what we'd like to spend, but hoping to find a deal.
It looks like you can get them for $300 shipped on eBay, which ain't a bad price for what they are. Same folks who manufacture the Energy line of speakers, and those have a very good rep.
 

AmpedSilence

Platinum Member
Oct 7, 2005
2,749
1
76
I have the 606 also. I picked up the Onkyo SKS-HT750B 7.1 speaker set. LOVE IT!

for my room, its clean provides clean, distinct channels and prefectly loud sound. I only have five of the 7 speakers plugged in, the other two will go into my bedroom for a zone 2, but you already have out door speakers for that zone.

Picked it up from Peak Electronics Online for $320. In my opinion, it was the prefect balance of price/performance for me! :)
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
8,512
1,127
126
athena is a great bang for buck brand, i have heard great things about their floor standing speakers.
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
45
91
Originally posted by: erwos
Originally posted by: nomrah
The receiver just arrived, it's a lot bigger than I was picturing.

Anyways, I went back on the hunt for a pair of "skinny" tall speakers. Came across these Athena WS-100s. The look is exactly what we want. Reviews I've read have been positive. Any first hand experience with these? Little pricier than what we'd like to spend, but hoping to find a deal.
It looks like you can get them for $300 shipped on eBay, which ain't a bad price for what they are. Same folks who manufacture the Energy line of speakers, and those have a very good rep.

Audio Advisor has them for that much too.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATWS100

Most of the good stuff I've seen about Athena has been about the Audition series. Is the WS series a solid performer too?
 

erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
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76
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Originally posted by: erwos
Originally posted by: nomrah
The receiver just arrived, it's a lot bigger than I was picturing.

Anyways, I went back on the hunt for a pair of "skinny" tall speakers. Came across these Athena WS-100s. The look is exactly what we want. Reviews I've read have been positive. Any first hand experience with these? Little pricier than what we'd like to spend, but hoping to find a deal.
It looks like you can get them for $300 shipped on eBay, which ain't a bad price for what they are. Same folks who manufacture the Energy line of speakers, and those have a very good rep.

Audio Advisor has them for that much too.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATWS100

Most of the good stuff I've seen about Athena has been about the Audition series. Is the WS series a solid performer too?
Here's a review:
http://www.hometheatersound.co..._ws60_ws15_asp4000.htm

I may even wind up with the WS-100s myself - I don't have tremendous needs on the audio front, and I think I might prefer a thinner set of towers given the constraints of the room. I'll probably use Elemental Designs for the sub, center, and surrounds, though, although Polk R15s might be good for the latter, too.
 

krotchy

Golden Member
Mar 29, 2006
1,942
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Just a note if you are going to buy from Audioadvisor, buy them through Audioadvisor's amazon storefront. When I got my Athena LS-500's they were 149.99 through Audioadvisor.com and Amazon.com but Amazon had free shipping. The same appears to be the case for the WS-100's
 

nomrah

Member
May 18, 2004
100
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71
Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. I went ahead and ordered a pair of the Athena WS-100s from Audio Advisor.

Next up, subwoofer. Any suggestions? Hoping to spend under $200, the lower the better :)
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
7,163
819
126
I've heard a lot of good things about the BIC H-100. It can be had for $249 if you can stretch your budget a little or you can use Live cashback through Ebay and pick one up for ~$188. Lots of users over on the AVS forums recommended it.
 

krotchy

Golden Member
Mar 29, 2006
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76
The BIC H-100 is a true beast. If you can stretch your budget to get it I can assure you that it will not disappoint. As for subs cheaper than that. Amazon had some Klipsch and JBL ones that perform pretty well for under 200, but they don't compare to the H-100.
 

nomrah

Member
May 18, 2004
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I think I might go with a Dayton per YoYo's recommendation in his HT guide.

Quick question, my living room is about 18' X 18' should I go with the SUB-120 12" 150 Watt? And does anyone know of any free shipping promotions going on?
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
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If you can fit the H-100 into the budget, that should do better in a room that size. Without the discount and free shipping deals, the dayton's aren't as attractive. I can't even get to partsexpress right now :(
 

nomrah

Member
May 18, 2004
100
0
71
Checked out a thread from 2006 about the H-100 over at AVS forum. The price then was ~$250, still that price at Ebay. Read that it has gone for offers as low as $190. I guess I could give it a shot. Current price is $245 or best offer, shipping is $49 =\ Anyone have any thoughts? Definitely sounds like a good sub, but hoping to get a deal.
 

zoiks

Lifer
Jan 13, 2000
11,787
3
81
So how do you like your ws-100's? Did you hook them up yet?
About subwoofers, check your local craigslist to see if you can find one. I just bought a Velodyne DLS-4000R sub on CL for about $250.
 

erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
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76
Originally posted by: zoiks
About subwoofers, check your local craigslist to see if you can find one. I just bought a Velodyne DLS-4000R sub on CL for about $250.
Second on the CL thing. I scored a pair of Infinity RS5s for $115 total, and I'm picking up a pair of PSB Image T65s for $475 total today or tomorrow. That's like a quarter of what they would cost when new (possibly less!), and they are a good bit nicer than what I had planned on buying. The RS5s will become side surrounds when I've the T65s.

Another tip is to use eBay, but do a search for sellers within 25-50 miles of your location that are offering pickup-only sales. You can often email the seller privately to take the auction off eBay[1] for a price discount (usually like 5%-10%). Clearly, this isn't going to yield the same sort of variety that eBay usually offers, but then again, it's pretty rare that you need a precise model of speaker, either.

I've exhausted my funds for the moment, but will definitely be pursuing the same strategy to get the sub, rear surrounds, and a center when they are replenished. :)

At some point, if there's interest, I might post up a "here's my home theater, here's how and why I built it like I did". Not sure I really want to do it before the total speaker setup and remote control are in place, but I'm hoping to get those done before the end of the year.

[1] This is technically against eBay rules, but it's not like you can scam someone with an in-person cash transaction!
 

nomrah

Member
May 18, 2004
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0
71
I must've read your guys' minds about CL. I found a Bic H-100 for sale about 10 miles from me. Talked him down to $150. Sounded like a nice older guy, assured me that it was well taken care of. Picking it up Wednesday, then I'll have everything to get a 2.1 system up and running for now, I'll let you guys know how it sounds. :)

So that leads us to the rear speakers. My assumption is that I shouldn't need to shell out too much for these? I would think that the front speakers are going to be doing most of the work.

Also how important is a center speaker? Does anyone do a 4.1 setup? My reasoning being I have the ws-100s in front about 6'-7' away from one another, will I even notice a center speaker?
 

erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
4,778
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76
Originally posted by: nomrah
Also how important is a center speaker? Does anyone do a 4.1 setup? My reasoning being I have the ws-100s in front about 6'-7' away from one another, will I even notice a center speaker?
A good, matched center is important - so much so that most audiophiles seem to recommend going without one until you can find a matched center. Your receiver will compensate for it by using your two front speakers.

I'm actually going to be running a 4.0 setup for a little while until I find the cash for the sub and center. :)

EDIT: got a little confused about the 5.1 and 7.1 difference. Carry on!
 

YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
Aug 6, 2001
31,204
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91
You'll notice the lack of a center mostly when you're off to the side vs. in the middle of the viewing area. When you're off to the side, the "center" sounds will be coming out at equal volume from each of the front speakers. If you're off to the side, one of those front speakers will be closer to you and thus it will be louder. This will make the "center" sounds shift over toward that louder speaker vs. staying in the middle of the image like you want. Depending on your seating, this may or may not be a big deal for you.
 

nomrah

Member
May 18, 2004
100
0
71
Thanks for the info guys. We do have a sectional couch so some will be off to the side.

So any suggestions for center and rear speakers?
 
Jun 17, 2008
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You need to find a center to match your left and right. I dint see any center speakers from Athena at the web site you ordered from but there should be some one that sales them.
 

nomrah

Member
May 18, 2004
100
0
71
update: Went ahead and purchased the ws-60 center and ws-15 rears. Putting it together tomorrow with a buddy as well as doing some cable hiding, will be sure to post pics.

A big thank you to all for the help :)