So these are the G5000 Gaming speakers from Edifier or Hecate, with Hecate being a sub-division to Edifier. First impressions are good, I like the look, and I like the gaming vibe but I’ve seen these online for around £350, which is steep when you think the Steelseries Arena 3’s cost £130, or the 7’s cost £300. Creative and Razor also offer speakers and soundbars at a lower price, so these need to be fantastic to warrant that price tag. Let’s have a look. 

The speakers have a sleek, ultra-modern, gamer vibe to them, the shape, the lines and of course, the built-in RGB. They’re a nice size, I’d say mid-size, bigger than a basic PC speaker but not quite as big as a studio monitor or bookshelf speaker. Also, alot bigger than the G2000 speakers which I’ve tried in the past. Roughly, they’re about 180 wide, 260 high and 210 deep. 

Open front, so you can see the tweeter and the 4” mid-range driver, there is no mesh grille and there is a bass port at the rear. They come in a satin black finish to the front and top, with gunmetal to the sides and each speaker sits on four rubber feet. RGB is to the side of each speaker, a slim LED strip from the rear, along the top, down the front to the bottom and then back round, creating a 360-degree effect. There is also some wording on both sides of each speaker, which says gaming, which also illuminates. 

Spec-wise, these are active speakers with a total output of 88 watts. The right speaker is the master, the left the slave and you connect them together via the provided speaker cable. Audio inputs include Bluetooth, Aux in, USB, optical and coax. These are hi-res audio-certified, so they allow up to 24bit/192Khz via a device that can deliver that. Bluetooth provides APTX HD, APTX and SBC. 

Controls for the speakers are located at the top of the right speaker. These include power on/off, source selection, volume control via a rocker switch, mode selection and RGB selection. Mode selection includes music, game and movie EQ’s. RGB selection includes 11 different modes, colour change, solid colours and effects. Enough RGB options I think but these cant be modded, and these cannot be connected to your PC for RGB sync with your PC case RBG or other lights in your room. When selecting a source or mode, you get a voice prompt which is interesting. 

Moving onto audio performance and I did enjoy them, no doubt about it but having used other Edifier speakers recently, such as the S1000W’s, I was a little underwhelmed. As mentioned earlier, there are three sound modes or EQ’s you could say, music, game and movie, and each does have noticeable differences but that’s all that is available. In any of the modes, at low to mid volumes, enjoyable but lacking in bass. Listening to music, I found I had to have the speakers up loud for any attempt at getting some good bass and then it was too loud because my wife and kids would complain. However, there is an option to add a separate subwoofer to these and personally, I feel this is a must, especially if you want some oomph while listening to music, gaming or watching content. Moving onto those last two, playing some Battlefield V, because 2042 still sucks, it was good, and it was enjoyable, but explosions lacked a little and you can’t get pinpoint accuracy of footsteps like you would with a headset but for casual gaming, they performed well. As for watching content, I actually think this is where the speakers shine and found this experience the most enjoyable. I watched a number of trailers or movie snippets, and I watched the latest episode of The Mandalorian, in movie mode, and I thoroughly enjoyed that.  

The controls work well, the buttons are easy to use, there isn’t much to it and I generally turned them on, kept them in music mode and then adjusted the volume through my PC. The inputs are great, there is plenty of flexibility there to connect a number of devices at once which is a big bonus. 

Overall, a good-looking pair of speakers, especially if you’re looking for that gamer, RGB desk setup. The audio quality is good but It does lack bass and you really need to add a separate subwoofer to elevate these to the next level. For everyday use, in an office space for music or video content, or casual gaming, you shouldn’t be disappointed but if you like bass-heavy stuff, these may not be for you. If you’re also semi-serious about your gaming, you’ll pick a headset over speakers any day. Also, price-wise, I think these are actually too expensive for what you get and should be closer to the £200 to £250 range, given the competition.

For more info and to purchase, head over to the official Edifier website.

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