Athena Technologies S2, P2, C1, P3, S1 User Manual

C

R

E

A

T

E

Y

O

U

R

S

O

U

N

D

owners manual

S1
S2
S3
C1
P1
P2
P3

Printed in Canada

7AI//SDP

• WARNING

To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this product
to rain or moisture.

• IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS ­READ CAREFULLY !

Read Instructions: All safety and operating instructions should be read before the
product is operated.

Retain instructions: Safety and operating instructions should be retained for
future reference.

Heed Warnings: All warnings on the product & operation instructions should be
adhered to.

Follow Instructions: All operating and use instructions should be followed.
Cleaning: Unplug the product from the wall before cleaning. Do not use aerosol

or liquid cleaners, just a damp cloth.
Attachments: Do not use attachments not recommended by the product

manufacturer as they may cause hazards.

Water and moisture: Do not use this product near water.
Ventilation: Openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation and to ensure

reliable operation and protect it from overheating so they must not be blocked or
covered by placing the product on a bed, sofa or other similar surface. This
product should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a bookcase or rack
unless proper ventilation is provided or the manufacturer's instructions have
been adhered to.

Power Sources: This product should be operated only from the type of power
source indicated on the marking label. If you are not sure of the type of power
supply in your home, call your local power company.

Grounding or Polarization: This product may be equipped with a polarized
alternating current line plug. This plug will fit the power outlet in only one way as
a safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug, try reversing it. If the plug
should still fail to fit, contact your electrician to replace your outlet. Do not defeat
the safety purpose of the plug.

Power Cord Protection: Power supply cords should be routed so that they are
not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them, pay­ing particular attention to cords at plugs, convenience receptacles and the point
where they exit from the product.

Overloading: Do not overload wall outlets or extension cords, as this can result in
a risk of electrical shock.

Object and Liquid Entry: Never push objects of any kind into this product
through openings as they may touch dangerous voltage points or short out parts
that can result in a fire or electrical shock. Never spill liquid of any kind on the
product.

Servicing: Do not attempt to service this product yourself as openings or removing
covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards. Refer all servicing
to qualified personnel.

Heat: This product should be situated away from heat sources such as radiators,
heat registers, stoves, or other appliances (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

Non-Use Periods: The power cord of the product should be unplugged from the
outlet when left unused for a long period of time.

Damage Requiring Service: The product should be serviced by qualified
personnel when:
A. The power supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
B. Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled into the appliance; or
C. The product has been exposed to rain; or
D. The appliance does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked

change in performance; or

E. Product has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.
F. If the product does not operate normally by following the

operating instructions.

Replacement Parts: When replacement parts are required, use replacement parts
specified by the manufacturer or have similar characteristics as the original part.
Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire, electric shock, or other hazards.

Safety check: Upon completion of any service or repairs to this product, ask the
service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in
proper operating condition.

WARNING: The mechanical connection rails on P1 are intended for use
with the Athena S1 speaker only. The use of these mechanical connection
rails with Athena S2 and S3 speakers creates an unstable, hazardous
product which can result in personal injury and or product damage.

• INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of Athena Technologies

®

loudspeakers! Proprietary technology and high quality
manufacturing will allow you to enjoy the most natural and
accurate music reproduction for many years.

The advice offered in this manual is aimed at helping you
maximize and maintain peak performance, and therefore, your
listening satisfaction. Please take the time to read all of the
instructions contained in this manual to make certain your system
is properly installed and functioning correctly.

• BREAK-IN PERIOD

We strongly advise that you resist the temptation to play the
Athena Technologies

®

speakers to their full capabilities or
experiment with critical placement and listening until they have
been properly broken in. This process should last approximately
50 to 100 hours of music playback. This can be easily be done by
putting your compact disc player on Repeat mode, while playing a
CD with a wide dynamic range at normal listening levels.

• THE FOREFRONT OF

TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN

The Athena Technologies®speakers are unlike any speaker ever
produced. They have been designed from the ground up as an
expandable line of products. All of the models are timbre matched
with each other, which means that you may choose any of the
speakers you wish for any of the channels, either front stereo pair,
or in home theater as rear or center speakers. The subwoofer
models have been designed as true add-ons. The proprietary
connection rails on the subwoofer top allow the speaker to be
physically connected to the sub below it. This will provide what we
refer to as a "Power Tower" The rails have two purposes.

1) To attach them physically for security and safety, and

2) To make the audio signal connection between the two cabinets.

This provides not only a simplified wiring system, but also

eliminates the possibility of reversing the phase between the

speaker and subwoofer during the hook-up process.

For further details, see the connection descriptions and
diagrams, later in this manual

• ATHENA TECHNOLOGIES

®

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Athena Technologies®is the newest division of Audio Products
International Corp., known throughout the industry as "API". A
Canadian company founded in 1975, The API factory is a modern
165,000 square foot research, development and manufacturing
facility located in Toronto, Canada. API is one of the largest speaker
manufacturers in the world, distributing products to fifty-five
countries worldwide.

A talented research and development team utilizes advanced
computer-based design and sophisticated measurement techniques
in its ongoing quest for new and better acoustic technologies. This
research is based upon the years of pioneering psycho-acoustic
research developed in conjunction with the Canadian "National
Research Council" (NRC), to create speakers that achieve high
performance in typical home listening environments. Extensive
research into every aspect of the speaker is analyzed and evaluated
before the design stage begins, a concept that we refer to as a
holistic design approach. This method guarantees that the finest
components and materials are made and tested with sophisticated
manufacturing and quality control techniques to ensure exceptional
performance that is superior to speakers costing several times
their price.

owners manual

2

owners manual

3

• ROOM ACOUSTICS

The Athena Technologies®speakers can provide great sonic
performance in virtually any environment if proper placement is
respected in a good listening environment. Factors such as
placement of furniture, room dimensions, and wall construction
materials all play roles in the final sound reproduction. Therefore,
both acoustic and aesthetic factors must be considered, but since
aesthetics are personal and vary greatly, some basic guidelines
should help determining optimum placement for sonic performance.

The music we hear is a combination of direct (on axis) and
reflected (off axis) sound. The direct sound arrives at your ears
directly from the source while the reflected sound arrives after
bouncing off room surfaces. The on and off axis performance is
affected by the various surfaces in the room. Various surfaces reflect
sound differently so a balance of soft and hard furniture, as well as
floor or wall hangings are ideal. Too much soft material, like sofas
and carpeting, can deaden sound reproduction. Conversely, hard
furniture and floors can produce a harsh, brighter sound. Reflective
surfaces have individual sound absorption characteristics so it is
important that the left and right reflective walls have the same, or
very similar, reflective qualities. For example, a tapestry or curtain
on wall will absorb more frequencies than a plain painted surface.

The distance the speakers are placed from room boundaries can
affect the amount of bass. Placement closer to corners generates
more bass output, farther away from corners will generate less bass.
Rooms with different height, width and length are preferable for
best bass performance. If possible, place the speakers so they are
firing along the longest wall in order to fill the room most efficiently
with music. In other words, if the room is 10-feet (3m) wide and
20-feet (6m) deep, place them along the 10-foot (3m) wall. There
will be less wall reflection and therefore a more natural sound.

• SPEAKER PLACEMENT

Stereo front speaker pair

For best stereo imaging, the left and right speakers should be
the same distance from their respective side walls. If the distance
from one speaker to the listener is very different from the other it
can affect the soundstage or stereo imaging. Therefore, the ideal
position is having the speakers equidistant to the listener.

A general guideline for speaker placement is to set up the space
between speaker and listener at approximately 1-1/2 times the
distance between the speakers. For example, if the speakers are
placed a minimum of 6-feet (1.8m) apart (the absolute minimum),
the best seating position would be 9-feet (2.4m) away.

Another guideline is referred to as the rule of thirds. This formula
dictates that the room should be divided into thirds, with the
speakers placed a third of the way into the room. The listener is
positioned in the second third of the room, with the last third of
the room behind the listener. This may be impractical or difficult to
integrate into some decors, so try to at least respect an adequate
distance from side and rear walls. Do not make the side and rear
wall distances (from the speaker) similar as it will cause acoustic
problems.

Center Channel

A center channel can be expected to reproduce as much as 60%
of a movie's soundtrack, most of which is dialogue. In order to
maintain the effect of voices emanating from the actor's mouth, the
C1 should be centrally located between the left and right main
channels and placed above or below the television. Be sure that the
C1's front baffle is flush with the front face of the television or
cabinet to maximize dispersion.

Surround speakers

The chosen Athena Technologies®products to be used as the
surround speakers can be positioned in a variety of locations. The
most popular places used for surround speaker placement are side
wall, and rear wall.

Side walls: To maximize the ambient field for side wall
mounting, position the speakers adjacent to and slightly behind
the primary listening area at a height of approximately 6 feet.

Rear walls: To maximize the ambient field for rear wall
mounting, position the speakers so they flank the main listening
area. They should be raised to a height of approximately 6 feet
and should ideally have a space of 6 feet between them.

Optional

Stand mount: Place the stand mounted speakers slightly behind
and on each side of the main listening area. They can be anywhere
from 1-6 feet behind or to the side of the main listening area.

If you have followed these guidelines, then there should be
speakers surrounding your listening area, which will result in the
encompassing surround sound feeling.

These are basic guidelines and can be tailored to suit the décor
of your room. Following these guidelines will help to provide a
sense of spaciousness and ambience for all music and surround
sound formats.

• SUBWOOFER PLACEMENT

Using the Athena Technologies Subwoofers

with Athena Technologies

®

speakers

One of the main goals of the Athena Technologies®series was
to eliminate the problems that commonly arise with subwoofer
placement. The large, bulky box appearance normally associated
with subwoofers is difficult to integrate into a room without
negatively influencing the décor. The Athena Technologies

®

series
subwoofers were designed in a slim, upright fashion to serve as a
speaker stand and docking base for the Athena Technologies

®

series
speakers, transforming them into powered speakers that acoustically
blend better than subwoofer satellite systems.

How to Dock an Athena Technologies®Speaker
to an Athena Technologies

®

Subwoofer

Determine the ideal location for the speakers. Place the
subwoofer in this location. Then, remove the two long rubber strips
on the bottom, front of the speaker that cover the metal tracks.
Remove the plastic cover on the top of the subwoofer, to expose
the docking tracks. Lift up the speaker to the subwoofer's height,
starting from the back of the subwoofer and line up the tracks.
Slide the speaker forward on to the subwoofer, ensuring that both
tracks are connected together. Stop movement when the speaker
will not slide any further forward. The rear of both cabinets should
be flush with each other. Your speakers are now securely attached.

owners manual

Now continue on to the connection section, and be sure to read
the "Subwoofer Controls" section to adjust the controls correctly for
use with your chosen speaker model.

NOTE: Do not dispose of the plastic cover from the subwoofer top.
It can be used on the subwoofer's front to cover the operational
controls if you wish. It attaches like a speaker grille into the four
recessed holes on the amplifier module.

Subwoofer placement when

used as a stand alone subwoofer

The Athena Technologies®subwoofer can be placed virtually
anywhere in your listening room without significantly affecting the
stereo image of your main speakers. However, interactions between
any subwoofer and a room's acoustic properties will have some
impact on the overall bass performance. Reading this section will
help you find a placement for the subwoofer in your room, which
will yield the best bass performance.

Start off by placing the subwoofer near a corner, which will
produce maximum bass output, but may result in a "boomy" bass
reproduction. Move the subwoofer away from the corner in stages
to find the position that yields maximum bass output without
"boominess".

An effective method of determining the ideal subwoofer location
is to place the subwoofer in your preferred listening position. Then,
slowly walk the boundaries of the room until you've determined the
spot where bass is at it's fullest. Switch positions between yourself
and the subwoofer and the ideal location has been located.

It is important to leave at least 4 inches (10cm) of clearance
space between the subwoofer and walls or room furnishings.

• SUBWOOFER AND SPEAKER

CONNECTIONS

CAUTION: On the subwoofer, do not use both low level (RCA) and
high level (Speaker type connections) methods simultaneously.
Turn off all power in your stereo system before proceeding with
the installation of the subwoofer.Not doing so could result could
result in shorting from the speakers leads and potential damage to
the amplifier.

High Level connecting the Subwoofer and Speakers

On the rear of your Athena Technologies®subwoofer are two
pairs of red and black binding posts for both left and right channel.
One set is marked "Sub In" and one set is marked "Spkr Out",
with each pair designated as left or right. Each post is color-coded
black/red. These terminals will accept up to 16-gauge quality
speaker wire.

Connect the system one channel at a time, and start your
process at the Receiver. Connect from the "Speaker Output" on
the Receiver to the "Sub In" on the subwoofer, being careful to
correctly match positive and negative, as well as left and right
connections.

A) If you have a pair of

Athena Technologies®subwoofers and

speakers, and they are docked as per earlier instructions, connect
the speaker cable from the Receiver to the “Left Sub-In” on the
subwoofer on

both left and right speakers. As long as each speaker
is docked correctly to the subwoofer, and the connection strap
between the upper and lower connectors on the subwoofer are in
place, then the speaker will receive the audio signal, eliminating the
need to connect any cables directly to the speaker

B) If you have

one Athena Technologies®subwoofer and a pair

of Athena Technologies®speakers, and one of the speakers is
docked to one of the subwoofers, then perform the following steps:

NOTE: The following example assumes the left speaker has the
subwoofer docked to it. This is our recommendation as it is easier
to understand. If however you wish to dock the subwoofer to the
right speaker, you must reverse the below connections as far as
left and right are concerned.

1) Connect the left channel speaker wire from the Receiver to
the “Left Sub In” on the subwoofer. As long as the gold connection
strap is in place between the upper and lower connectors, then the
speaker will receive the correct audio signal.

2) Connect the right channel speaker wire from the Receiver to
the “Right Sub In” on the subwoofer. Then connect another speaker
cable from “Right Spkr Out” on the subwoofer, to the right channel
loudspeaker.

If you inadvertently reverse one of the connections (i.e, red to
black), you will notice a severe lack of bass from your speakers. This
is called wiring the system “Out of Phase”. If this occurs, check the
wiring and re-connect as necessary.

High Level Connecting the Speakers

If you have only the speakers, and not the matching powered
subwoofer, simply connect the speaker cables from the Receiver to
the connectors on the back of the speaker as follows.

Connect the speaker wire from the positive (RED +) terminal on
the amp to the positive (RED+) terminal on the speaker. Connect
the negative (BLACK-) terminal on the amplifier to the negative
(BLACK-) terminal on the speaker.

• A NOTE ABOUT SPEAKER WIRE

Contrary to popular belief, not all speaker wire is the same. The
speaker wire is the only contact the speaker has with the amplifier.
If thin, low quality cable, such as "lamp cord" is used, then the
overall sound quality will suffer. This is true, particularly in lengths of
10 feet or more, so we strongly recommend the use of high quality
speaker cable to obtain the best performance from your speakers.

• SUBWOOFER INPUT

Using the low level RCA subwoofer output of a receiver,
processor, or crossover.

This connection is used when you are using an Athena
Technologies

®

subwoofer separately. Or if you wish to use the
pre-amp signals from your Receiver or Processor as opposed to the
high-level connection method described above.

Connect a single RCA to RCA interconnect cable to the
"subwoofer output" jack from your receiver or processor to the
RCA "subwoofer input" on the rear panel of the subwoofer.

In this case, the main speakers must be connected directly to the
receiver as described above in the "High Level Connecting the
Speakers" section.

Please read the "Subwoofer Controls" section to ensure all the
controls are set-up correctly for this purpose.

• SUBWOOFER CONTROLS

"Bass Level" Control

This rotary control adjusts the output level of your Athena
Technologies

®

subwoofer and should be used to balance the level of

the subwoofer with that of your main speakers.

4