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If you want more from desktop speakers, the Edifier R1700BT is worth a look, and a listen.

Edifier R1700BT at a glance

For:	Big warm sound, smart-looking, fun to use.
Against:	Too much bass, Controls sometimes difficult to use
Maybe:	The design and sound may not be to your personal taste.
Price:	$250
Website:	Edifier's Australian site

Although Edifier is 20 years old, the brand has only been on sale in New Zealand since earlier this year. The company makes speakers, most come with Bluetooth as standard.

I tested a pair of Edifier R1700BT used as desktop speakers for a Mac, iPad and iPhone. You could use them as bookshelf speakers or with Bluetooth.

The pair come supplied with a cable to connect the two speakers, a 3.5mm jack to dual RCA cable and a dual RCA to RCA cable. There's also a remote control unit in the box.

On the outside

The speakers look smart enough. They come with take-it-or-leave-it walnut wood-look panels and a black vinyl finish. They pass as classy, but don't always look right in every room or on every desktop.

Bookshelf speakers are compact. Compared with floor-standing speakers they are. But at 220 x 155 x 215mm they are huge compared with most desktop speakers. And weighing in at 6.6kg, they are hefty too. If your computer is a laptop, they dominate the desktop. They look a lot better when used with an all-in-one computer or a large screen display.

Edifier has thought about how you are likely to use the speakers in practice. They come with an upward tilt so the sound will point at your ears if you sit at the desk.

Edifier R1700BT: Side view showing controls.

There's a cut-out on the side of the right-hand speaker for controls. You can twiddle knobs to adjust the volume as well as the treble and bass.

This positioning can be awkward. I found I had to turn the speaker to make adjustments. Even so, it's better than making the controls hard to access by putting them on the rear. And it makes for a better, minimal look not having them clutter the front.

Get the settings right

In testing I found it hard to get the settings right. Playing some tracks the controls seemed oversensitive. At other times the treble and bass controls didn't seem sensitive enough. This could improve with familiarity.

There are grills over the speakers which you can remove to expose the drivers. In practice it is better to keep them in place, although you might prefer otherwise.

Edifier includes a remote in the box. It's not the best controller. The remote is plastic and feels cheap. In this sense, it seems a little out-of-place with the speakers. Yet it is useful to control things when you're sitting away from the speakers.

You buy speakers for the sound and the R1700BTs don't disappoint in this department. Most of the time you'll get crisp, clear music. With exceptions we'll get to in a moment, most lossless digital music sounds near perfect. The speakers cope well with low-resolution rock. They seem to smooth over some of the bumps.

You get plenty of detail in the midrange. Male vocals tend to work well all the time. Things start to go off beam with female vocals. The treble part of the sound is a touch weak, but never tinny or unpleasant.

Too much bottom

The opposite is true at the other end of the audio spectrum. There is too much bottom. Bass lines punch through. There's a hint of booming distortion. That's fine for parties, but a touch off-putting with mood-setting music.

In general modern rock and electronic music is fine. Classical music is more of a challenge, although it is never unpleasant. With jazz and classic heavy rock there is often too much happening at the low-end.

Let's put these points in context: the R1700BTs are better than any other affordable desktop speakers I've used. But this is a review, it would be remiss to not notice shortcomings.

At the price the Edifier R1700BTs are excellent value. You'd need to spend close to double to get a better sound and that's the point for NZ$250 they are a steal.

T Edifier R1700BT speakers review was first posted at billbennett.co.nz.

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