Athena Technologies S1/P1.(Evaluation)

Manufacturer: Audio Products International, 3641 McNicoll Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada MIX 1G5; 416/321-1800; www.athenaspeakers.com

Price: S1 satellites, $275/pr.; P1 woofer, $275 ea.

Source: Manufacturer loan

Reviewer: David R. Moran

Let me lead with the news here: these Athena speakers' performance is fully competitive with (if not superior to) what you will find similarly priced from the other high-value loudspeaker companies, say NHT, Polk, Boston Acoustics, PSB, etc.

The Athena S1 satellites with P1 powered "subwoofer" (it's really a woofer) are from Canada, part of the Audio Products International family; API also makes Energy and Mirage speakers, among others. The S1 is a 5.5" smoothly baffled conventional 2-way, and the P1 unit contains a single 6.5" bandpassed (internally mounted in a vented cabinet) woofer with 75W amp and several useful controls. There are bigger Athena models, S2 and S3 satellites with P2 and P3 subs. Everything is shielded, including the subwoofers.

The novelty of this line is that the systems can be easily configured in two different ways. The satellites can be placed on stands (or wherever) and driven by the receiver or amp, with the receiver or preamp's line-level subwoofer (bass-only) output going to the woofer module(s), presumably tucked away in or near a corner; this is a standard partially powered 3-piece or 4-piece sub/sat system. Alternatively, the satellites can be docked atop the P1 cabinets, assuming you get a pair, via connecting rails, to create floorstanding towers with powered woofers.