The Edifier M1380 2.1 speaker system has quality audio for home and office use.
I have written about lots of types of speakers from Edifier in the past so when I was asked to review the M1380 2.1 Speaker System, of course I said yes. I love Edifier speakers. Everything I have tried from them always have quality sound and for the most part look quite stylish. The M1380 have both; quality sound and stylish looks.
The M1380 consists of 1x subwoofer, 2x satellite speakers and a wired remote control. Don’t let the idea of the wired controller (remote) put you off, I like it (for reasons I will go into later in this review). It has a total output of 28w from 2x8w satellite speakers and 12w subwoofer.
The speakers measure 12cm × 15.1cm × 12.5cm and both how their own wired cable that plugs into the subwoofer. The speakers are finished in black with silver trim. There are no rubber feet on the base of the speakers so could be prone to slipping or sliding but they heavy enough to stay in place on a desk.
The subwoofer is a very sturdy MDF box, this ensures vibration resistance. It looks great, simple and elegant, finished in black with a silver and glossy black front bass reflex port. Measuring approx. 16.4cm × 22cm × 28cm it is a good size.
The cable connections, power switch and bass controller are at the end on the subwoofer. I personally would rather see the connections at the back of the sub to hide the trailing cables and make it more aesthetically pleasing. The subwoofer is quite heavy and very sturdy so stays put (it does have some rubber feet on the base to stop any slippage).
So after setting it up on the desk, plugging into my laptop with the 3.5mm audio jack and positioning the speakers where I wanted, the speaker cable is a reasonable length so plenty of play to position on the desk quite nicely, I was ready to hear what they sounded like.
I opened one of my MP3 playlists and pressed play and these speakers are more than loud enough for home use, the sound was crisp, clear and loud. I have only used on my laptop but they could be used on a television or MP3 player or tablet. I played a variety of different genres of music and it handled them all very well, although it might struggle on audio with a very low end bass. I also used Netflix to stream video and the sound was great.
Even at the highest level volume the sound was very crisp, clear and well balanced. They was no hint of any distortion.
I mentioned earlier about the wired remote/controller. Although before using this setup, the idea of a wired remote wasn’t very appealing but since setting it up and actually using I think on a desktop system it is a better option. As when using this setup I am generally sat at the laptop anyway I really don’t need a wireless remote as I am sat right there near the speakers. It would be another thing to keep misplacing. The wired controller (remote) looks smart. It is housed in a silver casing and features a large black volume dial and a smaller black mute button. The cable length is reasonably long so can be positioned exactly where needed as is very easily to use. It also has a headphone jack on the rear making it extremely easily to plug in headphones (although on my laptop I just unplug the speaker jack and plug in headphones direct).
Overall, this is another quality addition to the Edifier range and I love them. The sound is excellent; crisp, clear and more than loud enough for home/small office audio. The only thing I would change would be the position of the cabling but depending on where you are positioning the subwoofer isn’t a really big issue.
At around £50, they are not expensive but the sound quality is what you would expect to find on a more expensive set.
For gaming, music or video the Edifier M1380 is an excellent desktop set for those without the room for a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system or just don’t have room or the need for that big of a system.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £49.99
For more information visit Edifier here. Available to buy from Amazon here.
Disclosure: I was provided with a set of the speakers for the purposes of writing an honest and impartial review. All opinions expressed are my own.
