They did not run me out of the room -- while the overall build quality could be better, I was surprised at the overall sound. The Micca 42X did not last 2 days in my home, and these are still standing. It is possible that my ears are filled with wax - however I like what I am hearing for a $47 to $59 pair of speakers.
The sound is better than I expected for the price. While not perfect, there is no overall cheap boxy sound character. There is no real annoying hollow sound, or congestive, grainy, sharpness, edginess, excess sibilance or cup hands sound character. The sound is more on the smooth side -- however not as refined or full as you can get from some more expensive speakers. The woofer is overall better than the tweeter. The 4" woofer has a big vented magnet and does have some decent bass for its size, and does not have that typical mushy, loose bass sound. However, the bass is not as tight as you would get with some more expensive speakers. The soundstage is decent with decent imaging -- the stage is more wide than central. The tweeter is decent and not harsh -- however it does lack some air. Overall a nice speaker for listening to music, for one on a restricted budget and needing a starter system. It seems the goal they wanted to hit was to have a nice midrange, which is key and they did that. The midrange for this price out performs some of the more expensive speakers -- however, some inner detail and nuances will be missing. They are also fine for entry level, budget friendly home theater. They are better than those small cheapy sat speakers out there, and while some dynamics are missing, they can get loud. Buy a budget sub that is not real boomy and cross them over at around 100 hz. These speakers are not made for boomy type subs. They for sure can work as surround speakers, for one who may be looking for budget friendly surrounds.
Now for some nit-picking. While there is only so much you can get with this price, I would like to see more than just a high pass filter on the tweeter -- as both the tweeter and woofer are having to do extra work. There is no type of stuffing or padding inside the box to deaden some back waves from the woofer. I added some padding, and it brought the overall sound and stage out more. That box is thin and is typical for this price range -- however with the woofer and tweeter being inserted into the baffle, it does not leave much room for the screws to tighten properly and hold. It would be nice if the front baffle was at least 1/4 inch more thick. The drivers are that good and would benefit more from a stronger box. If Mediabridge stays consistent with quality control, they have a winner. There customer service has been first rate, as there has been a couple of mitigating problems.
Even as it is now with some short comings -- I prefer them over the likes of the former Insignia craze speakers and the current Insignia that is being discontinued, as well as over the Polk T15, Sound Appeal, MTX and Dayton clone like speakers. I even prefer the Mediabridge over paying full price for the Pioneer speakers. While the Pioneer does some things better, the MediaBridge are more open to me.
Now back to the the Snell K7 -- maybe I need to retire!?!?!
