Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Studio Speakers with Bluetooth - Matt Black

First of all, I have no professional connection to either Edifier or Amazon – I'm just a customer.This review necessarily involves a comparison of three of Edifier's models (R1280DB, R1850DB and the S1000DB) so I have placed the review in each model's Amazon page.I hope you like reading – this review is a bit long, but I'm so impressed by the Edifier brand (and Amazon!) that I wanted to do it justice. I hope you will find it useful.I'm not an industry professional, just someone who is passionate about hi-fi. I'm also a physicist and so I'm fairly technical but I certainly don't claim to be any kind of expert so what you are getting here is simply a layman's opinion - although I'm fussy in the extreme about my music and home cinema!Part 1: The bedroom - Once upon a time…I got fed up being awoken by what sounded like a nuclear attack alarm from my phone every morning – I was certainly awake but I wanted to be gently brought into consciousness – not start the day with my heart pounding, thinking that I might cardiac arrest at any second!So, I bought a top of the range radio alarm at £170. It had three speakers, one of which claimed to be a "subwoofer". I wasn't overly impressed. I like my hi-fi and music, and mistakenly thought this might come close to a hi-fi sound – it did not.I had an Ocean Digital internet radio (no built-in speaker) lying around and discovered that it had dual alarms built in. I had the idea of being awoken by true hi fi sound in the morning – a bit indulgent, I know, but life is short so why not?I didn't really want an amplifier, cables and large speakers cluttering up the bedroom, so I thought of active speakers. I had never really considered them before as I thought they produced lower quality sound than passive speakers driven by a separate amplifier. I spent the best part of a day looking at reviews (from articles all over the world) and finally decided to give the Edifier R1280DB active speakers a try, even though I had never even heard of the company before. Given Amazon's outstanding customer service, I knew that I could return them with no fuss if they weren't up to standard.I bought the wooden finish type and was immediately impressed. They looked good in the bedroom and the sound was excellent, especially considering the price and the size of the speaker (small). My view is that this setup would be very difficult to beat by any of the (even high-end) one piece music systems available. OK, it's a bit indulgent for what is essentially an alarm clock (£120 for the speakers and around £40 for an internet radio) but the sound was superb. It kicked the radio alarm which I had purchased initially completely out of the park!!!Part 2: The kitchenHaving been so impressed by the R1280DB, I talked myself into getting some speakers to sit beside the TV / satellite in the kitchen. I thought I'd go a bit further up the Edifier range and settled on the R1850DB at £160.This is where things got a bit more serious – this speaker delivers a true hi-fi quality sound, in my opinion. Obviously, we need to remember two things, namely the price and the size, so it's not going to match a £1,000 set of speakers and separate amplifier – but it's not far off that kind of quality, at least at moderate volumes. My main system is around that price, so I'm judging it against that.I think Edifier may be victims of their own excellent products here; at a price increase of only £40 (£160 versus £120), in my view there is a substantial jump in sound quality over the R1280DB, so much so that if you can stretch to it, the R1850DB is definitely the one to go for. Considering that you will hopefully be listening to these speakers for years to come, that additional £40 becomes even less significant.Part 3: Back to the bedroom…Having been totally blown away by the sound quality of the R1850DB speakers, how easy they were to set up and how tidy and unobtrusive they were, I returned the R1280DB speakers and moved the R1850DBs into the bedroom – I now actually look forward to the "alarm clock" going off in the morning – that's a first! Incidentally, if you are using these as an alarm clock, they need to be left on. I measured their power consumption when there is no input and it is just under 6 watts. By my calculation that is approximately one kWh per week (6 watts x 168 hours) so, if you leave them on 24/7, that should equate to less than 20p per week in additional electricity. Or you could, of course, just turn them on at night and off again in the morning. I have also linked them to a blu-ray player and the TV in the bedroom – they have transformed everything sound-wise! The additional digital connectors are a huge advantage here – see the note further on.Part 4: Back to the kitchen…For those of you who haven't gotten tired of me babbling on, you may have worked out that the kitchen is now missing a set of speakers…I was so impressed by Edifier's R1850DB that I started to look even further up the range. After ANOTHER day looking at reviews, the Edifier S1000DB model appeared to be receiving huge praise from every reviewer. However, at £280 (for Amazon Prime members, otherwise £300) these are not exactly budget speakers, so it took a few days before I talked myself into taking the plunge.Bottom line, I am hugely impressed with the S1000DB! Again, it is a step up from the R1850DB. However, it doesn't make the R1850DB sound bad in any way by comparison – I can wholeheartedly recommend both of these models. The S1000DB is a gorgeous speaker in terms of its looks, real wood (I believe) finish, and top-notch sound quality. Crystal clear treble, massive and controlled bass, this active speaker is on a par with a much more expensive setup of separate amp and speakers – and much tidier and unobtrusive for smaller spaces. I have it plugged into the TV and a satellite receiver in the kitchen where I can also listen to satellite radio, which is amazing quality sound.My opinion is that the R1850DB is the optimum price / performance compromise here, but you would not go wrong with whichever of this trio you went for.A brief summary of 'for' and 'against' each model would be:Model FOR AGAINSTR1280DB Compact, looks, price Sound is good, but not hi-fi.R1850DB Optimum price / performance Maybe a bit plain lookingS1000DB Top quality sound, bass, looks Nothing, if you have £280Additionally, with the exception of the S1000DB, the remotes are a bit on the cheap side. Edifier would do well to address this point as it would enhance the perceived quality of the system – after all, it is the only bit of the system that we regularly touch, and that tactile interface is important – to me, at least. I don't know if a universal remote could work here – comments are welcome.A few final thoughts:1. Edifier make models with and without digital inputs. The …DB at the end of the model name stands for Digital plus Bluetooth. My recommendation is definitely to go for these additional digital inputs. They add slightly to the cost, but they massively increase the flexibility of the speakers. I have used all of the digital and analogue inputs and they all work flawlessly.2. I briefly considered the S2000DB, which again won massive praise from all reviewers. Unfortunately, the price difference in the UK between those and the S1000DB was just too much for me. I would dearly love to hear the S2000DB and I will be watching the price carefully, just in case I need speakers for the bathroom…! Watch this space!!!3. A final mention to Amazon. There were a few very minor snags during this buying spree but Amazon customer service, as always, fixed the problems instantly and without question. Thank you, Amazon! Being able to purchase equipment, which isn't exactly cheap, with total confidence in the seller is a huge plus point for the consumer.Thanks for "listening"… and good luck if you decide to purchase. I am certain you would not be disappointed with any of these models.PS - the photographs show the R1850DB in black and the S1000DB in wood finish

Never had Edifier products before so this was a first.As others have said, all parts feel well built at this price bracket and good range of cables included. Note that in the speaker set I received, the remote has been upgraded and feels fine. Gone are the duplicate volume controls, but it does still needs to point at the RH speaker to work. Also a captive mains plug is a pain if you have like me to feed the cable through a narrow gap. At worst one can cut the cable and rewire of course but this would no doubt void the guarantee.I bought these for my desktop PC and as such they are a bit overkill sizewise but the overall impression is from the sound quality. I recently tried and swiftly returned a Logitech 2.1 system which (depending upon one's expectations) sounded pretty dreadful in comparison. OK these don't have the subwoofer for more powerful base, but the 60 hz bottom end is plenty for my application and I believe would stand up well in other areas such a TV in smaller rooms. I come from a background of decent Wharfedales stereo setups and Acoustic Research suround system, so whilst not top end HiFi experiance, I feel I can give a reasonalby valued opinion as to the feel of the sound for my style of music which tends to be more easy listening end of most peoples repertoire I would guess. No heavy rock here.Impressed and would buy again.

I bought these speakers because the sound from my new Samsung UE43NU7400 isn’t as good as I wanted.I agonised over using a soundbar, looking particularly at the Samsung HW-M450 which seems to get good reviews. I decided against this when I had a listen in a shop and really didn’t like the quality of the sound. Another consideration was that it would have to rest on the arms of the TV’s stand.One key limitation to my options was size. The TV is in a corner by a patio door and I was limited to about 90cm (the width of the TV), shelves with a height of 17cm and very little room behind the TV (enough for a small subwoofer).Another consideration was cost. Having spent £369 on the TV, I wasn’t wanting / allowed to spend vast amounts on a sound system, particularly given that the sound from the TV, whilst not particularly good, isn’t awful.I bought a HDMI arc to audio converter and plumbed that to a set of Acoustic Energy Aegos (a reasonable 2.1 system) that I have for my computer and really liked the effect BUT I couldn’t control the volume without adjusting the control on the speakers. I was rather disappointed as I thought that the arc connection would allow me to use the TV’s remote.Having looked at the reviews, listened to the sound tests on YouTube and checked the measurements, I took the plunge and ordered these.Reasons for choosing these:• Within my price range.• Fits in the allowed space.• Reviews and listening online (the latter is limited by the quality of my speakers but I could hear differences).• Controls at the back. I have the speakers on their side and the R1700BT has the controls on the side panel so I wouldn’t be able to manually adjust tone.• They are black. Sounds trivial but they fit in with the rest of the equipment and the R1700BTs are wood effect.• The DB ranges have more inputs than the BTs. As it happens, I won’t need them immediately but I have the options. I didn’t know what would work until I tried.They arrived yesterday so all is new.Thoughts so far:• Sound quality: Pleased. Vast improvement on the TV. I’ve listened to music and to a sci fi series episode that has lots of guns and explosions and enjoyed the sound immensely. They wouldn’t satisfy an audiophile, indeed family members who were satisfied with the sounds from the TV have commented that they don’t produce a fully rounded sound. The sound is coloured and a little warm and perhaps the bass is slightly loose. I’m enjoying streaming music to the speakers.• Volume: Would like it a little louder. It is louder than the TV but given that the quality is superior, I’d stand it a little more. That said, it is loud enough and the bass is capable of being felt. Using an app on my phone, they managed 80dB peak.• Adjusting volume: A real bonus … the TV remote controls the volume so I can consign the rather weedy remote that comes with the speakers to the remotes basket by my chair.• Linking the TV via Bluetooth: Initially I struggled because I’d pressed the wrong button on the remote so the TV couldn’t find the speakers. Having realised that the little light in the speakers was green rather than blue and made appropriate adjustments, the TV quickly found them. The minor hassle is that, so far, I haven’t managed to turn the TV off and then on without having to tell the TV to use the Bluetooth speakers rather than the internal ones. I can’t see why this would be different if I had a soundbar so I’m hoping that this can be sorted. If it can’t, the TV is usable for family members who can’t do the swap and it takes 10s to sort out if they can.

In December I decided to upgrade my home PC setup with a set of monitor speakers, I did a lot of research and purchased a pair of Edifier speakers (not these) They sounded pretty good but the remote didn't work and bluetooth was poor, I returned and the companty sent me a replacemnt set, the remote worked but the speakers lacked bass, so, I purchased a sub, the overall sound was OK but the cost and physical size of the sub defeated the object of buying monitor speakers, it all went back and after much chasing I was refunded.Cut to now and these Edifier speakers........WOW, the speakers work with my PC which I use mostly for music listening and some Netflix / Prime watching, the speakers are angled up and produce an amazing deep sound, they seem to be getting better and better, the quality in my humble opion is amazing, they are loud enough to fill the room and in all honesty I don't think I have even had them above half, you can adjust the bass and treble from dials on the back, the remote is excellent and the connect to bluetooth easily, I am no music expert but I do listen to a lot of it both live and at home, these speakers are all I wanted plus more, truly worth the money.If you want a decent sounding, room filling speaker I would not hesitate to buy these, I am considering another pair for my bedroom TV.

for reference I have AKG 712s with an atom amp and a topping dacon the go for bluetooth i use sony CH700Ns.. imo the best open-ish bluetooth headphone which doesnt concentrate on silly noise noise cancelling rubbishat home I have a KEF Q series setup (total £3000) and a subwoofer (monolith plus).so im in the (lowish) mid-range of being an audiophile.For £150, these are a bargain. Subwoofer out is the icing on the cake. don't mess with the other models which have rubbish muddy bass to compensate for its size. just get these and a dedicated subwoofer.Re: these vs KEF Q100s/150s, well the latter are okaying to be a bit better for the size:performance ratio, these are incredible. Their size is amazing, the volumes they reach are incredible. The remote is good. The ergonomics are nice. The only thing I could ask for is an on/off switch on the front but I guess they go to autostandby which is good enough for me. multiple inputs including fibre optic.even as a soundbar killer i think these do the job. add in a subwoofer and its game over for value for money.my aim is to pair this with a gemini subwoofer for the lower end (I don't think any bookshelf speaker <1000 can do lower end like a low end subwoofer can).Looks wise they are very nice and subtle.I guess if ur looking at these speakers, you're also considering the 350db. The midrange is much better on these but the 350db comes with a sub. For £250, i think given ergonomics and control scheme the 350db is hard to beat. If you can strech to £350, these and a subwoofer will be amazing. Sure there are speakers for £50-100£ which can manage low end a little better than these... but the smart mans choice will to just put that money towards a subwoofer because average bass is always average bass.I am VERY surprised by these. I think I'll have to try out their higher end stuff at some point.In context of it being a small, powered, active, 2.0 setup with subwoofer out and some nice angling to try and help with people who can't afford speaker stands, i struggle to find a negative.ooh con:1. fibre optic cable was faulty. plastic was glued to the tip.2. generally the packaging was just annoying af.

Sound great, all the input options are really convenient, look sleek. Only somewhat disappointing thing is the lack of removable power cable, and the EQ being on knobs on the rear instead of on the remote.I ordered the R1850DB but I actually received the R1855DB, basically the same product except the remote is better, if memory serves.Side note: Very easy to paint! Did mine silver and they didn't require primer.

I’m no “audiophile”, but for reference I usually spend between £100-200 every time I need a new pair and I’ve had a few in my time. I was young and impressionable once upon a time and the last pair of speakers I brought were a well known brand that produce clear plastic speakers... I thought they were the bees knees... until now.These are unreal for the price. The clarity of them is great, to the point that there are parts of songs that I didn’t know existed. The highs and mids in these speakers are fantastic. Whilst the bass isn’t quite where I would personally like it, a lot of my music can be a little bass heavy, they do a great job. I think it’s a telling sign from the manufacturer is that they give you line out for a sub-woofer. Nevertheless, these are VERY good without one. For the money, I don’t think there’s a better set of Bluetooth speakers available. And the plethora of other connections is great! My one big bear is that the remote is a little hit and miss, although this is to be expected for metal done switches and the price tag. It does the job and most thing I have connected to it have their own volume adjustment separate to the speakers so I find that changing the volume on the source rather than speakers works just fine.Disclaimer: I don’t work for either Edifier or Amazon, I’m just a customer sharing their opinion.

Sound quality is amazing the remote on the other hand needs upgrading

I've been searching for a new set of speakers for my PC Setup and I'm glad I came to know Edifier. I've read and watched reviews and all were positive! I got this during sale and it was around 30% off. I've been using it just for a month and the feeling is always the same when I start up a music or game, WOW. Sounds like it has a powerful subwoofer and the sound fills our living room quite nicely.I'm only using it for my PC though so if you're still looking for a surround sound experience of course this is not for you. If you play a lot of Shooter Games like Modern Warfare or RPG like Baldur's Gate - you will even hear sounds you did not notice was there before, beautiful.Try to wait for a discount, was just lucky it was on sale when I decided to go for it. Great sounding speakers and very easy to setup. It vibrates on the surface so I suggest you get isolation pads for it. 6/5 happy kiddo here!

Purchased for my new record turntable to play my very old and new soundsVinyl's sound amazing - PERFECT !

I read a number of reviews on this product and most of them were glowing reports. I decided to buy when this went on sale and I must say that I do not regret buying this. Connectivity is very good, speaker looks good in any environment and is well constructed.You have bass and treble controls if you need to boost them. I set them at 0 to hear what should be a flat response. The bass sounds very pleasant, not too pronounced or overpowering the mid and highs. I would say that the mid sounds very clear on this unit and would be ideal for listening to dialogues. Never needed to adjust the bass and treble controls as it sounds just right at 0.All in all you will not regret buying this speaker.

i got these after a lot of back forth....finally i have my rest. these speakers definitly do the job. you will not regret the purchase. cons bluetooth is bit of downside as only one device can connect at a time. missing wall mount options.

Brilliant set of speakers. And in my opinion, no, you do not need an additional subwoofer. I listen to all types of music, mainly deep house, trance and I absolutely loved the clarity and sharpness these beauties churned out. It had more than decent bass and I'm good with that- I watched a few trailers to test the same and it was surprisingly good ! Not over the roof but it is just what you need. I've honestly researched quite a bit and I was poised to get the Klipsch r41 PM, but the ridiculous charges / delivery rate to UAE made me change my mind and I'm glad I did. Small, heavy, beautiful looking speakers - highly recommend these. I am no audiophile, but if you are a normal person who likes clarity with quality, go for these. I got this yesterday and the moment I turned these on with my favorite anjunadeep track , couldnt help but smile. Let me know if you had this moment 😄