Edifier S3000Pro Review: Great and Powerful Sound

Edifier’s S3000PRO speakers are the company’s premium-priced Active 2.0 monitor speakers featuring Hi-Res Audio, Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD and a variety of input sources, making them great for your home entertainment system.

Video Review

Design

These speakers are big, or at least the biggest speakers I’ve tested to date, and pack in some weight which makes them less ideal for a desk setup but more attuned for use in a hi-fi or entertainment setup. The speakers are 23.2×35.6×26.8cm in size and weigh-in around 10.6kg each. This large size allows the speakers to pack in some pretty serious sound.

The design is a modern black finish with dark wooden sides with a slight notch inwards at the top, which I quite like in comparison to a boxy rectangle. I would have liked to have seen this notch on the bottom as well as it would make the speakers a little easier to pick up, but you’re not going to find yourself moving around these speakers that much so it’s not a huge issue, just something that would make installation that little bit easier.

The face of the speaker is home to the woofer and tweeter drivers, which are housed behind a transparent fabric cover to protect them, which is removable if you wish to use the speakers with the covers off. The tweeter is 107mm and the woofer is 6.5” which both provide room-filling sound.

You’ll also find an infra-red receiver and source indicator on the right-side speaker which works with the included remote, which you’ll want to use as all the knobs and dials are on the back of the speaker, which could be tricky to reach so the inclusion of a remote is very much appreciated.

Both speakers are individually powered, whilst the right-side speaker acts as the controller for both and is also home to the input connectivity. The speakers support a wide variety of inputs, which is fantastic to see, balanced XLR, RCA line-in, USB, optical and coaxial are the physical inputs supported by the speaker but there is also support for Bluetooth 5.0 as a wireless alternative. I have been testing the speaker using USB connectivity and Bluetooth which I have found to work well without any issues.

Additionally, on the right-side speaker, are the dials for volume/input selection as well as manual controls for bass and treble, so you can tweak the sound profile of the speakers straight from the device if you wish to do so. The volume dial is digital so that it works without overriding the remote.

In comparison, the left speaker is bare, with only a power switch and figure-eight plug connector. There are no audio inputs, the left-side speaker connects to the right-side speaker wirelessly. This does have some advantages as you only need to supply power to this speaker without needing to do a cable run from the right-side speaker but it does mean that you will need to have a plug available for each speaker. I do still think it could be beneficial to have the option of a wired option as an alternative, but Edifier has gone all-in on a wireless connection between the two speakers.

Sound Quality

The S3000PRO sound fantastic, the speakers manage to easily fill a space with sound that features punchy and deep bass from the 6.5” woofer with crystal clear highs from the tweeter that sound good and not piercingly sharp – I am very impressed by what Edifier has managed to create. This would make sense, as these speakers are Edifier’s flagship 2.0 offering.

The separation of frequencies is clear, and they sound clean across the audio spectrum. The bass packs a punch with its 120 watts of power per woofer and I have been particularly impressed by the depth and sub-bass offered by the speakers, it doesn’t sound muddy. Unless you adore bass, I don’t think you’ll find the need to hook up a subwoofer, but you can always turn up the bass dial on the rear of the speaker.

The mid and treble frequencies perform equally as well, with excellent clarity moving up the audio spectrum, I was not able to hear any sibilance or piercingly sharp highs which keep the speakers sounding pleasantly smooth for a great listening experience. The tweeter is supplied with 8 watts of power per speaker.

The speakers have four different listening modes Monitor, Dynamic, Classic and Vocal, with the default being Classic. Being honest, I couldn’t tell the difference between the different listening profiles, they all sound awfully familiar to one another.

The speakers will default to the Classic profile every time the speaker turns on, along with the volume level, which I found to be a little annoyance – surely it wouldn’t have been too difficult to make the speaker recall its previous volume level, especially for a product in this price range.

The speakers will easily get loud enough to fill a room or a loud space. When testing over the USB connection with the Windows volume set to 100%, I rarely ventured further than the lowest volume levels as I found that appropriate for my office. This makes me wish that the volume control was more incremental as I found the adjustments at low listening levels to be quite significant. When connected over Bluetooth, I found I could turn up the speakers a bit more.

Features and Accessories

The S3000PRO come with all the accessories you’d need to get started. Edifier includes a 3.5mm to RCA, RCA to RCA, USB A to B cable and an optical cable, so whether you want to connect the speakers to your computer, A/V receiver or TV, you’ll be set.

The speakers also include, as I have previously mentioned, an infra-red remote which feels of good quality. It’s made from plastic and features all of the controls for the speaker such as power, volume and source selection, to name a few – this will be the way you’ll want to interact with the speakers as the manual knobs are on the back of the right unit.

The speakers feature Bluetooth 5.0 with Qualcomm aptX HD connectivity, so you can even connect to them without the need for any additional wires, aside from the power cable. The speakers also support Hi-Res audio.

There’s no networking support for these speakers, so if you wish to use smart or internet-connected services you’ll need to use an additional device such as an Amazon Echo Dot or A/V receiver.

Conclusion

If you’re a keen music listener or are looking for a set of speakers for your entertainment centre that packs a punch, the Edifier S3000PRO is well worth your consideration. The speakers sound fantastic with a well-balanced sound that provides an enjoyable listening experience.

The design will fit well in the living room as an alternative for a soundbar and they’re suitable for a range of different scenarios thanks to their diverse input support. The speakers aren’t cheap, currently priced at £589 but if you’ve got the budget for them, the S3000PROs are a very compelling option.

The Edifier S3000PRO bookshelf speakers are available to purchase on Amazon, you can learn more on Edifier’s website.