Hi Kal. Pardon me. ROBERT Reina used to review budget components for Stereophile back in the early 2000's. Since taken over by the very capable and wity Herb Reichert. I have had these Athenas since 2003 and they have done a good job for me. Respectfully I would like to have signed a nondisclosure agreement, sat with you guys during the mystery in Manhattan speaker review, not say a word while sipping an industrial strength martini.
link for Stereophile Athenas review beloe.

https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/645/index.html

Yes.
The closest I can describe to how we all became welded to our MO (Magnificent Obsession) is that we all had “that moment” when we heard something amazing in the 60”s vinyl that gave us an auditory glimpse of the sublime. And we are continually trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle ever since. May also be why I still like a judicious tincture of warmth in speakers.

Not audiophile but funny. I usually have just 1 martini or vodker and tonic a week (albeit robustly made) that I savor while watching a movie or listening to music I often laugh about my father’s definition of a dry martini. He would take the cap off of the vermouth bottle and wave it over the weapons grade rocket fuel he had prepared.

I read Kalman’s excellent review of the Aerial Acoustics 7T and had a few questions:
When you say that the 7T does well when not near large objects does this mean it shouldn’t flank a 5 foot wide tv stand with a 65 inch tv? If no, would this also be a factor to consider about the smaller 6T as well. Would both of these speakers do well if the front baffle was 2 feet from a rear wall? Thanks.

Thank you, Kalman. This has been very helpul. Because my Pioneer Elite SC-61 is 4 ohm rated, I think I will also audition the Martin Logan 60xti’s as well as the Revel 208, a demo Aerial Acoustics 6T and the Legacy Classic previously mentioned. I am working on things in stages. I hope to soon replace my 10 year Samsung plasma with a 65 inch C series OLED. In the following 6 months I hope to upgrade my speakers. I also hope further down the road that my tolerant (and savvier then she wants you to know) wife to be able to get a 3 channel amp for my mains and center. I have a full 9.1 speaker setup (including an SVS SB-2000 sub.) Although I’ve read about the Anthem MCA 325, the Rotel 1585 (to also bi-amp the 2 mains), and the Parasound Halo A31, I’m likely to end up with the Parasound. 1 question I have if I use my Pioneer as a preamp would be, would the sound/power output from adding an amp for the fronts overwhelm my surround sound if the Pioneer continues to power the remaining 6 speakers?

Thank you, Kalman. I appreciate it.

Last phase of the Long Game for me would be the Marantz AV8805 which might be more affordable that far down the road to replace the Pionee. Really wish I hadn’t zagged (twice) when you zigged, Kalman. That’s what you get when you respond too quickly. I had some challenges (that I resolved) where balancing the channels between my Athenas and other speakers forced me to smother a lot of the Athenas output. All works well now. I appreciate your time and help and thought I would suggest a playlist of music. Majority is by Jesse Cook and features Spanish guitar, steel drums, violin and other instruments. For you might be “Been there, done that.” Might not be your cup of tea. Variety of instruments will challenge a speaker’s ability to resolve detail as well as the range of a speaker’s capability.
Double Dutch- Jesse Cook
Scorpion- Young and Rollins
Jardin- Strunz and Farah
Hembra- Jesse Cook
Alumbrar- Vekhavaara and Simone
Matisse The Cat- Jesse Cook
Santa Marta- Jesse Cook
Dance Of Spring- Jesse Cook
Tempest- Jesse Cook
Mario Takes A Walk- Jesse Cook
Gipsy- Jesse Cook
Rattle And Burn- Jesse Cook
Switchback- Jesse Cook
Café Mocha- Jesse Cook
Havana- Jesse Cook

Just my personal observation. Aside from the budget involved, one of the most difficult challenges to upgrading speakers is getting used to what your current speakers lack. For many audiophiles this is quite often well controlled and extended bass response. Many audiophiles are well trained and appreciative of a great midrange and extended air. But when the low end is improved it can throw off your sense of hearing until you are better used to bass contribution. You may mistakenly think a speaker lacks air but perceptually you are distracted by bass you are unused to. Some friends of mine have speakers that are very lean in the bass and this gets hidden by the type of music they listen to. I call this “choosing your opponents wisely.” I feel they need to train themselves to listen to more bass and music that conveys it well. It has been thoroughly beaten to death but the opening tom toms in the Eagles Hell Freezes Over Hotel California is a good specific test of your speaker’s bass. Other music that is good in this regard are Keiko Matsui’s “Stingo” and “Dream Seeker.” Jesse Cook’s “Double Dutch” can cause quite a few speakers to hurl by the side of the road.

When auditioning speakers I try to bring music that covers a speaker’s range (including the low end) as well as it’s ability to resolve detail. If a speaker goes thuk, thuk thuk and thak, thak, thak I know the speaker is compressing in the bass and faking it. When the standup bass, the kick drum and other bass instruments are in balance with the midrange and treble you get a more full complete sound.

Of speakers I was audioning with a friend before Covid 19 hit, I was astonished at the performance and bass capability of the Aerial Acoustics 6T. I never would have believed such (on the small sie) drivers could produce good, controlled bass to the overall sound. I’d like to listen to it’s bigger brother, the 7T. And, as expressed previously, I’d like to listen to the Revel3 F208’s as part of making an informed purchase sometime in the future.

Fare thee well, Art. You are one of the reasons we will continue to hold forth around the audiophile campfires and keep the special stories alive.

Hope Kalman liked my elegy for Art Dudley (above) My main reason for considering a Marantz Preamp is that I would need a 9.1 capability and, although there are even better preamps out there choices are far less for 9.1

I should probably add the Anthem AVM 60 to these considerations but I'm leaning towards the importance of e-arc in the scheme of things.

Yo, Kalman.
Since I AM a Blues/ R & B man, here is a suggested playlist . Eclectic but effective mix for driving, listening, “waking up the Weber” and having a vodker and tonic. Here is stuff to give Qobuz a workout.

Blues Party
Boogie With Stu- Joe Bonamassa
Comin” Home To Mardi Gras- Gabriel Mark Hasselbach
Treme Song- John Boutte
Green Onions- Dual Drive
Man Size Love- Klymaxx
Think- Steve Cropper
Unsquare Dance- Dave Brubeck
I Get Evil- Joe Bonamassa
Smokey Joe’s La-La- Googie Renee
The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt- The Shadows/Hank Marvin
Apache- The Shadows/Hank Marvin
What’cha Gonna Do- Bill Massey
Room To Move- John Mayall
Bernard Jenkins- John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers
Still Is still Moving To Me- A Reggae song with Willie Nelson AND Toots And The Maytals (Honest ta gad!)
The Party Is Still Going On- Marcia Ball
A Letter From My Baby- Timmy Shaw
Let’s Roll- The Orange Bird Blues Band
Backwood Blues- The Orange Bird Blues Band
The Boys Are Back In Town- The Busboys
I Can’t Quit The Blues- Buddy Guy
New Shoes- The Busboys

The Blues ain’t nothin’ but a person feelin’ bad, thinkin’ about someone they loved and are no longer with.

Hi, Kal. Hope all is safe and well. Thanks for your input here.

Swampbrain: Old Audiophile DID pull the trigger on some great Revel Performa3 F206 speakers. If you have some staying power, his “Time to Upgrade Speakers” and “Sequel To Upgrading Speakers” is worth reading. OA “can talk a hungry dog off a meatwagon” but he knows his stuff. I don’t know what your budget is for for future floorstanders but Kal was right: Monitor Audio Silver series and Revel Performa3 F206’s at their price points, cannot be beat. The Matin Logan 60xti and the Goldenear Triton 2+ sounded pretty good as well. Although we didn’t (and shouldn’t) doubt Kal, we enjoyed the journey of discovery regarding WHY he was right.

I have had the Athena AS-F2’s since 2003 and enjoyed them as a sleeper speaker. They were favorably reviewed by Soundandvision and by the late, missed ROBERT Reina. I have recently got further life from them by putting in Monoprice 12 gauge speaker wire. Made a huge difference over starter Monster 16 gauge wire. In a few months I hope to make the leap to Revel Performa3 F208’s.

I discovered the Athenas by accident while waltzing through Bestbuy. I heard a Mindi Abair sax song playing and was struck by how good it sounded in a horrendous acoustic environment. When I discovered it coming from the Athenas I just had to make a persuasive attempt at Mt Wife.

I was able to take advantage of my wife hating the look of the speakers I had at the time. I made a grandiose statement that if I got the Athena speaker system and she didn’t like it, I would pack it up, bring it back and not say a word. In a moment of delirium she agreed. It got very funny when I brought the speakers home and I came to the door with ONE box of a floorstanding speaker. I then headed back to the car for more STUFF. When she realized that I was not buying a Home Theater in a box system she locked me out of the house for a second. I brought in a full Athena 7 speaker system, wired it together with then Monster wire in an afternoon. I took advantage of my wife’s love of the Eagles (and all things Joe Walsh) and put on Hotel California from the Hell Freezes Over CD. When she asked to hear Seven Bridges Road, I knew I was in. Not an Audiophile’s first choice but THE WIFE’S first choice. I was lucky that the Athena floorstanders sounded good (and got better) out of the box. From there she wanted to hear Buddy Guy’s Slippin In and the Athenas have been here since. The bookshelves and the center from then are gone, but the Athenas still carry on. I think the pewter color with black grill cloth

helped with the WAF.