Micca MB42-C Center Channel Speaker for Home Theater, Surround Sound, Passive, 2-Way (Black, Each)

I got tired of reading endless forums about the "best budget desktop speakers" so I decided to purchase the following and compare them in real life against each other: Neumi BS5P | Micca PB42X | Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX | Edifier R1280T | Bose Companion 2 Series III | Edifier G2000.I am not an audiophile, I am not technical. I have played instruments my whole life and run sound in some amateur settings, so I'm guessing I have a slightly more critical ear than the average listener, but definitely not of those truly dedicated to hi fidelity listening. I don't know proper terms. I took these notes kind of haphazardly, but they are listed in order of best to worst after personal testing. I intend to play games and listen to music with a slight preference towards gaming as I have another speaker system for music that I can use for music.High level takeaway: the true battle is between the Neumi BS5P and the Micca PB42X. Between those 2 speakers, either would be the right choice of all these options depending on your intended use. I ended up choosing the Neumi because I am going to be playing games quite a bit, and they provided much better low end to fill out a lot of the sound effects. If I were choosing a speaker just for music listening, I would have gone with the Miccas as they have superior mid/high/vocal clarity. The Miccas have a good enough sub that I wouldn't be missing the low end on most music, but if I wanted to, I could just add a sub to fill out the lows on the Miccas (for edm type music)._______________________________________________________________________________________________Neumi BS5P 75-Watt $139.99 - My personal winnerPro:- Sounds full and satisfying right away- Great bass (almost as good as the dedicated sub on the Klipsch, definitely better than all other options without a dedicated sub. I've got adjacent neighbors so I won't ever go sub heavy anyways, so don't need a dedicated sub with the power these pull)- Decently clear mids/highs, though this is less defined than the Miccas. These get better after doing the firmware update, and get it much closer to the Micca's clarity, but still not quite as good- Bluetooth pairing quality stays really high (doesn't make a difference for me)Cons- Mids/highs/vocals still just not as good/clear/crisp as the Micca- Much larger than the other options (might be a pro if you're looking to fill a room with more volume - I'm not looking for that)- Need to update the firmware to get better mids/highs than out of the box (minor inconvenience but might scare some away)Micca PB42X $109.99Pro:- Really nice, crisp/clean mid/highs (better than everything else) The vocals are bright and shiny, unrivaled by any other of these options- Doesn't seem to add much coloration (but this also leads to it feeling slightly emptier than the 1280T, could be good or bad)- Pretty good bass for what it is (far better than the G2000 and Bose, worse than the others)- It comes with a 2 part dc cable that's longer than others, and a longer mp3 cable than others (doesn't really matter, but it's nice)- Fairly flat (might be a good or bad thing for usage)Con:- Getting really nit picky just to find differences, but the connection cable on the back is a twisty, rather than a poke as the Edifiers have. Twistys just seem less stable/more exposed- Mids/lows start to sound more tinny in comparison to the mids/lows of the neumi, leaving a somewhat less satisfying feeling- Ultimately this feels a bit emptier than others with better subs, but is also definitely crisper/clearerKlipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified $144.99Pro:- Great sound out of the box- Great bass (only one with a dedicated sub, so that should be obvious)Con:- Decent mid/highs, but still not as crisp/clear as the MiccasEdifier R1280T $129.32Pro:- Beautiful aesthetic- Good sound out of the box , there's not the obvious tinny sound of budget speaker- Volume, bass, and treble knobs- I'm satisfied with the sound immediately (I grew less satisfied with the sound the more I A/B compared to the Bose due to the coloration. I then adjusted the tilt of the speakers and it seemed to fix this coloration issue and bring more clarity to the mids/highs)- It's really minor, but the power plug is a plug and not a brick like all the othersCon:- No sub out option- Definitely colors the sound to fill in the space more (which could be a pro for some people too). Ends up adding a layer of mud to the overall sound- The mids/highs are really just muddy due to the colorationBose Companion 2 Series III $149.00Pro:- The mids/highs are nice and bright and clear- Really compact if you don't have a lot of desk space00- I'm satisfied with this sound out of the box- Seems not to color the sound (certainly not nearly like the R1280T), feels more accurate- Has an upward tilt so it seems to naturally position for the sweet spotCon:- Only a volume knob so no automatic control over bass/treble (I assume there's eq software that would fix this?)- Bass is a bit lacking (probably would be satisfied with the amount of bass if I weren't comparing against the others)- Something feels emptier about these speakers against the 1280T and MiccaEdifier G2000 $109.99Pro:- Decent bass and presence- The LED light is kind of niceCon:- Stupid startup car sound is absolutely childish and obnoxious- The LED light stays on (I think you can turn it off but who's going to go through the hassle of turning it off and on if you have to hear the stupid car sound at every startup)- Still clearly sounds like a budget speaker with a constant of tin/noise- Bass can wash out pretty easily at medium volumes- It crackles at other certain sounds like my incoming email ping- Not satisfied with this sound out of the box

I bought the speakers to replace a pair of KEF Coralle speakers that were bought in the late 80’s that needed new surrounds. The repair shop recommended replacing the crossover as well as the surrounds. I bought the Micca taking a chance on the reviews from Amazon and YouTube. I drive the speakers with a 20watt Class A amplifier. The sound for vocals is very good plus! Though the bass is somewhat limited, it is accurate and dynamic. Midrange is very good especially on non electronic music. Vocals are very good. Had some difficulty in placing the speaker for imaging, but once a good location was found the image amazingly for image and sound stage. They are amazing for the price, size and enjoyment! Using a Burmeister 933 Chinese Clone amplifier with 120 watts per channel it is even more than dynamic with more extended range. For me it’s an amazing value as repairs to the KEF’s were close to $300.00. The KEF’s are no slouch, but these give it a dang good run. Amazing for the price!

This "no-name" (maybe I should say little-known) company has impressed me with the MB42X speaker system. I am powering them with the Topping TP22 mini amp, rated at 30 watts per channel. It seems to be a good combination of clean power that can get the speakers surprisingly loud for their size. They also stay quite clear at "loud" volumes- of course I can get them to distort if I turn everything up beyond reasonable levels in my sound card settings.I am using the speakers in a 2.1 desktop system, primarily for music, some movies and Netflix, as well as a small amount of gaming. The complete setup consists of a HP desktop with the ASUS Xonar DX sound card installed, Mediabridge 3.5mm to RCA cable connecting the sound card to the TP22 amp, cheapo speaker wire (will be replaced soon) to the MB42X, and finally the Polk PSW10 powered subwoofer- which has now become the weakest link of my system, as well as the crappy speaker wire.The little Miccas will almost completely drown out the PSW10 when I play them loud, even with bass heavy music. Now keep in mind the small 4" woofers will not go down to sub-bass frequencies, but they play what they can hit with authority and clarity. I am listening to them now and should mention even though I have not played them a full 20 hours or whatever to fully "loosen" the drivers, I am hearing sounds in my music I was not hearing before with a big name branded "studio monitor" called the AV40. I suspect the amp has something to do with that, as the drivers of the AV40 seem of decent quality, but they must use cheaper electronics to keep prices down.The MB42X/TP22 combo is far and away better than the AV40, in my opinion, and with sale prices can be had for not much more than the AV40 and is still cheaper than the next level of powered monitors or bookshelf speakers. The MB42X seem to have a fuller sound across their range, sound just fine and detailed at lower volumes and really start to shine when you give them some power. I like the magnetic grills- makes it easy to remove them and watch the little woofers work (they really like to move when turned up) and the speaker looks very clean with and without the grill as there are no holes on the face of the speaker, but really I don't think one should worry too much about how a speaker looks for obvious reasons.I was trying to keep this short, but if I am taking the time to write a review, I feel it's worth offering all of my feedback to help people make their decision. The build quality seems good, but they are quite a bit lighter than I expected when setting them up and that made me skeptical of their performance ability...until I turned them up. Again, not of much concern but worth mentioning. the 42X is lighter than the satellite AV40 speaker- the one with no amp inside. I think the cabinets are not as thick material.People have talked about box resonance, standing waves, this, that and the other technical terms the hard core "audiophiles" like to throw around. I would not label myself as such, but do appreciate a high quality sound system and this should be more than satisfactory for anyone looking for good sound quality at a reasonable price. Micca got this speaker right and the price is why they get 5 stars from me. I would probably give the speaker itself 4 stars as a 5 star speaker will have even more range. Again, you are looking at $200 or more for just the speakers. This setup was less than $200 for everything except speaker wire since I had some laying around.They need a more powerful sub. I have my eye on the Dayton Sub-1000, which effectively doubles the power of the PSW10, and should be good for a mix of music and movies. The Sub-1200 looks nice as well, but I think the 10" should be a good match for my setup and I don't need super loud room shaking bass, just enough to fill out the bottom end and hit hard in movies or bass heavy music. That comes out to almost $300 even for a very nice sounding desktop or bedroom system- both in my case. Some have said the speaker could even be used as a studio monitor, which I do not doubt.Finally, everything I have mentioned here was purchased through Amazon and the service has always been great. Prices are always competitive and shipping is usually very fast, even the free shipping. This order (speakers, amp and cable) was an exception due to a delay with Amazon and my bank processing the payment- these things happen. One phone call to Amazon got that cleared up and they sent my package over night, which was not requested by me at any time. Mostly, I was just calling to make sure everything was in stock, etc. because the order had not shipped for a couple days after placing it, which doesn't happen often in my experience here. They explained everything to me, then said it would be delivered the next day- still free shipping. Thanks again Amazon for the service and offering so much helpful information through the website itself and allowing us to post our feedback.5 star service rating for the Amazon team!