Large, chunky and somewhat imposing they may be, but Edifier’s S2000 Pro is a heck of a speaker for the money. I wouldn’t usually start a review with a tagline, but it must be said that given Edifier’s current offerings the above is something of a foregone conclusion. These may look like studio monitors – and indeed they do have one or two features in common, but these are in fact serious domestic active speakers for the discerning music lover. Let’s see how they stack up.
The S2000 Pro cabinets comprise thick MDF walls with birch wood sides and the rest in a matte paint finish. The fronts house 5.5” aluminium cone woofers and a planar diaphragm tweeter protected by a mesh grille to keep prying fingers from damaging the cone beneath. Build quality is exemplary with sturdy anti-vibration feet beneath which do an admirable job of isolating the speakers from their stand or surface even at high volume.
Inside, class D amplifiers based around three Texas Instruments TAS5754 chips pump out 50W and 12W per channel for the woofer and tweeter respectively in a bi-amplified configuration. Crossovers are digital with a DSP based around two Texas Instruments TLV320AIC3254 chips also offering four equalisation modes – vocal, monitor, classic and dynamic. Vocal boosts the mids to give more body to the sound, while classic produces a warmer tone much like that of a typical classic ‘70s hi-fi. Dynamic acts much like a loudness contour and monitor produces a flat tonal response and is preferred for critical listening.
The 24-Bit, 96kHz ADC (analogue to digital converter) is a PCM1802 from Burr-Brown. The DAC quotes a 105dB signal to noise ratio and supports single-ended input, so the typology is, unsurprisingly, not balanced throughout.
Inputs include optical and coaxial with a maximum resolution of 24-bit, 192kHz, and both balanced and unbalanced analogue inputs as well as AptX Bluetooth 4.0 via a CSR8645. The analogue input stage incorporates WIMA capacitors while optical and coaxial digital inputs are handled by the PCM9211 which supports sampling rates of up to 216kHz.
Bass, treble and volume controls are all digital with control knobs on the back of the right-hand speaker, the latter also serving as an input selector when pushed. The speakers can also be controlled via an unusually sleek remote which is a departure from Edifier’s usual designs, being more traditional in form with a pleasing weight and shape that fits comfortably in the hand and a minimal array of large tactile controls. The power cable is hardwired, with a 5-Pin DIN connector used to feed the passive left speaker. The speakers are supplied too with RCA and optical cables, along with batteries for the remote and the usual documentation. The cloth wrap lends a luxury feel to the packaging which coupled with their heft gives a good first impression.
Sonically the S2000s are extremely versatile, thanks to the four EQ modes. Classic gives a presentation that is very analogue in its tonal character. It is tonally warm and very musical with a light yet powerful bass. Dynamic boosts bottom and top end detail and relaxes the mids slightly and is great when power is desired. Vocal projects the mids which is useful when listening to dialogue but can be overbearing with music. And monitor achieves a flat tonal response, which really is unusually flat for a pair of domestic loudspeakers.
Such versatility makes it difficult to describe the S2000s sonics. This is a speaker that can easily adapt to its environment and the tastes of the listener. There are however a few characteristics in common between modes. Firstly is a powerful, extended and articulate bass, though these do benefit from a solid supporting surface preferably decoupled from the floor to minimise the transmission of vibration, which can make the bass sound somewhat muddy and incoherent. Properly situated on decent stands however the bass is powerful and articulate without being overpowering. There’s plenty of top end detail too though not so much as to become fatiguing or show any tendency to be excessively bright.
Great looking, well made, well specified and lovely to listen to. That’s the Edifier S2000 Pro summed up in a nutshell. Setup is simplicity itself, versatility and connectivity is first rate, and the price as is typical for an Edifier product is keenly priced to put it mildly. What’s not to like?
