Edifier R1280T vs Ikea Symfonisk Bookshelf

The S3000 do a fine job covering all the based from music, movies, and games. I’ve only ever had the S3000 pros, Edifier R1280T, and the Edifier R1700BT (I have a brand loyalty issue I know) so I don’t really have anything to compare them to. I was lucky enough to attend RMAF in 2019 and got to listen to a bunch of *really* nice speakers and this was one of them. The S3000 Pros happened to be in my price range ($400 on Black Friday ‘19) so I picked them up

Those looking for really pounding low notes might be a bit disappointed but the frame sounds great with most music genres. The Sonos One still sounds a little better all-round but it is very close.

What makes a more noticeable difference is the position of the speakers. I made some stands out of scrap particle board shelving to get the speakers off the surface of the desk and angled upward. This may reduce the impression of "warmth" that many listeners notice first but the bass is tighter and the overall tonal balance is improved. Getting the tweeters directed more towards my ears also cleaned up the top end and helped imaging substantially

The $179 Symfonisk Table Lamp doubles as a lamp, while the $99 Symfonisk WiFi Bookshelf Speaker, reviewed here, can be used as a wall shelf. Sonically, the speaker delivers a powerful punch for the price, including some impressive bass depth. It can also be incorporated into exisiting Sonos systems, making it the least expensive Sonos-compatible speaker available and earning our Editors' Choice.

5mm jack to the RCA input, instead I use a USB Digital-to-Analog Converter to take advantage of higher sampling rates. I listen to music on my Mac mini M1 mostly using Apple Music. The Mac mini M1 is connected to a Schiit Modi DAC via USB, which is connected to a Schiit Loki Mini+ Equalizer (awesome combo by the way). These two devices are connected via short 6" RCA cables, in turn connected to the Edifier Speakers also with short quality RCA cables

The Ikea Symfonisk is a Sonos speaker w/o Alexa built in so primarily a wifi/Bluetooth speaker. I was able to play music through it from my Google Echo but not simultaneously with the Echo connected to other devices. Maybe I am doing something wrong but have not figured out how to do it and I am an engineer so beware. It is far less useful to me because I can not stream music simultaneously to other powered speakers speakers connected to the AUX output of the Echo

These edifier speakers still represent a great value for the cost, they won't get super loud, but they will sound really good, especially if you're using a decent source and not a terrible integrated computer soundcard.or a cheap cd player..

If you can push your budget by a C-note and a half≈, absolute top sound of the gods, hardware that will make your neighbours complain:

They are still small enough to not take over your desk, but are big enough that you'll actually want to listen to them (unlike smaller "computer speakers").

I just got the Ikea symfonisk lamps as surrounds and they are awesome. They also are more living room friendly aesthetically.

I personally will be sending the R1700BT's back because the set I received is having some issues with the power switch. The R1700BT does have bluetooth and that alone can justify the additional cost, but you are also getting a larger amp as well making it a solid purchase. The looks of the R1700BT are modern compared to that of the R1280T being retro in my opinion. The R1700BTEdifier R1700BT Bluetooth Bookshelf Speakers - Active Near-field Studio Monitors - Powered Speakers 2

You need surround speakers to go with it, possibly even a subwoofer too. So with these, we mounted them in our living room, one on either side and add...

Keep in mind however, always match your speaker size to your room size. The reason these sound amazing for me, is my bedroom is only a 15' by 15' room. If you want speakers to fill a 18' by 25' living room or larger, I would recommend the Edifier S1000DB speakers. These speakers do have removable grills, but because of the strange placement of the drivers, I think the speakers look better with the grills on

Assuming you're talking about the Symfonisk bookshelf speakers, bigger *is* better, and the Ones have a slightly bigger driver. But you're not going to notice any appreciable difference in surround for most movies and TV shows. You might notice a slight difference in music with surrounds set to full, but I doubt it. The Symfs' primary deficit relative to the Ones is slightly weaker bass response, and that's going to covered up by the Sub