The Good:
Compact, with a great carrying case; funky, eyecatching design; clean sound; all cables included, along with a universal power supply.The Bad:
Volume won't exactly leave your ears ringing; no off-switch; no audio controls; speaker stands have no adjustment; AC power only.The Verdict:
A portable speaker system for music players and laptops that won't overwhelm the ears, but which sounds as good as it looks.
Available for:
Pretty much anything with an audio-out port, from music players to notebook computers.
REVIEW:
Ever since Apple became the dominant player in digital audio players, it has been difficult to find portable audio accessories in anything but white. I was pleased when I discovered Edifier's MP300 series portable speakers came in brushed aluminum, and my smile got wider once I had them hooked up.
The $79.99 (U.S. suggested retail) speakers are produced by Edifier Enterprises Canada Inc. - a relative newcomer to the audio market. The company was established in China in 1996 and started shipping speakers to the international market in 1998. While it doesn't have an well known brand name like the major players in the audio industry, the company seems to know its business. Both products I've reviewed from Edifier in teh past year or so are top notch in all areas - aesthetics, materials, manufacturing quality and sound performance.
Until now, the company has specialized in small speakers for computers and home sound systems. The MP300 is a foray into the portable audio market.
These speakers fit an odd niche, though. They don't offer the volume most people will want from desktop speakers, and they aren't aimed at the ultra-portable crowd, either. First of all, there's no battery option - you have to plug them into a wall socket, so they're not made for campers or a picnic.
Second, they're right at the upper edge of what you'd consider "portable," from a size and weight perspective. The package is a relatively hefty 1.4 kilograms, and comes in a padded fabric case that's nearly the size of a notebook computer. The foamed interior has custom cutouts for the speakers and subwoofer, so they fit perfectly and will travel safely (strangely, there's lots of extra room in the case, but Edifier didn't take advantage of it to make a cutout slot for a digital music player, which would have been handy...).
Based on the size of the case, the MP300 is really aimed at people who want decent sound in a professional-looking package that they can take with them. In other words, those who are serious about their recreational audio from portable CD, tape or digital music players, road warriors doing presentations from a notebook, and so on. The road-warrior orientation of the package is reinforced by the fact the MP300s have an international power transformer, so you can plug them in just about anywhere in the world.
That said, the components of the sound system themselves aren't overly large, despite the size of the carrying case. The main unit is a brushed aluminum tube about the size of two cans of pop laid end to end, sitting on a black rectangular base. It houses the amplifier for the system as well as a two-inch subwoofer driver, and the satellites and power cable plug into the back of it. On the front is a bright blue power LED.
Each end of the tube is covered by an inverted, silver cone - the driver is aimed directly out one end, and the other is a vented port. It's a similar design to the Bazooka Tubes used in car audio. The aluminum casing also acts as a heat sink for the amp - the left-hand end of the tube tended to run quite warm, which hints at some wasted energy in the amp circuitry.
