I’ve been testing these premium gaming speakers from a ‘budget’ brand, and they sound too good to be true

As someone who loves gaming and being immersed in her favorite titles, I think the best computer speakers are a great way of elevating your gaming experience. The Edifier QR65 are, in one word, phenomenal.

Firstly, they look premium, covered in soft faux leather and featuring customizable LED lighting. Secondly, they sound superb, packing punchy bass and delivering clear vocals in gaming as well as when you’re listening to music or watching movies.

There are plenty of connectivity options, from wired to wireless, and the speakers feature a built-in charger and three charging ports. They’re accompanied by a user-friendly smartphone app, but note that there’s no PC/macOS app, and you’ll be paying a premium for a set of premium speakers.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Edifier QR65 review.

Edifier QR65 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A pair of desktop speakers for gaming, compatible with PC, macOS, TVs and smartphones
• Who is it for? For gamers who want immersive soundscapes and who enjoy listening to music, too
• How much does it cost? The Edifier QR65 speakers are available for $499 / £329
• What do we like? The stunning design, LED lighting, powerful in-game sound quality and plethora of connectivity options
• What don’t we like? There’s no macOS/PC companion app, and they’re expensive

Edifier QR65 review: Specs

Edifier QR65 review: The ups

From their stunning design with LED lighting and wide array of connectivity options to their in-game sound quality, the Edifier QR65 are outstanding speakers — outside of gaming, too.

Easy on the eyes

Here at Tom’s Guide, we’ve tested many speakers from Edifier, and one thing that all of them share is that they’re very good-looking. The Edifier QR65 are no different. They come in either white or black — I tested the black model, and I think they look fantastic. They’re covered in faux leather, which lends them a premium edge. It’s quite nice to touch.

Comprising a left and right channel (2.0 configuration), each rectangular-shaped speaker feels well-built. The “active” speaker, which houses the ports and buttons, measures 8.53 x 8.38 x 5.57 inches, while the “passive” speaker is a little smaller at 8.38 x 8.34 x 5.11 inches. Together, they weigh 11.68lbs, heavy enough not to get accidentally knocked about.

Similar to the Edifier G2000 Pro ($199), each speaker features panels of LED lights, which can be customized either via the dial on the active speaker or through the mobile app (more on that soon). I love these LED lights, which look like an infinity mirror tunnel, and there are 11 presets to choose from. LED or RGB lighting is most commonly associated with gaming gear, which further solidifies the QR65’s position in the gaming speakers market.

If you want to angle the speakers upwards, the QR65 come with two 10-degree aluminum stands to give them some height. These can be used to direct the sound to ear level for a more immersive gaming experience.

Connectivity galore

There’s no dearth of connectivity options when it comes to the Edifier QR65. These speakers are compatible with PC, macOS, TVs, and Android and iOS smartphones. How, you ask?

First, you’ve got wired playback. There are two speakers at play here: an “active” speaker that houses all the inputs, outputs and other ports, and a “passive” speaker, a port to connect it to the active speaker. Once you’ve plugged the active speaker into the mains and connected the passive speaker to it via the included cable, you can use either the USB-A or the 3.5mm to RCA audio cable to connect to your PC or macOS machine. It sounds long-winded, I know, but the setup is fairly quick and took me under five minutes.

Similar to the Edifier S880DB MKII ($449), the existence of a USB-A port means you can stream hi-res music without any bulky 1/4-inch or XLR cables. Oh, and you can plug in a flash drive and play music directly from there, old school style. On top of it all, if you want even punchier bass, there’s a subwoofer out port, too.

Then there’s wireless connectivity. You get Bluetooth 5.3 if you want to play music wirelessly from your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled device. Pressing the power button lets you swap between wired and wireless sources — simple!

In addition to these, the QR65 also have a built-in GaN charger that can pump out 65W total power to charge your external devices via two USB-A ports and a USB-C port. This, essentially, doubles the QR65 as a power source, and as someone who uses many chargeable peripherals, trust me when I say you can never have too many power sources. I plugged in my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, and I instantly got a prompt that it was rapidly charging. Excellent.

Peerless in-game sound quality

The Edifier QR65 are well-endowed speakers, fitted with two 1.25-inch tweeters as well as two 2.75-inch mid-low drivers. Combined, they cover a frequency range of 55Hz to 40KHz. This is better than the Edifier G2000 Pro (75Hz to 20KHz) and the SteelSeries Arena 3 ($129, 50Hz-20KHz), so they reproduce lows and highs very well and clearly.

This frequency range is also similar to the Edifier S880DB MKII’s (50Hz to 40KHz), and my colleague, Erin, rated those very highly (which says a lot!). Regardless of the game I played to test the QR65 on a Windows 11 laptop, I was highly impressed, and I felt fully immersed.

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion

I kicked things off by booting up Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion, a JRPG that features loud combat as well as an awesome soundtrack with rock ballads, violin pieces and more. In battle sequences, I could clearly hear the swipe of Zack’s sword, and I could make out exactly when the steel made contact with Shinra soldiers’ armor.

Even with the battle music playing, I could hear Zack’s heavy combat boots hitting the ground, and the sound changed as he went from running on gravel to running on cement pavements. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core Reunion is a fairly dialog-heavy game, with plenty of cutscenes. Each line of spoken word sounded clear to me. When music was playing in the background during tense cutscenes, the wobble in characters’ voices when they were speaking emotionally was also abundantly clear.

Though Edifier doesn’t specify whether the QR65 features virtual surround sound, the speakers still created a sort of wrap-around effect, so it felt like there was an actual chopper flying over my head when it did in the game. There’s also directional audio, so the sound travels from one speaker to the other depending on where the source is, creating an immersive environment that makes you feel like you’re the main character.

Cyberpunk 2077

A good way to test gaming speakers and headsets, I’ve found, is by playing FPS games, especially games where some degree of stealth is involved — so I played a couple hours of Cyberpunk 2077.

Infiltrating a heavily guarded enemy base felt like a walk in the park as the QR65 are very adept at ensuring you hear footsteps loud and clear. I could pinpoint where enemies were positioned, and this helped me strategize better.

Via the Edifier ConneX smartphone app, you can pick from a few equalizer presets, and the “Game” mode basically enhances the soft sounds of footsteps. This worked exceptionally well in Cyberpunk 2077. Even with the loud techno music blaring through the speakers, I had no problems hearing enemies walking behind closed doors or approaching me when they’d thought they’d spotted me. I was then able to quickly move to a different hiding spot and catch the NPCs by surprise.

The world of Cyberpunk 2077 is colorful and filled with idle chatter. The QR65’s wide soundstage shone here, creating a layered soundscape, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hum of Night City. Directional audio, again, meant that I could hear people chatting to my left and then moving to my right. Gunshots, in combat, sounded loud, and I could hear the bullet cases falling down on the ground as I emptied a magazine.

Jammin’ to your favorite tunes

In addition to being awesome for gaming, the Edifier QR65 are great for listening to music too — and chances are, you will be doing that when they’re hooked up to your computer. LDAC can be enabled via the companion app, and you can play music either wired or wirelessly, with hi-res 24bit/96KHz streaming available. I used my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL to test the QR65’s musical capabilities. As I do when I’m testing headphones or earbuds, I listened to an array of songs and genres on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for hi-res audio.

The bassline in ‘Pet Cheetah’ by Twenty One Pilots sounded warm and punchy without being too overpowering or booming. Every note sounded clear, and Tyler Joseph’s vocals during the rap were crystal clear, with every word discernible. Moving on, ‘Elephant’ by 070 Shake engulfed me with its synthesized, wobbly bass, and Shake’s vocals felt well-balanced against the loud instruments.

Hozier’s high notes in ‘Angel of Small Death & the Codeine Scene’ never sounded piercing to my ears, even when I bumped the QR65’s volume up to around 90%. Speaking of, there’s no distortion at high volumes. I listened to ‘Two Faced’ by Linkin Park with the volume at its highest and even then, Emily Armstrong’s voice remained free of any distortion, especially when she was yelling towards the end of the song — the speakers even made my desk rattle!

Listen along to my review with the Edifier QR65 testing playlist:

Customization at your fingertips

If, like me, you enjoy playing with the equalizer to find your perfect sound, you’ll be happy to know that the Edifier QR65’s EQ can be fully customized — all you need is a smartphone app for it. The Edifier ConneX app can be downloaded for free on iOS and Android. It’s easy to use with a straightforward, intuitive user interface. Note that you don’t necessarily need Connex to use the QR65, as they are plug-and-play speakers — it’s there for added personalization, though.

Over Bluetooth, you can customize the six-band EQ (between 62Hz and 16KHz), adjust the LEDs, their effects and colors, and of course, update the QR65’s firmware. It also gives you a detailed overview of the active charging ports and the power they’re providing. Within the app, you can enable LDAC for hi-res playback.

Edifier QR65 review: The downs

The Edifier QR65’s don’t have many flaws, but it’s important to note that there’s no PC or macOS app for customization, and the speakers themselves are quite expensive.

Where’s the PC app?

While the Edifier ConneX smartphone app is great and easy-to-use for customizing the Edifier QR65, it’s disappointing that there’s no app on macOS or Windows to do the same. Sure, you can use the dial on the speakers to adjust the lighting, but there’s no way to customize the equalizer without the mobile app.

The omission of a desktop app is also surprising given that, you know, these are desktop speakers. What gives, Edifier? If you want a pair of speakers with Windows software, the Edifier G2000 Pro are a great shout.

It’ll cost ya

There’s no sugarcoating this: the Edifier QR65 are premium speakers that cost a premium. Edifier is generally considered budget or mid-range, and seeing the brand’s name before the model’s name might make you think the QR65 cost somewhere around the $200 mark. Well, think again.

The QR65 belong to neither of those categories. Retailing for $499 / £329 at Amazon, the QR65 are priced similarly to the Edifier S880DB MKII, which are primarily designed for music listening. Think of the QR65 as their sibling who’s all about locking themselves up in a room with a good game.

If you’re on a tight budget but still want excellent in-game sound, I’d recommend the Edifier G2000 Pro ($199) or the SteelSeries Arena 3 ($129). There are also the Edifier R1280T ($149), which aren’t aimed at gamers, but given how well-rounded they sound otherwise, should more than suffice.

Edifier QR65 review: Verdict

The Edifier QR65 are a jack of all trades, master of many. They combine the aesthetic flair of gaming speakers, thanks to the LED lighting, with the acoustic DNA of high-end bookshelf speakers. Not only do they look great, but they sound incredible, too. Delivering punchy bass that powers loud explosions and fighting sequences, and detailed footsteps across many game genres, the QR65 are the ideal speaker for gamers.

With plenty of connectivity options and charging ports available, the QR65 are versatile speakers. If you’re a gamer who enjoys listening to music or watching movies, they’re up to the challenge.

Though the $499 price tag can be hard to digest and the lack of a dedicated desktop app is a head-scratcher for PC-centric gear, the QR65 are still extremely easy to recommend. Personally? They’ve become a permanent part of my setup. Seeing that infinity mirror lighting light up really puts a smile on my face.