I tested the Edifier M60 — they’re teeny-tiny but have major big-speaker energy

The Edifier M60 are the smallest bookshelf speakers I’ve tested to date. Now that my house is overflowing with speakers — my walls bleed woofers and silk-dome tweeters — I’m only on the lookout for some teeny-weeny desktop models. Enter the Edifier M60.

At just four inches wide and six inches tall, these are the ideal speakers for compact spaces. I’ve already got some bulky speakers on my desk, and the M60 made themselves right at home beside them.

But is a small stature enough to make the M60 some of the best speakers you can buy? Well, speakers have to sound good, right? Thankfully, the M60 sound darn diddly fantastic. With punchy, meaty bass and faithful reproduction across the frequency range, you can hardly believe how mini these speakers are. For the full breakdown, keep reading this Edifier M60 review.

Edifier M60 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A pair of tiny bookshelf speakers
• Who is it for? Audiophiles on a budget, both in space and $$$
• What does it cost? $199 / £159
• What do we like? The sound is way bigger than you’d expect
• What don’t we like? There’s no remote

Edifier M60 review: Specs

Edifier M60 review: Price & availability

The Edifier M60 is $199 from Amazon U.S. and £159 from Amazon U.K.. For compact speakers, this is a pretty average price. Previously, Edifier has been known for its budget pricing, but recently, I’ve noticed its MSRPs creep up.

In my opinion, this is for two reasons: one, general price increases we’re all, unfortunately, familiar with. Two: Edifier is genuinely becoming a key brand, and it knows it. When your hi-fi rivals like Dali, Audio Engine, KEF, and Kanto are charging around $200-$600 for bookshelf speakers, once you’ve built the reputation that Edifier has, you’re able to start charging similar prices.

The Dali Kupid are a huge $600, the compact Kanto UKI are $269, the relatively affordable Audio Engine A2+ are $279, the Kanto Ora 4 are $399, and the KEF LSX II LT are a whopping $769. The M60 still undercut these premium options, so they would be a good deal if you’re looking to update your home audio setup for less, but just know that Edifier gear is no longer as cheap as it used to be. But, these days, isn’t that true of every brand?

Edifier M60 review: Design & controls

• Compact footprint: just 4 inches wide
• White colorway looks like Kanto
• No remote — touch controls on the top of the speaker

If you’re short on space, but still want a pair of speakers for your desk, you’ll need some of around this size. The M60 are just four inches wide and six-and-a-half inches tall, which makes them ideal for compact setups. My desk is quite large, so I was able to house them alongside my existing speakers, the Edifier S880DB MKII ($449).

I think the M60 look great; they’re pretty identical to Kanto’s compact UKI and Ora 4 speakers, although they’re not quite as funky. The M60 are a great budget option, though.

The speakers also come with a little metal desk mount, which angles the speakers up so you get the best sound. I was truly amazed by how much of a change these inconspicuous little mounts made — the angle adjustment tricked my ape brain into thinking the music was coming from all around me, not just from my desktop, and helped clarify the softer high-frequency notes.

Unlike other Edifier speakers I’ve tested — the aforementioned S880DB MKII and the R1280T ($149) — the M60 don’t come with a remote control. Instead, you use some nifty on-speaker touch controls.

I found these touch controls to be… interesting. Although I liked not having an extra device to lose, I always struggle to remember touch controls. If you want to change playback mode (so turn on Bluetooth, for example), you need to tap the power button. You need to cycle through thrice if you accidentally skip past your intended function, though.

I think I’m still in the remote-control-please court. The touch controls work, but it’s a little too much brain power when I just want to listen to my music.

Edifier M60 review: Features & connectivity

• USB-C, 3.5mm jack, and Bluetooth connectivity
• EQ adjustment in the app
• No sub out

Considering these speakers are just 4 inches wide and cost under $200, it’s fair enough that they aren’t as feature-heavy as pricier alternatives.

I’ll get the negatives over and done with: there’s no sub out, no RCA connectivity, and the features consist of EQ adjustment. That’s it. Sure, there are preset modes in the Edifier app like ‘Game’ and ‘Movie’ mode, but this is just an EQ. You could do this yourself with a little patience.

Even so, bookshelf speakers are what they are. They’re speakers you put on your desk. They play music, and they play it well. Their sole purpose is to sound good.

So you’ll be happy to know that the M60 sound darn good. Can you really ask for more? I’ll discuss this more in depth in the ‘Audio quality’ section below, though.

Edifier M60 review: App

• Edifier ConneX app
• Straightforward app
• But minimal functionality

Once you’ve connected your M60 to the Edifier ConneX app via Bluetooth, you can adjust your EQ and update firmware. Yes, that’s it. The gimmicky nature of ConneX was the only real ‘con’ in my S880DB MKII review, too.

In general, I don’t find myself using apps with bookshelf speakers, because that’s not what they’re there for. You know? I don’t use bookshelf speakers like I’d use Bluetooth speakers. My bookshelves are on my desk, connected via aux or USB-C, and that’s the end of it. They’re already tuned nicely out of the box.

Anyway, here are a few screenshots from the app so you can see for yourself.

As you can see, the app is very basic, just allowing you to play with EQ and update the firmware. As a result, I don’t think this is an essential addition. I’d skip the app.

Edifier M60 review: Audio quality

• Great instrument separation, particularly in the higher-end
• Impressive vocal handling
• Not as room-filling as larger speakers, of course

To test the sound quality of the Edifier M60, I listened to a variety of genres on Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles.

Although I listened to much, much more than this, I’ll discuss three tracks here. First: ‘House Nation’ by Silva Bumpa. This is a — if you couldn’t guess from the title — a house/UKG track, with a pulsating synth beat permeating the song’s every layer. The infectious beat was effusive through the M60, and I could hear every sonic element: the fizzing, high-end reverb, the processed vocals, and the indomitable beat carried the track with ease.

After, I switched to ‘Money For Nothing’ by Dire Straits. Thanks to its unforgettable guitar riffs and cosmic production, this is a classic speaker-testing track. And for good reason. I worried the tiny M60 wouldn’t be able to handle the track, but the compact speakers practically laughed in my face, raising an eyebrow while flashing a disarming smile.

The vocal performance was excellent, and the guitar licks fizzled energetically through the speakers. I wished for a touch more bass, but these are tiny speakers. You can’t ask for the world, but if you’re a particular bass lover, you might want to spend a little extra on something with a bigger woofer, like the S880DB MKII ($449).

Finally, I’ll discuss ‘Voir Dire’ by Die Spitz, a rock track carried with acoustic guitar strums, muddied chugging bass, all layered under a breathy female vocal. As with the Dire Straits track, I wanted a little more complexity to the bass — it all felt on the same frequency, all fighting for dominance. Despite this, the vocals were clearly at the front of the track without feeling distant. When the track fades into a vocal-centric breakdown, the speakers handled the difference in volume deftly.

The M60 are enchanting, deceptive in their size vs. sound, and aren’t afraid to make a scene. Although larger speakers are inherently more room-filling, I utterly adore these compact little creatures. For 4-inch-wide speakers, the sound is rich, meaty, and addictive.

Edifier M60 review: Verdict

For speakers as small as my hands (and I have small hands — I fit into kids’ gloves), the M60 pack a serious punch. Even so, if you’re looking for something that’ll shake your floorboards and infuriate your neighbours, I think you’ll need to spend a little more on a set of speakers with a more robust bass performance.

In that case, I wholeheartedly recommend the Edifier S880DB MKII, although these are considerably more expensive (and bigger). If you’re short on space, then the Kanto UKI ($269) might whet your bass appetite.

For just four inches wide, though, the M60 sound utterly fantastic. I doubt you’d be disappointed considering how small they are. They literally prove that size doesn’t matter.