Edifier’s recently released S2000 Pro speakers confused me a bit. Are they purely bluetooth bookshelf speakers or a top shelf studio / industry level sound system?

They are truly THAT good.

Edifier have been one of the masters of PC and personal audio for decades. Having a G Series gaming selection of headsets, sound setups designed for PC and less obtrusive home audio.

Their newest bookshelf speakers completely outdo their previous iteration.

For the most part the S2000 Pro’s are built to be wireless – connecting your audio source via bluetooth 4.0 is super easy via any mobile device or anything bluetooth enabled and literally boom, you’re blasting out your playlist, Spotify, even home cinema audio to the neighbourhood.

I connected up two Android devices, iPad and iPhone XS aswell as a Windows 10 Home based PC in my test run with these speakers. Too easy.

But connecting up my now aging LG TV proved painful with drops and / or non connection. I put this down to the TV though.

For an even more wireless experience, connecting up Alexa to stream Spotify was super easy and instantaneous.

If for some reason you do not want to go down the wireless track – or like me you want to also use the S2000 Pro for home theater there is the usual RCA and Optic options.

Flicking through source on the supplied speaker remote will see you changing your audio connection from the couch.

At home – I have a Sony 7.2 Cinema setup. One clear thing I noticed immediately was that these two bookshelf sized speakers could absolutely replace the army of nine speakers I have taking up space currently.

From the rumbling bass through to the wide surround these S2000 Pro’s are an apartment owners dream.

Each speaker is equipped with a DSP chip for its audio processing with four on-board EQ settings selectable by the remote control – and this definitely shows when connected up for console gaming and film watching.

Quality of audio is out of this world.

Encased in a light wood grain and removable speaker covers – the S2000 Pro not only hearken back to the earlier, more quality assured days of home audio, but are so aesthetically pleasing that they will fit in any decor.

Small to medium form factor size (8in x 13.5in x 10.5in (WxHxD) the main speaker is a weighty beast, as this has the amplifier and is the power source for the second speaker via a coax cable.

So, you need to place the S2000 Pro’s on to a sturdy shelf, desk, entertainment unit or even better, speaker stands.

Depending on your placement in the home, you may want to tweak your bass settings and so forth before nestling them in to place, the dials are found on the rear of the main speaker.

For the decades that I have been writing review, I always look at something objectively, warts and all. The Edifier S2000 Pro’s have no warts.

They are a testament to Edifier’s product range aswell as how small to mid form factor speakers should be built.

Coming in at around $599.00 NZD for a set of these, the S2000 Pro’s are a solid investment.

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When I was a kid I would marvel at my parents Kenwood home entertainment system.

It wasn’t the dual cassette deck, nor the record turntable or the array of nobs and buttons. No, it was the wood grain finish on the now antique system that made it feel like a centre piece of the home.

There’s something about wood in the home that gives both a comforting and warm feeling. As the years have trucked on by audio systems have taken on more of an industrial feel with sharp metallic or black plastic coatings, losing that personal touch and turning home audio gear in to an appliance.

Edifier, who have been the masters of personal audio for decades, released a set of bookshelf speakers last year. Quality in build and slightly weighty the small form factor speakers belted out pleasing loudness and were small enough to to be placed anywhere in the home.

This year Edifier have done it again with their S350DB but going from a dual set up to three speakers in the one set.

Still retaining the bookshelf look, encased in a wood grain finish the S350DB also includes one beefy sub, making it a 2.1 system.

While retro in their appearance the Edifier S350DB system is as modern as you can get and built for any audio source.

Connect up your audio source via Bluetooth, 3.5mm Aux or RCA aswell as optical and fine tune via controls on the Right speaker.

During our time with the S350DB we tried all connection options finding that we got the best result from Bluetooth and AUX respectively.

Even using Alexa to control Spotify and Netflix via Bluetooth was a no mess affair with audio on demand.

Setting up the S350DB is super simple aswell as the 8 inch sub acts as the primary base to power the speakers.

The sub will rumble at a maximum of 70w where the two bookshelf speakers – made up of a 3/4 inch titanium dome tweeter and main speaker is likely to give you a total of 40w per speaker unit (15w tweeter, 25w main speaker), or 80db.

Built into the S350DB is a digital signal audio processor – to fine tune your audio to the best possible output.

Using the S350DB to watch a movie in the lounge was good enough and the 2.1 set managed well to give a spatial sound – similar to a 5.1 home theatre.

Via PC gaming audio was great. The deep low rumble from the sub on the S350DB gave enough juice and complimented the two bookshelf speakers’ audio when in fierce battle.

But music is where the S350DB really shined.

Crisp, clear and deep. Playing from an iPhone to Android via Bluetooth and 3.5mm AUX pretty much gave the same experience.

Throw in the wireless multifunctional remote and you can stream or play your connected audio anywhere from in the house.

Edifiers S350DB are designed to rock hard and for you to rock out too, no matter what you decide to use them for.

Not as portable as last year’s version (with the inclusion of the 8 inch sub), they are a unit that you set up and forget in your home and connect to when and how you choose to for instant audio nirvana.

A top shelf (literally) speaker set, the only partial let down could be the price. Especially in New Zealand.

Retailing for $349 AUD is an excellent price point, but for Kiwi’s you’re looking at $599.99.

Nonetheless if a retro finished speaker set is what you’re in the market for, and you want something that will look exquisite without compromising on audio quality, then the Edifier S350DB is the set to take home.

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Edifier have got game!

Asides from the swag of desktop and Bookshelf Speakers that the audio professionals make, Edifier also produce quality headsets. recently we were able to review one of their top shelf personal audio headsets the H880, now we are taking on one of their gaming series units designed to work with both PC and PlayStation 4.

Budgetly priced at around $59.99 (NZD) the G20 offers up padded ear cuffs which evade sweating (even in the most intense battles) and are super comfortable. Whatsmore these are also 7.1 Virtual Surround.

A superb feature given their price tag.

The Edifier G20 offers up the usual boom mic which is fully rotatable at 360 degrees and an inline remote for pausing audio / mic.

The 40mm Neodymium drivers actually produce industry quality audio and when in-game you do have the full audio immersion.

The G20 only offers up USB connection, so using for them for mobile MMO’s is not going to happen, nor as audio / music headphones. This said, being that it is USB the transfer rate of audio is crystal clear and you avoid the shortcomings of a 3.5mm connection.

We tried the G20 on both PC and PlayStation 4. PC worked perfectly on Windows 10. Playstation 4 was okay, but we found that the wired in USB connector cable to not be long enough, so had to sit a bit closer to the Tv than we would have liked to.

But the Edifier G20 are a no nonsense headset, perfect for both professional and casual gamers. Being at the price tier that they are make the G20 a logical and fiscal choice to get in to game.

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Having been at the forefront of PC and midi audio for decades a little known fun fact is that Edifier also produce headsets.

STG was given one of their top shelf headphones, the H880 to put through its audio paces.

With the H880 the first thing you are likely to notice is their size. They are big. This ensures however that they cover all manner of ears, from big to small with their soft leatherette padded cups.

While you do look like a astronaut wearing them, the sound quality and deep bass rumbles that you are about to experience make that potential fashion extremity all worth it.

On par with the likes of JBL, Beats and Sennheiser the H880 uses 40mm polymer drivers to get that dynamic range and clarity straight in to your ear canals. Further to this the coned system of each ear piece is curved so that the bass is not just heard but felt at a maximum capacity of up to 100db.

For portability the headset is foldable to fit in to ones bag and of course the headband is retractable. This said, it appeared as if the Edifier H880 was designed for humans with overly large noggins – or maybe I just have a freakishly small head. With the headband fully adjusted so that it is at it’s smallest fit, the H880 did not fit as snug as it should. I like a headset to be as tight and as closely clasped to my ears as possible, so that no there is no noise pollution working its way in.

The H880 does have built in noise cancelation, but due to the loose fit, I was not able to gain the full experience of this feature. If I held the ear cups tight to my ears, then I was greeted with superb sounding audio.

The H880 comes with detachable cable, with corded remote and can be used on any audio producing device, from PC to mobile, to gaming.

And while the actual quality of your audio experience is always determined by your output device, having tried the H880 on an Android smartphone, an Apple smart device, Laptop and PlayStation 4 I found that the H880 did well to uphold quality and clarity consistency, despite a couple of the devices not having the greatest output (Android I’m looking at you especially).

One of these units will set you back at just a little over $100.00 NZD and these are some killer sounding headphones (providing you get them to fit).

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In what feels like a lifetime ago I remember building my first ‘Gaming RIG’. Looking back on it, it was simplistic compared to what’s available now. Still I remember a debate with a friend that myself adding 8GB RAM in to it was an ‘overkill’.

Nonetheless it was my baby, but when finished, it needed one more important component. Quality audio.

The first optimal sounding gaming speakers that I owned were Edifier, Edifier M1386 2.1 to be exact. The three speaker unit came with a wired remote in what was a killer kit for its mid 2000’s retail release.

To this day, one of the best PC audio speakers that I had encountered, until now. Recently Edifier supplied StG a R2000DB speaker set for review.

The Edifier R2000DB is a two speaker set, designed as a ‘Bookshelf’unit which has the capabilities of being a one stop midi-system.

Simplistic to set up, the R2000DB has the usual connections, RCA In (two lines) and Optical. Utilising the 3.5mm socket on your PC or audio device or the RCA to RCA option will have you blasting the neighbours in no time.

The uniquely designed ‘Eagle Eye’ 25mm dome tweeters are responsible for adding the clear crispness to the high tones and background accompaniments.

Beautifully finished, the R2000DB is not only a super powerful unit with 2 x 24 watt plus 2 x 34 watt per channel with it’s top tweeter to tub-thumping main speaker set behind soft mesh speaker covers, it is also wrapped up in a high gloss piano finish with a vinyl top surface covering.

Totally designed to be a part of your in-home decor or strikingly dark to blend in to your gaming dungeon.

Edifier have also added Bluetooth connectivity to their R2000DB. Via either wireless audio connectivity from your PC or Laptop (if equipped) the unit will instantly connect to any smart device without any fuss whatsoever.

The remote that comes with the R2000DB is a tad smaller than a credit card, so in a home, or especially any games room that I know of and have seen, there is the potential for it to be misplaced.

Functionality of the remote is basic, such as volume, Line inputs, Bluetooth, and two Sound settings; Dynamic or Classic (although testing these two, I didn’t really notice much of a difference).

Similarly most functionality can be set via the rear of the base speaker, which also connects the unit to the AC Power. However being at the rear of the base speaker means that you will need to be able to access the rear of the unit in the event the Remote cannot be used. For some this may be a hindrance.

Proving that Edifier are a serious player and as equally serious about their audio they have added a zero tolerance to distortion. By way of DSP filtering the audio source, the R2000DB unit is equipped with tech that will fine tune your sounds on the fly, and without the need of external software.

It just works.

Being the two individual ‘Bookshelf’ speakers, there is no sub, and trust me there’s no need for one. The volume, clarity and deep bass is more than enough to fill an entire house with your playlist, if not more.

And for gaming, you’ll feel the deep rumbling as your gaming exploits and achievements blast out in perfect clarity.

A game changer for solid audio with minimal footprint and for the output volume and force the R2000DB is a totally affordable option to replace any multi-speaker clutter set up.

Simple yet superb.

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