All of the athena TECHNOLOGIES® products are manufactured from MDF which stands for Medium Density Fiberboard. This material is quite dense, and the most consistent type of wood available. Use of MDF ensures not only great sound, and minimum cabinet resonance, but also 100% consistency for all athena TECHNOLOGIES® speakers.

The biggest problem with building a Home Theater system, is to ensure that the speakers will not only perform to your expectations, but also that they are designed to integrate anywhere in the room. Traditional speakers need to be kept many feet away from the TV due to magnetic interference problems. If not, there is a possibility the TV might be damaged. The entire line of athena TECHNOLOGIES® AUDITION series products, are magnetically shielded (except the AS-R1 surround) so close proximity to your tube type TV shouldn't cause any problems.

Another reason all athena TECHNOLOGIES® products are easy to place in your room is due to the wide Dispersion pattern. The wider the dispersion, the wider the "listening window". This allows a much wider soundfield, and better stereo image when playing music.

Another benefit is that the whole room gets to hear clear, full range sound. This allows the speakers to integrate with your lifestyle, as opposed to the other way around!

The woofers used in the athena TECHNOLOGIES® products are designed for high performance, high efficiency, durability, and of course great sound! These cones are comprised of Injection Molded Polypropylene designed to stay rigid during the most extreme excursion, yet it is light enough to enable fast movement, which means accurate and tight bass response! The rubber surrounds utilized in all models are the best available, and provide quiet woofer movement and durability.

The connection for a pair of athena TECHNOLOGIES® AUDITION series speakers is simple, and flexible. The 5-way gold-plated binding post connectors are high quality and can accept either bare wire, pin type connectors, or banana-type connectors. You are free to use the best wire and connectors the industry has to offer.

The technology behind the Teteron tweeter is what allows the athena TECHNOLOGIES® products to sound as great, play as loud and be as efficient as they are. The tweeter is arguably the most important element of a high performance speaker. Inefficient, or technologically inferior tweeters often force manufacturers to produce speakers that could be better if only the tweeter could keep up with the woofers' capabilities. The athena TECHNOLOGIES® Teteron tweeter produces loud, clear and accurate highs that are dispersed from the unique faceplate in a very wide window. The wider the window of sound, the easier and more flexible your speaker placement is. There are huge acoustic benefits as well, with massive improvements to stereo imaging, and just plain better sound! The Teteron dome tweeter is a durable synthetic material in a dome shape, specially contoured to reduce distortion, and to fit into the custom designed bezel which amplifies and optimizes the tweeters dispersion. The Teteron material is impervious to moisture, so it is durable and won't change over time. It also has huge sonic benefits over metal type tweeters which have inherent ringing problems, and much work needs to be done by the speaker designer to overcome the tweeters' characteristics. The best part of the athena TECHNOLOGIES® AUDITION series 2 is that the same tweeter is used throughout the entire series of products. This provides perfect timbre matching of front, rear, and center speakers regardless of which model you decide to buy.

The baffle material used in all of the athena TECHNOLOGIES® products is made of MDF just like the cabinets. The MDF is specially shaped and designed to improve the dispersion, and to provide a new look to your speaker. The gentle sloping edges, and silver finish with black accents provide a great look, a great addition to any home. The specially designed grilles are designed to leave just a hint of the silver baffle when the grille is on, for a modern yet contemporary look.

The entire line of athena TECHNOLOGIES® AUDITION series speakers are timbre matched. That means that you can choose any model you wish for front channels and rear channels. The AS-C1 is your choice as a center channel as it is sold individually but can be used for any channel. It has been specially designed so it can be oriented horizontally or vertically. The AS-R1 bi-pole rear surround is designed for the true audiophile surround system, creating a lifelike and enveloping rear and/or side surround image.

The only deciding factor on the speaker size is to match the speaker size with the power output of your receiver, and to the size of the room. A large room generally requires a larger speaker in order to have enough bass response to fill the air volume. A smaller room however can sound great with just a pair of bookshelf models. Keep the size of the demo room in mind and compare it with the size of the room you have at home when you audition speakers at the store.