Edifier S350DB 2.1 Speaker System Review & Comments

Thanks for that Ed. I believe this sort of system is more designed for connecting to computers than to a TV primarily, and that’s the sort of application where this could really excel. This could be quite the upgrade over my existing Companion III’s, but do I want to lock in to a specific system again? I’d guesstimate anything discerningly better than this, particularly in flexibility, would probably come at least double the money. So when I finally get to rework my office at home, this is exceedingly compelling.

Does anyone believe there is any real opposition for this product? Would love to know.
 
Hi Ed

Thanks for the review, these sound like a compelling buy for the money.

I have to take issue with this though:

" I have long made it clear that I’m not really a fan of subwoofers being used in music and in a perfect world, this remains the case. "

Anything that extends the frequency response without introducing unwanted effects has to be a good thing. The problem with subs and room interactions is that it's very hard for the sub not to introduce unwanted effects. But if you get it right, the music sounds better. There's a lot of depth information in the lower registers for one thing.
 
Very interesting and it might be solution for me at this moment.

£240 or best offer on Ebay, from business seller.

Thanks for the review!
 
It seems to be a serious bargain.

But, so far as I can tell, it’s only available in that ultra hideous brown plastic...

Can’t understand that... surely a black plastic wrap would be as cheap and more popular. I could not look at that in my house.
 
If it's that much of a problem, I guess they could be wrapped. All sorts of solutions there.
 
As mentioned I think the review slightly misses the point of this unit. While it might not be the best solution for TV, it is a great solution for music listening. I have it connected to a good DAC which in turn is connected to PC playing flacs. I have it positioned in a small room, subwoofer on the floor, both speakers on the desk and it is a fantastic set. Sound quality is fantastic. I have returned Jamo S308 and bought this instead and for a small space there is no comparison with the Jamo. These beat just about anything I have had in this room previously.

Pro:
- fantastic sound, clarity and low lows (even on low volume levels)
- IMO good looking set
- small speakers ideal for desk placement

Cons:
- no speaker grill for any of the speakers. Especially worrying for the subwoofer which is under the desk. I have ordered a plastic 10" grill and plan to stick it on to protect the speaker from accidentally putting my foot through it
- no treble +/- and bass +/- on remote; remote design not great. Circular shape means that you are never sure which way you hold it until you look at it. Source selection buttons too prominent. Volume etc should be large buttons not other way around
- it doesn't remember the volume settings after you switch it off completely. Defaults to quite loud, so I need to lower the volume each time after switching it off completely.

All the cons are massively shadowed but the sound quality. Pair with with a good music source and it is an amazing deal for the money.
 
As mentioned I think the review slightly misses the point of this unit. While it might not be the best solution for TV, it is a great solution for music listening. I have it connected to a good DAC which in turn is connected to PC playing flacs. I have it positioned in a small room, subwoofer on the floor, both speakers on the desk and it is a fantastic set. Sound quality is fantastic. I have returned Jamo S308 and bought this instead and for a small space there is no comparison with the Jamo. These beat just about anything I have had in this room previously.

Pro:
- fantastic sound, clarity and low lows (even on low volume levels)
- IMO good looking set
- small speakers ideal for desk placement

Cons:
- no speaker grill for any of the speakers. Especially worrying for the subwoofer which is under the desk. I have ordered a plastic 10" grill and plan to stick it on to protect the speaker from accidentally putting my foot through it
- no treble +/- and bass +/- on remote; remote design not great. Circular shape means that you are never sure which way you hold it until you look at it. Source selection buttons too prominent. Volume etc should be large buttons not other way around
- it doesn't remember the volume settings after you switch it off completely. Defaults to quite loud, so I need to lower the volume each time after switching it off completely.

All the cons are massively shadowed but the sound quality. Pair with with a good music source and it is an amazing deal for the money.

Definitely agree on every point, these are incredible sounding for the price. One of my friends who has a set of £2000 tannoys for his 5.1, could not believe these are £250. He plans on buying a pair for his PC/Media room, and stated if he didn't have his 5.1 system he would be satisfied with these, no question.

It is surprising the depth and dimension and sonic presence these have, considering their small size. Music through these is sublime and movies are exceptional too.
 
I'm looking at buying this for our lounge TV for the odd movie and gaming sessions. Bluetooth will be handy for kids.

I was going to plump for the Logitech Z623 2.1 speakers which are £53 on Amazon right now (reduced from £85). Had the older model for years, and also had the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks. I'm no audiophile but I found neither of these had decent stereo separation, all sounded a bit muddy and the bass was just thumpy rather than refined. They did the job and I do like dramatic explosions and action through the Logitechs.

But I want something a bit more refined - ultimately they're fairly standard PC speakers. I'm not a big music listener, I'm looking more just for games, movies and TV (eg sports). I want crisp sound but also some heft when it comes to action. Is the Edifier S350db suitable for these needs?
Not keen on soundbars nor the mess of 5.1 (wife would never agree!).
 
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It would suit your needs, however, there is one thing to mention, Because you will optimally want to use optical, the volume cannot be controlled via the TV, which means, ultimately, you would always have to control the volume levels via the Edifier remote, it is a little annoying. It's the only annoying thing I have to deal with, everything else about these speakers are exceptional, and to be honest, they're under-priced, they sound closer to £500 speaker's not £250.

Edit. It seems certain TV's can actually control volume via Toslink (optical), it's just mine does not, and something to consider.
 
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Great, thank you
Yes not having ARC is not ideal, but rarely does a product bring everything. I'll only switch on for occasions like movies, gaming (casual) or sports events. It won't be on 24/7 so I think we'll manage. Sound is the most important factor.

I just bought these new on eBay all in for £218.50 using eBay's discount code PICKME5 available today. Also ordered a couple of glass speaker stands. Super excited to hook this up!! Glad I didn't go for the Logitechs. I've always wanted a decent sounding 2.1 without breaking the bank.
 
Great, thank you
Yes not having ARC is not ideal, but rarely does a product bring everything. I'll only switch on for occasions like movies, gaming (casual) or sports events. It won't be on 24/7 so I think we'll manage. Sound is the most important factor.

I just bought these new on eBay all in for £218.50 using eBay's discount code PICKME5 available today. Also ordered a couple of glass speaker stands. Super excited to hook this up!! Glad I didn't go for the Logitechs. I've always wanted a decent sounding 2.1 without breaking the bank.

So, how are you getting on then?
 
As mentioned I think the review slightly misses the point of this unit. While it might not be the best solution for TV, it is a great solution for music listening. I have it connected to a good DAC which in turn is connected to PC playing flacs. I have it positioned in a small room, subwoofer on the floor, both speakers on the desk and it is a fantastic set. Sound quality is fantastic. I have returned Jamo S308 and bought this instead and for a small space there is no comparison with the Jamo. These beat just about anything I have had in this room previously.

Pro:
- fantastic sound, clarity and low lows (even on low volume levels)
- IMO good looking set
- small speakers ideal for desk placement

Cons:
- no speaker grill for any of the speakers. Especially worrying for the subwoofer which is under the desk. I have ordered a plastic 10" grill and plan to stick it on to protect the speaker from accidentally putting my foot through it
- no treble +/- and bass +/- on remote; remote design not great. Circular shape means that you are never sure which way you hold it until you look at it. Source selection buttons too prominent. Volume etc should be large buttons not other way around
- it doesn't remember the volume settings after you switch it off completely. Defaults to quite loud, so I need to lower the volume each time after switching it off completely.

All the cons are massively shadowed but the sound quality. Pair with with a good music source and it is an amazing deal for the money.

Do you still have these? I'm looking for some PC speakers, and these have come up in my search and they're quite tempting.
 
So, how are you getting on then?

They are brilliant. Sound quality is simply superb for 2.1. it's outstanding for music, the soundstage is wide and I can pick out instruments. All obviously depends on quality of the file.

For movies, dialogue is clear, explosions and action have thumping base but clarity.

Overall this set is crisp sound with clarity. Very impressive indeed. I use them in my living room so they'd be impressively loud for a PC. The only thing to bear in mind with all 2.1, they sound best when the two speakers face you and you sit somewhere in the middle. Outside of this range it's still very good but the soundstage is off.
 
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Yes, I still have them, still use them everyday as my PC speakers and I still like them
Thanks! I did end up getting a set - quite pleased so far!
 
I have these for a week now and they are all I expected. After reading lot of reviews I was expecting a good sound and it is good indeed.

Bear in mind that input sensitivity (mV) of PC and AUX RCA inputs of the speakers is not the same. When connecting shitty source as a laptop with low powered/ low quality internal sound card, I found that sound is fuller when connected to AUX which has lower input sensitivity. That does make sense.

One thing that HI-FI reviewers complain about is high crossover point between sub and satellites which is at around 160Hz, meaning that between 80 and 160Hz you can hear where lows are coming from (just sub, no satellites).

You shouldn't expect that in this price range. To be able to go down to 80 Hz sattelites must have bigger woofer drivers (around 5"). System like that would be around 1000€ easy and it just doesn't exist on the 2.1 speaker market.

This transition between satellites and sub is well controlled by the DSP and is not an issue.

Only 2.1 setup that could beat these Edifiers will be two floorstanders + separate subwoofer (min 10") both connected to AVR or something else. That costs much over 1000€ easy.

Believe me I did extensive research on 2.1 speaker solutions available on the market and these are THE best on the market and by far.

You won't be disappointed.
 
I have these for a week now and they are all I expected. After reading lot of reviews I was expecting a good sound and it is good indeed.

Bear in mind that input sensitivity (mV) of PC and AUX RCA inputs of the speakers is not the same. When connecting sh*tty source as a laptop with low powered/ low quality internal sound card, I found that sound is fuller when connected to AUX which has lower input sensitivity. That does make sense.

One thing that HI-FI reviewers complain about is high crossover point between sub and satellites which is at around 160Hz, meaning that between 80 and 160Hz you can hear where lows are coming from (just sub, no satellites).

You shouldn't expect that in this price range. To be able to go down to 80 Hz sattelites must have bigger woofer drivers (around 5"). System like that would be around 1000€ easy and it just doesn't exist on the 2.1 speaker market.

This transition between satellites and sub is well controlled by the DSP and is not an issue.

Only 2.1 setup that could beat these Edifiers will be two floorstanders + separate subwoofer (min 10") both connected to AVR or something else. That costs much over 1000€ easy.

Believe me I did extensive research on 2.1 speaker solutions available on the market and these are THE best on the market and by far.

You won't be disappointed.


Actually how about buying an Edifier 1850DB + a second hand subwoofer?

1850DB are about £160 and have a separate subwoofer out, and then you can buy whatever subwoofer you want second hand and you'll have a pretty superior package to the S350DB.

I'm planning to give my parents or sister for example my 1850DBs and my BK Monolith Plus and that package is under 500 if bought smartly.

I wouldn't say this is the best on the market by far but is a good package for the small form factor. But any decent bookshelf speaker with a sub-out is going to probably give you better performance and is far far far lower than 1000 euros.
 
Actually how about buying an Edifier 1850DB + a second hand subwoofer?

1850DB are about £160 and have a separate subwoofer out, and then you can buy whatever subwoofer you want second hand and you'll have a pretty superior package to the S350DB.

I'm planning to give my parents or sister for example my 1850DBs and my BK Monolith Plus and that package is under 500 if bought smartly.

I wouldn't say this is the best on the market by far but is a good package for the small form factor. But any decent bookshelf speaker with a sub-out is going to probably give you better performance and is far far far lower than 1000 euros.
You are right, in fact. Those are not one solution system that you can buy, you need to know a bit more than average buyer. Bit if you know someone like you to do a research 😁 then you're lucky!

I would correct myself and say "it is best 2.1 speaker package out of all available". Here meaning what's offered by other manufacturers.

If you go your way you can have better, you're right.

How does crossover work in that case? Where sub takes over?
 
Is there any way I can control the sound of these speakers via my TV remote? It would be ideal via my sky remote, but just want to stop the faff of having a remote just for sound. Connected via optical at the moment.
 
Is there any way I can control the sound of these speakers via my TV remote? It would be ideal via my sky remote, but just want to stop the faff of having a remote just for sound. Connected via optical at the moment.

I don't think so, I believe the optical output is a fixed volume. It should work if you have a universal remote and use that to control the volume.
 
I have these for a week now and they are all I expected. After reading lot of reviews I was expecting a good sound and it is good indeed.

Bear in mind that input sensitivity (mV) of PC and AUX RCA inputs of the speakers is not the same. When connecting sh*tty source as a laptop with low powered/ low quality internal sound card, I found that sound is fuller when connected to AUX which has lower input sensitivity. That does make sense.

One thing that HI-FI reviewers complain about is high crossover point between sub and satellites which is at around 160Hz, meaning that between 80 and 160Hz you can hear where lows are coming from (just sub, no satellites).

You shouldn't expect that in this price range. To be able to go down to 80 Hz sattelites must have bigger woofer drivers (around 5"). System like that would be around 1000€ easy and it just doesn't exist on the 2.1 speaker market.

This transition between satellites and sub is well controlled by the DSP and is not an issue.

Only 2.1 setup that could beat these Edifiers will be two floorstanders + separate subwoofer (min 10") both connected to AVR or something else. That costs much over 1000€ easy.

Believe me I did extensive research on 2.1 speaker solutions available on the market and these are THE best on the market and by far.

You won't be disappointed.
How about the Edifier S2000mkiii.. then you have all in one place... 2.0. No separation of base and higher as with a subwoofer cross-over to sound form below..
Difference is size of speaker.. The s350d speakers fit more easily next to my tv on the stand with height of 22,2 cm and 12,7 cm width..
The s2000mkiii are 34 cm height x 19.8 cm width..
Not to speak about the big appearance of S3000pro with 43,9 cm height and 34 cm width !?
A samsung soundbar HW Q800 T would fit lower and lost in appearance with only 6,5 cm height.. But than the sound is from below the tv..
 
How about the Edifier S2000mkiii.. then you have all in one place... 2.0. No separation of base and higher as with a subwoofer cross-over to sound form below..
Difference is size of speaker.. The s350d speakers fit more easily next to my tv on the stand with height of 22,2 cm and 12,7 cm width..
The s2000mkiii are 34 cm height x 19.8 cm width..
Not to speak about the big appearance of S3000pro with 43,9 cm height and 34 cm width !?
A samsung soundbar HW Q800 T would fit lower and lost in appearance with only 6,5 cm height.. But than the sound is from below the tv..
Well that's the thing - the bigger sets are usually more expensive, and always bigger. I went for the S350DB because I did want the bass extension, but there's no way I can accommodate the full size S2000 speakers.
 

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