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Edifier appears to have become one of the dominant brands on Amazon for speakers in recent years. Offering well-specced speakers at an affordable price point, as I write this, they are listed 9 times out of 15 on the first page of Amazon for active bookshelf speakers.

Pricing ranges from just £89.99 for the R1280T, up to £239.99 for the Edifier R2000DB.

The Edifier R1850DB sits in the middle-priced at £159.99, offering a premium look and extensive connectivity options.

PreviewProductRatingPrice
Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Studio Speakers with... Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Studio Speakers with... No ratings yet £159.99Amazon Prime

Features & Specification

  • Power Output: RMS 16Wx2 + 19Wx2 = 70watts
  • Signal to Noise Ratio: 85dBA
  • Frequency Response: 60Hz-20KHz
  • Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.5%
  • Input Sensitivity: PC:700±50mV
  • Aux: 550±50mV
  • Tweeter: Φ19mm silk dome, 6ohm
  • Subwoofer: 4″Φ116mm 6ohm
  • Input Type: RCA/Aux; Optical/Coaxial; Bluetooth V4.0, Subwoofer output
  • Dimensions (Active Speaker): 154x254x224mm(w x h x d)
  • Net Weight: 6.63kg

Set up & Connectivity

These are physically large speakers and something you should take into account if you are looking at these over more affordable computer speakers. With them being active, everything is built into the speakers themselves. My review same is in a gloss black, combined with the angular lines of the speakers themselves. I found that the look very smart, as far as speaker can go any way.

This then means the two speakers are connected via a thick PVC coated cable with 4-pin mini-DIN connector. However, the layout of the pins doesn’t look standard, so I am not sure how easy this would be to replace if you lost or damaged it. This cable provides both the power and audio to the right speaker, with everything contained in the left speaker. Thankfully, the cable is 5m long so you should have no issues with placement, you may have issues hiding that cable though.

Edit – It is likey a Kycon 4-pin DC power plug (KPPX-4P)

You get more than enough connectivity options with five different options including PC, Aux, optical, COX and Bluetooth, and you manage these connections via the small included remote control.  

On the rear of the left speaker, you have various adjustments you can make include the bass and treble.

You also have the option to upgrade them to 2.1 using the sub out. This seems to be a 3.5mm output so you would need an active subwoofer and then connect them via a  3.5mm Mono Jack Plug To Single RCA.

Performance

For 90% of my use I ran these through the FiiO K5 Pro Desktop DAC, with this I have an Nvidia Shield connected via USB and my PC via optical, so I switch the sources on the DAC itself. My daily speakers are the Bose Companion 50, which cost double the price of these Edifier speakers.

Out of the box, the speakers perform well the highs are a little more boosted than the Bose speakers I use daily, and I could immediately tell the difference between switching from a 2.1 system to 2.0.

Bass is present, but there is a noticeable difference when you don’t have a dedicated unit for such things. You can tweak the bass settings on the speaker, and this allows them to achieve a more bassy profile.

Mid frequencies are crisp and detailed, and I also found these particularly good when watching TV on the Shield with clear vocals, but also enough range and bass to accommodate action sequences.

These can go extremely loud, with my DAC set to 50% I struggle to take my PC audio past 50% too without it being unforgettable for my ears. High volumes doesn’t appear to introduce much distortion, but I have no pushed these to the absolute max.

Price and Competition

As saturated as the speaker market is, if you specifically want a pair of active bookshelf speakers, there is no much directly competing with these.

You could look into active studio monitors, the PreSonus Eris E4.5 are very well revied and the same price, but they lack Bluetooth and some other features. You can also check out this guide for some of the best budget bookshelf speakers available out there.

The Steljes NS3 is perhaps the best-reviewed alternative, but they cost £199

Overall

Having used these as my main office speakers for the past week or so they have had a lot of use and I have grown to like them.

They are a capable pair of speakers offering the potential for high volume and good quality and well-balanced sound all-round. They don’t offer the same levels of bass a sub would provide, and in some bassy tracks I felt more was needed, but they are more than adequate for most scenarios.

The sub out gives you the option for an upgrade down the line if you wish.

At £159.99 they are attractively priced, if you move away from the lowest common denominator, Amazon has a habit of targeting, these are cheap in comparison to more established brands. The cheapest pair of Wharfedale speakers I can find on Richer sound is £179, or £195 for a pair of Jamo speakers on AV Online.

Being bookshelf speakers you need to take into account their size, they will dominate a desk if you try and use them there (like I have). However, if you can accommodate their size, they are an excellent buy.

PreviewProductRatingPrice
Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Studio Speakers with... Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Studio Speakers with... No ratings yet £159.99Amazon Prime
Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Studio Speakers with Bluetooth Review Rating

Summary

These provide an excellent balance of performance and affordability. Sound quality is good, and the wide range of connections allow these to be used in flexible scenarios, you could easily use them to upgrade your TV audio, or like me, you PC audio.

Overall
85%
85%
  • Overall - 85%
    85%

Pros

Excellent performance for the price Plenty of connectivity options

Cons

Bass can be a little lacking vs a dedicated sub Speakers connected via thick Kycon 4-pin DC power cable

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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