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Edifier is well-known in audiophile and audiophile-adjacent circles for its aggressively priced, competently designed and well-tuned active speakers, which tend to hit high on the value scales even if they lack the stage presence of legacy hi-fi brands.
The £300/$400 Edifier R2750DB MK2 is a great example, with a massive "bookshelf" design that allows for a woofer, mid-range speaker and tweeter for greater separation, a healthy 144W of RMS power and sensible reference tuning - alongside a long list of inputs including eARC and Bluetooth, a slimline remote and app support.
It's a very reasonable looking package for the money, but does it actually deliver the goods? And does going with a more budget-minded brand lead to any undesirable sacrifices that bigger names wouldn't make?
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Output Power (RMS) | Tweeters 12W (x2) Mid-range 20W (x2) Woofers 40W (x2) Total 144W |
| Drivers | 7-inch long-throw woofers 4.5-inch mid-range drivers 1-inch silk-dome tweeters |
| Frequency Response | 45Hz - 40kHz |
| Signal-to-Noise Ratio | ≥ 85dB (A) |
| Audio Inputs | HDMI eARC, Optical, Coaxial, Line In, Bluetooth |
| Input Sensitivity | HDMI eARC: 600 ± 50mFS (PCM stereo) Optical: 600 ± 50mFS Coaxial: 600 ± 50mFS Line In: 600 ± 50mV Bluetooth: 600 ± 50mFS |
| Bluetooth | Version 6.0 w/ LDAC, SBC |
| Dimensions | 223.4mm × 395.4mm × 279.8mm (Active speaker) 223.4mm × 395.4mm × 279.8mm (Passive speaker) |
| Net Weight | 16.57kg |
Before we get into my impressions, let's quickly start with a look at the speakers themselves. These are relatively nondescript from the front with their dust covers in place, with wooden (MDF) surrounds in walnut or painted black. The lone ornamentation here is a small Edifier wordmark towards the bottom of each speaker, while an LED display on the bottom of the right speaker which shows the current input - very useful.
Remove the dust covers, and you can see the layout of the three elements: the tweeter is at the top, the mid-range driver is in the middle and the woofers are at the bottom.
The back of the right speaker contains all of the inputs, including power, HDMI eARC, coax, optical and dual phono line-in. There are also three dials to adjust the volume, bass and treble, while the left speaker is connected via a six-pin latched connector that reminds me of a PCIe power cable. Finally, there's a sub out 3.5mm port. Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC is the sole wireless connectivity option here, with multipoint to allow for two devices to be connected simultaneously (though only one can play at a time).
The remote takes two triple-A batteries (provided), and has buttons for power, mute, play/pause, skip forward/back, volume up/down, and each of the inputs. There's also a button in the centre with five lines of different lengths that toggles between four preset EQs; custom ones can be set in the app.
Speaking of the app, here it is. It's the Edifier ConneX app, and it essentially duplicates the functionality of the remote if you lose it or just prefer to use your Android/iOS phone. You can also change the noises that accompany mode changes and disable power saving. Amazingly, you can even upgrade the R2750DB MK2's firmware via the app, which is something I've never done before for a pair of speakers - but it took only a few minutes and was dead easy to do. The only real downside here is that you need to change the speakers' input to Bluetooth to connect, which is a little annoying if you want to make a quick change but doesn't really impact day-to-day usability.
After all, most of what you'll be doing is listening, rather than adjusting, and here the speakers perform at the upper range of what the price suggests. There's good separation amongst instruments, with a good balance between bass and treble, and the speakers get easily loud enough for PC speaker or TV media centre duties.
Vocals and dialogue are handled extremely well, which makes these quite good for general computer use and gaming alike - though more cinematic titles like 007 First Light or Red Dead Redemption 2 wouldn't be harmed by a bit of extra bass rumble, as would the most bass-centric music genres. (Of course, you do have the option of plugging in a subwoofer via the port on the back - though I didn't have the chance to test this myself.)
The tuning here is fairly neutral overall and you could probably get away with using these as reference monitors in a pinch - though similarly priced headphones or proper studio monitors are probably still the weapon of choice for content creators working alone.
There is a bit of an audio quality difference between the different connection methods, but Bluetooth with LDAC to modern Android phones is noticeably better than the fallback SBC method used by iPhones. HDMI eARC via PCM ought to offer the best quality if you have all options open to you.
The only real negative I can identify here is the sheer size of the speakers. They're not unusably large - after all, I fit them on either side of a 32-inch monitor on a 180x76cm Corsair Platform:6 Elevate desk, and still had room for a second monitor and plenty of other detritus. However, they are of a size that you will need to think about how you're going to place them, especially if you're planning to elevate them on a stand or risers for superior audio reproduction.
There's also no convenient volume knob or 3.5mm headphone on the front, which I did appreciate on the Edifier MR5s I looked at earlier this year. Still, the audio quality here is a little better than the MR5s and miles better than a more easily-placed soundbar, so I'd go for separate speakers any day of the week.
Besides, being able to move this much air is only a good thing overall, and if they work in your desired setup I have no compulsions about recommending the R2750DB MK2. (If not, well, the MR5s are right there in the same £300 category.) The audio quality, connectivity, styling and app support are all excellent for the price, and Edifier continues to prove why they are one of the stand-out names in the budget audiophile space.