Loud.
Yep,
that's the clever subhead for this review... “loud”. Normally we
push the limits of pun-related humour in our little subheads, such as
'Code in the hole' when we reviewed the Kano, and 'Familia Feeling'
when we reviewed the Nanoblock Sagrada Familia. Aren't we clever?
However, the most striking thing about the Edifier R2730DB Bluetooth
Speakers is that they are capable of being bloody 'loud'. And
besides, there's no pun on earth that can relate to 'R2730DB'.
Before
we detail just how loud and powerful this speaker pairing is, we have
to mention the crappy named elephant in the room. Unfortunately
Edifier have seen fit to name these speakers the R2730DB, which is
neither evocative nor representational of the actual product. While
we had the speakers in our possession we simply referred to them as
the 'Edifier Neighbour Botherers'; a name we'll soon be suggesting to
Edifier.
Contained
within both of these blocky, more traditional looking wireless
speakers, is 136W of sound punch. Place them apart in any normal
sized room, connect via Bluetooth 4.0, and you'll have a musical
experience beyond the oft-used “room-filling” label. These were
house-filling. Nay; street-filling, if you were to ask our put-upon
neighbours.
The
units themselves are set in finished MDF to reduce echo, and feature
removable front grills so as to expose the speaker domes. They
certainly aren't small, nor are they light, and placing them on a
book shelf might not be possible (unless all your books are those
really tall hardback types). We placed ours at either side of a large
desk, and here the standard blocky design actually came in handy when
fitting them in amongst other stuff. Although Edifier are also known
for making crazy and interestingly-shaped speakers, the R2730DBs
(sorry, 'Neighbour Botherers') seem as if they are designed to blend
in and provide powerful sounds as if from nowhere.
On
that note, these worked very well as fixed TV speakers, as well as a
wireless outlet for the music on your phone or tablet. The Edifier
R2730DB features coaxial and optical connection ports, as well as the
standard RCA, and also a separate remote control for volume and sound
tweaks. You'll also find a control panel with traditional knobs on
the side of the base unit, should you wish to really fine tune the
sound quality.
Connecting
via Bluetooth was a quick and simple affair, and we found the
connection to always be solid and reliable, even throughout the whole
of the house (thanks to Bluetooth 4.0 for that). All genres of music
and spoken word tracks sounded great, but to be honest we spent most
of the time playing tracks with heavy bass and rock songs. If you
love the gentle plink, plonk, and swell of classical music, these may
be slightly wasted on you. If you love to rock out in your pants,
wailing into a hairbrush-cum-microphone, and making your neighbours
regret the day they moved in next door, go for it.
£199.99
Visit
www.edifier.com