Micca MB42X Review (Bookshelf Speakers under $100 Part 1) 

Thank you bro!

@Kanye West Me I am fraud trying to sell people what they don't need.

@Kanye West Kanye i don't know if you're talking to myself or Thomas but taking the time to express disdain without context seems a bit toxic and lazy. If you're going to insult someone or take a jab at least put some effort into it.

Thank you Bro! Dayton B652-Air is next, will probably post that Friday or Sunday.

Ah thank's for the tip!! I am actually very famliar with the old screw terminals, you can actually find these banana adapgers for those on ebay, i had a pair of old JBL 2352 pro speakers that used those damn screws and the banana adapter was a life saver!

Nemo Propaganda Reviews I tried those, but unfortunately they didn't fit either. So I had to use my trick. That's the great part about it. It definitely works, because you're still just sticking wire in there, like it's designed for. It doesn't look that neat, but it's in the back, and you can usually hide it. Those things you're talking about work great though, when they fit. I'm actually jealous everytime I see someone using those things too. 😀

@@amb3cog my OCD would lose it over something like that, you're a better man than I :)

@@NemoPropaganda It was pretty annoying. But I'm sure I'll eventually find a use for them. Like some old speakers. I've actually never even thought of using them for that. I've only seen them on amps. Every once in a while I go on a little buying spree, and get all sorts of things like this at once. Like when I need one thing. I'll grab a bunch more stuff at the same time, just to have on hand. So these just ended up in the pile with everything else. I work nights, and usually end up doing stuff at weird hours. So just going to Home Depot isn't usually an option. Plus I live in the country kind of, and it's a bit of a ride. I'll also buy speaker, power, and other type of cables in bulk when I find a deal. So I can build my own cables in a pinch.

ahahaa, thank you sir!

I agree, i did strongly consider them but there normal price was just way to high to consider them a true under $100 pair of speakers, the most expensive of the trio is the Polk T15 wich has an msrp of $99 and regularly goes on sale for $69 so it's really a huge difference in price. The BS22 are good and maybe i will use those one day if i do a under $200 video.

@@NemoPropaganda Yea man, I get it for sure.

If I were to not get a subwoofer with another pair of speakers would the PB42s be adequate to compliment the Sony's or should I just get two more Sony's ending get another sub at some point to have two subs and two sets of Sony speakers that are all the same?

I'm not sure honestly as the room is a big factor for the micca speakers, if you want to try something new Erin from Erins Audio Corner says the NEUMI BS5 are better than the Micca and i trust that guy a lot so i would maybe try those. But if you're going to use them in the same system for home theater i would just get another pair of the Sony's.

You should be fine, they played plenty loud for me even when i paired them to a 50w amp but loudness is relative. If you like your movies around 90db and have a larger room you might need some beefier gear. I say try it and see what happens, i think most people will find it plenty loud and dialogue should be clear enough as long as the amps center output is decent.

Nemo Propaganda Reviews That’s good to know! You put my mind at ease! Thanks for the reply. Take it easy! 👍

Aylic A50 is the cheapest amp I have tried but I'm sure there is even cheaper. Check out cheap audio man on youtube.

Emotiva S8 Flex at $299 is pretty damn amazing. Does that fit your budget?

@@NemoPropaganda that's twords the top of it.

@@jeffrielly let us know what you decide on, that's the cheapest one i know of, a lot of people say they like Dayton subs on parts-express but i havn't tried those.

probably not, I think most guys that mix want something neutral.

@@NemoPropaganda any reccs?

@@rd3914 I'm not sure really, most mixing guys are using powered speakers and I don't really review those.

as long as you can turn down the treble they should be okay.

Oh wow thank you for confirming that, i’m jealous of all that measuring gear you have, that sounds fun!! I don’t think they’re bad, they’re just $90 a voiced a certain way :) 17 year old me would have loved these lol.

mmm tough question, in terms of build quality it's not even close, the Emotiva is on a completely different level. The MB42X requires tons of EQ adjustment and all that bass you add in is going to reduce it's maximum volume a lot. At reasonable volumes they both sound good but the Emotiva is much better in every way. It's sense of scale, bass, top end, and midrange area all ahead of the MB42X. By comparison the top end on the emotiva is more refined, it's midrange has more body and soul with bigger sense of scale while the bass output is better in ever way.

@@NemoPropaganda Thank you... I asked specifically because I believe i'm on a similar journey to many other "internet" audiophiles who live vicariously through various youtube reviewer's experiences such as yours. Bare with me on this short novel... Some years ago there was a surge of acceptance for the MB42-X as the reference standard for the budget audiophile which left probably thousands of persons like myself basically happy with decent sounding music for almost no money. Curiosity to understand exactly how MB42-X's compare to better quality speakers, kept me wanting to upgrade to something more reputable, while at the same time, concern that spending more money may not necessarily result in vastly better sound quality if the miccas were so good, kept me from making any actual purchase. After getting the miccas I have watched dozens of other speaker reviews for years looking for something not too expensive that was more widely respected by audiophiles and there have only been 3 reviewed speakers that seemed to fit the bill. The Micca RB42, the Emotiva Airmotiv B1+ and (thanks exclusively to you, this channel -& a bit of luck) the PSB imagine mini. The important point I want to drive home is that ANY shortcoming in the overall process of obtaining the PSB imagine mini, (higher price, larger footprint, lower sound quality etc) would have made me feel like it wasn't a similar payoff to getting the miccas which were a good sounding speaker with a small footprint for a price felt like a steal of a deal. Since the PSB option is no longer available I am just curious to know if it would have even made sense to get the RB42 or the Emotiva B1+ as upgrades to the MB42-X edit: thanks again for recommending the imagine mini that little speaker is breathtakingly good for its size.

@@yamafanboy I've been trying to get my hands on the RB42 but it's constantly sold out so i can't comment on that. The MB42X is good enough in many ways like Emotiva products in which the value proposition is so high it makes upgrading difficult. Taste is a big factor also, i had a guy come listen to my Buchardt S400 and he said he liked the sound of his $200 speakers more, a shocking statement to say the least but he had gotten used to the sound of his inexpensive setup and preferred it. That's how i am with food. I don't like expensive food, i love cheap food only :D. A used set of Monitor Audio Radius 90's is about $200 and would be an upgrade from the MB42X and have the same footprint, while the Emotiva B1 is an upgrade it's footprint is much larger. To answer your question on "does it make sense" i think you're asking me to answer something that is more personal in your mind. To me the build quality alone makes it a worthy upgrade as i value the aesthetics and overall quality of an item but someone else who may ultimately value dollars spent vs sound output may feel the MB42X is unmatched and spending even a penny more is pointless. I think the real thing you're trying to figure out for yourself is where you land on the performance to cost ratio, like what level of value makes sense and i struggle with that also. I would say yes the Airmotiv B1+ is a great upgrade for anyone coming from the MB42X and the PSB Imagine Mini is a further upgrade from the Airmotiv B1+ in overall fidelity but will have a little less low freq bass response.

@@NemoPropaganda thanks again I don't think you could have given a better answer than that. Honestly this is exactly the "education" I come to this channel to get. Now if only I can just find a sub that perfectly compliments the imagine mini in the 15Hz to 60Hz frequency range I would be contented with that for many many years. I can tell you that the SVS PB-1000 is a sub I really wanted to love but it's honestly somewhat surprising how far it falls behind in sound quality. For movies on the other hand I can 100% recommend it but I am putting it up for sale as soon as I find a much better sounding budget friendly subwoofer.

@@yamafanboy A budget sub might be tough for you but stay with me here. While you got them for cheap the Imagine Mini's are at least in todays world a $550 speaker pair and if they had a little more bass they would be easily worth closer to $850 in my opinion. Because their bass is so damn quick and agile you are cursed with having to pair them with only the most exceptional subwoofer as you're going to want it to be good with speed, tonal accuracy, output, and agility which are all hallmarks of expensive top level subwoofers. I've never heard any of these but based on all I've read a few that come to mind are the REL T7i and Rythmik F12-300, and while my own SB-3000 is very quick and agile i didn't feel it had the best synergy for the imagine Mini, don't get me wrong it sounded amazing, but something was just slightly off, maybe the 13" driver was just too big to integrate well with the 4" Imagine Mini, I'm not sure... The only budget sub i can think of is the Emotiva S8 Flex, it sounded truly exceptional with the Imagine Mini as both have bass with a strong defined edge to it so tonally they are a great pairing. The S8 Flex speed should be fast enough and it's overall output is rather high. The only downside is due to it's built in limiter below 30hz bass is not really going to exist. If you were local I'd loan you my B&W ASW608, that's also a great match but at only 200w of peak power i worry it doesn't have the maximum output most people want from a subwoofer, they really should have given that thing 200w rms.

Yes you can!

I don't understand your comment, these are passive speakers and as such can only be used with an external amp.

​@@NemoPropaganda I was comparing them to people who may want a boombox or party speaker compared to these which are much better sounding IMO.

@@rancosteel oooooh, I see.

I’m kind of done with my series for under $100 speakers but if i ever return to that segment i’ll check those out.

I don't do sound demos.

yup! I started with a pair of Emotiva speakers that were $169 at the time, XRM 4.1 I believe.