Edifier S880DB Bookshelf Speaker Review

When it comes to home audio products, Edifier is no stranger, which you can see from the Edifier reviews here. With several speakers to their name, they certainly are packing quite well in the experience department, as well as offering consumers a wide range of choice. Today I’m writing about one of their latest sets, the Edifier S880DB bookshelf speaker set.

Specifications

• POWER OUTPUT R/L（treble）: 12W+12W R/L（deep bass） 32W+32W
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE55Hz-20KHz
• SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO:R/L≥85dB(A)
  Frequency Response Delta≤1dB
  Noise≤25dB(A)
• INPUT SENSITIVITYPC: 800±500mV
  AUX: 600±50mV
  USB/Optical/Coaxial: 400±50mFFS
  Bluetooth：600±50mFFS
• INPUT TYPE USB Bluetooth Optical Coaxial PC AUX

Design

When it comes to their bookshelf speakers, Edifier either goes big or it goes small, I’m happy to say that at only 5.4 x 6.6 x 9.1 inches the S880DB is a small set, meaning it fits nicely on my desk.

 

The S880DB set is well-presented thanks to its gorgeous color scheme, which consists of a white colored baffle and bamboo colored side panels. This color scheme gives the speakers an elegant look that sits nicely with my desk.

On the front of each speaker unit, there’s one 19mm titanium-laminate tweeter and a 94mm ”metal diaphragm” midrange driver. These are as exposed as they can be, with no additional removable cover to hide them if you wanted to.

A small display panel sits below the midrange driver on the right-hand speaker and is in place to inform the user of the current input mode selected. Hidden within this display panel is an IR receiver for the included remote control.

As usual with Edifier’s bookshelf lineup, the main input/control panel is located on the rear of the right speaker. This is home to two analog inputs, an optical input, a coaxial input and a USB input. Also present here is a power switch and a set of three knobs, one for volume/input selection, one for bass adjustment and lastly one for treble adjustment.

In typical Edifier styling, the volume/input knob separates its functions by allowing the user to turn it in the direction they wish to adjust the volume or press it in to choose between the different connectivity options.

Becoming more and more common within Edifier’s lineup is their choice to use a 5-pin cable to connect the two speakers to each other. The biggest issues with this are these cables aren’t too common, which means replacing them if they break or for length purposes can be challenging.

A remote control is standard place in most consumer audio/visual devices, which is why Edifier always includes one, although it can be a bit hit and miss with its designs. Packaged with the Edifier S880DB bookshelf speaker set is their commonly seen round remote control, of which I’m not a huge fan. While its buttons are well laid out and easy to press, the issue comes from the shape having no distinctive areas of difference which would help you realize which way you’re holding the remote, which means using the remote in the dark is challenging.

Sound quality

For sound testing, I have had the Edifier S880DB bookshelf speaker set connected to my PC via the analog input as well as having it occasionally connected to my phone and T.V via Bluetooth, with various types of music and media audio.

As small close range speakers, the Edifier S880DB bookshelf speaker set provides fantastic audio overall. They easily fill my mid-sized room full of sound, which extends beyond its walls, although not quite as far as larger speakers.

The audio is clear and very well detailed, with clarity maintained even at the highest of volumes, where distortion isn’t an issue. There smaller size means they can’t quite reach the height of frequency found in larger speakers.

Getting the most out of the bass offered by these speakers does require the volume at a high level, as I have found. It’s not too low, but it’s not ”just right” either at those lower volumes.

Final verdict

With a wide choice of connectivity options, a solid design and great close range sound, the Edifier s880DB bookshelf speaker set is a fantastic choice when it comes to home audio. The choice of five-pin cable, a round remote and low bass frequency are the only downsides, which quite frankly I can live with.

PROS:

• Solid build
• Decent audio
• Various connectivity options

CONS:

• Five-pin cable
• Round remote
• Low bass frequency