This is my review of the Edifier 880DB, a really rather spectacular pair of desktop/bookshelf speakers that stand out in a very crowded market sector.  This is fun for me, one of my very first reviews here on hifiandmusicsource.com were the Edifier Spinnakers, which I recall being extremely stylish and effective, I described them as ‘dock busters’ at the time, whilst I was mentioning the iPhone 5 in 2013!

Design

PC600B Remote

The Edifier S880DB are Hi-Res Audio certified speakers from Edifier, meaning to me they’ll process 192kHz files properly and accurately.  The speakers are compact desktop bookshelf style speakers designed to connect to computers, gaming consoles, and all types of devices. Additionally they feature Bluetooth 4.1.  They comprise an active right hand speaker that drives a second passive left speaker through a single quite thick corded DIN connection.  They are controlled by a jazzy round remote control and additionally the active speaker has volume and tone control.   All the inputs come through the right hand active speaker.

The Edifier S880DB has a range of inputs including 2 x RCA/Phono, USB ‘B’, optical, coaxial, and Bluetooth. The USB, optical and coaxial inputs have a sample signal rate of up to 192kHz.  There is no support for USB sticks.  I was thinking this was an issue for me although  if it had a USB stick, how would you manage the playback?  What is on a USB stick that is not on your computer?  So this is in fact not a big deal.  I might have liked a 3.5mm input, though again the 3.5mm to Phono cable provided does the trick.   The Bluetooth is there for phones etc, though not iPods (still using an iPod? – Ed).

Tweeters

The speakers feature a 19mm dome treble tweeter driver unit that is made from a highly polished titanium-laminate. This has a small grill on it, useful, and is held to the cabinet with lovely recessed blck coloured alan key screws, a very nice detail.

Mid range and Bass Driver

There is 94mm mid range/bass driver made of a metal diaphragm.  Both speakers a rear ported to facilitate the bass.

Remote

The pebble remote is quite nice and the remote offers four dynamic settings for the sound, entitled: CLASSIC, MONITOR, DYNAMIC, and VOCAL.

As well as this you can add more bass or treble by fiddling with the tone knobs on the back.

Quality

The quality on these speakers is very nice, with the, I’m guessing, ‘bamboo style’ wood sides as the finish.  I like them, they are understated but have a quality feel with the rear of the active speaker finished in metal.   The main cabinet is made of an MDF style matt material.

There are no dust covers involved here, just a small grill on the tweeter, as I’ve mentioned I like the flush Alan key detail on the cabinets and it all reassuringly nice indeed.

Each speaker is 27H x 17W x 23D cm and they are about 8-9kg each, so reassuringly chunky.

In the box

There are the two speakers, the pebble style remote, a power adaptor & cord, a USB C-B connecting cable, a speaker connecting cable, a dual RCA to dual RCA cable, a 3.5mm to 3.5mm AUX (RCA) cable and an optical cable.  So everything is here.

Edifier 880DB Specification

From the website:

POWER OUTPUT R/L（treble）: 12W+12W R/L（deep bass） 32W+32W

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:  55Hz-20KHz

SIGNAL TO NOICE RATIO:  R/L≥85dB(A)
Frequency Response Delta:  ≤1dB
Noise  ≤25dB(A)

INPUT SENSITIVITY  PC: 800±500mV
AUX: 600±50mV
USB/Optical/Coaxial: 400±50mFFS
Bluetooth：600±50mFFS

Performance

There is no doubt at all the resolution is spectacularly accurate in these speakers

For my review set-up I am using my desktop MAC connected to the Edifier 880DB with an Atlas USB C-B connector.  On the desk the set-up looks good, has a pretty small footprint and the white speakers match the MAC perfectly.  I’m using J River music software for 24 bit samples and Tidal Masters in the desktop App additionally.

Overall

I am finding these speakers to be really rather refreshing in their crisp and detailed output.   There is no doubt at all the resolution is spectacularly accurate in these speakers.  I would certainly recommend a listen to these if you are researching this market sector for your computer.  Indeed, Amazon is the way to go, just buy have a listen and keep or return if you are not happy, but you will be I’m sure.

Resolution

As I have hopefully made clear the resolution is absolutely spectacular for me.   One of my goto tracks is ‘Behind the Wall’ and the sound is perfectly presented, with the studio echo resonating beautifully.

Soundstage

These Edifier 880DBs create a lovely desktop soundstage.  I have speakers either side of the MAC, just over an arms length away (50-60cm), slightly toed in.  The stage is bright and clear with the vocal dead centre, if you move about a bit it is still there until you move outside the frame.

Dynamics

Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ is really funky and punchy

The speakers are bouncy and have a good response to range changes.  I goto ‘The Weight’ by The Band followed by Stevie Ray Vaughn’s ‘Tin Pan Alley’ to hear the dynamic changes I’m looking for (5’10” in ‘Tin Pan Alley’) and they perform very nicely indeed.   If you crank these guys up (which you don’t really want to do when you’re 60cm away) there is no undue distortion and I would be confident these speakers would fill a moderately sized room or kitchen.  Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ is really funky and punchy too.

Tone

Tonally, I have the bass knob at the back on max to get near to where I’d like it but the bass is nicely controlled and there’s no hint of strain.  The depth I might prefer is not there for me.  I note there is a sub in the Edifier range and maybe that is worth thinking about, though there is no sub out on these Edifier 880DBs.

The four dynamic presets, are not doing a great deal for me I am bound to say, I would not feel short changed, however if they were not there at all, the tone controls at the back have the main impact on the tonal control.  I find the vocal setting, if anything dulls the vocals.  Although the difference to me seems marginal I’ve been in ‘Monitor’ Mode with the bass knob turned up to max.

Bluetooth

The Bluetooth is nice and vocals are really clear when you Bluetooth a podcast in there.  Connectivity is really good.  Source switching also performs well, using the remote.

Verdict

BUY Recommendation

I’d buy these if I didn’t have another speaker set-up with my MAC.  They demand a listen if your looking at this as a solution to laptop/PC HiFi needs.  I think that is known as a BUY Recommendation!  These feel like great value for money in this sector.

The Edifier 880DB Retail near £260 in the UK, and they’re on Amazon, bargain. I am now an affiliate marketer with Amazon, see my About page.