• Processor: Intel Core2 Quad Q9450
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6
• Memory: OCZ 2 x 2GB
• Video Card: Nvidea 260GTX
• Power Supply: Mushkin 800w Modular Power Supply
• Hard Drive: Seagate 750GB SATA
• Optical Drive: LG DVD
• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
• Thermaltake armor

Normally I would do a head to head test against another speaker set, this time I am going to do things a little different. The Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers destroyed the sound quality of my Creative Inspire T6100 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System. My ancient Altec Lansing 2.1 system couldn’t even hold a candle to the Creatives let alone the Edifier. Instead of a standard head to head match up I will just be going through the treble, mid-range, bass, and speed tests as well as seeing how it performs for gaming and movies. Before I did any of these tests I "burned-in" or broke in the speakers for a good 3 days before truly testing. This ensures that the sounds quality is at its peak and that the sub woofer has its full range of motion and doesn't remain "stiff" during deep bass and quick bass hits.

High (Treble):

Classical music is one of the better tests for treble so this is exactly what I decided to use for this test. The overall treble quality was a nice mix of smoothness (due to the MDF box most likely) and sibilance. There was no hissing so the sibilance was kept in check. I believe adding one more high frequency driver and turning these into a 3 way speaker would have added benefit for the treble’s loudness, but over all it was very pleasant to listen to and you did not have to strain to hear the treble tones.

Of course this test wasn’t for bass but the drums and cello had an extremely rich sound for this test, far beyond other PC speakers I have heard in the same pricing structure.

 Mid (Mid-Range):

Mid-range tones are found mostly in guitar and vocals in any given song, most of which is found in Alternative or Metal genres of music. These types of music are known for their distorted sounds so hearing vocals in amongst all of the “noise” can be difficult with poorly made speakers. While I did have to turn down the sub a bit for these genres the vocals where still very clear and understandable even with the most distorted songs.

 Low (Bass):

Usually I play copious amounts of rap to generate bass hits; I did play rap and these performed amazingly but for a true test I did something different this time. I ran through this cd to generate a full range of dual tone bass frequencies. The Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers produced incredible, clear, powerful, and hitting bass through out this test. I was incredibly impressed with how well the Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers performed in this test. Another more painful test I performed is this one: (be careful not to play it too loud the frequencies used in this bass test can genuinely destroy your sub woofer if it is not properly broken in or if it is a cheaper design.)

Thankfully this bass test did not kill the M3400’s but some of the hits where pushing it pretty hard. These speakers stood up to it and held there own. For bass the Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers are top notch as far as PC audio goes. If you are into heavy bass music these are pretty impressive speakers.

Movies, Speed Response, and Gaming:

2.1 is not usually the speaker system of choice for gamers or avid movies watchers, but the Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers performed very well. Granted you are not going to get a fully surround sound experience with these speakers you are going to get s pretty good room filling sound due to the MDF speaker boxes. Even thought I got more of a surrounding sound with my 5.1 Creative speakers they did little for room filling sound with substance. The plastic encasing for the Creative speakers made them sounds a lot cheaper than the Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers.

Movies still sounded amazing even though it was only 2.1. Movies like Star wars and august rush have symphony music playing periodically through the movie and the Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers really shined for the epic emotional inspiring music. Actors with a lot of bass in their voice like James Earl Jones sounded incredible on these speakers.

For gaming the speakers did about as good as my favorite gaming headset. They gave the illusion of three dimensional sound, this is one place however I do have to say the Creatives did just a little bit better. If you are looking for an all around speaker the Edifiers are still great for gaming just not quite as immersive as the Creatives.

For Speed tests I used punk, speed metal, and house music. Poorly made speakers will distort all sounds in a fast paced song into one sound instead of differentiating between them. The Edifier M3400 2.1 Multimedia PC Speakers performed all types of music hitting every note cleanly and crisply, I had no issues differentiating between each note, especially with the house music’s fast bass hits. The sub woofer on the M3400’s is a lot faster than I would have expected it to be, and the satellite speakers have a very quick response over all.

Let's see the final thoughts: