First off I would like to thank Mr. Edifier for sending me this luxurious Edifier Spinnaker E30 for testing.



Intro
The Edifier E series are usually called Lifestyle series and they focus on ‘fashion speaker’ rather than plain old rectangular box speakers. I am usually biased against fashion speakers but I was wrong. The Spinnaker E30 changed my perspective totally. Tri-amped Speakers YO! Bluetooth enabled!

I was told this E30 is voiced by Phil Jones. Seems like Phil Jones taking an interest in sharper trebles now >.<

Packaging
Good stuff. Huge chunks of special molded polystyrene to protect the speakers. Each speaker also comes with a cloth/pouch to prevent from scratching. GOOD STUFF!
(Reminds me of HiVi speakers which also comes in cloth pouches to protect their speakers)



Looks/First Impression
Edifier sent me these ‘weird horn looking’ speakers. Yes I said it right, weird.

I’ve never seen speakers that looked like these and you know what’s more? It’s in burgundy red. Looks fine to me, makes your table look badass with two devil horns sticking.

I invited my college friends to have a look at how red looks to them and none of them said it’s pretty. Everyone asked me, “Why don’t you get the black one? Red color looks ugly”. Be it a girl or a boy, everyone doesn’t agree with the red. Weird events but I guess the red color is really a love or hate decision to many.
But worry not, it comes in black as well and that one looked good

Nevertheless I enjoyed the shape of the horn speakers. If I remember correctly, these speakers are based on the shape of ship sails. I looked at the speakers by the side; the horns do looked like sails.
The speakers are designed in such way that no matter how you position it, it looked beautiful. Not to forget the sound positioning is superbly easy to position unlike some standard rectangular box speakers which is very directional (and fussy) in sound positioning. The speakers are very tall (13.97cm x 41.28cm x 19.05cm) which also means the speakers projects directly to your ears without the need of speaker stands.



What else? The horns come with two huge metal plates as feet on the bottom with super comfy foam rubber below to grip the surface. I do not know why but I do enjoy touching the foam base of these speakers. They are super soft and comfy and grips a LOT.




You do get an indicator on the tip of the right horn. Tiny little LED that glows green as a standard, blue for Bluetooth input and red for Optical input. All 3 led colors blink when you mute it and flash to the clicks of the wireless remote when you adjust your volume.


The bottom of the right speaker is ports for everything. Namely from left to right would be some white unknown box (probably for system update), then next to it is a huge black connector for the left speaker. Middle would be its power supply jack. The 3.5mm female port near the power supply outputs deep frequencies for a separate subwoofer if you think this unit’s bass is not enough for your needs. Lastly would be the main AUX port which serves both analog audio and Optical digital audio.
If you looked at the slots near the metal baseplate you will see multiple built-in cable clips for cleaning up purposes. Who wants messy cables?
You only get what you need though. A power brick for power, a special 6 port cable for the special tri-amped left speaker, a 3.5mm to 3.5mm AUX cable, an optical cable? (I dunno, my test unit didn’t come with it), and a wireless remote.

Small note about the design: Since these speakers feature 4” down firing woofers on each satellites, you might need a solid table as playing it loud on these could create a mini earthquake on your table.

Speaking of that wireless remote~ (impressions and user interface notes)


What is this?

To me it looked like a wonderful paperweight at first glance. Put them on an office table and your clients wouldn’t even know that thing is a multipurpose volume control.



Awesome remote I have to say. Charging it via micro USB once will last the remote for more than 2 months of usage! I do not have that much time to drain the battery of the remote but I have to say it’s impressively long!
It took me a while to get used to its feature. The top is just a normal on/off/mute switch and volumes up and down when turned. The base will flash with a red ring to indicate user changes. But when you get into Bluetooth enabled feature, you get extra stuff to learn.

While playing a list of music on your smartphone devices, you can even use the Edifier remote to skip tracks!

Press and hold the on/off button and twist and you’re off with the next song.
As simple as that remote is, I wished the remote grips the table better. It tends to slide and spin when I adjust the volume. Other than that would be how the volume control didn’t respond properly when you twist too quickly. On times I had to turn down the volume fast but instead it ‘volumes up!’ Not a big problem since you got the mute feature but just a note about it. It’s also hard to indicate the volume changes too.

This post has been edited by power911: Apr 25 2013, 08:39 PM

Enough with the design, how does it sound like?

I was told to give it time for burn in before reviewing so I had it playing 3 hours on average volume five times every day for one week.

Treble tweets

I’ve tested many Edifier models and I’m always asking for cleaner trebles. The Edifier S530D I had sounds muffled as if they’re rolled off. The Edifier C2X I’ve tested had too much unnatural treble giving it a weird metal can sparkle rather than a mirror polish finish.
However I remembered the Edifier Esiena if360 iPod speaker had clean trebles so I’m wondering if Edifier would come up with speakers that had clean to listen to trebles.

And here it is, the Spinnaker E30. Giving out the prettiest trebles I’ve ever heard.

Cymbal crashes from a metal drummer sounds clean and tamed down without losing energy. Every clings and clashes from the hi-hats rings just like how a real cymbal should sound. I loved them even more when I listened to how singers pronounced the syllable ‘sss’ without sounding like a robot with transistor radio.

Total score: 5/5

Mids/vocals/main voice

This part of frequency range is what matters to me the most. I hate how speakers made male voices sounds like they lack of depth and bass in their voice and I also hate how some speakers made female voices sounded dry or even ‘manly’ because of the midbass humps. Sometimes midrange matters to me the most in terms of speed as some speakers just render distortion guitar into a pure tone instead of a ‘distorted sound’

The E30 had a surprisingly thick midrange. Not a bad thing because the E30 didn’t lose any clarity though that thick syrup. Vocals are heard clearly and sounded full. Acoustic guitars sound full and warm while distortion guitars sounded articulated and full with energy. It reminds me of ‘tube sounding’ speakers as the warmth of it is marvelous. But there are times that it sounded messy during a movie or a quarrel dialogue as it projects too much detail. Small problem like those are easily ignored by many.

Total score: 4/5

BASS!

The E30 features pathetic sized 4” woofers on each satellite and what can these dual 4” woofers do? Teens who loved bass will ignore the size and opt for something bigger but I would say “please listen before judging”

Man… The E30 packs HUGE PUNCHES with these mini woofers. Super tight bass and it doesn’t even seem to struggle at all. I was blasting this song named ‘Beba’ by PANTyRAiD. I cranked the volume up and I hear pure, deep, massive bass out of these horns. Cranking it up just leads to loud volumes! Not even a slight distortion or woofer bottoming out at all. I flashed a torchlight inside just to take a look at the woofers and I found that the woofer barely even moved and I’m already getting massive bass out of it.

So I cranked the volume even more

There… woofer excursions finally. The tiny 4” woofers do take a beating and still going strong and proud though on such loud volumes a 4” woofer will lose its accuracy and it did happen to the E30. The E30 couldn’t catch up with that much load.
Immediately I’d give a 5 star to the performance of the woofer because it’s wonderful.

Obviously there are limitations to it. Bass lovers wouldn’t want the E30 alone because it lacked of the sub-bass frequencies that shakes our lungs. Either way I would still recommend them the E30 because the E30 features a “subwoofer line out” where you can add an active subwoofer of your preference to pair with the E30. DUAL WOOFERS +ONE SUBWOOFER! HOW MANY MORE DO YOU WANT BROS?

Total score: 5/5

Music:

I have to say this pair of horns suit music the most. A stereo setup with stereo woofers is the perfect stereo combo for music lovers. It sounded musical and well colored sound to most genres. A little lacking in speed for heavy metal but it is cool, it still sounded good. (Don’t be fussy)

Slow music such as jazz/blues worked great without having to present too much energy. Electropop songs that have a good upbeat speed sounded fast and clean. Dirty bass from dubstep or hardcore sounds deadly. Oh did I mention about how they looked like devil horns? Deadly sounding speakers they are.

Total score: 5/5

Games:

I’ve played multiple games these past few weeks namely Dead Space 2, Tomb Raider 2013, Need for Speed Most Wanted (old and new) and even online games such as World of Warcraft and they sound great.
On simple sounding games like World of Warcraft, the 3D audio sounds directional. That’s all I can say about WoW lol.

Next would be Dead Space 2. There is a time the midranges sounded too good it brings me goose bumps. Projecting every fine details of meat chunks chopped off as I play Dead Space is rather annoying. Poor Isaac’s death screams are well presented with these speakers.

Tomb Raider 2013. As a hardcore Tomb Raider fan, I decided to play the game with these E30. I liked the excitement given by these speakers. The survival instincts feature rumbles marvelously without the need of massive subwoofer. Though pairing these with a subwoofer would give more impact to the gameplay.

Need for Speed is just pure joy with fast car vrooms and whoosh but it lacked of the deep sub-bass frequencies to simulate a real engine vibration.

Total Score: 3.5/5

Movies/Series:

I’m not much of a movie guy to be honest. I’ve only watched Life of Pi and The Hobbits so… not much comments but I’ll elaborate more

Life of Pi is a fun show to watch. I liked how the sounds of Indian culture presented for the intro. The bells, the beats, the music is greatly presented on this speaker. Vocals shined word by word. I’d say with these speakers there is no need for me to download subtitles for what I’m watching.

The Hobbits is actually a boring show due to how the directors wanted to extend a book into 3 movie episodes. As boring as it is, every conversation they had is cleanly presented. With a sleepy mind I had, I am still able to feel the effects of the sound designing in the movie.

Ignoring movies, I am also a hardcore anime fan. Anime isn’t the best way to use as an audio testing sample but however I’ve picked a few shows that I find their sound designing interesting.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a ridiculously manly anime with ridiculous sound designing aspects in it. Each moves, punches and actions is presented with the most wonderful cinematic rumble. Heck, even a change in expression leads to exaggerated sound effects. Each swooshes and rumble is presented with emphasis on these speakers. I tried watching some episodes on my Edifier S530D and it gave me more impact thanks to the subwoofer but it lacked a sort of emphasis that the E30 only can do.

I am not sure if this Nickelodeon cartoon is considered anime to you guys but watching Avatar: The Legend of Korra is pure superb. The er-hu concert like music background, the pure full bodied English voice actors, the awesome element bending skills are just great with these E30. It’s like a complete setup for sound. The word ‘full’ can be used multiple times on this E30 as it sounded large and huge (as if you are in a movie theater)

Overall sound:

I would recognize its sound signature as thick, warm and full bodied sound with a tingle of treble sparkle.
I wouldn’t say its bass heavy even though it has massive bass. It has audible bass that’s for sure.

One thing I would like to mention is that on low volumes it tends to ‘pop or click’ as if the E30 tries to save energy by turning it on and off. Though I loved how it saves energy, I wouldn’t say it’s good as I constantly hear never ending clicks and pops when I turn down the volume to a very soft feather volume.

Other than that would be the Bluetooth Audio. Loved the functionality but as most Bluetooth enabled device, it’s usually not that impressive in sound (especially when Bluetooth audio had that common 0.5-1 second delay no matter what device you are using) It feels like everything was sliced in half. Treble sounded crispy and dry, mids aren’t thick no more and the bass lost its power.

Optical audio worked fine though.



Conclusion
I find myself really enjoying this pair of speakers. It is very difficult for me to find flaws in it. I am a fussy man when it comes to sound but this E30 just tamed my ears in many aspects. Ugly horns too many? Who cares? They’re friggin devil horns yo!

Pros:
-Sounds wonderful
-Looks wonderful
-Lovely remote
-Ridiculous battery life for the wireless remote
-Massive bass for something small
-Bluetooth enabled
-Optical audio enabled

Cons:
-Clicks and pops on low volume
-Remote isn’t responsive
-Well… Bluetooth audio isn’t that impressive but it works
-Design may not look good to many (especially the red color)

I’d give a 9.8/10 score to this wonderful piece because it’s worth it

This post has been edited by power911: Apr 25 2013, 08:39 PM

More Pics

thanks for the review bro

one word. WOW.

is it just me or i can't find a picture of the actual subwoofer?

also:


at the end of the day, 4" is 4". the size of the woofer determines on how much air it can push and how much LFE it can create. you can't go around simple laws of physics

and to specifically find a subwoofer add on, wouldn't that be a hassle? not to mention the frequency cross over points especially the mid/low bass may not blend in with the sub woofer you're pairing it with, more so if no active frequency controllers are available (bass eq are, lol. )

u have to take off the baju.
i believe its facing downward enclosed with port, above the metal base.
macam FX3022 from altec

specs say mini 3 way config using 0.75" tweeter 2.75" mid plus 4" bass.
4" can do wonders if amp can pump enough power.

red is nice la. i would use optic input just for the red light
is it 1 side heavvy another side light-er weight?

if the spec says its a 3 way, it isnt a woofer already, it's just a mid/mid-bass speaker, similar to how high end car hi-fi (aka ICE) are setup.

haha I'll try to 'take a pic' of the woofers if my torchlight is strong enough.
nvm... too difficult to take a pic

here's something else for you



most separate 'active subwoofers' come with lowpass filters and phase controls so I guess it's really up to how you want to tune your bass.
if got none on that specific subwoofer... oh well

the subwoofer line out is from 100hz down to 20hz.

This post has been edited by power911: Apr 26 2013, 03:45 PM

yup... common stuff... one side heavy one side light

but the weight difference is quite small

haha true stuff. 4" is too small to be a woofer to begin with but then again in a 3-way setup it is still easier to understand (and type) woofer compared to midbass speaker.

the crossover is quite strict on the bass though. I've never heard much midbass out of it, just tight kicks and punches.
(probably it blends too well )

I haven't had a chance to audit one

Anyway, does that speaker easily fall down if accidentally knock on it?

Nice! Thank you for review

ohhh forgot to mention that.

nope
it's super sturdy... cats can never knock it down (if you have one)

the center of gravity is quite high but it still maintain its balance very well

It looks cool to me! Certainly minimalism!

Update:

Had the e30 on max volume possible.

NO DISTORTION

This is ridiculously impressive

Nice review looking forward to test it

eeehehehehe don't get poisoned

I totally forgot to take this picture

Edifier Spinnaker Card
(only for Spinnaker users)




This post has been edited by power911: May 19 2013, 10:17 PM

have u compared this to harman kardon nova? is yes any opinions on which is better?