Edifier E1100Plus review

The subwoofer from Edifier's E1110Plus 2.1 speaker set in unlike any we've seen before.

Its glossy black curved top is reminiscent of the vicious extraterrestrials from the Alien movies, which is no bad thing. There's only one 3.5mm input, located on the back of the subwoofer, but this is sufficient for a set of PC speakers.

We were less impressed with the location of the controls. The volume control, which also doubles as a power switch, is located on the top of the subwoofer, while the bass dial is located on the back. These are inconvenient to reach if you want to tuck the subwoofer away somewhere unobtrusive. We'd have preferred the controls located on one of the satellites or on a wired remote, although the design does allow the satellites to remain very small. The satellites' diaphragms are exposed and could easily be damaged, especially in a household with curious children.

The sound quality of the E1100Plus is mediocre at best. The midrange sounds muddy and flat, so vocals and instruments in pop songs lack detail. The high end can sound harsh, especially in electronic music, and this is increasingly noticeable the more you raise the volume. Increasing the bass makes music boom when it should be more focused. Sound quality suffers even more unless you're sitting in the sweet spot, which is narrow.

We like the unusual look of Edifier's E1100Plus, but the sound quality leaves much to be desired. We'd rather have Logitech's X-230 2.1 speakers. They don't look nearly as distinctive, but their sound quality is far superior in every respect.

Author: Alan Lu