Edifier R1280T - Impressive sound quality for the price

Just got this Edifier R1280T 2.0 active bookshelf speakers from a local shop at a bargain ( approximately USD65/ brand new ). I'm really satisfied with the sound quality of this speaker. If anyone is looking for a good and cheap budget computer speakers, you can't go wrong with the Edifier R1280T.

The bass produced by these speakers is more than adequate for me. It's not room shaking kinda bass, but you can still feel that thump in your chest. Just like tons of reviews on the internet, I found there are some roll-off in the high end frequencies, and this is noticeable when you play heavy metal music. I doubt there are other speakers in this price range that can handle heavy metal music very well. So heavy metal music fans, you'll need to up your budget a little.

The next step up on Edifier's list of speakers , are the R1700BT, newer R1800BT and R1850DB. These will handle heavy metal music and everything else slightly better. Now I'm begining to sound like an Edifier fanboy.

Still going strong, after 3 years?

The Edifier R1280T has been on the market for about 3 years if I'm not mistaken. An Edifier representative wasn't sure of the exact launch date when I asked. This speaker was available on Amazon.com since October 2015. Out of curiousity, I searched and found a Youtube video introducing the Edifier R1280T that dates back to June 2014!

Edifier released the Edifier R1280DB speaker late last year(2016), which is basically a R1280T with bluetooth connectivity. If you connect to various devices frequently or speakers are placed far from the PC/source, then the Edifier R1280DB will be perfect. It is important to know that when playing music over bluetooth, sound quality won't be as good as a direct connection through a decent quality cable.

*Update: A youtube video by Digital Stereophony revealed that there is a noticeable difference between the Edifier R1280T vs Edifier R1280DB. 

A bluetooth adapter can be added to the Edifier R1280T if you need the bluetooth connectivity later. Many bluetooth adapters are available such as the Logitech on Amazon.com . Cheaper adapters on Aliexpress.com such as this will work too.

Connecting the Edifier R1280T 

Good build quality and nice looking speakers. Not too big in size either. The speaker with the dials on it's side should be the right side speaker.

The rear side of the speakers.

Rear side of the active speaker. Power cable is permanently attached.

Rear side of the passive speaker. The speaker wires goes into these spring loaded connectors.

Up close of the speaker's surface.

3 control knobs for treble, bass and volume. And the green LED power indicator.

 

 Plastic speaker grill.

The speakers sound slightly better when the grills are detached.

Up close: 13mm silk dome tweeter  

L-R: 3.5mm to RCA cable, RCA-RCA cable, speaker cables ( to connect the active speaker to the passive speaker).

Simple remote control with mute and volume buttons. 

 Speaker cables.

3.5mm jack to RCA cable provided. 

CR2025 battery is used for the remote control.