REVIEW – It’s no secret how much I’ve grown to appreciate what Edifier has accomplished in the speaker market. The sheer quantity and quality of their audio product are impressive. Lately, Edifier has added a new tangent to the mix—fashion. I don’t mean tacky, over-the-top kitsch. No, Edifier speakers are looking like they cost much more than they do—even though they ain’t cheap. Take their newest entry in tabletop Bluetooth speakers, the ES300 Tabletop Wireless Speaker. How does it fare in a market glutted with portable speakers? Quite well, thank you—with some caveats.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $399.99
Where to buy: Edifier and Amazon
What is it?
The Edifier ES300 Tabletop Wireless speaker is just that, a speaker more suited to a countertop or bedside table than carting around the house or poolside (It’s NOT waterproof!). Its retro styling is reminiscent of an amp (think Marshall), but more upscale.
The box-shaped 11″ x 6.7 x 6.7 inches case is constructed of handcrafted wood wrapped in a faux-leather exterior. A woven grill covers the front speaker. Both black and cream colors are available.
Speakers consist of a 4” mid-bass driver in the center flanked by two 1.25″ silk tweeters. There are two “MazeTube” bass reflex channels (similar to the Bose acoustic wave system) with air noise suppression that port out the rear of the ES300. Edifier says this system delivers deep bass while reducing acoustic resonance. Power is rated at 60W total RMS output.
The controls that sit on the top of the ES300 are arranged in a pill-shaped aluminum section. Two large track-pad circles cap off both ends. One controls the speaker’s lighting, and the other is a volume control.
In between those controls sit the On/Off/Input button, Reverse/Repeat, Play/Pause, and Forward/Skip. All controls are recessed and backlit.
The rear of the ES300 sports Power cord, USB, and AUX ports, as well as the two previously mentioned bass ports. After being fully charged, the ES300 battery lasts for 12 hours on non-stop play. If used as a tabletop speaker, however, it can be left plugged in.
On-board digital audio processing (DAP) supports hi-resolution up to 24-bit/96kHz (better than CD). Two Class-D amps feature active crossover amplifying the mid and high frequencies separately. That’s a good thing.
Bluetooth is 5.4 supporting LDAC at a bitrate up to 990kbps. The SE300 Bluetooth allows for switching between two audio sources. Note that this hi-res works only on Android sources. However, Edifier has not abandoned Apple fans. AirPlay 2 is included, allowing wireless hi-res via Wi-Fi from an iOS device, Apple TV, or Mac. AirPlay supports multi-room connection for pairing up to 100 speakers (like that’ll happen), creating house-wide listening. AirPlay lets the listener determine which speakers play which channels.
What’s included?
- ES300 speaker
- Power cord
- 3.5 mm AUX cable
- USB-C to USB-A connecting cable
Tech specs
- Drivers: 4” mid-bass; 1.25”tweeter x 2
- Bass reflex ports: MazeTube Technology x 2
- Codecs: SBC; AAC; LDAC (Bluetooth); AAC; ALAC (AirPlay2)
- Dimensions: 11″ x 6.7 x 6.7 inches (W x H x D)
- Ambient Light
- Weight: 8 lbs
Design and features
During the unboxing, you can tell that the ES300 is a premium speaker. Everything just feels right, from the controls on the top to the quality of the audio.
Once the ES300 is turned on, A light show begins beneath the speaker. However, this isn’t one of those tacky multicolor disco lights many Bluetooth speakers exhibit. This is a subtle, ambient white (or soft yellow) light that can shine (Static), pulse (Breathing), move from left to right (Water-flow), or be turned off. The light makes the speaker appear to be floating.
Operating the controls is intuitive enough. However, Source Selection is the only manual button—the other buttons are touch sensitive. While I like touch-sensitive buttons, these are not haptic. There is no feedback, making it hard to tell if they are activated. It can be a bit annoying.
The light and volume buttons are similar to the old circular iPod track. Sliding a finger along the touch-sensitive adjusts the lighting or volume. An accompanying light follows the finger, letting you know the progress. It’s a nice “touch”.
There are some annoying caveats Edifier needs to work out—and none of them have to do with the ES300 speaker. Recently, Edifier released a nice iOS/Android app called ConneX. This app allows Edifier to control speakers, headphones, and earphones. It even controls the ES20 and ES60 speakers (smaller companions to the ES300). Only ConneX does not control the ES300! That requires a different Edifier app—Edifier Home. Why can’t controls be combined into one simple app? Both apps are easy to learn and do a nice job. But separately?
The Edifier Home app controls lighting colors and modes. It has a built-in 6-band equalizer with 4 presets as well as a customize setting. I was able to easily set my preferred EQ. Unfortunately, the custom setting cannot be named or saved.
Then there’s Apple AirPlay. Yes, the ES300 has AirPlay, which is a good thing. Not only can the speaker play hi-res wirelessly (not possible with Bluetooth, no matter what they say), but multiple speakers can be set around the house for a complete in-home musical experience—if you have the budget. Speakers can either be set to copy one another or can be set to be either the left or right speaker in true stereo mode—your choice.
While it’s great having AirPlay, it is a pain in the behind to use, especially if you routinely switch between AirPlay and Bluetooth. Set up for AirPlay is not nearly as intuitive as Bluetooth, and WiFi is required. However, once it’s set up in AirPlay, the ES300 speaker sounds great.
Note that my complaints about AirPlay are Apple’s fault, not Edifier’s. Apple needs to make AirPlay as simple to use as Bluetooth.
Listening to my music continually made me smile because everything sounded musical and effortless. I could easily listen for hours (at normal volume) with no aural fatigue. Only when pushed hard did I notice a leaning towards harshness. While loud volume didn’t distort as many speakers can, music did become less fun. Keep the volume at reasonable levels, and you will be rewarded.
Both 80s EDM and 70s glam rock sound especially good. Dazzle Ships by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is an ambitious album that polarized many OMD fans. I happen to think it’s one of their best efforts with its various quirky sound effects and pounding rhythms. It may take a few listens to appreciate the creativity behind this 80s masterpiece.
Early music by David Bowie’s female protege, Dana Gillespie, fares equally well. Her cover of Bowie’s “Andy Warhol” is equal to his original. The echoing percussion over dramatic strings brings out the ES300’s ability to exhibit all frequencies to their strengths. It’s easy to appreciate Gillespie’s gender-bending vocals under Bowie’s artistic wings.
Final thoughts
The Edifier ES300 Tabletop Wireless speaker is similar in appearance to the Edifier D32, but it betters it in every way. Quality control improves with each new Edifier audio product. Unfortunately, the prices go up, too. This speaker is no bargain, but it is fairly priced for what you get. It looks great. It sounds great. It is great.
What I like about the Edifier ES300 Tabletop Wireless speaker
- Sounds great for a desktop speaker
- Looks as good as it sounds
- Apple AirPlay improves audio
- Nice build quality
- Easy-to-use buttons
What needs to be improved?
- Expensive
- Annoying AirPlay setup (Apple’s fault)
- Some control buttons need haptic feedback
- Extreme volume can be off-putting
- Needs to work with the Edifier ConneX app
Price: $399.99
Where to buy: Edifier and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Edifier. Edifier did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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