Edifier R1700BT

Sources split, with most on the positive side. iXBT, What Hi-Fi, Pokde, Channel 33 RPM, ryanjsoo, crabdog and STEREO GUIDE hear a warm, clear and well-balanced speaker with no obvious flaws, and Amazon's sound mentions run 2,042 positive to 337 negative. A smaller group hears colour: audiore.kr's measurement of the updated R1700BT+ rises 2–5 dB through the treble, an ASR owner hears a V-shape with scooped low mids and shouty upper mids, and critics call it horrible or 'flat and blank'. Several satisfied owners turn the bass dial down to about −3 and the treble down slightly.

Sources split almost evenly. iXBT found the port well designed and the bass dial effective, Pokde says it rivals a 2.1 system, and Channel 33 RPM and The Tech Lab hear hefty, punchy bass. What Hi-Fi's one real complaint is boomy bass that sticks out 'almost comically' even at low volume, and ryanjsoo and crabdog hear loose, bloated mid-bass with an early sub-bass roll-off. World of Turntables measured a sharp drop below 70 Hz in its room. Setup matters: a Reddit owner found it boomy on stands 8 ft away in a living room, another wanted more bass after a 2.1 system, and a desk user settled on −3.

Mostly praised. iXBT calls the midrange the speaker's main strength with no dip at the crossover, What Hi-Fi calls it lovely, warm and richly detailed, and ryanjsoo, crabdog, Pokde and an owner comparing it with the R1700BTs hear clear vocals with good separation. A measurement-minded minority disagrees: an ASR owner hears scooped low mids and shouty upper mids, ZolaIII says the midrange dip can't be fixed with the dials, AudioCircle's JLM objected to a midrange dip in Edifier's own published graph, and audiore.kr found port noise causing a dip in the R1700BT+'s response.

Three views. iXBT, ryanjsoo, crabdog, Pokde and Home DJ Studio hear smooth, clean, resolving treble that is never sibilant. What Hi-Fi, World of Turntables and The Tech Lab hear it as a little thin or reserved: smooth and forgiving, but short of sparkle. A third group finds it bright: audiore.kr's measurement of the R1700BT+ shows strong treble energy, an owner returned it after 30 minutes left his ears irritated, and others turned the treble to −3 because it sounded scratchy. Crabdog and ryanjsoo both note the grilles smooth the top end.

A strength. Channel 33 RPM calls the soundstage remarkably impressive for the size, World of Turntables praises its spatial depth, and ryanjsoo, crabdog and several Reddit owners hear a wider stage than they expected at a desk. WillkuerlicherUnrat found it decent but wished it were wider, and What Hi-Fi calls the sound not the most open. One Amazon owner found the DSP threw phasey effects behind the listener.

“the sound stage is remarkably impressive for speakers of this size”

Channel 33 RPM (video)

“The R1700BT can score points in spatial illustration and depth.”

World of Turntables

“as soon as anything plays with any sort of phasing/flanging effect, the DSP goes nuts”

Amazon owner review (2★)

Sources split, on thin evidence. ryanjsoo hears a strong centre image, and crabdog and a Reddit owner found imaging impressive with the speakers set up properly at a desk. audiore.kr measured a large left/right mismatch on its R1700BT+ pair — up to 4–5 dB across two octaves of the vocal range, with the passive speaker about 1 dB quieter — and warns voices may lean to one side.

Good for the price, by most accounts. iXBT hears good detail in the midrange, What Hi-Fi a richly detailed midrange, and ryanjsoo a clear step up in detail from the R1280T. World of Turntables finds it forgiving: poor recordings sound pleasant, but good recordings lose some impact. An ASR owner who moved on calls it muddy and short of detail.

“That warm and richly detailed midrange works wonders with vocals, too.”

What Hi-Fi?

“The disadvantage is that even very good recordings are not as effective as they could be.”

World of Turntables

“they are muddy and lack detail”

AmeliaBuns (ASR forum, owner)

Plays loud and clean at the desk and in a small room. The Tech Lab couldn't sit at the desk at full volume and heard no strain; WillkuerlicherUnrat measured clean sound to about 100 dB at the seat before distortion set in near 110 dB, with port chuffing only on bass-heavy tracks; Pokde and What Hi-Fi praise its volume. The limits show at room scale: ryanjsoo hears the dynamic range control congest the sound above about 85% volume, an Amazon owner found it couldn't fill a living room, and audiore.kr measured strong amplifier limiting between 86 and 96 dB.

“At my seating position the sound didn’t suffer up to 100dB, at around 110dB the undeniable distortion begins but the amps can push them even further.”

WillkuerlicherUnrat (r/BudgetAudiophile, desk, fed by a Topping DX3 Pro)

“Edifier’s DRC technology starts to round off the bass and treble at high volumes to prevent clipping”

ryanjsoo (Head-Fi)

Easy on a desk, fussier beyond it. The front port lets it sit near a wall without the bass going wrong (ryanjsoo, crabdog, World of Turntables and an Amazon owner), and the 10° tilt aims the tweeters at a seated listener. It is a nearfield speaker: iXBT found the best sound on the tweeter axis, Pokde says it sounds poor unless angled at you and close, a Pokde reader complains of narrow treble dispersion, and an ASR member noticed the tone changing with ear height. In a living room on stands, one owner had to cut the bass; another moved them 1 m from the wall and set the bass back to 0.

“With the front facing bass port, the speakers aren`t placement sensitive at all”

ryanjsoo (Head-Fi)

“these speakers can sound quite poor if they aren’t angled towards you or if they aren’t far enough from you.”

Pokde (Vyncent Chan; 1 m apart, 0.5 m away)

“This model 1700BT has one of the worst high frequency response dispersion!”

Jack Low (Pokde reader comment)

Quiet for most. iXBT measured a low hum level at any dial setting, and most Amazon owners who mention hiss say there is none. The tweeter does hiss faintly: ryanjsoo heard it only within about 20 cm with the treble dial centred, and iXBT and an Amazon owner say it becomes noticeable at high volume or with the treble turned up. One Reddit owner hears a quiet constant buzz.

“With the dial set to neutral, hiss was only evident around 20cm from the speaker and luckily, is easily masked when music is playing.”

ryanjsoo (Head-Fi)

“There is a quiet buzzing sound whenever the speakers are on.”

vishykeh (r/BudgetAudiophile, owner)

Generous for its time. Reviewers like the remote, the bass and treble dials, two RCA inputs and Bluetooth, and iXBT and STEREO GUIDE note genuine separate amplifiers for woofer and tweeter. The gaps: the two RCA inputs are mixed rather than switched, there is no optical input, no subwoofer output (the R1700BTs adds one), no aptX, and Bluetooth stays discoverable, so neighbours can connect.

“отсутствие коммутации аналоговых входов”

iXBT (lab test, 2014; listed under drawbacks) — "no switching between the analogue inputs"

“I can't even guess how many posts on this sub are from owners of those speakers looking for a way to add a sub to their system.”

cherryz3 (r/BudgetAudiophile)

“there is no password or security whatsoever for Bluetooth, and there is no way to turn Bluetooth off.”

Amazon owner review (3★)

Simple to set up, awkward to live with in small ways. Setup draws almost no complaints (Amazon: 283 positive, 9 negative), and crabdog found pairing flawless. But the tiny remote is the most-criticised part: Channel 33 RPM likens it to a dollar-store remote, and Amazon's remote mentions run 98 positive to 127 negative. Several owners had Bluetooth pairing trouble, the dials sit on the outer side of the right speaker, there is no auto-standby, the volume resets at power-on, and one owner found the remote was the only way back on after switching off with it.

“this flimsy little remote control”

Channel 33 RPM (video)

“the remote control is THE ONLY WAY to power the speakers on and off after you use it.”

Amazon owner review (1★)

Well made, with a reliability question. Reviewers call it heavy, sturdy and well finished — iXBT found 18 mm MDF side panels, the thickest in its round-up — and Amazon's build mentions run 223 positive to 27 negative. The complaints come from owners over time and out of the box: units dying after 13 months, 2.5 and 3 years (one found bulging capacitors), an ASR owner whose pair failed just after warranty and whom Edifier would not repair, and left speakers that buzzed or distorted from new.

“They feel rather heavy and the construction is excellent.”

WillkuerlicherUnrat (r/BudgetAudiophile)

“failed (no sound) a few months after warranty expired”

Barry_G (ASR forum, owner)

“Upon inspection I find that the capacitors are bulging.”

Amazon owner review (1★, after three years)

Sources split, mostly positive. iXBT named it the winner of its round-up at the lowest price, STEREO GUIDE (testing the R1700BTs) gave it 10/10 for value, Channel 33 RPM called it maybe the best $200 he has spent on audio, and Amazon's value mentions run 840 positive to 66 negative. One owner who upgraded to a Yamaha amp and Klipsch speakers found the difference smaller than expected. The critics measure it against Edifier's own MR4: audiore.kr sees no reason to choose the R1700BT+ over it, ASR's sweetchaos calls the R-series 'aweful', and a long-time owner calls the sound 'so so'.