Guess who’s back? Nope, not slim shady! I’m back with my Edifier D12 Review. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed anything from Edifier and in that time I’ve mainly listened to music using the Mackie CR4’s (which I’ll get round to reviewing at some point). So, it’s nice to get the chance to use something else for my audio needs.
The Edifier D12 is a bit different to anything I’ve reviewed before, it’s a sort of hybrid between a bookshelf speaker, a portable one and a speaker you can use when entertaining guests! But, before we get into that let’s start with the first impressions shall we?
Edifier D12 Review
The D12 unit arrived well packaged and didn’t suffer from any transit damage. Because the outer box is incredibly tough, I’d imagine the speaker inside would be fine even if it was thrown around the delivery depot.
Upon opening the outer box I was greeted with the typical Edifier style speaker packaging. Featuring a glossy image of the D12 as the main image, and a fantastic silver background helps elevate the box to feel a bit more premium.
The entire unboxing was a simple, straight forward process. The only thing I didn’t really like was the abundance of single use packaging.
Single Use Plastic
The tech industry, (which I guess I’m a part of by doing these reviews), really needs to start making small steps to help the overall world wide plastic problem. Single use plastic is a metric I’ll continue to use when writing my reviews.
Once I’d opened up the product box I was greeted with the D12 wrapped in a plastic dust covering, Which, is really rather un-necessary. A paper or wax paper alternative could be used.
The instruction booklet, aux cable and remote control all came in their very own separate plastic bags. It’d be really simple to change it to paper alternatives and potentially make a cost saving too.
Even the polystyrene tray that holds the unit in place could be replaced with a cardboard tray. Having said all this though, it’s not the worst offender in terms of single plastic use that I’ve come across on the blog.
Edifier also tend to use less plastic in their headphone and earbud product line ups, so hopefully the speaker department will take a leaf out of their book.
First Impression Thoughts
Overall my first impression is good. In particular, I really like the compact speaker unit design and the simple top mounted 3 way controls. I also noticed on the box that it pushes out 70 watts of power, which is quite a lot for just 2x4inch drivers to produce. The design and styling is something we’ll discuss further down the page. But, before that, let’s take a look at the feature set.
Edifier D12 Review – Features
The Edifier D12 features both Bluetooth and wired connectivity, which gives a couple of decent options. But, I feel like they could have done away with all wired input options as most people these days are adept at using Bluetooth. Make no mistake though, I’m not putting them down for including a wired input option, it’s just an observational note.
The D12 features 2 x 4-inch woofers and 2 x 19mm dome tweeters in a single, compact wood-effect enclosure. There are a couple of front mounted bass ports, which really help if you want to position the D12 against a wall, it’ll help reduce the amount of bass transmitted through the wall, which your neighbours will thank you for.
Top mounted controls are also a really nice touch. There’s one for volume, bass and treble and that’s it. It’s all you need. To select an input mode you just press in on the volume knob, it’s super simple and very easy to use.
You can choose between movie mode, music mode or select which input device you want to listen too. There’s also an included remote control which is useful if you’re out of arms reach of the speaker unit.
Wireless Remote Control
The Edifier D12 comes packaged with an easy-to-use remote control. This’ll allow you to quickly change volume or switch to the input mode of your choosing. There are buttons for changing input sources, music playback a mute button, as well as movie and music modes.
Typical of the cheaper Edifier speakers, this has one of the weaker, poorer quality remote controls, so make sure you don’t sit on it. It’s fairly weak and scratches easily. I do tend to expect a better quality remote control with more expensive systems and in their defense that does tend to be the case.
LED Indicator
There’s also a handy indicator light so you can, at a glance, understand what on earth the D12 is up too! The light is fairly dim, so you may not spot it in bright sunlight. So here’s what the LED’s mean:
Constant Green LED:
AUX / Line in.
Blue LED flashing rapidly:
Bluetooth pairing / not connected.
Constant Blue LED:
Bluetooth connected.
Design
I love a sleek, minimalist style design and the wood effect enclosure of the D12 fits the bill. It’s handsome looks and ‘almost portable’ technical design make this a definite shortlist contender when looking for a new speaker system for your home (or garden).
When I think of a Bluetooth speaker I tend to picture a small circular or square speaker that’ll fit into my backpack. But the D12 is neither. For starters it’s quite a bit bigger than your typical Bluetooth speaker.
It’s 36x15x20cm, so it’ll fit best on a table top, shelf or desk. I don’t think it’ll fit on a typical speaker stand. When I was testing it, I had it placed outside on a wooden platform and it looked great there, so I’m sure wherever you place it, it’ll look great.
It’s got an MDF enclosure but finished in a fake wood effect finish which does look good, as does the plastic that looks like faux leather which surrounds the drivers. I’d describe the overall design and style as having a classic look.
The dust cover is removable, which when removed, reveals the drivers behind which are nice to look at. And, I actually quite prefer the speaker with the dust cover removed.
In my younger days I was fascinated with removing dust covers from speakers but now-a-days I understand the need for them. The dust cover does a good job of protecting the tweeter and bass drivers from any accidental damage. So, I’d recommend keeping it on.
At the back of the unit are the connections and power switch. The power cable is fixed in place, so you can’t replace it if it gets damaged which is a bit of a design oversight. It’s a semi-portable Bluetooth speaker so people will be carrying it outside or to a different location. A detachable power cable would have been a nice touch.
Overall I think the design is super simple and understated. I really like the subtle branding on the front of the dust cover. That’s the design features covered off then, up next, what do I think of the Sound Quality?
Edifier D12 Review – Sound Quality
We’re finally at the sound quality section, arguably the most important review section. Let’s look at the price tag for a minute. This speaker system costs less than £100 / $100. And let’s be honest for that price you really can’t go wrong.
It performs remarkably well for the price. The D12 has quite a flat sound by default but the good news is, you can tweak the bass and high end to your liking via the adjustable top mounted controls.
Turn the bass right up and it soon starts to come alive. The 4inch drivers really start to move. The punchy bass delivery is very loud and the quality remains as you turn the overall volume up. It does distort ever so slightly at the very top of the volume level. But, in a speaker at this price point that’s to be expected.
The treble response is also fantastic and really drives home the fact that for most casual music enthusiasts, you don’t need to spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds on speaker systems.
Overall I’m really impressed with it and I’ll certainly be sad to see it go when I return the review unit I was kindly allowed to borrow for this review.
Movie Mode
Movie mode is a great feature to have on such an inexpensive speaker. I was a little worried it was going to be all ‘show and no go’, but it does make a bit of a difference. It allows you to use the Edifier D12 as a sort of sound bar. There isn’t an optical input so you’re stuck with RCA , which is fine.
I can’t see why movie mode on the D12 would be better than speakers in a modern TV. All that was added was a bit more bass and slightly heavier high end. It’s a nice touch if you have an older TV and want to improve the sound. But as I said, most modern TV’s have really good built in speakers and software audio presets specifically for films which make movie mode on the D12 redundant.
Edifier D12 Review – Build Quality
Build quality is usually another area where Edifier excel. And the D12 did not disappoint. It feels really robust and weighs in at 5.21kg. In comparison to it’s size it’s actually rather heavier than it looks!
I’d have liked a removable kettle style power cable to be included, that way you could have a few more options in terms of speaker placement and trans-portability. It’s well constructed and all panels line up without any gaps or sharp edges.
The Scratch Test
Long time readers of the blog will know that I often perform a test by running a sharp object along the side of the enclosure to see how well built it is.
I took the edge of a letter opener and ran it along the wood grain effect paneling. The results? I’m pleased to say that my test didn’t cause any damage and the fake wood grain didn’t show any signs of scratches at all and neither did the faux leather effect. Which, is good news.
Overall, I’m really pleased Edifier have, yet again created a budget speaker offering with excellent build quality and quality control. If you look after it, I’m confident it’ll last you a life time.
What’s In The Box
Edifier tend to keep the accessories basic but functional and this is no different, you get everything you need to get set up listening to music right away.
- Edifier D12 Speaker
- Remote Control
- 3.5 RCA Audio Cable
- RCA to RCA Audio Cable
- User Instructions
Where To Buy The Edifier D12?
You can buy the Edifier D12 from Amazon using the affiliate link. It’s less than £100 / $100 which is a real bargain. Check it out here.
Edifier D12 Review Summary and Verdict
The Edifier D12 Bluetooth speaker is short of features but keeps things simple and sweet. Easy to use and well built, for £99 the sound quality is quite impressive. If Edifier dropped at least some of the plastic use, I’d have gladly given this a 10/10.
Score: 8.5/10
More Content
For more awesome content like this, hit the link to view our jam packed categories. You’ll find amazing in depth reviews, how to guides and the latest tech and gaming news.
Disclosure:
The Amazon links in this article are affiliate links. This means that if you go onto buy something from Amazon after clicking on them we may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything extra but it helps us pay towards the running costs of the blog. It allows us to bring you great content! Thank you so much for your support.
CodeWithMike is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.co.uk.
CodeWithMike is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com
