Edifier S3000 Pro Active Stereo Speaker Review

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I’ve reviewed a lot of Edifier speakers over the years and I love Edifier R2000DB After my Bose Companion 50 speakers died, I switched to using them as my main PC speakers.

I’ve been very happy with them over the past few months, but due to the nature of my job there’s always been a petty longing for something better.

I had planned to finish upgrading my home theater 5.1 system and use the retired system for my PC audio. However, Edifier asked me if I wanted to review the Edifier S3000 Pro, and I was very happy.

Specification

• Wireless connection between speakers
• HiRes certified quality
• Flat-diaphragm tweeter
• 6.5″ (179mm) woofer
• Qualcomm aptX HD decoding
• USB, line in, optical and balanced inputs
• remote control

Edifier S3000 Pro and Edifier R2000DB

I doubt many people will be trying to decide whether to buy the Edifier R2000DB or the S3000 Pro, but that’s my upgrade path.

Edifier Edifier S3000 Pro Subwoofer

Most people probably don’t need a subwoofer with these speakers, as they’re more than enough bass.

There is no subwoofer output on the speakers, but they are compatible with them, and I’ve seen some people online saying they do and it works fine.

Edifier states that you can use the subwoofer with powered speakers, but the subwoofer must also be self powered. You will need an RCA Y splitter. From the audio source, connect one RCA to the speakers and the other to the subwoofer. Note that speakers without a subwoofer do not have a low pass filter, so when connected to a subwoofer they will continue to play bass frequencies.

There seems to be conflicting information if you can run the sub while using the built-in USB DAC, but if you’re using an external DAC you should be fine.

design

The first thing you’ll notice about these speakers is that they’re massive. Their dimensions are 232*368*356 mm and the total weight is 21.1kg. They’re not exactly a stand-alone speaker that fits on a small table. Ideally, you want speakers to represent them.

The overall design is divisive. They look a little old-fashioned, with large bookshelf speakers in a woodgrain finish.

I don’t have a strong feeling about them, it’s more about the size than the wood finish.

Since the speakers are wirelessly connected, they all require separate power supplies. Unlike some other Edifier products, the power cord is not integrated into the speaker (thank goodness), but uses an IEC C7 (Figure 8) power cord.

On the rear of the left speaker, that’s all you have. Then there is an LED to let you know it has power and a physical switch.

The right speaker has all connection options. Then you can also use the volume, bass and treble dials.

Kleernet Wireless Speaker Connectivity vs Mitchell Acoustics uStream One

The Edifier S3000 Pro is one of the few speakers on the market that can connect to each other wirelessly, eliminating the need to run thick cables between the two speakers.

I have used the Mitchell Acoustics uStream One before. They have true wireless stereo Bluetooth technology and can be connected to each other without connecting cables.

Overall, they work well. However, I did have some issues using them in the office, with occasional dropouts and some popping/cracking. The problem is mostly with the bluetooth, but I do get intermittent drops from the wireless connection right speaker when I use them for extended periods of time. I suspect part of the problem is the large spacing and plethora of electronics in my office, including the wireless router, three monitors, and more than one running PC. I think they got some distractions somewhere.

uStream One also takes some time to pair and will notify you when this happens. When not in use, they automatically turn off after a period of time.

As much as I like the sound of the speakers, they don’t meet my personal requirements.

The Edifier S3000 Pro is completely different. Kleernet is a proprietary wireless technology that operates in the 2.4 GHz, 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz ranges.

Once I power them up, that’s it. No fuss, no confusion. The speaker made a perfect wireless connection, and I’ve used it for about 50 hours over the past week and I haven’t had any issues with the connection.

They also don’t shut down automatically, which might be a bad thing for some, but it’s what I need. My plugs and sockets automatically turn off at night, so that’s not a problem for me.

Connectivity – no internet connection, but a nice USB DAC

You have extensive connections, more than enough for anything I want.

• There is line in, which is what I mainly use. My FiiO K5 Pro desktop DAC feeds audio to speakers.
• You can bypass the DAC via the USB input and use the built-in DAC.
• then optical and even balanced
• And bluetooth

There’s no internet connection, so no fancy streaming features like you’ll find on some other speakers.

even if i use mine FiiO K5 Pro, I do use the built-in USB connection to my PC.

The built-in DAC is PCM5242, supports 24bit/192kHz, and the signal-to-noise ratio is as high as 114dB. You may need to install some drivers to get 24bit/192kHz.

The overall performance is very good, the sound is slightly different, but I can’t say which is the best.

I’m sure most people who buy a £700 speaker will use a good DAC, but the built-in DAC can help justify the cost.

sound quality

For the sake of transparency, I haven’t reviewed any powered/computer speakers in the past that cost anywhere near these. My opinion may be biased because, as you might expect, these sound much better than £300 speakers.

With that, these sound amazing.

Following some advice online, I placed it on the left and right sides of my desk, facing straight, rather than leaning toward me. They are slightly above ear level.

Even without a subwoofer, the generous 179mm bass drivers deliver punchy bass, which you can adjust via the rear of the speaker as needed. While these may not have the same low-end performance as a dedicated sub, I’ve never had any issues with them, and they can easily go from a booming sub to the low-end and never sound out of control.

Mids sound very accurate, and the level of detail is excellent. Both bass male and high-pitched female vocals sound great.

The high end doesn’t roll off too much, and these provide a good level of sparkle without harshness to my ears. It’s not uncommon for me to switch from hip-hop or electronica to something like punk or electronic violin. Many speakers handle hip-hop bass just fine, but when you hear some shrill screeching and lots of cymbal thumping, my ears feel harsh. However, with these, I have no experience with this problem.

Having said that, I’m very sensitive to treble, and eventually I turned the knob back to -1 for treble.

Stereo and soundstage separation is great. Most stereo speakers obviously handle this well, but there’s something special about the details of these speakers.

Since they’re large and heavy, they don’t seem to suffer from the kind of distortion that some other lighter speakers might experience. There was no echo or distortion whatsoever, even on my wooden desk. They can also be very loud, and again, with my large office, they can provide room-filling audio without a hitch.

The remote has four EQ profiles, which are subtle at best. To me, it seems like only the vocal option can make a big difference.

Price and Alternatives

The Edifier S3000 Pro sits at the top of the Edifier range, priced at £700.

Go further down and you can get the S2000MKIII for around £400.

Then you have a premium range of Airpulse speakers, starting with the A80 for around £700, the A300 going up to £900 and then the A300 Pro at £1500. These all use horn-loaded ribbon adjusters.

As far as I know, only the Edifier S3000 Pro and Airpulse A300 Pro have KleerNet wireless connectivity.

The KEF LSX or KEF LS50W are probably the best known wireless speakers. The LS50W is about three times the price, but the KEF LSX is around £1000.

The Q Acoustics Q Active 200 is an option for around £1000. They use a hub and then connect wirelessly to both speakers. They are better suited for home theater/TV use with HDMI ports. Reviews of these speakers were mixed.

Of course, you can use Sonos speakers in a similar way to these. It’s not exactly the same as it depends on what input you need.

comprehensive

The Edifier S3000 Pro speakers are by far the best speakers I’ve reviewed, better than any other powered speakers I’ve personally used.

They’re also the most expensive and largest powered speakers I’ve ever used, so it’d be a bummer if not the best.

In addition to being amazed at the sound quality, I was particularly impressed by the stability of the wireless connection. The Mitchell Acoustics uStream One is good but not perfect in this regard, and the Edifier is absolutely flawless.

While these cost a lot of money, how expensive things are often relative. Judging by user reviews online, they perform better than many similarly priced speakers, so it’s fair to say they’re actually pretty affordable.

The overall size and price of these products will limit their appeal to the mainstream market. However, these are a great option for anyone wanting a bit more high-end.

Last updated on 2022-01-14 / Affiliate Links / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API