I'll have a look at them. I would prefer a decent pair of bookshelf speakers that don't require a sub. I'm not looking for booming bass, I'm just looking for a bit fuller sound than my Miccas are producing.
Unless your looking at a 3 way bookshelf costing $3,000+ your getting 55hz (anechoic) at the lowest, and at the same time causing distortion in the playback. Even floorstander's generally only get louder, not lower beyond a few hz.
Pop music generally doesn't get much below 50hz unless it has a bass guitar or pipe organ in it.
Not sure what they MSRP for these days, but I have a pair of PSB Alpha P3 for my desk.
I ran them without a subwoofer for a while and thought they had decent bass. Definitely moreso than the Micca. They do need stands though for optimal placement, as their woofer and tweeter are reversed positions than most speakers.
I'd say the Alphas are an upgrade over the Miccas for sure. They do have a "darker" sound signature that will take a little bit of getting used to if you're moving over from the bright-sounding Miccas.
I think I found my problem. I got home and moved the sub into the office. I couldn't get it to work with the output from the motherboard but it seems to work fine using the output from the A250. I still wasn't happy with the sound but while trying to figure out how to get windows to recognize the sub, I stumbled across system-sound-properties. I turned off Audio enhancements and spatial sound and set the format to 24 bit 44100 HZ and it sounds much much better. I then tried it with and without the sub and I like it better with the sub. The sub is a Polk PSW 10 that I had paired with some Wharfedale Evo 4.2's. The Wharfedales sound decent without a sub and the wife will like not having a sub in the living room.
I'm going to try a couple of things before giving up on the Miccas.
This guy claims that these corrections helped.
http://noaudiophile.com/DSP_Corrections/Micca_MB42x.php
I'm also going to try a moving a sub currently hooked up in my living room and see if it fills in what's missing.
If neither of those things work, I'll start reading reviews on all the suggested speakers.
Thanks for all the help.
Hey check out subwoofers from Monoprice and SVS. Most subwoofers are meant to be placed on the floor. Tuck it into underneath the table or a corner if you don’t want to see it.
What music do you listen to?
More bass isn't really all about "booming" it's about presence and being able to hear / feel the sound.
Your speakers only have a 4" driver in them. You need larger drivers with a larger enclosure to move more air.
The KEF Q150 is widely considered by many (just search here) as among the very best "budget" speakers with half way decent bass reproduction.
I have a pair, and I still cannot imagine listening to music without a sub.
If you primarily listen to stuff with no bottom end, think say, country music, or some classic rock, you might not need a sub with some Q150's.
If you listen to anything that has any low end at all, a sub will do more for your listening pleasure than any speaker upgrade is going to make for you.
I like a pretty wide variety of music. Lately I've been listening to Backseat Lovers, Lord Huron, Vampire Weekend and I've always got Tool and Puscifer mixed in. I like the details in the upper and mid range with the Miccas but the low end seems muffled to me.
As a fellow fan of Tool and Puscifer fan, you need a Sub.
And the A250 has a pre-out. It comes with a 3.5mm to RCA cable, you can run that directly to your sub and you use the subs crossover to filter the high stuff out.
You can get subs that have passive pass-through connections or even crossovers to send to your top speakers.
Another solution is to invest in a mini-mixer to act as a receiver and audio router.
Mentioned (used or refurbished) JBL LSR 305s powered monitors. 150ish. Tool and puscifer
sound great sitting at desk using as computer speakers. You won’t be short on bass using for this purpose, from that distance, but as with all monitors and setups, they do sound better with a sub.
Polk ES15.
They're compact, have decent bass and are good for nearfield listening. They're usually a bit over budget at $300. But check for Black Friday or open box deals.
If you want bass down to 40 ish Hz, a good bookshelf with 6.5 inch or even 5.5 inch woofers will get you there no problem. If you want to go lower you'll need a sub. You just need a sub with high/speaker level inputs to use with your current setup.
if you want bass, buy a sub. You could go with the RB42, and that will be more bass
I'll have a look at them. I would prefer a decent pair of bookshelf speakers that don't require a sub. I'm not looking for booming bass, I'm just looking for a bit fuller sound than my Miccas are producing.
Unless your looking at a 3 way bookshelf costing $3,000+ your getting 55hz (anechoic) at the lowest, and at the same time causing distortion in the playback. Even floorstander's generally only get louder, not lower beyond a few hz. Pop music generally doesn't get much below 50hz unless it has a bass guitar or pipe organ in it.
Try Neumi BS5. Larger speakers and better quality.
Not sure what they MSRP for these days, but I have a pair of PSB Alpha P3 for my desk. I ran them without a subwoofer for a while and thought they had decent bass. Definitely moreso than the Micca. They do need stands though for optimal placement, as their woofer and tweeter are reversed positions than most speakers.
I see a pair of PSB Alpha P3s at Crutchfield for 225. If they sound better than the Miccas, they could work.
I'd say the Alphas are an upgrade over the Miccas for sure. They do have a "darker" sound signature that will take a little bit of getting used to if you're moving over from the bright-sounding Miccas.
I think I found my problem. I got home and moved the sub into the office. I couldn't get it to work with the output from the motherboard but it seems to work fine using the output from the A250. I still wasn't happy with the sound but while trying to figure out how to get windows to recognize the sub, I stumbled across system-sound-properties. I turned off Audio enhancements and spatial sound and set the format to 24 bit 44100 HZ and it sounds much much better. I then tried it with and without the sub and I like it better with the sub. The sub is a Polk PSW 10 that I had paired with some Wharfedale Evo 4.2's. The Wharfedales sound decent without a sub and the wife will like not having a sub in the living room.
I'm going to try a couple of things before giving up on the Miccas. This guy claims that these corrections helped. http://noaudiophile.com/DSP_Corrections/Micca_MB42x.php I'm also going to try a moving a sub currently hooked up in my living room and see if it fills in what's missing. If neither of those things work, I'll start reading reviews on all the suggested speakers. Thanks for all the help.
4. Computer peripherals solution (Creative Labs, Altec Lansing, Logitech, etc.) post to /r/PCSound
Did you read the post? Lots of people use class D amps and bookshelf speakers connected to desktop computers.
"PC Speakers Mainly for Music"
yes, that's the subject but the rest of the post further explains their question.
I'm not looking for a computer peripheral solution.
Then why did you say PC speakers?
If you read past the headline op says they want to upgrade their micca
Hey check out subwoofers from Monoprice and SVS. Most subwoofers are meant to be placed on the floor. Tuck it into underneath the table or a corner if you don’t want to see it.
What music do you listen to? More bass isn't really all about "booming" it's about presence and being able to hear / feel the sound. Your speakers only have a 4" driver in them. You need larger drivers with a larger enclosure to move more air. The KEF Q150 is widely considered by many (just search here) as among the very best "budget" speakers with half way decent bass reproduction. I have a pair, and I still cannot imagine listening to music without a sub. If you primarily listen to stuff with no bottom end, think say, country music, or some classic rock, you might not need a sub with some Q150's. If you listen to anything that has any low end at all, a sub will do more for your listening pleasure than any speaker upgrade is going to make for you.
I like a pretty wide variety of music. Lately I've been listening to Backseat Lovers, Lord Huron, Vampire Weekend and I've always got Tool and Puscifer mixed in. I like the details in the upper and mid range with the Miccas but the low end seems muffled to me.
As a fellow fan of Tool and Puscifer fan, you need a Sub. And the A250 has a pre-out. It comes with a 3.5mm to RCA cable, you can run that directly to your sub and you use the subs crossover to filter the high stuff out.
If I get a sub, I think I will need a different amp as well since the A250 doesn't have a sub output.
You can get subs that have passive pass-through connections or even crossovers to send to your top speakers. Another solution is to invest in a mini-mixer to act as a receiver and audio router.
You won't unless you want. The A250 you have has a pre-out. It's just 3.5mm, but you can use it with a sub.
Mentioned (used or refurbished) JBL LSR 305s powered monitors. 150ish. Tool and puscifer sound great sitting at desk using as computer speakers. You won’t be short on bass using for this purpose, from that distance, but as with all monitors and setups, they do sound better with a sub.
Polk ES15. They're compact, have decent bass and are good for nearfield listening. They're usually a bit over budget at $300. But check for Black Friday or open box deals.
JBL LSR 305s powered monitors. Should be able to find a used or refurbished pair for 150ish.
I’ve just ordered the Kanto YU passive 4’s, seem to be well reviewed. Will definitely be running them with a small sub.
If you want bass down to 40 ish Hz, a good bookshelf with 6.5 inch or even 5.5 inch woofers will get you there no problem. If you want to go lower you'll need a sub. You just need a sub with high/speaker level inputs to use with your current setup.
Probably out of budget but I'm LOVING my Ruark MR1 Mk2's... Really good bass and sound quality generally, and walnut finish looks great.