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Strengths: Beautiful curves, smooth highs and lows, easily wall-mounted
Weaknesses: That pesky midrange, spring clips, hard to find in stores, 8" sub doesn't go "all the way"
Summary: Given my setup constraints, I think the Micra 6 system is ideal. I bought the silver version (which is $50 more expensive than the black version... go figure) because my flat panel LCD screen has a silver bezel (and obviously if I didn't care about looks I wouldn't have gotten a sat/sub system in the first place!)
Anyway, the Micra 6 satellites and center channel have very well designed mounting brackets that swivel to allow for precise aiming. It was a joy to hang these up on the wall (after using other speakers with poorly designed mounts). The depth (about 5.5") matches perfectly with the depth of my 37" LCD screen on its flat mount.
Once calibrated and broken-in, I am very pleased with the sound from these, which are mainly used for HDTV and home theater. I am amazed at the sound put out by the downfiring 8" sub (but subs are Athena's specialty so it's not too surprising). However, I had a BA 10" sub prior to the Athena and unfortunately the laws of physics dictate that there are frequencies a 10" sub can hit that an 8" cannot, and I find myself noticing that with this sub. The bass it puts out is clean and sounds great--but just keep in mind that there is bass in the signal that it won't put out.
I also would have preferred a power management system on the sub. I know Athena's higher-end subs offer it (the ability to turn off the sub amp if no audio is being received on its inputs). As a workaround I have its power cord plugged into the switched port on my receiver.
Music on these sounds great but easily reveals the missing midrange frequencies that are too low for the sats and too high for the sub. This sytem has its crossover preset to minimize this but it's still noticeable if you've heard the material on full-range speakers before. But again, this limitation is inherent in all sat/sub combos (though some mitigate it better than others). I'd say the Micra 6 is somewhere in the upper middle of the pack here.
An obvious cost-cutting move was the use of spring clips instead of proper binding posts (which you will find on higher-end Athena speakers). In practice this isn't liable to make much of a sonic difference, but it does preclude the use of very thick speaker wire or banana plugs.
Best Buy used to carry these but I haven't seen them there lately. If you look around online though you should be able to find them at a few places. If you can catch a free shipping deal (these come in one VERY heavy box!) then you're good to go.
If I was building a dedicated home theater or a critical music listening area, I would not use these speakers, but in a family room with a flat panel screen these are a great complement to TV shows, sports, movies, and music.
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