I test audio gear for a living — and these are now my favorite bookshelf speakers under $150

The Edifier R1280T are some of the best computer speakers money can buy right now. Review over. I can go home.

I jest, but these speakers are truly awesome. Going off their appearance (it’s like if 1999 and 2001 had a semi-ugly baby), I didn’t have high expectations, but I love to be proved wrong… and boy, did these speakers prove me wrong.

With loud, groovy bass and clear, natural treble, I couldn’t get enough of these speakers during testing. I actually think they’ve replaced my previous bookshelf speakers, and I’m not mad about it. I’ll discuss everything you need to know about these speakers in this Edifier R1280T review.

Edifier R1280T review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? Relatively cheap bookshelf speakers with dual aux and RCA input
• Who is it for? If you need some speakers for your turntable or for your desk setup
• What does it cost? $149 / £99
• What do we like? The sound quality is excellent for the price
• What don’t we like? Unfortunately, there’s no Bluetooth — this isn’t an issue for me personally, but can be disappointing for others

Edifier R1280T review: Specs

Edifier R1280T review: Price & availability

The Edifier R1280T bookshelf speakers are $149 from Amazon U.S. and £99 from Amazon U.K.. That's a reasonable price for speakers of this caliber. True, they look a little dated, but a) all hi-fi speakers look like that, and b) aren’t the ‘00s in now, anyway?

Some other bookshelf speakers I’ve tested are the Majority D40X and the JBL 104 BT. I loved the JBL 104 BTs when I tested them — bass for days, and looks so stylish I wanted to invite people round just to show them off — but they were a little pricey at $169. The Majority D40X speakers are also awesome: great sound quality for the $99 price and decent aesthetics.

Edifier also makes the famous R1280DB studio monitors, which are $189 from Amazon U.S.. The main difference between the $149 R1280T and the $189 R1280DB is that the DB has Bluetooth.

Even though the JBL and Majority options are impressive for their respective prices, don’t discount the Edifier offering. The R1280T speakers are truly awesome.

Edifier R1280T review: Design & controls

• Retro cool or retro cringe? I’m not sure, but I’m also not mad
• Remote control with volume buttons
• Comes in 3 colors

I tested the wood colorway, but you can also get the Edifier R1280T in black or white. I’m not going to lie to you, I think the design of these speakers is standard for hi-fi speakers, but I do wish they had a little more oomph. I feel like I’ve seen these speakers before… in my dad’s office back in 2001.

I mean, is that a bad thing? All hi-fi speakers tend to look like boxes with mesh, and the Edifier offerings aren’t ugly in the slightest. On top of that, the ‘90s and the noughties are in right now. It’s Y2K this and ‘90s that everywhere you look. Personally, I think Edifier has gotten really close with the design of the R1280Ts. I think a tiny adjustment in the mesh casing or the reflective silver lettering will shift the speakers from “out of style” to “stylishly out of style”.

Whether or not you agree with me is up to you, of course. This is just my personal opinion. Maybe because I got used to seeing the deliciously yellow Majority D40X on my desk, that the muted gray mesh of the Edifier R1280T has tripped me up a little. (I actually removed the mesh because I think it’s a little too bland for my desk.)

Regardless, they’re simple speakers that perform their role well. Setup is easy: simply connect the speakers using the nearly-transparent cable, plug in your RCA or aux cables, connect the power cable, and you’re good to go. No fiddling with apps or Bluetooth or any of that nonsense. Kind of refreshing, isn’t it? I missed when tech was just plug-and-play. This is a nice reprieve from needing to download 100 apps to control my EQ settings.

Speaking of EQ settings, there are two adjustment dials on the side of the powered speaker (there are two speakers: one is ‘active’, as in connected to the mains power with a plug, and one is ‘passive’, meaning it’s connected to the active speaker).

You can increase or decrease the treble and bass by 6dB. I upped the bass to the max, naturally, and upped the treble a little. This was the best setting I listened on, so I’d recommend this.

Edifier R1280T review: Features & connectivity

• Dual aux and RCA input
• 13mm silk dome tweeter
• 4-inch bass driver

I’ll discuss this more in the ‘Audio quality’ section — obviously — but let’s just get some specs out in the open. The R1280T speakers have a 13mm silk dome tweeter. A tweeter, as the name might suggest, is responsible for treble and high-frequency sounds.

The tweeter on the R1280T is surprisingly high quality for the price — no jagged or pinching moments, even with hi-hat heavy tracks — and performed well with every genre I threw at it.

The bass drivers are 4 inches. Again, this may sound disappointing as other bookshelf speakers — like the JBL 305 MKII ($320) and the Audioengine HD6 ($699) — have over 5-inch woofers, but considering the Edifier R1280T are $149/£99, this is really impressive. In practice, I found the bass performance more than acceptable for everyday desk usage.

Obviously, if you want a more serious pair of studio speakers, you’d want to spend more for bigger and bolder speakers, like the aforementioned JBL or Audioengine offerings.

You might be disappointed to see that the R1280T speakers are only rated as 21W powered speakers. Some super-loud Bluetooth speakers I’ve tested boast upwards of 80W power. However, you can’t compare these two types of speakers due to differences in rated performance. A powered, wired speaker like the R1280T will be able to go louder and higher-quality than a Bluetooth speaker, so don’t worry that this spec doesn’t sound as impressive as you might have hoped for.

Now this is something you likely won’t get on a Bluetooth speaker: One of the best aspects of the R1280T is the dual aux and RCA input. You can connect aux and RCA simultaneously — the speakers come with both cables and there are 4 ports at the rear of the powered speaker — which is great if you plan on using these speakers as both PC/desktop speakers and also turntable speakers.

Yes: if you’ve got a turntable, you’d be able to connect to the R1280T with the RCA cable without needing to disconnect the aux cable. This is one of the most attractive features of the R1280T speakers. The Majority D40X speakers don’t have dual aux inputs (but they do have an optical input, Bluetooth, and USB-A input). You’ll need to get a separate phono pre-amp if your deck doesn’t have one, though, as the R1280T lack a pre-amp.

That brings me onto Bluetooth. The R1280Ts are not Bluetooth compatible. Personally, this wouldn’t be an issue for me. As they’re bookshelf speakers, I’d primarily use these plugged into my laptop via an aux cable, or plugged into my turntable (if I had one…), so I wouldn’t need the Bluetooth setting. I have other audio gear to satiate my wireless needs.

However, if you wanted a pair of bookshelf speakers that could double up as Bluetooth speakers, the R1280Ts are not for you. I would instead recommend the Majority D40X, Edifier R1280DB, or the JBL 104 BT.

Edifier R1280T review: Audio quality

• Clear, crisp treble
• Layered bass
• No distortion even at 100dB

To test the Edifier R1280T speakers, I listened to a range of genres on Qobuz, our best streaming service for audiophiles, and watched movies on Netflix using my MacBook Air M2.

Music

As it’s probably the album I know better than any others, I listened to the entirety of ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ by Muse. While all of it sounded awesome, of course, there are a few standouts I’d like to mention here. The guitar riff in ‘Map of the Problematique’ was clear and crisp, and scratched my brain right where it needed to. The bassline in ‘Invincible’ was smooth and sounded like butter, without overpowering the somewhat demure track.

The iconic riff in ‘Knights of Cydonia’ was energetic, clear, and the brass section was wide and expansive. I felt like the song was enveloping me into the frenetic space-cowboys-overthrowing-the-evil-government storyline. And you know what? I wasn’t mad about it. I actually played this song three times in a row because it sounded so good.

Considering these speakers are just $149 (£99 in the U.K., a complete and utter steal), I was shook. Nay, I was shooketh. I was so shooketh that I thought I might as well be a Molotov cocktail thrown into the aforementioned space-cowboys-vigilante plotline. The R1280Ts sound that good.

Anyway… I switched up the genre to give the Edifier R1280Ts a fair test. After the alt-rock masterpiece that is ‘BHaR’, I played ‘Talkie Talkie Charlie Charlie’ by Los Bitchos, which is a surf-rock-Argentine-cumbia instrumental track. The guitar notes glittered like the setting sun over a west-facing beachfront. The rest of the album — notably ‘Don’t Change’ and ‘Kiki, You Complete Me’ — sounded just as impressive, with crystal-clear undulating guitars and layered, energetic soundscapes.

After the addictive beach surf vibes of Los Bitchos, I veered over to my other love: modern-yet-retro house mixes. I played my old faithful (well, newish faithful…) ‘Fabric Presents Confidence Man’, which is an hour-long house mix with everything from nostalgic ‘90s piano house to bassline.

The squelchy synth notes of ‘Break It Down on the Bassline’ were high-pitched without pinching, and the kick drum barreled into the soundscape with a near-obnoxious amount of bass. I never had the urge to lower the treble dial, even when the hi-hats were tss-tss-tss-ing as hi-hats famously do. I was incredibly impressed with this performance.

Actually, I was so impressed with these speakers that I had to play music I don’t like. I thought for a moment: Wait, maybe everything sounds so epic because I’m only listening to my favorite songs?

I won’t mention which tracks I played so as not to slander relevant artists, but I played music I hate and it still sounded good. Gosh darn it, Edifier R1280T. You’ve really outdone yourself here.

I think the bass is clearer on the Edifier R1280Ts than on the Majority D40Xs — which checks out at the Majority speakers are $50 cheaper — without losing the oomph you’d be after for parties or serious listening sessions.

I upped the volume to 100dB (for a couple of seconds to save my eardrums and also my relationship with my downstairs neighbors) and there was no distortion at all. The music still sounded clear without hurting, and the bass started to shake my shelving unit.

TV & movies

I’ll quickly mention alternative uses: I watched some basic TV (‘Plebs’) on Netflix and a movie (‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’). The TV performance was great, with clear dialogue that wasn’t overpowered by the background music. I don’t have Dolby Atmos Netflix, so I couldn’t test the immersive 360° audio experience (but these are bookshelf speakers, not a soundbar anyway).

However, I watched ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ to test the movie performance. I had no issues with the quality of the audio, although of course it wasn’t as good as the best soundbars. While the dialogue was audible and clear, the best part of the movie was, naturally, the soundtrack. Perhaps these speakers would perform better than a similarly-priced soundbar in a pinch.

Edifier R1280T review: Verdict

Considering these speakers are just $149/£99, I think they’re an absolute steal. Even more so in the U.K.. If you either like the retro vibe or you don’t mind what they look like, then these speakers will treat you well. I am torn: do I like how they look because they look cool? Or do I like how they look because they fill me with pleasant nostalgia? I can’t decide.

Anyway, the most important thing on a pair of speakers is sound. And boy, do the Edifier R1280T speakers sound good. The bass is pumping and energetic without being muffled or muddy; the treble is clear and crisp without being pinching or crackly. They sound fantastic for both music and movies on Netflix (although their primary usage is music).

I wholeheartedly recommend these speakers for both bookshelf speakers and turntable speakers. Thanks to the dual input, you don’t need to switch out cables between different uses. If you want Bluetooth, look elsewhere, but these are ideal for me personally.