Edifier R1850DB Active Bookshelf Speakers with Bluetooth and Optical Input - 2.0 Studio Monitor Speaker - Built-in Amplifier with Subwoofer Line Out

I shopped for weeks to find the right speakers for my home office which is centrally-located in the main living area of our house and where I play a lot of different kinds of music. I spent a good deal of time shopping powered studio monitors to avoid the need for an amp/more wires. They had to have sufficient power to work in both near-field application for when I’m at my desk, but also to fill our wide open floor plan with sound when I’m not. And while I appreciate the idea of a subwoofer and even went so far as to shop 2.1 setups as well, I am also a big fan of 2-channel listening. Opting for better speakers with no sub (as opposed to lower-end speakers WITH a sub) was preferable to me.These appeared to hit nearly all of my targets except one low-priority one (balanced inputs), and included the ability to add on a sub later on if I wanted, so I took a chance. I don’t have any experience with the Edifier brand but I’ve heard good things. Turns out this was a great move.The speakers arrived well-packaged and individually wrapped in cloth to protect the shiny piano black finish. They also came with a polishing cloth to keep them extra-shiny. Maybe this was overkill. Maybe I like overkill…The speakers are heavy and solid – they FEEL valuable. I like the slight upward angle a lot as they are aimed perfectly from my desktop to my ears. They look modern and sleek, with or without the grills (though I have a two year old and will probably keep them on). The cable that connects the two speakers is super long – much longer than I needed (mine are only a couple of feet apart). The right speaker has the IR sensor for the remote and a small status/power indicator light that glows through the grill.As I am a firm believer in the bathtub curve of product failure, I immediately hooked them up and started putting them through their paces nice and hard. I blasted everything: Aphex Twin, strings-heavy classical, jazz, R&B vocal, “Kid A,” and the blackest metal I could find. I cranked them to uncomfortable levels and found my eyes watering with delight just a few songs in. I could feel the speakers aspirate, pushing the air around my right hand (on the mouse) at high volumes. Plenty of power to spare.I was expecting to take issue with the knobs being on the back, but I really only had to access them one time just after setup when I tweaked the treble up a couple of notches and left everything else flat. That was it. The knobs give a satisfying snap when they are flat in the middle of each setting which is a perfectly good place to be with these.I read in a few reviews that these are lacking in the mid-range, but I do not find that to be the case. They definitely sparkle in the highs and the lows are tight and serviceable, but I find the mids more than sufficient – clear with great separation. Some of that may be my DAC (I recommend you find a decent DAC for digital sources – I use a Korg DS-DAC-100), but you won’t get any complaints about the mid-range from me.The only area where I found them lacking is in the super-low register bass hits. Specifically I was playing “High Roller” by The Crystal Method, and while they shined throughout, there are a few ultra-low bass hits that were simply not “all there” at high volume. However, this does not defy my expectations of these low-profile desk speakers at all. I suspect adding a sub to the mix would probably pick up the bass significantly, probably even more than I would even want for this setup. In all I am very pleased with them and still not in any rush to add the sub.After a few hours of constant and loud playback I did a touch test around the back of each speaker to check for heat and found very little – almost none. A few of the other speakers I was considering had heat issues reported in the product reviews, but these have stayed nice and cool since I got them. The power switch stays on all the time, but I power them on and off with the remote and have still not had to access the switches directly.The only slight compromise I feel I made here was the lack of balanced inputs. I would have preferred them (and could have gotten them for a little more money or another monitor pair), but the DAC I use also has RCA outputs. I can’t imagine these sounding significantly better with balanced cables.I am no cable snob, but the cables that came with the speakers did seem a rather high gauge (thin), so I ordered a slightly lower gauge (thicker) RCA cable with the speakers ($10 – again, NOT a cable snob). I will be adding the cables (came with optical, Y, and RCA!) that came with the speakers to my cable storage bin where they will probably be repurposed for someone else’s system.As for the remote – it seems a lot of folks don’t realize that ALL remotes are lightweight. Remotes become heavy when you add the batteries. Since this remote only has a few buttons, it only uses a small button battery which makes it less heavy. Not sure when this became a drawback, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the remote. It works perfectly from across the room and from numerous angles. There are four volume buttons (two up and two down) which I don’t really understand because each pair of buttons does the same thing. I originally thought they might control individual left and right channels, but that is not the case. This is not exactly a drawback – more of a weird design decision that does not take away from the function of the speakers in any way. The remote is excellent.While these would make reasonable home theater speakers, they will not rumble your house the way a lot of folks would like. You would need a sub for that. I have not used the Bluetooth feature and probably won’t very often except to listen to podcasts or audiobooks occasionally while cooking. I was only interested in their musical performance, and in that area they do not disappoint. If I have any issues with the BT, I will add them to this review.

The speaker and sound quality are impressive! Edifier has a lot of speakers to choose from, just BE CAREFUL that the model you're looking at has all the options you're expecting. There's a reason one model might be $20 or $50 cheaper than another. An "active" speaker has an amplifier built into it; a "passive" one will only go as loud as the device it's receiving input from can go. If you want great sound standing alone, then get a powered ("active") speaker system like this one. Also, if you're going to (or think you might in the future) hook up a powered subwoofer to it, then pay attention to the specs; not every model has a sub-out.This particular model was the lowest price point that had: Bluetooth, Active (powered amp built in), and subwoofer out, and let me tell you, these speakers are crystal clear and the bass is great too. I'm pushing a powered 12" subwoofer as well and it'll put you into the next room.This model also has various inputs as well. As for Bluetooth, click the symbol on the remote OR you can cycle through inputs by pressing the volume knob on the back of Speaker 1 inward until you see the blue glowing light on the front side of Speaker 1. Discovered that by accident and so glad I did when I misplaced the remote. (It's discussed in the manual and even labeled on the back, but who reads that stuff right?)If the blue light is on, it's discoverable and you can connect via your cell phone or your desktop computer from the Bluetooth settings. Works great streaming from Spotify either on the PC or iPhone. If you're playing from a non-BT device, then the aux cord that comes with this model can plug into that device then into the RCA inputs on the back, just be sure to cycle through the inputs on the remote or volume button.If you're playing from your PC via Bluetooth or RCA, don't forget that your keyboard has music playback controls on it! Upper right hand corner or somewhere else. You don't have to click into your app or have the remote, just tap it from there lolOnly gripe: I wish the knobs were on the side instead of the back. Minor annoyance that you may experience; however, after a day or two you won't have to see back there to know what knob is which.As for the price, it's a minor chunk of change for those of us just looking to listen to music in the office or den at home, but man, I don't regret it at all! Spending $199 as opposed to $129, $149 was a serious debate, but that extra $50 gets you a powered, sub-out, BT capable, remote controlled, kick-ace sound system.