Micca MB42 Bookshelf Speakers for Home Theater Surround Sound, Stereo, and Passive Near Field Monitor, 2-Way (Black, Pair)

Great satellite and surround speakers for the price! OK. The MB42. Overall this is a great speaker for the price and is better than anything I found for a pair of speakers priced at 60 bucks. There are certain things about it that make it stand out for the quality of sound that you will be getting. First, it has a Kevlar woofer and that is why you can get 100 watt max power out of them. Kevlar makes the woofer extremely durable to take the wattage and the neoprene surround is better quality than foam. Second, the tweeter is a silk dome element, which is better than fabric, polypropylene or Mylar, so it gives a better smoother high range. So, the sound is better and more realistic. These type of drivers are more prevalent in higher priced speakers. And it is tune ported for better bass response. It also excepts banana plugs for a more solid connection with speaker wires and have gold plated connectors for even better connectivity. 16 gauge is recommended in the manual. The cabinets are 3/8 inch MDF board for rigidity and high density to keep the internal resonance of the cabinet down so the sound doesn’t get colored by the vibration of the cabinet and helps to keep the standing waves inside the cabinet from leaking out which can cancel out bass response. The baffle (front wall is ½”) so, they knew what the where doing. Again resonance dampening Now the cons for this speaker. (The frequency range really means “range.” Even though it’s specified to get down to 60 cycles per second, it doesn’t mean that the low point will be just as loud as let’s say 90. (I tested them.) The speaker comes into full volume at around 125. So, do not expect them to go as low as you might think. I mean flat response. If you turn the bass up by bass control or equalizer, they will definitely come alive in those areas, I mean real good!. Most acoustic music is alright as is, but I would recommend subwoofer. Also, the tweeter is ¾” and not 1 1/8 inch like most silk dome tweeters, so they are not as smooth as the larger, but to me they are smooth enough for me.) Also, the crossover which governs where the woofer begins to die off in the high range and where the tweeter takes over is only governed by a single capacitor. The transition isn’t as good as a crossover network, but is adequate if you are not stingy as far as how consistent the volume is over the entire frequency range. As far as quality, I just got them, so I don’t know. (IF you want them to last, don’t drive them beyond their endurance! Who knows what will happen. But if you have a reasonable volume… they do fine and easy… Yet, the way they are designed, it is easier to replace the drivers since the woofers and tweeters are all surface hung. This gives wider options of replacement drivers for them. (I like to upgrade speakers.) FYI IMPORTANT: At the Miccastore site, you can change them from MB42’s to MB42x’s for they sell the better crossover networks separately for that very purpose so you can upgrade them. (IF you need help on changing the crossover, just contact me…) or, solid red is + for the woofer, and solid green is + for the tweeter… the others…well there is no other connection. The crossover comes with an hex wrench, so no tools are needed. Just undo everything and put it back the way it goes. The crossover is 2nd order. It basically means that as the woofer dies out in the upper ranges of the middle frequencies and it falls rapidly. Then the tweeter rapidly takes over. So, in the middle frequencies, you get a better tighter transition which improves frequencies that are in the vocal ranges so the midrange sound more real and the volume over the entire range is consistent. ($29 and free shipping.) Again something found in more expensive speakers. I replaced the crossovers and they now sound so sweet. Also, I used acoustic insulation. The walls are only 3/8, so they do have mid gain in that area. Just add some fiberglass insulation, or acoustic insulation, or even batting material for quilts or something… and fill it lightly so the air pressure can easily escape the port. So, over all, for the price, they make great surround and satellite speakers if you use a subwoofer (Or turn up the bass on your stereo…) And compared to other speakers at the same price range which are usually, paper or poly con woofers, Mylar tweeters, particle board cabinets and cheap wire connectors, these speakers definitely stand out for the money…

After much dithering, I decided to get these instead of Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2-Inch 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair , because (1) Amazon's price on the Daytons is still over $50 (although one person reported that another web vendor still has them for $40), (2) they're a bit smaller (that was useful to me), and (3) various comments and reviews just gave me the impression that build quality might be a bit better (binding post connectors rather than the Dayton's spring-loaded wire terminals, for example). First, the "bad": one has no right to expect powerful or deep bass at this size or price, and, indeed, they don't go down very low. But the bass is fairly solid and clean right down to where they started to lose steam (around 80-100Hz in my estimation - they really don't go down to the 60Hz specified, in my opinion). I won't concentrate heavily on specs in this discussion, because most people don't have measurement equipment, and, interestingly, most people perceive 80-100Hz as "deep bass" (they also perceive 12KHz as "very high treble"). But where you can tell is with music containing quality bass content (electric bass guitar, string quartets with bass fiddle, organ music, etc.). These speakers didn't do a bad job, but they sure don't give you the physical pounding that you get from speakers with top-class bass response (Klipschorns, or 18" sound reinforcement systems used in concerts, etc.). Room placement is key, here (this is mentioned prominently in the manufacturer's literature, in fact). I placed them along the short wall of a 15'x24' rectangular room, about 6" from the wall and 4' from the corners, and they produced shockingly pleasing sound. Again, not powerful bass, but entirely pleasant and adequate. The only other area where I felt that my high-end speakers were audibly superior was what I would call a slight "softness" in the midrange and upper midrange. This most noticeably affects female vocals, and was, for example, noticeable on Sara K's "Hobo" album, and, to a similar extent, on stuff by Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris. To their credit, these speakers behaved very well at amazingly loud (for their price and size) levels, even though their published sensitivity is 85dBm. This relatively low number means that they need, say, 10 times as much power as a 95dBm speaker to produce the same level, and that translates to a boatload of power going into them in order to sound loud. They're rated at 75W, but I'm certain that if you actually ran them at 75W continuous, they'd be quite well cooked in a minute or so (as would your ears). So I was probably driving about 4W average into them and they sounded quite impressive. The clean sound and overall balance is really wonderful (that almost insignificant midrange softness mentioned above doesn't really detract). They're just so pleasant to listen to, you really could mistake them for speakers costing 20 times more. So far, I've AB'ed them with Sonus Faber Concertinos. Admittedly not every uber-audiophile will rate those at the absolute top of the small-speaker spectrum, but they're quite respectable (and around $1000/pr). The differences with the MB42s were audible, but not severe. As I said, you would never guess that you were listening to $50 speakers, and to be able to compare them with the Concertinos in the same paragraph is nothing short of astounding. Build quality was as hoped for: decent binding posts, excellent fit and finish (of relatively light 3/8" vinyl-covered particle board). They probably weigh 1/4 as much as the Concertinos, and while one might want something sturdier, at $50 you are simply not going to find that. A thought about that modest bass response: a lot of folks will be tempted to add a subwoofer to make up for missing bass. I've found, sadly, that most affordable subwoofers do a really poor job of augmenting bass response. They insert a huge bump somewhere between 60Hz and 100Hz, but the result isn't natural-sounding bass, just an impressive thump-and-boom. I understand that's what a lot of people want, but that's just not going to make these speakers sound fabulous. You'd have to consider spending $500 to $1000 or more on a serious powered subwoofer system to get a combined system worth listening to, and let's face it, there's just no way it could be worth adding a $1000 subwoofer to a $50 pair of main speakers. I mean, you *could* do it and it would sound very good, but if you've got the money, you should first look at spending more on the main speakers and probably forget the subwoofer altogether. I next hope to compare these to Bose Acoustimass 5 Speaker System - Black , a system that I've never really enjoyed listening to, but which, at $399, should, in principle, outperform the Micca MB42. One last point: considering that you could combine these with an excellent quality inexpensive amp like LP-2020A+ Lepai Tripath Class-T Hi-Fi Audio Mini Amplifier with Power Supply or FiiO A1 Mini 2x14W Class-D Digital Audio Amplifier or Topping TP20-MK2 MKII TA2020 Class T-AMP Digital Stereo Amplifier , you'd have a killer system for around $100 that could hold its own (respectably!) against systems costing way over $1000. So am I satisfied with my purchase? Definitely! Are they worth the money? Absolutely! UPDATE (2 days later) I've had a chance to listen to a lot more music, and have discovered a moderately unpleasant narrow resonance peak in the midrange (haven't measured - seems like it might be around 600Hz). This was surprisingly and annoyingly audible on a performance of The Nutcracker, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy". To be sure I wasn't imagining it, I played the same segment on the Sonus Faber Concertinos and they performed admirably - no resonant peak, just beautiful, clean sound. Having heard that CD through many other speakers, I was pretty sure it was the Miccas, but there's no doubt about it. Pretty annoying. Interestingly, the peak is narrow enough to not be audible on most material, but wow, when you hear it, it really sings (and not in a good way). OK, we're still talking about $50/pr speakers, here, so it's something I can overlook, but I sure won't be playing The Nutcracker on these speakers again. UPDATE 5/27/2013: If you happen to read recent reviews of the Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2-Inch 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker Pair , it seems that they've "updated" that speaker with an inferior product that buyers are quite unhappy with. So it looks like, in this price/size range, the Micca speakers are the one to buy - if you can get them.

I start of by saying these are a good price/performance set of speakers. I came across these by chance on vacation and was curious about them. With only being 60 bucks a pair and the pleasant reviews, I thought, why not. Many of the reviews prior are correct in every respect. The sound is big and warm with accent in the lower midrange. I have a small den that I listened to them first and the sound envelopes you pretty well. They are not neutral sounding but pleasant. There is a crossover upgrade that the manufacture offers that allows you improve the sound for a mere 30 bucks per pair. The crossover is quite significant and is notably designed in the USA (it actually an 8 element design with a 2nd order on both the woofer and tweeter plus filter and impedance compensation). It neutralizes the tone more although it does not fix everything. I did move the speakers into the living room which is a 30 by 15 foot space and placed them on 30" stands. I was quite impressed at how they could fill a room with jazz piano and guitar instruments. On certain material I did noticed some nasally sound quality. This is most noticeable on compressed voices (I listen to Pandora and some of the ads I can here this sound quality very clearly which I do not on other speakers). There is no insulation in the cabinet so maybe some amount of damping might round out this issue. The upgrade required some modding of the cabinet to fit the new pieces. Afterwards, I found out one of the woofers seemed to emit a buzz. After much playing around with it, I determined the woofer defective and contacted the Micca distributor who was happy to send me a new one for $15 (NOTE: After open the speakers, you void the warranty, they make explicitly note this on the site). Once the woofer was replaced, the buzzing was no more. For less than $100, you really cannot go wrong. Just make sure to listen to them carefully because you might have get a bum driver, but I get a little critical about things. Do they outpace a pair Epos ELS-3s in sound quality? Not really even after the upgrade but they have a lot going for them in the price! Pros: Big sound, wide range, decent imaging, small convenient size, upgrades available for better sound, responsive customer service. Cons: Quality control might need to be an issue, musical but not neutral .

After reading various reviews on Amazon, and comparing prices with other brands, I recently purchased a set of these speakers (Micca MB42) to replace an ailing set of "Universal" speakers (that's the brand - seriously!) I use on my computer. Most of my music listening is done on my computer, and it is important to me that whatever speakers I purchased sounded good and worked well with my sub (from an old Cambridge Soundworks 2.1 system). Make no mistake, these speakers are it! A bit larger than my old speakers, the ebony laminated wood grain cabinets really complement my computer system nonetheless. The laminate is attached on all sides; even the back edges of the cabinets are silky smooth (many low-cost speakers leave the rear edges rough). The front covers are held in place via friction fitted metal pegs (not plastic pegs like some speakers). The silk dome tweeter and carbon fiber woofer of these speakers give them a classic, yet sexy high-tech appearance that says "expensive", even though they cost less than a dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant! I haven't looked inside the cabinets yet to see if there is any poly-fill; for such a low-cost speaker, I wouldn't expect it - but these have already surprised me. Maybe they will again when I get around to looking! The sound? Gorgeous. When I unboxed these, I noted that they felt decent and solid - I was confident that there wouldn't be any rattling when playing at higher volumes. I can't say that I have pushed them yet, but at the volumes I have played them, they performed flawlessly. While the bass from these aren't bone rattling (which I would never expect from speakers this small), low-end reproduction was there. Where these speakers really shine are in the mid-range and high sections; both areas are clear and bright. I have no doubt that these would make for excellent use as front and rear surround speakers on a 5.1 or better home theater system. The range of both seem incredible to my aging ears, and they matched up perfectly with my small sub. I wasn't able to perceive any "holes" in the range nor in the crossover with the sub - but then again, I am not an audiophile, just an ordinary listener of my music. Other notes on this system: It came packed very well. You had your normal Amazon packaging with filler air-bags, and inside the outer box is the Micca box holding the speakers. The speakers are wrapped in plastic bags, and place between two foam (not styrofoam, btw) cushions that protect the corners; the Micca cardboard box is made of fairly thick material. Short of extremely rough handling, they are packed very well for the trip. Mine arrived with not a single scratch. The manual that comes with the speakers is very basic - but after all, these are speakers; if you are buying them, you likely know how to hook them up properly. I did like the fact that they mentioned proper gauges of wire for the length of the wire run, which is an important thing to know so that attenuation is kept to a minimum. My speakers use the amp in my subwoofer, and are a scant few feet distant, so I use fairly small gauge solid-core wire - nothing fancy (and certainly not "oxygen free" as far as I know!). The 5-way binding posts allow for easy connection, though I did find that having adequate lighting was necessary to align and fit the bare ends of my wire into the side hole (after which tightening down the post secured them). Connections would likely be far easier with bullet connectors or spade lugs, but my old speakers used spring connectors, so all I had were bare ends to work with. If you are using multi-stranded wire, be sure to tightly twist the ends to ease insertion (if you decide to use bare ends as well); you might even tin the twisted end with solder to make a solid end for easier insertion. Finally - make sure you check to see if you can get your set via Amazon's "refurbished" option - that's what I did. If perfection is your need, then go with "brand new" - but if you don't mind possible imperfections and/or missing parts, then refurbished will save you even more money on an already low-priced speaker system. All mine were missing (according to the manual) were the "feet". Since I was placing these speakers on a desktop, I wanted to make sure they were "decoupled" from the surface, so I ended up picking up some 1/2" dark felt "dots" from the hardware store and putting them in place. Again, I am very pleased with this purchase. These speakers are top-of-the-line for the bookshelf or desktop, with a bargain price that you shouldn't pass up.

I just got these today, having read good things about them on the Internet. I was a bit excited to see what they would do! Considering the price and size my expectations were modest, but when I connected the speakers and gave them a listen, I was in for a pleasant surprise! These are small, inexpensive speakers. The woofer is 4" in diameter and can only move a limited amount of air, so the bass response isn't mind blowing right off the bat. However with a little EQ, careful placement, and reasonable expectations regarding volume, they can produce rather impressive lows and clear enjoyable sound! My setup is like this: Phone over bluetooth to a BT receiver, which goes to a Lepai 2020 amp, then the Micca speakers. They live on top of a bookshelf in my office, about 4 feet apart. The shelf is in the corner, so there are the benefits of corner loading to help enhance the bottom end. The music player on my phone has an equalizer, and I set it to boost 31Hz about 4dB. That added some oomph. I noticed a nasty, boxy resonance at about 120Hz, so I brought that down about 6db. Everything else is flat, with the exception of about a 2dB lift on 16Khz for a little 'air'. Wow, that fixed things RIGHT up! I've been enjoying these speakers all evening, and so far they do a good job with most things I throw at them. Overall I'm really happy. They weren't as linear and musical right out of the box as say my expensive Klipsch speakers were.... But keeping in mind the engineering constraints this price point imposes, and the fact that I was able to make them sound great with just a little fiddling with some EQ, they're outstanding! As long as you're reasonable in what you ask of them, these little guys will deliver. Highly recommended! -----Amended Review---- I just added the crossover upgrade available for these speakers, and now they're even better! The mids and highs are smoother and transition better with the crossover. I couldn't be happier with these little speakers!

Right out of the box, connected to 20-watt Leppy amp, these are great sounding speakers. Not amazing, but very good indeed. Great bass, crystal clear highs. They have about 8 hours of break-in time as of this review. I understand they need about 40 before they truly become amazing. I connected my old 100-watt receiver and these really came alive! If you're on a budget, a $20 Leppy amp sounds great. If you have something more powerful, these will have your neighbors dancing. As surprising as the bass is for a 4-inch woofer, the tweeters are where these REALLY shine! The woven carbon fiber and tuned port give deep, punchy, room-filling bass, without being boomy or artificial. The sound is very natural. My old ears are terrible, so I shouldn't comment on the high-frequency response. But I can hear EVERYTHING like I haven't heard in years! I used to be a Bose fan, but more recently I've been listening to JBL. Klipsch is known for their horn tweeter. I'd be foolish to compare inexpensive Micca to Klipsch. So call me an old fool. These are hands down the best sounding speakers I've ever purchased... and they're not even broken in yet! I'm using these as a second little stereo in my office. They'd be great in a garage, workshop, bedroom, dorm, apartment, anywhere you want small speakers. They do sound good enough to be your primary living room speakers. ***UPDATE*** Everyone here says these need about 40 hours to break in. I played them about 16 hours Saturday and Sunday. That's 32 hours. Add in a few hours each Thursday and Friday and I've hit that number. I can now retract the power statement. My vintage amp needs service. The pots are bad and it sounds like a summer thunderstorm. Until my contact cleaner and fader lube get here, I reconnected the Lepy Amp. The speakers are just as alive. Perhaps the receiver woke them up. A friend of mine does an Internet Radio Show every Saturday and Sunday at noon. Even with the little Lepy amp I could crank up the volume and hear these throughout the house! The bass is strong enough to resonate the walls. The highs are so bright and crisp, even muted in another room it was still very listenable. Sound that big from such a small speaker is nothing short of amazing. Add into the equation the fact that I'm driving these with a $20, 20 watt x2 amp and it's unbelievable. I'm not an audiophile, but I used to be. Don't let the Lepy amp fool you. The original TA2020 chip, while very low power by today's standards, was classified as an audiophile chip. The Lepy amp is using the same circuit as designed by Tripath and includes Texas Instrument's improved version of the TA2020 chip. The Lepy is very small, very low power, and very inexpensive. But it is an audiophile quality Class-T amp. It will drive these Micca speakers without breaking a sweat. I did replace the power supply with a 6 amp supply though. A worthy $11 upgrade. An audiophile-quality system that sips the tiniest bit of power and costs less than $100? Yes, it IS possible. These Micca speakers are at the heart of it! The last piece of the puzzle is the audio source. An old iPhone connected to wi-fi for streaming is a great start. The DAC in the iPhone is not audiophile quality, but it is very good. A $99 Dragonfly USB DAC makes a wonderful upgrade. I use an old laptop. I installed Linux Mint XFCE and use it only for streaming Spotify, Pandora, Slacker, other Internet Radio Stations, and my own CD collection ripped to high-quality AAC files. It sounds great with it's built-in DAC, but the Dragonfly is on my list. Update: Forget the Dragonfly - Overpriced. Instead, I found this: Signstek HIFI USB to Coaxial S/PDIF Converter Convert Digital to Analogue Signal Mini USB DAC PCM $22.99! The same DAC can be found under the names Muse, Q5, and others. These incorporate a renowned DAC chip, with decent supporting circuitry. It is a fairly simple process to upgrade the capacitors, but I have not found it necessary. There is an old computer term, GIGO, Garbage In Garbage Out. This applies to audio as well. With the DAC in place, even my old restored vintage receiver sounds good. You may not notice the subtle flaws in the sound, but once they're amplified, these speakers will faithfully reproduce them. With pristine audio feeding the system, you get pristine sound out. My restored receiver was ready for recycling. I'm glad I gave it one more shot with the DAC in place. If your Miccas do not sound amazing, you better check the source material. These speakers are so clean and clear you will notice the limitations in the source. Update: I've had these for 2 years now, and they play streaming music all day, every day. The slight bump in the upper bass range has turned into a full-blown resonate response around 125-150 Hz. They do, or will, require equalization. I use a software EQ and pull that nearly all the way down. That being said, many people say these require a sub. While a sub would do the same thing, and provide even more bass, these will surprise you. They are rated down to 60 Hz. I can bump up the 50 Hz band and these little guys kick! Going down to 35 Hz they'll begin to distort. That's just too low for a 4-inch driver. Still, a little bump at 50 and you can actually feel it, AMAZING! They like power too. If you using a decent receiver or amp, you should be good. Many, myself included, are powering them with a Lepy 2020A. 20 amps may not sound like much, but back in the day, most receivers were 15 amps. They had huge power supplies and plenty of reserves. They could power large speakers and shake the walls. The Tripath chip, at 20 watts, was a little monster. Using the Signstek DAC, they just didn't play as loud as my big receiver. I have a Fosi Audio DAC Q4 that I was using on another system as a headphone amp. This little couple came together and were married recently. The result is audiophile bliss. I have the power back to be heard throughout the whole house. The Lepy can really show what's it's capable of, and the Micca's reproduce it from deep bass to highs my ears can barely hear. In case you're wondering about the vintage receiver the Fader cleaned the pots and restored the audio to its original glory, but leaking capacitors could be allowing DC voltage on the output. This would burn out the voice coils in the speakers and headphones. Recapping it is not a job I'm ready to undertake at this time and the Lepy's portability gives me more options. To X or not to X? That is the question. I did 2 things to correct that 125-150 Hz resonance. I'm pleased to report it worked! One, I ordered the crossover kit direct from Micca. $29.99 which converts the MB42 into the MB42X. Does it make a difference? Yes. Is it a massive change? No. The change is subtle, but they actually DO increase the high frequency output and improve the clarity. Is that what flattened the upper bass bump? I'm not sure. To install the kit you must remove the drivers. Not that big a deal, 4 screws each. When reassembling, Micca's instructions say to make the screws snug but to not over-tighten. I'm not sure how much this will help in the long run, but I applied thread lock to each screw. I figured with the vibration of these little woofers and the lack out torqued down screws I might be asking for trouble. This I believe has helped the most. Ensuring the woofers are securely attached to the box with no room for vibration. Are the crossovers a recommended upgrade? At ~$30 for the pair, yes. Would you be sorry you saved that much on the 42 vs, 42X? No. I also prefer the wood grain of the 42 over the flat black 42X. You can always upgrade later. How difficult is the kit to install? Do you have to solder the connections? If you can plug in a lamp, you can install the kit. No soldering required, plug and play.

I'm pleasantly surprised with these speakers. The sound is very warm and smooth, and the bass response is pretty good for a 4" woofer. And they are quite attractive, with a finish that suggests a much higher priced item. They have binding posts instead of the spring type terminals, another sign of quality. The only issue I found was that one of the binding posts was not tight on the back side, so it spun as I tightened the thumb nut onto the wire. I pulled the back plate off and did a quick repair, and all was good. Unlike some of the other users, I am using these as mains in a work shop along with a subwoofer, and the sound is quite impressive. I am driving them hard, and they have taken all I have thrown at them so far. I also bought a set of the Daytons everyone is raving about, but I like these better. The Daytons are a bit harsh and shrill; these have a much more pleasant sound. I would have rated 5 stars if not for the loose terminal. Still, I would rate these equal to speakers at the big box store costing 3-4 times as much. If they hold up, this is one of the best bargains in home audio. Update-As they get broken in, they sound better and better. The base response is quite impressive for a 4" woofer. Just for grins and giggles, I've been running these side-by-side with a pair of $350 high-ed speakers with 6.5" woofers. The high-end speakers sound better, no doubt about it; but not $300 better. Buy these! They are very good speakers and a ridiculous value for $50. Update - As these have gotten broken in, they sound even better. Simply put, these are excellent speakers for junk prices. I have these in my office where I listen to them for several hours a day, and I am extremely pleased with them. I hope Amazon gets more of these in, they are one of the true steals in home audio. Update - I have two pairs of these and I've really enjoyed them. But it get's even better!! Micca now offers a crossover upgrade for these (they don't come with a true crossover in them) for about $29 which corrects the minor deficiencies in them. They are available on the Micca Store site http://www.miccastore.com/home-audio-video-bookshelf-speakers-c-8_32.html. I bought a pair and installed them today. Very easy, takes about 5 minutes per speaker with no special tools. With this upgrade, these speakers are equal to or better than any small bookshelf speaker I have heard. No kidding...they are amazingly pleasant and smooth. Even with the upgrade, I have about $80 in the pair; you will not find speakers of this quality for anywhere near that price. Amazon is supposed to carry the upgraded models designated MB42X beginning in October. I don't yet know what the cost is, but it is sure to be a dang fine small speaker.

These are sweet speakers - the specs are right on: rubber surround woofer, silk dome tweeter, Nicely finished (plastic veneer) cabinet with rounded corners and a grill that removes but doesn't rattle. As some have pointed out, the banana jacks are not standard spacing - but the real caveat is the quality control/workmanship. I'm giving five stars because you can't beat the value - unless you're unable to tweak funny quirks in the assembly line construction. I got mine "refurbished" for an additional discount. When I inspected them - the first seemed flawless - but the second one rattled when I took it out of the box. Turned out the woofer had been remounted with new mounting holes once the first set had stripped. (Refurbishing, I suppose.) Problem: the new screw holes were so close to the originals in the front baffle board that they also stripped. The woofer was dangling by one screw when it arrived. A second screw was mostly pulled out, another was bouncing around the box - and the fourth, alas, had been snagged by the powerful magnet of the silk dome tweeter. Yes, that kept it from rattling, but it also dented the tweeter dome as if a small child had been poking it with a finger. The dent remained when I removed the screw - even though I tried to pull the dent by suction. Then I tried simply softening the dome with low heat: my breath, slowly and continuously blowing on it. It took a few minutes, but eventually it popped right back into shape and has seemed to work without issue since. The woofer I rotated a full quarter turn to get the new screw holes in solid fiberboard. Oh - and then when I tightened the bare wire connectors, they began to turn in the speaker, instead of tightening on the bare wire. So I ended up removing the connector panel and tightening the banana jack connectors from the inside as they should have been. Being covered by the amazon return policy, I could have returned it at no cost to myself - but I liked them too much to send them back, even for an exchange (especially for that discount price), and so saved both the vendor and me time and trouble. So - despite the issues - I'm still giving them a five-star rating. Just be sure to check your units' workmanship before you get rid of the packing materials, in case they need a little fix-it TLC that you're not ready to offer.