Edifier R1010BT Review: Entry Level Bookshelf with Bluetooth
Edifier R1010BT
RM 259.90
Pros
- Great build quality
- Classy Design
- Good lows and well controlled highs
- Excellent for musics and instrumentals
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Great value
Cons
- Control knobs at the back of speaker
- Muffled mids and vocals
- Distracting bright LED placement at the front
Our previously reviewed Edifier R1000T4 is an excellent pair of speaker that sounds great and doesn’t cost a bomb. Today, what we have in the labs is the Edifier R1010BT, a new addition to the R1000 series with Bluetooth functionality and new design. Read on to find out more about the new Edifier bookshelf speakers.
Edifier R1010BT Specifications Overview
| Edifier R1010BT | |
| Total Power Output | RMS 12 W x 2 |
| SNR | >=85 dBA |
| Frequency Response | 75Hz – 18kHz (±12dB) |
| Input Sensitivity | Line in A: 700mV ± 50mV Line in B: 500mV ± 50mV BT: 400mV ± 50mV |
Unboxing
In the box:
- Edifier R1010BT
- 3.5mm AUX [M] to RCA [M]
- 3.5mm AUX [F] to RCA [M]
- Speaker wire
Build Quality & Design
Let’s state the obvious changes from the R1000T4, the appearance. The R1010BT now has a curvier design over the previous traditional boxy look. The speaker housing is consists of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) with a wood texture finish. The new speaker now comes in 2 different colours, the classic brown colour, and the new black finish which is my favourite.
The cloth grill can be easily removed. Each channel has a 3/4-inch tweeter and a 4-inch bass driver with black and gold accent.
The back panel of the master right channel speaker consists of the input connectors and control knobs. It is troublesome if you want to adjust the volume because the knobs are located at the back. Therefore, the only solution is to use the volume control on your music source, for example, your PC, media player or your phone.
As seen from the photo above, there are two pairs of RCA input labelled as “Line In A” and “Line In B”. They serve a different purpose as they have 2 different levels of input sensitivity – 700mV and 500mV respectively. “Line In A” with higher input sensitivity is suitable for media players with low signal output strength and requires the built-in amp to reach the optimum output. Meanwhile, “Line In B” is more suitable for those media players with high signal output strength.
If you have no idea what I’m babbling about at the paragraph above, I believe you can just go ahead and use “Line In A”.
Connecting the left channel is easy with the included speaker wire.
User Experience
Bluetooth Connectivity
The most prominent update to the R1000 series is the support for Bluetooth audio input, hence the model name R1010BT. In order to establish the connection, the user must first enable the Bluetooth mode by pressing the power button at the back of the speaker. Then connects to the speaker from the phone.
Just however that the implementation of the Bluetooth feature is kind of uninspiring with no clear instructions at the volume button to indicate the knob is pressable unless you find it out from the user manual. It pretty much seems like they put all their focus on bringing the new features and forgot to redesign the user interface. Again, the button placement at the back proves to be troublesome.
The power LED at the front will turn from green to blue to indicate the speaker is now in Bluetooth mode. After establishing the connection from your phone, what you can do with the speaker is pretty much self-explanatory. Speaking of the LED light, Edifier has decided to place the LED light right at the front of the speaker. If you recall our review for the Edifier M2280, we have commented that front-mounted LED lights on speakers are distracting. Even if the R1010BT only has Green or Blue LEDs at the front, but that doesn’t change the fact that the LEDs are too bright for the front placement.
Sound Signature
Honestly speaking, the Edifier R1010BT has an almost identical sound signature as the R1000T4. I place both speakers in the same configuration, trying to differentiate the actual difference in terms of their sound quality to no avail. While the stereo bookshelf speaker obviously lacks the dedicated woofer unit, but that doesn’t mean the speaker is inferior to those multimedia speakers. In fact, these stereo speakers are the perfect choice if you’re into enjoying the most original form of stereo experience.
The speaker pair has a neutral sound signature. The bass produced by the 4-inch bass driver is sturdy, but not to a point where it would shake the whole room. Then, the treble is very well controlled and complements the bass driver in harmony. I find it weird when people tend to evaluate the quality of a pair of speakers solely on the amount of “boom” the speaker is able to produce.
The main weakness of the speaker in my personal opinion is the vocals and mids. The sung lyrics sound rather flat and the background music usually sounds a lot brighter than the vocals. The problem gets less obvious when you stay 1 metre or more from the speaker. Hence, the placement of your speaker would directly affect your hearing experience.
Final Words
The Edifier R1010BT is an interesting addition to Edifier’s 2.0 speaker line up. Speaker sound quality is definitely guaranteed to be as good as the R1000T4 with the only change being the new functions and appearance. My experience has been very positive especially when I can play all my favourite tunes on the smartphone directly from the couch without having to plug in. On top of that, more and more smartphone nowadays are dropping the 3.5mm audio port. So BT audio is definitely taking off real soon.
In other words, if you are currently looking for a pair of bookshelf speaker at a reasonable price and produces great sound quality with Bluetooth connectivity, do check out the Edifier R1010BT which retails at RM 259.90 on Lazada Malaysia.
