If you look too apace , you might think the Edifier MP230 Bluetooth Speaker is actually a bedside radio from the ‘ 60s . While visually , that ’s by design on Edifier ’s part , the performance of this handsome littleBluetooth speakeris more than its surface - level aesthetic .
In general , Edifier has carve out a nice little space for itself in the market — developing in high spirits - design speakers that perforate reasonably well above their toll head in price of audio performance . While the brand is known for unique pattern going as far back as 2014’se25 Lunaspeakers that front like something out of aJetsonsepisode , the MP230 is taking a page out of the old and render to do something reasonably new .
I ’ve used my fair share of Edifier product — most notably bookshelf speakers including the reasonably priced 1700BTs — so I had some expectations when I get my hands on the MP230 . We ’ve reviewed a telephone number of Edifier ’s headphone here at Digital Trends , includingStax Spirit S3 , so I was curious to see an on - the - go Bluetooth speaker in the mix . After about a calendar week of general use , here ’s how the MP230 carnival .
Design and build: It really ties a shelf together
Edifier is being pretty intentional about this loudspeaker ’s intent . The marketing web site clearly states that they ’re inspired by classical radios of the ‘ fifty and ‘ LX , and while there are some aspects of this I determine to be truthful , the look of the MP230 is decidedly a merger between modern and retro .
The downward - toggle - style buttons screamMad Mento me , and I ’ll accommodate that a highball glass looks middling nice right next to this loudspeaker system , but the slick almost roseate - Au badge on the modern - looking grille definitely feels like something from 2022 . The rubber eraser feet elevate the MP230 just enough to make it feel midcentury forward-looking , but by all odds in a Crate & Barrel kind of way , not in an “ I found this at a consignment store ” variety of way .
None of that is a bad matter , because I recollect it ’s pretty clear that Edifier is rifle for a modern - retro approach here . The rest of the woodwind instrument - style chassis , for example , definitely finger sleek and well manufactured . The enclosure is made of average - concentration fiberboard ( common enclosure material known for resonance and durability ) cover with a nice - look veneer to copy the square - wood cabinet of yore . I peculiarly care how this feels in the hand as it ’s set about a density and a weighting that ’s in keeping with quality . The buttons , though they ’re design tolooklike they clunk downward , actually have very little range of motion and act more like modern tissue layer - switch buttons .
The finding of fact on the strong-arm anatomy of this loudspeaker is that most listeners wo n’t be disappointed . It looks great on a bookshelf , in an office , or indeed on a bedside table . And because it ’s so lowly ( measure just about 6 by 3 by 4 in ) it does n’t occupy too much of a step alongside the rest of its ledge - mates . It does n’t , however , look at home on a mantle in the park . It ’s nice that there ’s the flexibility of a battery so you could take this speaker with you , but there ’s something wanted about the design that make me finger much more comfortable with it in my dwelling than out in the globe .
Sound quality: right down the middle
The MP230 is , in brusque , a able little speaker system with a raft to volunteer on the sound timbre front . Inside the enclosure are dual 48 - mm drivers to drive home true stereo speech sound . This is refreshing to see in such a lowly speaker , and in fact , many other Bluetooth speakers from popular brands likeJBLorUltimate Earsdon’t always pop the question dual - matched speakers for stereo spreading — opt alternatively for larger elliptic equipment driver for volume and bass voice .
Each of the MP230 ’s drivers is powered by 10 watts of power via a class D amp , provide a moderately fairish amount of headway for most auditor ’ motive — particularly at this size . The frequency answer goes as low as 70Hz which , when coupled with the reverberance of the wood - flair enclosure , gives a pretty nice bass reply . In fact , this is what surprised me most about the effectual quality ; when you fire it up , it ’ll project phone in the low and low - mid frequencies quite well .
So what does this all mean in practice ? Well , if you ’re listening to “ distinctive music ” with intermediate compression — Top 40 mixes or official Spotify playlists — the MP230 is pretty well optimized . The richness in the humbled end of the spectrum does wonder for adding richness to the sound . It does , however , come across just a bit muddy on the outspoken side . So , if you listen to podcasts or acoustic music , you might receive it a touch distracting .
Everything else: very few bells and whistles
Edifier seems to have spent quite a mo of focal point on the design of the speaker and attaining at least decent good quality . As a result , there really are n’t a ton of “ extras ” to mouth of here . There are no gamey - end codecs like AAC oraptX , andBluetooth 5.0is as modern as the connectivity gets on the MP230 .
There ’s a 3.5 - millimetre auxiliary larboard if you ’d prefer to wire in instead of using Bluetooth connectivity . There ’s a USB - c input that doubles as a port for charge and for cyclosis to your microcomputer , and Edifier has even admit a micro Mount Rushmore State posting time slot for trifle local filing cabinet right from the speaker itself .
There ’s a 2,500 milliamp - hour battery built into this loudspeaker , which Edifier promise will deliver 10 hour of uninterrupted playback on a single complaint . I ply this loudspeaker system for the full battery and I got closemouthed to eight or nine hours of playback at fairly loud volume ( I was test the speaker , after all ) . I opine nine hr is a pretty reasonable total , though … much more than folks will belike take in one sitting .
Verdict: Who should buy it?
The battery life point bestow me to my final thought here : Who is this speaker for ? Sure it has shelling functionality , but because of its Sir Henry Joseph Wood - tonicity finish and pattern - forward features , it feels unmated to make this in a bag and take it to the ballpark . Plus , the rectangle pattern is a little awkward for this role - case anyway as it does n’t sit down flat in a backpack .
No , this verbalizer is much more at home on a ledge in a sitting room or even in the corner of your kitchen . It projects sensibly robust , stereo sound for its size , and it does so by looking really slick . It ’s not vie with the JBLs and the Ultimate Ears of the populace but is n’t quite reach the echelon of a Sonos or Bose talker . In general , I think there ’s decent value here at an MSRP of $ 150 ( and it can be had for $ 130 on third - political party sites like Amazon ) , but if you desire extra feature like high - end codecs or waterproofed enduringness , you ’ll have to reckon elsewhere .
