One minute look back
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly speaker that looks sophisticated and offers plenty of connectivity options, the Edifier D12 is worth considering.
Priced at £ 129.99 / £ 99.99 / AU $ 129, this wireless speaker offers Bluetooth 5 support as well as a 3.5mm AUX input, stereo RCA inputs and a 3.5mm line -Exit. That means you can plug it into a turntable as easily as you can use it to wirelessly stream music from your smartphone.
Despite its relatively low price, the Edifier D12 feels well-made and looks subtly stylish with a dark wooden case and tactile rotary controls for adjusting the bass, treble, and volume of your music.
The audio performance is certainly not the best we’ve ever heard; Mids are lowered and there is a lack of clarity and detail in the highs, which means you won’t get the most accurate rendition of your music. However, it can reach high volumes and the bass response is more than robust enough for our ears – and for the price a great option for casually listening to or adding music to your parties. Just don’t expect rhythmic accuracy or tonal detail to overwhelm you.
Edifier D12 price and release date
- Now available
- $ 129.99 / £ 99.99 / AU $ 129
The Edifier D12 is available now for $ 129.99 / £ 99.99 / AU $ 129, placing it on the lower end of the wireless speaker price range.
By comparison, the Sonos One (our pick for the best wireless speaker you can buy today) costs $ 219 / £ 199 / AU $ 319 – although the Edifier D12 doesn’t weigh the weight of the entire Sonos ecosystem behind it.
Edifier’s speaker is priced similar to the Apple HomePod mini ($ 99 / £ 99 / AU $ 149), although it’s much larger and more sonically powerful. Again, the HomePod mini doesn’t have the innovative connectivity functions, but with the Edifier D12 you get a robust and loud wireless speaker.
draft
- Subtly stylish
- Control buttons
- Wooden cupboard
Most wireless speaker manufacturers walk a fine line between differentiating themselves from their competitors and making sure their products don’t stick out like a sore thumb in most households. Edifier does both with the D12, creating a speaker that looks well built and looks more expensive than it actually is.
Wrapped in a dark wooden housing, the Edifier D12 is reminiscent of the hi-fi system of bygone times without looking too kitschy. On the front there is a removable black fabric grille that overlaps a small LED light in the top right corner of the speaker – this light shows you which input you are playing music through, blue for bluetooth and green for an AUX connection.
Remove the grille and you’ll find two 4-inch woofers and two 0.75-inch tweeters, plus two connectors for enhanced bass reproduction.
The top of the speaker is made of black, leather-like plastic and contains three control buttons: one for adjusting the bass, one for the treble and one for regulating the volume. You can also press the volume down key to toggle the speaker on and off.
We like the tactile feel you get from turning the knobs to adjust the speaker sound – it’s definitely more satisfying than interacting with an app or pressing buttons.
With the Edifier D12 you get a remote control; it feels a little threadbare, but it does the job of turning the speaker on and off, customizing your music playback, switching between different sound modes (more on that later), and switching inputs.
Connectivity
- Bluetooth 5
- AUX input
- Stereo RCA inputs
The Edifier D12 has Bluetooth 5 connectivity that allows you to stream music from a phone or laptop. Pairing our iPhone 13 mini was very easy and we did not experience any disruptive disconnections during our test.
There are also a number of physical inputs on the back of the speaker, including a 3.5mm AUX input, stereo RCA inputs, as well as a 3.5mm line out and power cord.
The scope of delivery includes a 3.5 mm RCA cable for a wired connection to your music sources as well as a RCA-RCA audio cable with which you can connect the Edifier D12 to your television (if it has the necessary connections).
There’s no optical or HDMI connectivity, so this speaker doesn’t seem like the home theater is the focus, but it’s nice to have the ability to use it to amplify your TV’s sound.
Audio performance
- Loud volumes
- Mids sound sunken
- Adjustable high and low tones
For this price, the Edifier D12 is a powerful sounding speaker that faithfully reproduces your music – albeit not with the greatest detail and clarity.
In Vampire Weekend’s A-Punk, the vocals sound clear and full, although the mids are pretty much plummeted – the guitar sounds a bit clouded by the bass (we certainly don’t want to push the bass pointer beyond the standard). The Edifier D12 is not the last word when it comes to rhythmic accuracy, but it makes for a comfortable listening experience, especially when the surging flute harmonies kick in.
There is a slight sense of stereo separation, but it’s not convincing enough to give a real feel for the different left and right channels. The loudspeaker does better with sparse music arrangements; Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy packs a lot of bass punch, with her staccato vocals drawing a lot of attention.
You really notice the lackluster mids in songs like Little Simz ‘Offense. We missed the lushness in the swinging strings and the cartoon-like sound effects didn’t break up the mix as they should.
Still, we hesitate to rate the Edifier D12’s audio performance too critically. At this price point, there are few speakers on the market that can deliver such high volume levels, and it would be an absolutely respectable speaker to add music to a party or just to listen to. Do not rely on it for careful analytical music sessions.
