Edifier R1280DB - 2.0 Lifestyle Bookshelf Bluetooth Studio Speakers Black

After extensive online research, I decided on this pair of speakers.They have not disappointed. Super easy to set up - I didn't even need to refer to the manual.Most importantly, the sound is fantastic - I would describe the sound as premium. Sure there will be better speakers out there, but these are a real bargain for the price.I use mine predominantly with Bluetooth from my iPhone and spotify.

Decent but could have better sound

Back when the Creature speakers were being sold it was about the cost of this speaker system. That one sounded great. Edifier has an impressive setup for this model, with multiple inputs and types as well as Bluetooth support. However the sound seems very flat. These days it seems speakers are built for Hip-Hop music. I want something more robust and less bass. It seems the speaker really knows how to produce bass well, but mid and treble have a hard time even when adjusting the tone knobs accordingly. For the price, I would have expected better sound. To be honest, I've only used the bluetooth input at this point and it may behave differently with a true analog input, but overall I'm not that impressed by the sound quality.

Edifier R1280DB Studio Speakers with Dual RCA Inputs & Bluetooth - Wood

The speakers arrived safely despite the best efforts of Parcelforce. They are exactly as expected. The size is great, they fit unobtrusively on my desk. The finish and quality seem good. Sound is good. Comes with all the required connectors and cables. Something that is normally not included. One small quibble is the location of the physical buttons on the outside of the right hand speaker. This is a little awkward with how my desk is laid out. I’ve not figured out how to switch the left and right speakers yets.

Excessively overhyped performance; should be advertised as "75Hz-18kHz ±9db frequency response"

After seeing their specs and reviews, I was quite intrigued by these R1280DB speakers, advertising a 55Hz-20kHz frequency response at a great price point, and even being called "studio monitors" on Amazon. Upon hooking them up, I could immediately tell that there was an object in front of the tweeters causing ringing in the highs and attenuation in the mid-highs. They are boomy, yet lacking bass, but still having depth. They made me want to crank up both the bass and treble, yet having plenty of bass and treble at the same time. Delving in with a frequency sweep to figure out what was wrong, this is what I discovered:-The amplifier rolls off way too soon, causing poor bass response between 45-100Hz (-9dB) that the woofers could easily drive with a little boost. I ... MoreAfter seeing their specs and reviews, I was quite intrigued by these R1280DB speakers, advertising a 55Hz-20kHz frequency response at a great price point, and even being called "studio monitors" on Amazon. Upon hooking them up, I could immediately tell that there was an object in front of the tweeters causing ringing in the highs and attenuation in the mid-highs. They are boomy, yet lacking bass, but still having depth. They made me want to crank up both the bass and treble, yet having plenty of bass and treble at the same time. Delving in with a frequency sweep to figure out what was wrong, this is what I discovered:-The amplifier rolls off way too soon, causing poor bass response between 45-100Hz (-9dB) that the woofers could easily drive with a little boost. I did see several reviews where people complained that these lack bass; this is why. Larger capacitors in the signal path could improve this, and a tuned bass boost circuit could fix it altogether. The included bass control knob is unhelpful here because of the next issue.-There is a strong +9dB resonance around 140Hz that makes the speakers boomy. I believe this wouldn't be so bad if they filled the speaker enclosure with sound deadening material, but the housing is completely hollow inside like an echo chamber, and not even padded!-There are some interesting distortions that come and go (different in each speaker) as the frequency goes between 100-500Hz. After this, the distortion is unacceptably high all the rest of the way up. The lower distortions I believe are things rattling inside the speaker housing. The higher distortions are electronic.-The mid-treble is weak (about -3dB) around 3.5kHz, which will cause people with high-frequency hearing loss to perceive these speakers as having "no treble". Combined with the boominess, this could make the speakers sound muddy to these individuals. I believe the tweeter diffuser is partially responsible for this; however, the crossover circuit is probably also out of tune. Turning up the treble control does not help as it only raises the already crisp highs mentioned next.-As the frequency goes up further, there are weird ringing artifacts at certain frequencies due to the tweeter diffusers, although the overall level stays nice and crisp. I did not try removing them, so I cannot vouch for whether they are covering a greater fault or if removing them would help.My conclusion is that these speakers are a great idea that was poorly executed. All of these frequency response issues could have easily been addressed with some basic, passive filters in the amplifier electronics.-With such glaring frequency response issues, these are most definitely not "reference" speakers and CANNOT be used as monitors. If you think these make great monitors, you should not be mixing audio—they are nowhere close!-If you're expecting a great sound (like the advertised frequency response suggests), you will be disappointed by the above traits. No, it is not the fault of the 4" woofer, but of subpar amplifier electronics that lack adequate filter circuitry to let them realize their full potential.-Yes, these speakers much better than a pair of cheap satellite speakers with no subwoofer.-Yes, they can actually realize a decent 45Hz-30kHz, but there are huge peaks and valleys within that range, hence the deceptive appearance of fidelity. If you have a parametric equalizer, you can improve their response by setting: +9dB at 90Hz O2-LS, -9dB at 140Hz Q2.0, and +3dB at 3.5kHz Q0.6 (assuming the treble and bass controls are centered).-Despite being not great either, my old Logitech X-230 speakers have a flatter frequency response.Therefore, I cannot recommend these speakers and would suggest considering the higher model R2000DB speakers instead. The box indicates the same 55Hz-20KHz frequency response but with a ±3dB tolerance (important!), they have a larger woofer, the tweeters don't have a diffuser in front of them, and the bass ports exit in the back instead of the front.Indeed, the R1280T non-Bluetooth speakers (which use the same speaker elements as these R1280DB) are advertised with a much more honest 75Hz-18kHz ±9db frequency response, which is about what I'd say these are actually good for. (For those who don't know, ±9dB tolerance is really bad, with ±3dB being the industry standard.)

Great sound in a small footprint

Purchased this speaker set because I wanted a sound system that utilized my optical out on my video card. Bass response is pretty good for the small size. Highs are crisp, and Mids are rich and full. I highly suggest using an optical input (cable included) to get the cleanest sound. Speaker set does have a remote that lets you power cycle the unit, as well as change volume and mute. The only two downsides I see are the remote is tiny, so I'm certain that I'm gonna lose it at some point. The other is more a preference thing. I wish it would shut down/power up when the optical goes dark. Other than that, it's great. Plenty loud too!

Great speakers for those on a budget

I have been using my Edifier's for a handful of weeks now and I have to say that this is a serious step up from the traditional external computer speaker setup.If you're an audiophile, then you most likely wouldn't be looking in this price range anyways, but I have found the sound to be superior to my old Creatives stereo setup and the Logitech 2.1 (with sub) prior to that.These hit solid and I don't feel the need for a subwoofer, as it is primarily used for computer gaming audio/Discord with occasional music usage.

Hope you're a nerd

The speakers sound great. I wanted to pay for quality sound via bluetooth without paying for lithium battery portability which I don't need. So, these speakers fit the bill exactly. Really, they sound superb, as I suspected from other reviews.But, if you are on an Android phone and want to control volume from them, be prepared to become an Android "developer". Edifier's human support is severely lacking but they did have the answer to how you can use your Android to perform this very basic function that, really, is built in to every $20 bluetooth speaker gadget these days. This is the procedure which I eventually found on their website:"You will need to disable absolute volume in the phone. First, enable developer options. To do this, go to Device Settings, then ... MoreThe speakers sound great. I wanted to pay for quality sound via bluetooth without paying for lithium battery portability which I don't need. So, these speakers fit the bill exactly. Really, they sound superb, as I suspected from other reviews.But, if you are on an Android phone and want to control volume from them, be prepared to become an Android "developer". Edifier's human support is severely lacking but they did have the answer to how you can use your Android to perform this very basic function that, really, is built in to every $20 bluetooth speaker gadget these days. This is the procedure which I eventually found on their website:"You will need to disable absolute volume in the phone. First, enable developer options. To do this, go to Device Settings, then scroll down and select "About Phone. " From there, tap on "Software Information" and locate the "Build Number" entry. Once you've found it, tap on "Build Number" seven times in rapid succession, developer options will then be available on the settings menu of the phone. Go into developer options and toggle the button for "disable absolute volume." Restart the phone and this should allow you to control the volume of the speakers from the phone. "Can you imagine explaining this to dad over the phone?-1 star because of this, otherwise 5. Love the sound (for the price)

Not ready for prime time

I bought these with the intent of having higher quality speakers in the shop to run off my phone via bluetooth. Soundwise, they're pretty good, but I didnt compare them to other speakers in the same price range. Therefore I can't really can't comment any further regarding sound quality.The remote is pretty cheesey and the battery tray does not stay in securely.Their downfall is in the bluetooth dept. Bluetooth with these speakers was pitiful for their pricepoint. I have $15 ear buds that work better than these. Frequent jumping in playback made listening to music unenjoyable while working. Wanted to think it was just a glitch, but 2nd pair did same thing. Took them back immediately.

Very disappointed for the price.

If you are looking for actual quality, smallish, studio monitors, these are not the choice, unfortunately. The mids and high pretty much break on an EQ. A pro EQ, that is. So, in other words you will have very little control over your sound mix varying on how each artist mixes their music. The highs bread a lot. And that's without gain at all. I've almost no control over any of the mid-ranges as well as the complete high ends.I suppose, perhaps, these are made strictly for rap. That's cool - no problem there. It's just that that is quite likely the only type of music you would be able to enjoy with this set.I'm very disappointed. I will be returning to Rosewells for my next replacement set of studio monitors.ooops....