Edifier 980T 2.0 speakers review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing3. Edifier 980T 2.0 speakers4. Testing5. Final Thoughts6. View All Pages

Testing speakers uses much the same methodology as testing headsets: we listen to a lot of music over a couple of weeks, as well as using them to play games and watch movies. This gives us a good idea of the sound quality of the speakers in different scenarios, as well as plenty of time to test out any settings that can be tweaked to provide improved results.

So once put through their paces, how did the Edifier 980T's stack up? For a £50 pair of speakers without a sub I was pleasantly surprised. When it comes to gaming they have plenty of volume and provide enough bass and clarity to give explosions and gunfire plenty of impact. Similarly though they perform well with more atmospheric titles that are not all about killing one another. They are able to convey the creepy atmosphere of Alien Isolation well enough, with its dripping pipes and creaking vent systems.

The Xenomorph sounds as terrifying as ever too which is good. I suppose.

There is plenty of volume on hand which is good and they can easily fill a small room, potentially causing ear drum damage! As good as the stereo field is with speakers, unless you are building a surround sound set up, headphones just tend to have better sound placement to this reviewer's ears.

Of course speakers are not solely designed with gaming in mind, they are also music listening devices and despite the relatively low price tag this pair of monitors does exceedingly well. They do struggle to reproduce lower bass frequencies, but for £50 the sound quality is really commendable.

Bass-heads will probably want something with a bit more kick in the lower end, as trying some ultra low-frequency bass tests did not produce much more than a dull rumble, but there is a good kick at the mid-low frequencies that will satisfy most non-audiophiles.

To me, these speakers seem well placed to be a replacement for any stock speakers you received with a prebuilt PC, or to offer you a cheap way to improve  sound quality. While it might be a strange combination to have a sound card that is more expensive than the speakers, if you happen to have an after market one it can also help improve dynamics and tighten up the bass.

The included bass-boost knob on the rear of the main speaker needs careful adjustment. Turning it up too high will have a negative impact on the overall sound quality as bass will become less focused and flabby.

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