EDIFIER knows a thing or two about high-quality speakers, but they lack a certain knack in naming them. And while the R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers are boring on the name front, they are exciting on the audio quality front. The design is clean and classic but packed with some impressively modern technology in a pretty small package.
In my case, these speakers replaced the tiny Amazon Basic speakers that served our test machine well for a number of years. Yes, the R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers are going to blow away those cheap little Amazon speakers even on their best day, but they are so good we’d have no problem replacing our high-end gaming speakers with them in a heartbeat, let alone use them tied to a dedicated audio setup.
The R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers are an active 2.0 system with very nice 10-degree audio output angle. This allows the user to find the perfect spot to get the best direct sound wherever they are. Sure, they work best on a spacious desk but if you have a little space you’ll be set, and they work great in audio mixing and gaming so they make a great overall choice as you main speakers.
There’s nothing quite like listening to your favorite album on a set of speakers from a company that really understands audio. Coming from basic speakers and using high-end headphones most of the time, the R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers really did change how I enjoyed all things audio. Not to mention that I wasn’t embarrassed any longer to play music for others!
So often these bookshelf speakers look nice but have been limited with having to keep them plugged into a single device. Thankfully, the R1850DB features Bluetooth technology so all that music on your phone can easily be played anytime you wish. Sure, being a PC person I’d love an input jack on the front along with the volume knobs, but it doesn’t take away from the quality of the sound pumped out.
And talking about controls, the R1850DB has a bunch of them, along with inputs, on the back. You get your standard volume knob along with bass and treble knobs to get the sound outputting at just the right level that you want. You also have access to optical and coaxial inputs along with the more traditional, and boring, red/white line in ports for older setups and PC users. What’s nice is that you also have access to a Sub Out jack for those that demand neighbor-annoying bass.
I know I was a little annoyed earlier about the clean front of the speakers and their lack of controls but EDIFIER seemed to be one step ahead of these annoyances as the R1850DB features nice little remote to make things easier. I mostly used keyboard commands as it was running through our testing machine, but having a remote is nice and makes things more user friendly.
But enough about my feelings, let’s talk about the guts of the R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers for those audiophiles out there. Pumping out audio at 70 watts with a frequency response of 60Hz ~ 20kHz, you are going to easily have the power to fill up an entire room, let alone most of the house.
Each individual speaker is 6.1in x 8.8in x 10in in size so they should fit perfectly on most book shelves but you’ll need a fairly large desk if you want to use those are your main PC speaker like I did. Singal to Noise Ratio is ≥85dBA with 4 inch bass drivers and trebble drivers of φ19mm with silk domes.
Look, it’s really hard to find any faults with the R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers without having to resort to being extremely anal outside maybe the slightly dated use of Bluetooth 4.1. To be fair, a lot of audio people are anal about sound even though they, like wine snobs, probably can’t tell what’s plugged in as the music is playing.
As an average person that simply loves music but has a need for my speakers to serve as more, with regards to gaming and editing, the R1850DB Bookshelf Speakers simply knock things out of the park. The $199 price tag isn’t cheap, but chances are these will be the last speakers you’ll need to buy for many, many years to come.
The only real negative that I personally have is that after this review goes live I have to box these bad-boys up and send them back home to EDIFIER. Still, these are the first bits of kit that have come to the office for review that I’m willing to get online and purchase for myself, and that says something for a cheapskate like me!
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