Athena Micra-6 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System, Silver/Black
By: Athena Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 16
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 On: 2008-04-05
After reading a number of reviews, we decided to buy this home theatre speaker system for our large family room. I bought 14 gauge speaker wire from [...]. The sound is wonderful for our Direct TV HD shows and you cant beat the price. They are also very good looking speakers as the pictures on the web site doesnt do them justice.
For listening to music, I perfer using my B & W speakers, as these speakers dont deliver the rich sound for listening to music in a large room. Again, if sitting on our reclining couch 12 away from the 52" HDTV these Athena Micra speakers are wonderful.
On: 2008-02-26
Not sure how relevent this review is now but i love this system. i just started reviewing items i recently bought and came across this item. ive had it for 3 years now and it sounds as good as the first day i got it. dont let the small size fool you...it puts out some good sound.
i do have to admit that im not an "audio expert". im just an average joe that still enjoys these speakers.
On: 2007-01-05
These speakers are awesome for movies! I have a small room off my kitchen that I have turned into a mini home theater; I have paired these speakers with and Onkyo 604 receiver. The surround sound is great; the bass is full and rich and gives a very realistic experience. These speakers are a great value, wall and ceiling mounting is also very easy and simple with the included mounts.
The other day I was watching a movie and in the scene there is an unexpected crash from a tree falling, and the rumble from the bass scared me so much that I nearly fell off my sofa; my heart was racing pretty fast. I have no complaints about the realism and richness of the audio experience.
The only negative things are that occasionally I find the sound has a bit too much treble, and bass but not enough warm mid-range. I find my ears feel "tired" after listening to at higher volumes for more than a few minutes. As great as these are for movies, I feel they lack the mid-range needed for music listening. I wont knock the rating down, because these are not meant to be music/stereo speakers so its not fair to expect that from these speakers.
On: 2007-01-03
Lets see, we paid around $[...] for these speakers. We also paid about $[...] for a Bose system that we have in another room. Guess which performs better? The Athena Micra, hands down. Particularly, the mids and bass are stellar, and literally blow the Bose away. The highs are also crisp and well defined. After doing A TON of research, I settled on these speakers as my choice, and I do not regret it one single bit. I should note, in order to get the best sound out of these, speaker placement is key. The fronts arent hard to setup, but the rear speakers need to be placed slightly behind the listening area, pointing toward each other (ie: the faces of each speaker are pointed towards each other, each face being perpendicular to the listeners ear and slightly behind), and NOT pointed directly toward the ears of the listener. They also MUST be placed at a height of approximatly 4-6 feet above where the listeners ear will be, and at least 6 feet apart (preferably, the same distance apart as the front speakers). Im trying to upload a picture that will illustrate this.
Anyhow, you will also need a solid receiver. I HIGHLY recommend a Pioneer unit, due to its very accurate auto calibration system. Unless you are an audio guru, which I doubt if youre shopping in this price range (no offense), then you will need a thorough and precise auto calibration system. Pioneer gets the vote hands down in that department over all other receiver manufactureres. If youre not interested in HDMI, an auto calibration Pioneer will run you about $[...]. An HDMI equipped variant will run about $[...]. The difference in sound is negligable, but new equipment (specifically HD-DVD) require HDMI to work properly.
So, on the low end, were talking about $[...] for the receiver and the speakers. Add another $[...] if you want stands for these (ie: if youre not wall mounting), and the total gets you to $[...] for the full system...hundreds less than Bose, which pales in comparison, and at least $[...] less than anything that can best it. Dont settle for home theater in a box...for a few hundred more you can have a system that exceeds the expectations of 95% of home theater users. Im very picky, and I was not dissatisfied.
If I could list one gripe, it would be that the subwoofer is a little on the weak side, but not nearly as ill-winded as the Bose (the Athena sub compared to the Bose sub is no contest...its actually laughable how bad the Bose is in contrast). Just turn the volume knob to about 8 or 9 on the sub to taste (depends on your room), listen for a day or so, adjust speaker placement, listen for a few more days, then have the Pioneer do the auto calibration. You wont be let down.
On: 2006-08-22
Im very happy with my purchase. Im using them with a Pioneer receiver and after figuring out where all the cords go, the speakers are fantastic. For their size and price they are outstanding. I ran into a little trouble when I began assembling the stands (also Athena) and found that a few screws and a clamp were not the right size or such. I emailed Athena and they mailed the proper parts out right away (for free).
On: 2006-04-29
After spending about one month researching various audiophile review sites I took the plunge on a very low priced system which includes a Panasonic XR55 Receiver and the Athena Micra speaker package. [...]
Originally I was a little disappointed with the sound (they sounded a little on the bright side) but now after breaking in the speakers and gaining an appreciation for the digital sound produced by the receiver I could not be happier with my minor investment. I think the bang for the buck factor on both of these components is outstanding.
I actually took some time and spoke to a couple of competing Canadian speaker makers. The person at one of the companies had nothing but praise for Athena Micras and when I mentioned the low price of $329 shipped he was even more complimentary. He compared these to the heavily marketed Bose product, which sells for 2-3 times this price and indicated that I could not go wrong going with the Athenas.
He was right and I am so glad I took his advice and the advice offered in many online reviews. With my savings I was able to purchase a new set of Nike golf clubs and a new golf bag. Life is good - I can golf and come home and chill to great audio and surround sound videos.
Although I am not much of a movie buff, I may become one due to the realism brought on by this small package. The size of the Athena Micras were a major selling point and they received immediate acceptance from my wife.
If you dont want to break the bank yet appreciate good music and strong bass I would highly recommend this setup.
On: 2005-12-16
I needed a 5.1 system for my 10 by 20 living room. Since the room isnt large, I wanted small satellite speakers to blend with the rest of the room. I wasnt willing to compromise on quality sound, so I did a lot of research before purchasing the Athena Micra 6 speakers.
The Micra 6 speakers have good build quality and are unobtrusively attractive. The subwoofer is especially handsome. The four satellite speakers and the center channel are heavier than they appear, due to the larger-than-usual magnet structure inside. The only obvious negative is the use of speaker wire clips instead of binding posts.
The sound quality is very good. The treble and mid-range are nicely detailed and natural sounding. The speakers image well, presenting a spacious soundstage with just the left/right sats and the subwoofer. The satellite/subwoofer integration is well done, with no obvious audible cues to draw attention to the subwoofer and away from the music. The sound has a warm quality, so a bright-sounding receiver should be a good match.
While there may be better 5.1 sat/sub speaker systems available, I dont think youll be able to find one at this price point. In fact, youd probably have to spend four times as much to get better sound - highly recommended for a small/medium home theater on a budget.
On: 2005-12-15
I needed a 5.1 system for my 10 by 20 living room. Since the room isnt large, I wanted small satellite speakers to blend with the rest of the room. I wasnt willing to compromise on quality sound, so I did a lot of research before purchasing the Athena Micra 6 speakers.
The Micra 6 speakers have good build quality and are unobtrusively attractive. The subwoofer is especially handsome. The four satellite speakers and the center channel are heavier than they appear, due to the larger-than-usual magnet structure inside. The only obvious negative is the use of speaker wire clips instead of binding posts.
The sound quality is very good. The treble and mid-range are nicely detailed and natural sounding. The speakers image well, presenting a spacious soundstage with just the left/right sats and the subwoofer. The satellite/subwoofer integration is well done, with no obvious audible cues to draw attention to the subwoofer and away from the music. The sound has a warm quality, so a bright-sounding receiver should be a good match.
While there may be better 5.1 sat/sub speaker systems available, I dont think youll be able to find one at this price point. In fact, youd probably have to spend four times as much to get better sound - highly recommended for a small/medium home theater on a budget.
On: 2005-11-23
I paired these speakers with a 7.1 pioneer receiver and it sounds great! I added 2 rear surround satellites to get the 7.1. Total cost with speaker stands is about $800, which isnt bad considering how good they sound. Im a surveillance / audio video technician and I install Bose Lifestyle systems at work. This setup sounds far better than the much more expensive Bose systems. Ive previously had the all in one box systems. This is a huge upgrade. I set the system up in half of our living room which is very large. Our house is timber built / post and beam. the walls, ceilings, and floors are wood. Luckily it works well for sound. I had to purchase speaker cable, because the included cables just arent long enough for larger rooms. Im immediately drawn in to the movies now. Voices are clear..sounds great!! I listen to music every day now that I have satellite radio......again-->no complaints. I do not crank up the base like some people prefer.......I keep it at around 3 on the subwoofer. I did crank it up just to find a comfortable listening level and I noticed it can be boomy, but what do you expect at this price range? At the comfortable base levels I use it sounds great to me. I read many reviews from many audio sites as well as user reviews and forums. I researched both speakers and receivers. The receiver makes a difference in sound too. At first I was leaning towards a custom system in the 3K range. Im glad I didnt spend that much. These were rated the best for the $550 price range and are said to sound as good as systems costing 2k plus. Its true. The black ones can be bought for much less than the silver. FYI: do some research on how to setup and balance your speakers to get the most out of them.
On: 2005-09-27
I bought these for a second tv/room. This is a great looking and sounding system. I would recommend this system for the price i bought 300.00 Great home theater in a box, comes with 5.1 all you need for a full sounding system
 On: 2005-09-16
The mounting brackets could have been a little larger allowing easier access to the area of putting a screw into the wall. Their audio performance was so-so I expected better from reading all the reviews.
On: 2005-08-15
After extensive research I have found that the Athena Micra 6 speaker system to be everything I wanted and more. From the excellent mounting brackets to the unbeatable sound, this system makes a BIG impression. The highs and mid tones are perfectly engineered and the bass fills the room with proper lows. I have found myself re-listening to all my favorite cds and DVDs. You will not be disapointed.
 On: 2005-07-11
All the reviews I read were right on, these speakers do just fine as an entry level surround system for dvds/movies but arent as good for music cds. Dont get me wrong for the price I dont think you can beat it. I have these speakers set in a 20x15 room, powered by sony surround receiver. System works and sounds great. Speakers are easy to mount to the wall or where ever you want. Athena makes some stands for the speakers but the wife didnt like them so theyre gone but speakers are small enough to go anywhere. So far my only negative comment would be that at times dialog sounds faint like its coming from inside a box. This might be my fault since the TV we have does not have a large enough and flat top to place the center speaker so I mounted it slightly behind and above the TV.
On: 2005-05-22
I recently purchased these speakers from Amazon and have been generally satisfied with my purchase. The speakers are small and stylish but still manage to shake my home theater room with impressive bravado. I did quite a bit of research before updating my system because Im a struggling student and money is tight. I decided to go with a total speaker package rather than add to my current set up of a Denon reciever pushing a set of Bose 301 bookshelves.
Most Home-theater-in-a-box systems tend to miss the mid-range frequencies that are so critical to good sound. Systems like the Bose acoustimass system and almost every other little satellite system Ive heard just dont live up to the hype. While the Athenas provide a good bang for the buck, they still tend to miss the mid range frequencies.
This is most noticeable while listening to music. When compared with the Bose 301s the Athenas lack the rich, full sound that the Bose provide. This was a bit disapointing to me since music is my top priority. Having said that the four star rating that these speakers recieved was based on their performance in the movie realm. They are definitely intended to be used as a home theater speaker.
Overall these Athenas are impressive when watching a good flick, and they are certainly worth the price for that.
On: 2005-03-29
I auditioned the Micra 6 system against the Infinity TSS-750 set and had trouble deciding which way to go. Researching and reading numerous reviews of both systems turned things into a dead heat. The Micra 6 system went on sale and it was an offer that I couldnt refuse. I cant say enough good things about this speaker system, the highs and mids come through warm and the center speaker had less of a hollow sound when compared to the Infinity center speaker. The subs range is tuned well to the satellites and gives an almost seemless feel to the overall range. Team this system with a quality receiver and you will not regret owning these guys.
On: 2005-01-29
As S. Hayes says, this is a great speaker set. I bought an extra satellite (MS) and set it up as a 6.1 system using an Onkyo 502 receiver. Sound cannot be beaten at anywhere near the price.
On: 2004-10-08
I just replaced my old Polk speakers with this setup, and I couldnt be happier. They are very good looking, easy to mount and the tiny speakers have full, warm sound. The subwoofer is perfectly matched to the speakers and Im enjoying music (and movies) in a whole new way. For the price of most small subwoofers, you get the subwoofer and 5 speakers. If youre looking for a setup for a room of less than 400 sq ft, you cant beat this deal. Go to the manufacturers website and check out the reviews, and then buy this setup.
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