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At the end of last year, KitGuru took a trip to Dongguan, China, to visit Edifier's headquarters. While we were there, not only did we have a fascinating conversation with Edifier CEO Wendong Zhang, but we also got a look at the upcoming S3000 Pro 2.0 speaker system. With 6.5in aluminium alloy diaphragm bass drivers alongside planar diaphragm tweeters, the S3000 Pro promises great sound – but can it justify the £589 asking price?
Not only did we get a hands-on demo with the Edifier S3000 Pro before its official launch, but KitGuru has also reviewed the S2000 Pro which walked away with our highest award. It's safe to say expectations were high prior to the arrival of our review unit. Have those expectations been met, or were we left disappointed? Let's find out.
Specifications:
- POWER OUTPUT: R/L (Treble): 8W+8W RMS, R/L (Mid-range and bass): 120W+120W RMS
- FREQUENCY RESPONSE：38Hz-20KHz
- THD + N (TESTING LEVEL) ： 0.3% Signal to noise ratio : 85dBA
- SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO： 85dBA
- INPUT SENSITIVITY：Line in: 600 ± 50mV ; Balance: 1000 ± 50mV ; OPT/COAX: 400 ± 50mFFs ; Bluetooth: 450 ± 50mFFs ; USB: 400 ± 50mFFs
- INPUT TYPE：Line in, Balance, Bluetooth, Optical, Coaxial, USB
Starting with the bundle and accessories of the Edifier S3000 Pro, it's safe to say you're given quite a lot. For starters there are two power cables (one for each speaker, more on that later) and a manual.
Then, we find four different included cables – 1x TOSLINK optical, 1x RCA to RCA, 1x RCA to 3.5mm jack, and 1x USB. There is also a wireless remote control included as well.
Getting a look at the speakers themselves, there is clearly similarities between the design of the S3000 Pro and S2000 Pro, but the newer model has also made some aesthetic changes.
First among these is the choice of cabinet colour. Both use wooden panels but the S2000 Pro has a lighter, more cherry-coloured wood, while the S3000 Pro is a lot darker and, to my eye, more classy-looking. The front and top is still matte black, however, with a mesh covering over the woofer and tweeter.
As for the dimensions, each speaker measures 232 x 356 x 268mm (WxHxD) – meaning the S3000 Pro is a bit bigger than the S2000 Pro, which measures 203 x 343 x 267mm. It's still comfortably within the ‘bookshelf speaker' class.
Turning to the back of the speakers, the right unit is the ‘master', with all the inputs and control options. Speaking of inputs, we find: balanced XLR, RCA line in, USB, optical, and coaxial inputs – not including the integrated Bluetooth 5.0 support, giving a total of six input options. There's also treble and bass controls, alongside power input and an on/off switch.
The left speaker has no controls or inputs other than the power input and power switch. This is noteworthy as typically only the right speaker receives power, and a cable travels from the right to left speaker units carrying both power and the audio signal. With the S3000 Pro, however, the connection between both speakers is completely wireless – so each speaker needs its own power input.
Lastly, we take a closer look at the 6.5in (179mm) aluminium alloy diaphragm woofer used with the S3000 Pro, as well as the planar diaphragm tweeters which measure 107 x 107mm.
Technical Details
Before getting to our audio testing, it's worth just touching on some more technical details that we haven't already mentioned. The first thing to note is the choice of DAC, Texas Instruments' PCM5242 (up to 32-bit/384kHz) and then the ADC, also from Texas Instruments, the PCM1861 (up to 192kHz). The integrated DSP is the TLV320AIC3268, again from Texas Instruments.
Perhaps of more immediate concern is the wireless technology used for each speaker. As we mentioned on the previous page, rather than going the traditional route with a cable connecting the two speakers, Edifier has instead implemented an entirely wireless connection between the left and right units. As Stanley Wen, Edifier VP, mentioned to us last year, this marks the first time Edifier has released a 2.0 speaker system that utilises a wireless connection. We've seen other models, like the Edifier E235 2.1 system, where the subwoofer connects to the satellites without a cable – but Edifier hasn't done this before on a high-end 2.0 system.
For this, the company has implemented KLEERNet wireless connection technology. According to Edifier:
‘KLEERNet has a transmission bandwidth of 22M[pbs], which can transmit high-quality audio signals with high codestream and high sampling rate without loss of compression and unimpeded signal transmission. KLEERNet uses two frequency bands of 5.8g and 5.2g, which are not easily disturbed by 2.4g (the frequency band of bluetooth and WIFI) and have excellent transmission stability. You can think of it as a 5.8g transmission, with a built-in transmitter and receiver in the left and right speakers for wireless transmission.'
There's not a whole lot of information about KLEERNet online, but I do think it is interesting Edifier did not give the option to use a wired connection instead of the wireless technology. I say this as I have actually tested two different speaker pairs, where the first was affected by some sort of wireless transmission issue. I don't know what exactly was causing the problem, but essentially what happened was once or twice a day, the left speaker unit would just drop out for about 30 seconds before coming back in again – nothing I tried would help bring the audio back, I just had to wait until the speaker seemingly re-connected and would start playing audio again.
Like I said, I don't know why this happened, but if I had to guess I thought my router may be interfering with the connection, as that is positioned only a couple feet from where I placed the speakers on my desk. But then when I asked Edifier about the wireless technology , and they said ‘KLEERNet uses two frequency bands of 5.8g and 5.2g, which are not easily disturbed by 2.4g (the frequency band of bluetooth and WIFI)' that seemingly ruled out my theory.
In any case, I told Edifier about my issues and they replaced my sample with another, and it's been working perfectly ever since – so maybe I just got unlucky, but the fact that there's no back-up wired connection is definitely something I think could have been included.
Sound
Putting that aside for now, it is safe to say the S3000 Pro sounds excellent no matter the technology used. We'd expect nothing less from Edifier's flagship 2.0 speaker system, but certainly I have really enjoyed using the S3000 Pro over the last few weeks.
Starting off with the bass, these things can really pack a punch – out of the box the bass sounds really quite meaty and punchy, giving a real weight to the low-end. It still felt clean and undistorted, but it was perhaps a bit much for my taste – thankfully there are those bass/treble controls on the back of the right speaker, and I nudged the bass down to ‘-3.' This proved perfect for me, just taking away a little of the bass' prominence but leaving more than enough presence to fill-out the low-end and give a lovely body to music.
The bass is also well separated from the mid-range, preventing any of the low-end bleeding over, and the mids as a whole are clean, clear and have just a hint of forwardness which elevates vocals just enough that it becomes the focal point when listening to acoustic tracks like ‘Utican' by Novo Amor (an excellent artist, by the way).
Moving up to the treble, this proved perfect for my tastes without any adjustment. It's resolving without a hint of sibilance or harshness, suggesting those 107mm planar ribbon tweeters are really up to the task. You can perfectly pick out the hi-hat and ride cymbals in Dream Theatre's ‘Panic Attack' (another personal favourite of mine), but it's presented in a manner that didn't cause any fatigue or discomfort. It's a lovely complement to the punchy bass and clear mid-range.
Overall volume output is also very impressive, with a rated 256W RMS (120W per woofer, 8W per tweeter). In fact, with Windows volume set to 100% – using only the remote to control the overall volume – I rarely went above the lowest volume setting as I found that perfect when sitting at my desk. If you crank it all the way, these will easily fill a large room (or rooms) and you'll almost certainly get a knock on the door from an angry neighbour.
In short, the S3000 Pro sounds fantastic – it's a fun yet well-balanced sound that probably is geared more towards ‘enjoyment' rather than proper hardcore audio analysis, making them a tremendous addition to your living room at home.There's no doubt about it, Edifier has made an excellent 2.0 speaker system in the S3000 Pro.
From the very beginning, these make a good impression thanks to the gorgeous dark wood panelling and solid construction. There's also plenty of input options – balanced XLR, RCA line in, USB, optical, coaxial and Bluetooth 5.0 – while USB, optical and 2x RCA cables come included in the box.
The audio performance is where the S3000 Pro impresses most, though. It's simply a lovely overall sound, with a real warmth to it that is backed up by plenty of detail in the high-end that never once felt harsh or fatiguing. I listened to all sorts of genres and styles with these speakers – from folk to metal, EDM to acoustic – and I never felt the sound was lacking in any specific aspect.
At the moment, my only concern is the wireless technology Edifier as used to connect both speakers – as a recap, the units are no longer wired together and the signal is instead shared over two 5.2GHz and 5.8GHz wireless bands. It sounds great to be able to ditch the cable interconnect, but I did experience an issue with the wireless technology where the left speaker dropped out two or three times a day.
In fairness, Edifier sent me a second sample which did not exhibit this issue, but even so I do find it strange there isn't even the option for a wired connection between the two speaker units. This is a £589 2.0 speaker system – I appreciate the convenience of the wireless connection, but there will always be some who want the wired connection as (right or wrongly), a wired connection is still perceived to offer the absolute best quality.
That aside, the S3000 Pro is a fantastic 2.0 speaker system. I've really enjoyed using them the last few weeks and will be sad to see them go. The wireless issue means I can't justify giving these our top award, but if you want a high-quality 2.0 speaker setup for the living room, these are a great choice.
You can buy the S3000 Pro on Amazon for £589 HERE.
Pros
- Sleek and stylish design.
- Loads of input options.
- Fantastic all-round sound quality.
Cons
- I had issues with the wireless connection – and there's no option to use a cable.
KitGuru says: The S3000 Pro looks and sounds fantastic. I do have a question mark over the decision to completely remove the wired interconnect between each speaker, but otherwise these are highly recommended.
