INTRODUCTION

    Speakers is something I've always placed extra weight on whether they were meant for the PC, TV, home theater or the sound/Hi-Fi system. Now I never could really afford some of the top premium floor standing speakers around that I happened to really enjoy listening to but over the years I've come across quite a few gems that didn't cost much and offered better than expected audio performance. Edifier has been behind several such models and today with me I have their latest M60 Hi-Res Compact Desktop 2.0 Speakers.

    Edifier specializes in premium sound systems that showcase technological innovation and design elegance, delivering outstanding audio experiences through a wide range of headphones, speakers, and music systems, for personal entertainment and professional excellence. Established in May 1996 in Beijing, Edifier is the brainchild of a small group of enterprising music lovers. Over the past 25 years, Edifier has been guided by the “passion for sound” principle, which helped the brand emerge as a world-class designer and manufacturer of award-winning sound systems. Today, Edifier serves audio lovers worldwide through its distributors in over 70 countries, with operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

    The M60 compact desktop 2.0 speakers are currently available in 3 colors (black, white and oak), carry the Hi-Res and Hi-Res Wireless certification and sport a total power output of 66W RMS. Each speaker features an 1" (25mm - 15W) silk dome tweeter and an 3" (75mm - 18W) aluminum long-throw mid-low driver (58Hz-40kHz frequency response) while the main speaker also packs a closed loop class-D digital audio amplifier from Texas Instruments (two way active crossover) complete with a built-in DSP (24bit/96kHz bit-perfect audio). Once again Edifier has equipped this speaker set with Bluetooth v5.3 connectivity (ConneX app) that comes ready with LDAC audio codec support (SBC also supported) thus allowing for wireless audio at up to 990Kbps and as for available inputs at the rear of the main speaker we find a USB-C port (PC) and a 3.5mm aux port. A set of aluminum speaker stands and media touch controls on top of the main speaker complete the Edifier M60.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Edifier uses a rather large box to ship the M60 inside the front of which is taken by a product picture and their logo.

The features and specifications of the M60 are printed on the left side in 8 languages while on the right side we find the product measurements and some details about wireless functionality.

At the rear we find yet another product picture.

Both speakers are wrapped inside cloth covers and placed between two thick pieces of cardboard.

Next to the M60 speakers and their power cord inside the box Edifier has placed two aluminum stands, speaker cable, 3.5mm cable, USB-C cable, stereo RCA to 3.5mm cable, safety paper, compliance paper and a quick start guide.

THE M60

The M60 are primarily made of plastic, aluminum and MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard) which in the case of the oak color almost looks and feels like real wood.

Each speaker measures 168mm in height, 147mm in width and 100mm in length so they are considerably smaller compared to for example the QR65.

At the front of each speaker, we find the 1" (25mm) silk dome tweeter and 3" (75mm) aluminum long-throw mid-low driver.

As mentioned before the MDF used looks and feels a lot like wood, not quite but close enough.

Turning the speakers around only the main speaker has the available inputs (USB-C and AUX).

The media touch buttons are located on top and include the on/off/pairing button and the volume up/down buttons (mode LED is located inside the power button).

Just like with the QR65 Edifier bundles two angled aluminum stands with the M60.

CONNEX APP

For full control over the QR65 I strongly recommend downloading the Edifier ConneX smartphone app.

From the main tab this app allows you to change the input source, use the built-in equalizer (4 effects and 1 custom), set the volume and change input.

Accessing the settings tab (top right) allows you to check for firmware updates, read the online manual, change the codec to LDAC (disabled by default - once enabled the Hi-Res logo lights up in the main tab), adjust the lighting coming from the media buttons, power off the speakers and disconnect Bluetooth.

CONCLUSION

    For a budget oriented pair of speakers, the M60 by Edifier will certainly please you both thanks to their very crisp and accurate mids and highs and overall build quality. However, even though the M60 does very well in mids and highs the same can’t be said about lows/bass and well, this is its Achilles heel (and unlike the QR65 the M60 don’t have an external sub connector). Again, source always plays a huge role but no matter what you pair the M60 with (I did with the FiiO R7 and R9 for this review) bass levels will be limited (using equalizer in both your source and the speakers themselves can improve things but to a small extend). Needless to say, this becomes noticeable almost entirely with bass rich content regardless of type (heavy metal, rock, movie and game explosions etc.) and so it’s only a drawback if you plan on using the M60 with those. Just like with the QR65 having to access the app to switch to LDAC mode is something that complicates things (especially for older people) but at the same time I can understand why Edifier would choose that route (still I do think it should be enabled by default for wall powered speakers).

    The M60 Hi-Res Compact Desktop 2.0 Speakers by Edifier currently retail for USD179.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 155.26Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so they are quite affordable. Overall leaving out the lack of rich bass the M60 pretty much excel in everything else from audio accuracy, fidelity and detail to connectivity, build quality and looks and that’s also why they get the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Audio Reproduction (Accuracy / Detail)
- HiRes Wired & Wireless Audio (LDAC)
- Available Colors (Black, White & Oak)
- Bundled 10 Degree Angle Aluminum Stands
- ConneX App
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Bass Levels
- LDAC Disabled By Default (ConneX App Needed To Enable)