Audio and Media – Page 4 – Overclockers HQ

If you have frequented our site then you know we love out audio here at overclockershq and today is no exception. 2.1 systems are still alive and strong even thought there are full on 5.1 and 7.1 options for the PC world. Sometimes you just don’t have the room for a full sized surround sound setup. The Edifier E3350 is a sleek simple designed 2.1 system that easily fits in any small home or work office environment. The Edifier M3400 series 2.1 speaker system I reviewed last time was an incredible sound system for the price, I couldn’t get over the sound quality. One thing that I liked was the use of MDF in the design of the M3400 speaker system. The E3350 speaker does not have an MDF design lets see how well it stands up to the competition: Provided by: Edifier Close Look: The design for the Edifier E3350 Multimedia 2.1 Speaker System packaging is simple and clean. I like the graphic that shows you all of the potential colors of the system so you can see a large rendition of the potential options. The Packaging includes all of the specifications and features that you need to know. Included with the Edifier E3350 Multimedia 2.1 Speaker System is a manual, power cables, gold plated audio cables, and the desktop control unit. For a color I decided on the blue Edifier E3350 Multimedia 2.1 Speaker System because all of my stuff is black and blue and I already have 3 sets of black speakers so I thought I would try some blue this time around. I like the simple smooth design of the Speaker system. It would look very nice in an office or for use with your iPod. The control unit has an input for your iPod or any other auxiliary audio device and an output for your headphones or what ever else you would like to hook into the E3350’s. One draw back to the M3400’s was the in ability to control the volume of the headphones with the control unit’s volume knob. This is an issue they fixed with the E3350’s, also sound doesn’t bleed through once headphones are plugged in like they do with the M3400’s. I would have to turn off the M3400’s if I didn’t want sound coming through the speakers when I had my headphones plugged. That being said already the E3350’s are a much better build quality than the M3400’s.The sub is controlled from the Sub woofer as is with most powered sub systems. Let's check out the Specs and Testing: Specifications: Power Output: RMS 32W + 9W x 2 (THD=10%)Signal to Noise Ratio:>=85dBADistortion:<=0.5% THDInput Impedance: 10K OhmInput Sensitivity: Satellites---550+/-50mV; Subwoofer---200+/-50mVFrequency Response: 40Hz - 20kHzBass Unit: 5 inch driver, magnetically shielded, 5OhmSatellite Unit: 2.75 inch oval shaped driver,4 Ohm and 3/4 inch PV dome tweeter, magnetically shielded, 4OhmDimension: Subwoofer --- 248 x199 x 294mm (W X H X D) Satellite --- 96 x 234 x 118mm (W x H x D)Gross Weight: approximately 5 kgPower Input: 100V-240V wide range AC power adapter,18V Features: Exotic pyramid shaped downward firing subwoofer.2-Way satellites with soft silk dome tweeters - magnetically shielded.Pro-design 2-way satellite crossover.New anti-resonant composite material satellite enclosures.Separate bass level adjustment on subwoofer.Avable in 7 colors: Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Pink, Purple and Silver.Unique wired controller with red Halo style design power indicator includes headphone jack, and input for MP3, and CD players. Testing: Normally I touch on the range of the speakers by going through the highs mids and lows in detail. For this time around I will be putting the E3350’s up against the M3400’s head to head in a movie test, gaming test, and music test. I will be touching on the range during the testing progression but do to the fact these are “Multimedia Speakers” I wanted to focus on Multimedia for the testing. Each Section I will give a mark out of 10. Movie Test: 8.5/10 For a movies I went with the usual: Appleseed; this time around I also decided to use Ironman because much like Appleseed it is heavily reliant on sound effects due to the abundance of CGI. The deep bass from the explosions in the movies were very impressive; although the bass wasn’t as deep or smooth as the M3400’s I was still very impressed seeing as how the speakers use a plastic housing which normally means resonance is horrible. What it lacked in smooth bass the Edifier E3350 Multimedia 2.1 Speaker System made up for in mids and highs. The clinking of shell casings was very crisp and clear compared to the M3400’s. Voices where a lot more pronounced and clear then they were on the M3400’s. I was very impressed with the over all “feel” of the 2.1 experience these delivered during the movie test. I noticed the lack of surrounds sound but it was a very impressive movie experience for a 2.1 in fact I would say it is the best I have ever heard. Gaming Test: 8/10 Due to the cleaner sound over MDF the E3350’s worked much better for translating ambiance for an immersive gaming experience. I do like the M3400’s for its deep smooth room filling sound but over all the E3350’s were just a little bit cleaner and in turn louder than the M3400’s. I decided to play both FPS’s and RTS’s during testing and hearing commands from allies came through very clear and even though it was just a 2.1 experience they did a great job allowing me to pinpoint my opponents by sound. One thing I liked about the M3400’s is that they included a mic cable extender this made it difficult to use a head set with the E3350’s because you can plug the headphones into the control module but not the mic. Most headsets have a very small “Y” for the mic and headphones connectors making it impossible to plug the headset into the control module and still maintain full headset controls. Music Test: 9/10 I like to use speakers for at least 100 hours before reviewing them; this ensures that the speakers are “burned in”. The reason for the burn in is to make sure that the sub and drivers are not stiff, and can reap the full potential they were designed for. I tested the Edifier E3350 Multimedia 2.1 Speaker System using a large range of genres. The reason for this is to test out the full range of the speakers and certain genres test out the speed response of the speakers such as house and punk music. I also like using what I like to call “full music” such as big band or classical this type of music truly tests the range of music. If multiple instruments are playing and you cannot pick them out individually then your speakers don’t have the range you thought they had. Both the E3350’s and the M3400’s have a 2 way satellite speaker and a Sub. The M3400’s have a larger Bass driver but it is running at only 18W RMS compared to the 32W that the E3350’s are running at. The bass is much better on the M3400’s regardless of the wattage due to the MDF used in the ported box; this gives a smoother deeper bass in my opinion. Because the 2 way speakers on the E3350’ are running at 9 instead of 8 W compared to the M3400’s there is a noticeable difference in over all loudness which seems to make mid and high reliant songs a bit more of a punch and crispness over the M3400’s. The speed of the speakers on faster songs was about the same as the M3400’s. Both speaker systems are incredible sound systems for their price point. I actually prefer the sound of each of them over some of the Logitech 5.1 systems I have used in the past the sound quality is more to my liking over all on the significantly cheaper Edifier’s than the Logictechs. Let's see the final thoughts: Conclusion: I absolutely loved the first system I received from edifier although it had a couple dra back due to the control unit out puts I absolutely loves the sound quality from the M3400’s. I never thought a pair of plastic speakers like the E3350’s would beat them, but they did. I love the quality of the Edifier line of speaker and to be honest I never thought I would. In the grand scheme of things they are the under dog and they are considered a cheaper brand, but in reality they are far beyond their price point in their abilities. I was blown away by the E3350’s from Edifier. Would I recommend these? Yup and I already do. There have been a few of my friends that have heard the quality of the speakers and couldn’t believe how cheap they were after they heard them. I strongly suggest if you are looking for a quality compact system for your pc or MP3 player to check out the Edifier E3350 Multimedia 2.1 Speaker System Pros: PriceMultiple Color ChoicesAudio Input on Control UnitSound Quality Impressive WattageRed LED's Cons: Could use a mic Cable Extender