This is one of Edifier's more modern speaker designs, incorporating rounded stands that promote a distinctive stylised appearance when used within a desktop or notebook workspace. They reinvigorate the often boring and cable demanding 2.0 speaker setups with a neat and orderly design which tries hard to hide away the conjoining speaker cable by offsetting it towards the back. We particularly like the black (also available in grey) fabric spanning the speaker grills, because it doesn’t seem to attract dirt and dust in the same way our other speaker fronts do around the studio.
On the side of the right speaker there’s a volume control and mute button, which we admittedly just set and forget. Around the back of the right speaker we have the line-out port for joining the two speakers together to produce stereo, and the 3.5mm aux-in for the audio to be received - as well as a power source.
In total you get 12W of power from the Edifier M2280 speakers, which is fairly respectable for the slim duo. Whilst bordering on obtaining ‘room-filling’ status, it doesn’t quite get there due to the bass, as expected, not being all that prominent. Instead volume and impact comes from the high and mid ranges, where clarity is surprisingly clean and very favourable towards the spoken word from radio shows and podcasts. Be careful though, push the volume towards the very upper end and it will get nasty. The fast paced ’Surfing in the Sky’ by The Vaccines is a good example of how these speakers can respectably project within a bedroom or studio apartment setup, with plenty of unanticipated definition to please most tastes.
However, 2.0 desktop speakers like this are designed as a compact solution for true stereo, and this is where Edifier M2280 speakers have an advantage to all-in-one options, because it's immediately apparent that audio travels left and right. Fantastic for music, not so great for YouTube videos, we found, as so many popular creators aren’t making use of true stereo separation in the same way as you would experience with Netflix playback.
The Edifier M2280 is a leg-up speaker solution for desktop and laptop workspaces that will enhance depth, clarity and volume. Importantly, Edifier have created a stylish 2.0 speaker creation at just the right price point to avoid it becoming off-putting.