Dayton Audio B652 vs Micca PB42X

The cabinet is simply too small for this size woofer. That means there's not enough air volume to allow the cone to move as it should. This hurts bass response and also low frequency volume. Since these are not ported, I decided to remedy that

. I like the C91 better at this price, but these have more bass and are not as bright.

That said, they do produce stereo sound so if your sound system currently consists of a sound bar, or something similar, you will definitely notice a night and day difference in sound quality because they will produce true stereo separation. In addition, the B652s may make excellent rear surrounds in a surround sound system but I have never used them in this manner. If you have never listened to better speakers and you have only used computer speakers or the cheap speakers that come with MP3 player docks in the past there is no reason you will not enjoy these speakers. Sound quality is up to the listener and the listener's experience is what often dictates what that person thinks about the quality of a pair of speakers

5cm) woofer and the MB42 just a 4-inch (10cm) woofer, but even so, their bass prowess was about the same.The MBS-650s' size advantage was most obvious when we played Queens of the Stone Age's "Songs for the Deaf" album loud. With the volume pushed up, the MB42s sounded strained in the larger CNET listening room. If you're looking for speakers to rock out in medium and larger rooms, you can't get by with the petite MB42s

One small, but nice (and important) touch is the rubber de-coupling pads on the base of each speaker. Instead of felt pads or thin rubber stickies, they put decent thickness rubber pads on, which help to reduce sound transmission and reverberations (I usually use florist's clay or a square of dense camping mat to accomplish the same thing). For someone (me) who overspent on underdelivering speakers in the 70's, '80's, and early '90's, it's amazing the sound that comes out of these speakers. It goes to prove that careful design and consistent materials and manufacturing are about 85% of what it takes to produce musical speakers - the many "exotic materials" and "new technology" speakers that fell by the wayside just go to show that cost (in the past) doesn't guarantee better performance than mass-produced China-speakers from a parts company

Their arrival was highly anticipated. First impression was positive. They arrived securely packed and in perfect condition. I like the simple design and appearance

Ultimately, as you could probably figure, they were returned because I did not feel like having a set of speakers sitting in a brown box in my attic. I give Amazon 5 stars for their customer service and return process. I am giving these two stars only because of the price and are suitable for many who want to start out cheap and work their way up as funds become available. Sorry for the ranting and raving but I had to get this off my chest

.it was time to look for an audiophile bargain that would satisfy my need for clarity/transparency and good sound stage. I started looking for the old Radio Shack Minimus 7 speakers (now discountinued)

All just simply hung against the drywall by the hook already attached. I'd feed them with Lepai 2020Ti's, each pair, and that would be it !! For $200 bucks, it sounds as good as an HK sound room. At 1/2 volume, it will blow you out of the seat, and the kids will be screaming because their ears are bleeding. As anyone knows, a well matched set blows pure watts and amps out of the water anyday

Lowering the volume stops it from this, but that kind of defeats the purpose. Will likely buy a different set elsewhere.

If size is of your concern, it might be worth looking into the Micca MB42, or soon to be released MB42X (with a proper crossover), for small desks and office uses. Otherwise these will do nicely on a bigger desk, or even nicely for a home theater set-up. All-in-all I'm greatly satisfied with the speakers. If there was only one major complaint, it would be that they are kinda big, but that's a tradeoff of having good sounding speakers

Once you turn up the volume it all starts to die. These won't work in a big room. No way. Even a mid-size living room, you'll find the limit right around "loud"

I got my pair in, hooked them up and was sadly disappointed. They have NO bass response, and very muddy mids. These sound like an old cassette boom box

While they lack the midrange clarity of the Polks they are well-balanced and listenable, plus they look great with the grilles on or off. Hard-core audiophiles may be annoyed by their flaws (which I'm still hopeful will fade over time) but in our setup they sound just fine. UPDATE: A few weeks later and the lower midrange bump I hear on close-miked male vocals continues to subside. But it's very source-dependent