Page 3 - Subjective Audio Analysis
Trust me, I got speakers.
Reviewing audio devices require extensively trained ears and lots of experience. Even for audiophiles, it may prove challenging at times to obtain an accurate evaluation of a product without a thoroughly familiar product to use as a simultaneous reference. While I am not going to even try to claim that I am the only trustworthy or best reviewer for sound, it is fact that most computer review sites have editors who are insufficiently trained in reviewing audio equipment. Give them practically anything and all you will read about goes along the line of "good bass, nice midrange, awesome treble, really clear sound, 10/10". While there are many knowledgeable audio reviewers at various respected online media outlets, they are by far the minority.
As I have mentioned in my past audio reviews, there are really no true objective measurements for speaker sound quality. As the reviewer, however, I will put it through a series of subjective tests to try to come up with the most objective rating possible (Yes, it is quite a paradox haha). On the wired, analog side, tests were conducted primarily on my 2015 13" Apple MacBook Pro. For Bluetooth wireless tests, I mainly used a HTC Google Nexus 9 for its aptX support. These are some of the best consumer sound equipment out there in the market today, and will reduce its potential to be a limiting factor in our auditioning.
After over 100 hours of break-in time -- well above typically required period -- we put the Edifier S2000 Pro to the tests. All tone controls on the speakers were set to neutral and the equalizer set to "Monitor". All tracks on our devices are uncompressed CDs, FLAC, or LAME encoded MP3s at 192kbps or higher.
Since the Edifier S2000 Pro looks almost identical to the S1000DB, I will have to inevitably draw some comparisons between the two. As always, I will also be referencing the venerable Audioengine HD6, another system of the same size category, but keep in mind Audioengine's flagship is almost twice the price of the S2000 Pro, so please take that into account.
Starting with the "big three", let me first clarify on some expectations. The fact is, even though you can reliably move quite a bit of air with its 5.5" woofers, the Edifier S2000 Pro is not a subwoofer. If you want to completely fill the low end, you will need big drivers to move lots of air. There is no way around physics. That said, I did a frequency sweep on these speakers, and there is almost flat response down to 50Hz -- exactly what its specifications suggest. It drops off quickly past this point, but you can still hear things reasonably clearly down to 30Hz. Unfortunately, there is no subwoofer output, leaving those who want to fill in the low end out in the cold.
When it comes to the bass, as I have just said, there is no way around physics, and I am very happy with the way Edifier's engineers tuned the S2000 Pro, just like the S1000DB. Sometimes, for speaker manufacturers to try to hide limitations of their design, they will overdrive certain frequencies, resulting in disastrous effects. Edifier did not attempt make those 5.5" woofers work harder than it should at low frequencies, which is excellent. Going as low as 50Hz, during my frequency sweep, they were surprisingly good into the mid-bass. For the amount of bass you do get, it is solid smooth, defined, round, and fairly articulate. It is neither deep nor punchy, so if you want some serious thump, you are out of luck. That said, if you are not a basshead, these speakers will meet your expectations. I did not notice any changes compared to the S1000DB in this area.
The Edifier S2000 Pro's real story comes through in its midrange and treble performance, which is what they are really designed to do. It is interesting how much better the S2000 Pro is compared to the S1000DB. The S2000 Pro is still fairly bright sounding, but considerable improvement has been made to fatten the midrange in the latest model. In the S1000DB review, I mentioned it was missing a chunk of the lower midrange with an increased upper midrange and accentuated treble at the expense of the strictly faithful, naturally pleasant, and warm characteristics of the HD6. For the S2000 Pro, Edifier filled in a lot of the missing lower midrange for a massive improvement in warmth and saturation for a much richer listening experience. Although it was not as warm or as saturated as the HD6, it sounded much more natural and clear compared to the S1000DB.
For its treble, its brighter output carries almost all the characteristics of what makes good treble sound good, and that is sharp, distinct, and wet. I must say the treble really is still the highlight of these speakers like the S1000DB; being crisp, immediate, and high with demonstrated smoothness across the range. There is a difference though: The new tweeters in the S2000 Pro is much better than the S1000DB. The S2000 Pro's treble is thicker, giving it more depth and substance. In fact, if you listen to both models side by side, the S2000 Pro almost makes the S1000DB sounds tinny, and the S1000DB had great treble. Overall, the bright sounding character of the Edifier S2000 Pro is energetic and fun to listen to if perfect faithfulness to the original production is not pursued.
As far as imaging is concerned, the Edifier S2000 Pro is neutral with some centering characteristics. The soundstage is reasonably wide for its size; sounding bigger than they are physically -- a welcomed improvement compared to the S1000DB. There is also better depth compared to the S1000DB as well, but they are still no match for the Audioengine HD6 in this category. For a little more than half the price of the Audioengine, I am not complaining at all. I am extremely impressed by amount of precision and detail the Edifier S2000DB is able to reproduce. The layering comes in at a very detailed resolution, yet each frequency layer is distinct and very well separated. The sound is extremely clean. At the same time, the transition between each layer is smooth and cohesive, making everything sound harmonized and immersive to the listener. Unless you count the brighter output as a flaw, there is no missing detail with the S2000 Pro. Its clarity is simply excellent.
In the most un-audiophile way possible, I will close off with the power of these speakers. I am not the kind of guy who goes like, "These speakers are loud! They must be good!" but I am rather impressed by its ability to fill a medium sized room. But having the ability to fill a medium sized room is not the most impressive thing about the S2000 Pro though. The ability to fill a medium sized room with quality sound is. The bottom line? The Edifier S2000 Pro are not just big speakers. They are big on sound. The only thing they are not big on is price.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
