Micca PB42X Powered Bookshelf Speakers

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 winner Pro: - 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 $109.99 Pro: - 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/clearer Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified $144.99 Pro: - 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 Miccas Edifier R1280T $129.32 Pro: - 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 others Con: - 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 coloration Bose Companion 2 Series III $149.00 Pro: - 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 spot Con: - 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 Micca Edifier G2000 $109.99 Pro: - Decent bass and presence - The LED light is kind of nice Con: - 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