The R1280DB from Edifier is a pair of bookshelf speakers fit for your desk or your home entertainment centre. The speakers feature support for analogue and digital inputs, as well as Bluetooth – so there’s plenty of connectivity to go around.
Video Review
Design
I really like the design of these speakers, particularly in this black wood-textured finish, the speakers come in a black and wooden coloured finish so the speakers can look good in your environment. The speakers generally have an understated look which helps them blend in and look great.
The speakers take up a bit of a footprint on my desk, coming in slightly larger than the Mackie CR3 speakers that I am used to at 14.6×24.1×17.8cm, so my desk is a little too small to have these alongside the two 27-inch monitors that I use alongside these speakers. The speakers accommodate a 4-inch woofer and 13mm (0.51-inch) tweeter, which provides plenty of power.
The driver units can be found behind the sleek looking cover that Edifier has designed for the speakers, which can be easily removed if you wish to look at the drivers themselves. The front also has the infrared receiver for the remote control as well as the bass port. An advantage that comes with having this port on the front of the speaker is that it will be more difficult to get frequency interference from a wall that the speaker may be placed in front of.
One of the speakers is powered, providing power to the other speaker within the set. The powered speaker has all the controls as well as the inputs.
The controls can be found on the right-hand side of the speaker and are recessed into the design, so they don’t stick out or be noticeable within your setup. Bass and treble adjustment dials allow you to fine-tune the sound to your liking and the volume dial will infinitely spin, so you can adjust the volume from the IR remote or the speaker without conflict between the two. The volume dial can also be pushed to cycle between the different inputs of the speaker.
The rear of the speaker is home to the inputs, with support for two RCA inputs as well as coaxial and optical audio. I do wish that there was support for ¼ jack as this is the output that my Rode AI-1 audio interface uses, but if I were using these speakers for an extended period of time, I would likely just pick up an adapter cable. So, for now, the speakers are plugged into my 3.5mm motherboard output.
There’s also the PSU power switch on the back of the speakers, but an addition I would like to see is an additional switch to be able to change the orientation of the speakers as the powered speaker is stuck to being on the left unless you change the channel orientation within your device software. The power cable is also attached to the unit and is not removable.
Sound Quality
These speakers sound great, Edifier has done a great job at providing an excellent listening experience – I love listening to music on these speakers. The speakers provide deep bass, great quality mid and great clarity for the higher treble frequencies. The mix overall sounds very good and, for the price, the listening experience is exemplary.
After using studio monitor speakers for a couple of years, the speakers sound fantastic for listening to music, the initial thing that struck me about these speakers is just how low the bass can go. It did take a couple of minutes to adjust to the speakers but, after many hours of listening, I think they’re great. Edifier has done a good job at tuning the speakers to provide a dynamic and exciting listening experience whilst still sounding natural.
Across the two speakers, they have a combined 42-watts of total power – resulting in them getting loud when you want to fill the room. If nothing is playing, the speakers do a great job at mitigating any hissing sounds that I have experienced with other speakers, when there’s nothing playing the speakers are silent.
Features and Accessories
Coming with a variety of included accessories, the speakers come with everything you’ll need to get started. In the box, Edifier includes an RCA to RCA, 3.5mm to RCA, optical and speaker cables – meaning that you will be set to connect the speakers to your computer or entertainment system.
The speakers also include an infra-red remote so you can control the speakers from afar. The remote lets you do pretty much everything you can do from the speakers, including source selection and of course volume control.
The speakers feature Bluetooth connectivity, so you can even connect to them without the need for any additional wires, aside from the power cable.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a new pair of speakers, the Edifier R1280DB is a solid choice which I highly recommend. The construction is solid, and the speakers have a sleek design, so they’ll look great on your desk or around the home.
The speakers can be quite big, depending on the size of your desk, so I would consider that to be the only issue when purchasing. The sound quality that these offer for the price of £120 is very impressive and I have loved using the speakers.
The Edifier R1280DB bookshelf speakers are available to purchase on Amazon, you can learn more on Edifier’s website.
