 2002 Product of the Year: Athena Technologies
S.5 Loudspeakers and P.5 Subwoofer
The competition in the affordably priced speaker market is
fierce, with companies constantly pushing the performance envelope further and further.
The result is higher value and better products for the consumer.
And nowhere are these things more apparent than with the
products of relative newcomer Athena Technologies, a division of Canada’s Audio
Products International. Led by designer Gord Van Kessel, Athena has producing the
"best-built, best-sounding product, and, dollar for dollar, the best speaker value
available today" as its goal. Just a few years ago, the company made its debut with
the System Creation Technology (SCT) lineup of speakers that allowed mixing and matching
of various satellites and subwoofers for optimal performance. The S2/P2
combination offered such high value that it was named a SoundStage! Network Reviewers’ Choice and
subsequently took home the end-of-the-year SoundStage! Network award for Exceptional
Value. Next came the lower-priced Audition series, beginning with the $180-per-pair AS-B1. The
AS-B1s offered such a high level of performance, comparing favorably to speakers double
its price and higher, that again Athena Technologies was honored in SoundStage! with a Reviewers’ Choice nod.
Now there is the Point 5 series. The new Athena Technologies S.5/P.5 speaker system offers superb
nearly full-range sound along with modern styling and the supreme placement flexibility
that a separate sub/sat system allows. In fact, the S.5/P.5 offers so much that our staff
is hard-pressed to ask for anything more -- amazing for any audio product, let
alone one as affordably priced as this system. Factor in a list price of under $500 with
the potential to expand the system into a full multichannel setup (C.5 center-channel and
additional pair of S.5s used as surrounds) and you have something that is GoodSound!’s
Product of the Year for 2002.
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