We are back covering Edifier kind of and after reviewing the S2000MKIII bookshelf speakers and we have now been provided with the opportunity to review the AirPulse A80. Airpulse is a sub-brand of Edifier and these speakers cost £629.
First Impressions
The Airpulse A80 are a pair of smart-looking bookshelf speakers that offer strong performance at a price that is lower than the high-end competition that it sits alongside in the market. The A80 come in two colours electric blue or walnut finish in this review we are covering the walnut option.
The A80 is designed with plenty of detail but when you take to listen to the A80 you will notice they need a little improvement to the audio quality to justify the prices.
Design
The A80 in that walnut finish are a pair of speakers that won’t stand out in your living room or home office. If you wanted something that to be more stand out the A80 also comes in electric blue. The speakers come in at the following size – 14x25x22cm and they do offer presence but won’t look too out of place in your room. The speakers are lightweight at 4.8KG compared to the S2000MKIII at 17.1KG. The speakers are covered in an 18mm thick MDF with a walnut finish that could survive the odd knock but I would not recommend testing that theory.
The speakers also come with a horn-loaded ribbon tweeter which you would not expect considering the cost this is normally something found in more expensive speakers. In addition, you also get a 4.5inch magnesium ferrite aluminium cone mid-woofer and an 11.5cm driver, and a sub-woofer, while the right unit acts as the controller. What you will notice is both units are connected by a 6ft optical cable making it tricky to hide therefore preventing you from having that super clean set-up with no cables on show.
Overall you will not be disappointed in the overall design they have that mature look that will blend into your home which in turn has pleased my wife who is very hot on the interior design of our house.
Features
In order to be a competitive pair of speakers, they need to also offer a variety of connection options and the Airpulse A80 ticks that box. These speakers give you maximum options in terms of connectivity such as Bluetooth 5.0, aptX AUX, RCA, USB-A and optical input. All of this means you can position these anywhere in the house and can be connected to your smartphone, Laptop or even TV.
The A80s are also Hi-Res certified with an amplification chip that provides digital sampling rates of up to 192kHz. This allows the ability to handle high-fidelity files with ease and comes with a range of 52Hz to 40KHz. Last but not least the speakers also come with a small infrared remote control allowing you to control the speakers and also adjust the volume and input of the speakers.
AirPulse has also provided a pair of acoustic isolation pads ideal for desktop use with an 8-degree elevation so you can angle the driver for a better listening experience but only on a temporary measure.
The issue with the remote control and it’s only a small on is the remote control did not work well without a direct line of sight so just make sure you have that line of sight when using the control. I also found the remote control to be a little cheap looking for a £600 device it should be better quality. I have a majority soundbar that costs £100 that has a better quality remote control. If AirPulse could improve the quality of the remote that would be great but it’s still better than nothing.
Sound Quality
The sound quality has to be the single most important element when considering a pair of bookshelf speakers and the A80 if you read the spec should provide an amazing sound but the reality is they come up a little short to be competing with the very best of the market.
Let’s break that statement down: where these speakers shine is in the detail when listening to a classical track that is heavy on the instrumental; the detail sounds very precise but also allows the track to breathe. There is a real focus on the trebles and this provided a nice level of bass but I wanted more from the bass and it just lacked energy compared to what you might have wanted. The speakers do feature treble and bass dials to the rear which allow increasing the bass but to really get the energy out of these speakers I suggest an additional subwoofer.
When listening to something like a dance track like “Scooter -The Logical song” the track fails to really come alive due to the lack of bass. If you listen to music that is not so reliant on the bass you will enjoy the sound quality that the Airpulse A80.
We found when listing to tracks that were not bass-heavy to provide a good experience they are clear and controlled. This is due to the ribbon tweeters that offer clarity for the high end and the treble without any sharp sounds or sibilance when listening to music.
There is no EQ presets on the remote meaning the rear of the speakers where the adjustment dials are the only way you can adjust the levels. The A80’s come with an impressive frequency response with a range of 52Hz to 40KHz. The speakers perform well when playing a range of music.
When listening to “Medieval by Finneas” I found the bass to bass to be punchy when required and the mid-range was well handled by the woofers which have 40W of power in each that produces a clear vocal sound that lets you have an immersive listening experience. The tweeter also provides a very detailed & crisp treble.
The volume the speakers provide is decent but these are speakers that I would chill out to at the end of a long day so the volume was not very high but if I wanted to crank the volume up and let my hair down this pair of speakers do just that.
Overall the speakers do sound great and come with a controlled sound. They also support Hi-Res Audio great if you are a Tidal subscriber.
These speakers can be used for things other than music if you were to watch a film and connect these to your laptop or TV they can provide a very good audio experience with the sound being heard regardless of where I was sitting in my living room.
Verdict
The AirPulse A80 offer a great listening experience with a very detailed and controlled sound for listening to a wide range of music and for also watching videos. The speakers support a range of inputs meaning you can connect these to a wide range of devices.
The speakers look great and will sit anywhere in a room without any issue. The lack of bass impacts the sound quality and they sound slightly below par compared to more expensive models from the likes of KEF. If you’re looking for something under the £1000 mark these will do the job but if you can afford the more expensive options on the market and bass is important shop around.
Product Rating:
Design: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0
Features: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Audio Quality: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Value For Money: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Overall Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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