This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Micca MB42X G2 low cost 2-way bookshelf speaker. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $100 for a pair, shipping included.
I expected thin, cheap plywood construction but instead, found a robust composite enclosure that actually manages to look like a professional monitor. You could sell them for $400 and I would not complain about the case being too cheap. Likewise, the woofer gives a feeling of quality. Whether it delivers on that, will be seen in the measurements.
Please note that there are multiple models in this series with very close sounding names. This is the latest "generation 2" version and company does a good job of showing the contrast with older design:
If you are not familiar with my speaker measurements, please watch this video tutorial:
Micca MB42X G2 Speaker Measurements
Let's start with our anechoic measurements:
I must say, this is quite a bit better than I expected! At high level, the response is pretty flat. There are minor variations but those tend to not be very audible. There is a slight bias toward low frequencies which is the opposite of what we typically see ("anti-showroom sound"). That lends to bass that extends pretty low for the class.
Given the relatively close sizes of the drivers, I expected directivity error to be smaller. This is likely to letting the woofer go up a bit too high, causing it to beam relative to the wide dispersion of tweeter at those frequencies (2 to 3 KHz). This results in fair amount of off-axis error:
As result, the predicted in-room response has a hole in it:
Measuring close to the port, we see a cabinet/port resonance that is responsible for some of the fine frequency response errors:
I started to measure the speaker at 86 dBSPL, expecting to hear a lot of distortion but could hardly detect any. Even at 90 dBSPL, response was very controlled:
Only when I went to 96 dBSPL (not shown) did hear a metallic ringing sound from the port. The high frequencies are especially clean here.
Impedance dips quite low which when combined with low sensitivity, calls for robust and high power amplifier:
Dispersion is wide which should make for a spacious, pleasing soundstage:
Vertical as always narrow but better than many due to smaller woofer:
Waterfall as usual shows some resonances:
Finally here is the step response for fans of that:
Micca MB42X G2 Listening Tests
I had a good feeling about this speaker and it delivered in listening tests. The slightly boosted bass and deep response in that region provided wonderful warmth. Distortion was kept impressively low, allowing me to pump a bunch of watts into this little speaker. Highs were impeccable at times due to spacious nature of them and their clarity. Yes, occasionally the bass got a bit tubby and that is to be expected given lack of equalization for room response.
I dialed in a quick boost in the 2 kHz range but didn't like the results. The sound became brighter than I liked. I have very thick carpet so likely the hole is not as bad in my situation.
At times, unbelievably, the MB42X G2 sounded like a quality studio monitor. I sat there listening to long list of my reference tracks. About 70% sounded wonderful which is far higher percentage than I expect from a speaker anywhere close to this cost.
Conclusions
It seems that micca has really made forward progress in their budget speaker here. Performance, objectively and especially subjectively, is all you can ask for at this price and then some. The small woofer does wonders for bass response despite its size. The only "cost" is low sensitivity which in this day and age, is not a problem at all with amplification being so cheap.
I am going to recommend the Micca MB42X G2 speaker. I am told it goes on sale for even less than $100. If so, be sure to pick up a pair.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
I expected thin, cheap plywood construction but instead, found a robust composite enclosure that actually manages to look like a professional monitor. You could sell them for $400 and I would not complain about the case being too cheap. Likewise, the woofer gives a feeling of quality. Whether it delivers on that, will be seen in the measurements.
Please note that there are multiple models in this series with very close sounding names. This is the latest "generation 2" version and company does a good job of showing the contrast with older design:
If you are not familiar with my speaker measurements, please watch this video tutorial:
Micca MB42X G2 Speaker Measurements
Let's start with our anechoic measurements:
I must say, this is quite a bit better than I expected! At high level, the response is pretty flat. There are minor variations but those tend to not be very audible. There is a slight bias toward low frequencies which is the opposite of what we typically see ("anti-showroom sound"). That lends to bass that extends pretty low for the class.
Given the relatively close sizes of the drivers, I expected directivity error to be smaller. This is likely to letting the woofer go up a bit too high, causing it to beam relative to the wide dispersion of tweeter at those frequencies (2 to 3 KHz). This results in fair amount of off-axis error:
As result, the predicted in-room response has a hole in it:
Measuring close to the port, we see a cabinet/port resonance that is responsible for some of the fine frequency response errors:
I started to measure the speaker at 86 dBSPL, expecting to hear a lot of distortion but could hardly detect any. Even at 90 dBSPL, response was very controlled:
Only when I went to 96 dBSPL (not shown) did hear a metallic ringing sound from the port. The high frequencies are especially clean here.
Impedance dips quite low which when combined with low sensitivity, calls for robust and high power amplifier:
Dispersion is wide which should make for a spacious, pleasing soundstage:
Vertical as always narrow but better than many due to smaller woofer:
Waterfall as usual shows some resonances:
Finally here is the step response for fans of that:
Micca MB42X G2 Listening Tests
I had a good feeling about this speaker and it delivered in listening tests. The slightly boosted bass and deep response in that region provided wonderful warmth. Distortion was kept impressively low, allowing me to pump a bunch of watts into this little speaker. Highs were impeccable at times due to spacious nature of them and their clarity. Yes, occasionally the bass got a bit tubby and that is to be expected given lack of equalization for room response.
I dialed in a quick boost in the 2 kHz range but didn't like the results. The sound became brighter than I liked. I have very thick carpet so likely the hole is not as bad in my situation.
At times, unbelievably, the MB42X G2 sounded like a quality studio monitor. I sat there listening to long list of my reference tracks. About 70% sounded wonderful which is far higher percentage than I expect from a speaker anywhere close to this cost.
Conclusions
It seems that micca has really made forward progress in their budget speaker here. Performance, objectively and especially subjectively, is all you can ask for at this price and then some. The small woofer does wonders for bass response despite its size. The only "cost" is low sensitivity which in this day and age, is not a problem at all with amplification being so cheap.
I am going to recommend the Micca MB42X G2 speaker. I am told it goes on sale for even less than $100. If so, be sure to pick up a pair.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
