This is the QD35, its Edifier’s latest desktop Bluetooth Speaker. It’s been all over social media, or more likely I’ve been heavily targeted but it does have this unique look, and I wanted to try it out for myself. I’ve had this on my desk for the last few weeks and here are my thoughts.
Starting with features and specifications, this is a compact, desk or bookshelf speaker. It’s Hi-Res audio certified, both wired and wirelessly, including LDAC support. It’s got a single 3” mid-bass driver, and 1” tweeter, providing 40 watts of output overall, plus at the rear, there are two bass ports. Inputs include a 3.5mm aux in, USB A and Bluetooth 5.3. There are built-in lighting effects, which are customisable to a degree, plus a display showing the time and settings, and they do look pretty cool but more on that later. Lastly, there is something they’re calling TurboGaN, which I believe Edifier has created as it isn’t overly recognised when I Googled it. Essentially, it means you can plug in your phone, tablet or another compatible device into the QD35 and it will charge it while you’re using the speaker for audio. Charging via the USB C port provides 35 Watts Max Output, while the USB A port is 18 watts max output and if you wanted to charge two devices, one in each USB port, each port will get 18 watts.
The speaker itself has this raw, almost industrial look to it and the aesthetic resembles a mini shipping container or futuristic cargo box of sorts, or at least it does for me. Colour options include white, which we’ve got here or black. To the front is the driver and tweeter, on show, no grille, with a clear plastic cover behind. This allows you to see some chrome mouldings, which kind of represent pipes, tubes that kind of thing. There is then also RGB LED strip lighting to the bottom of the speaker and around the driver and tweeter. The display at the bottom shows the Edifier logo, the time, source and EQ preset.
To the right-hand side, one push button used to turn the speaker on and source select. Then there are two rotary push knobs, used to play or pause, change the EQ and lighting effects. To the left hand side, the USB A and C ports used for charging. To the rear, another power on/off button, power lead in, 3.5mm aux input and USB port.
As for audio performance, it’s ok but I wanted more and I’ve tried many other Edifier speakers and they do outperform these by some way. I did expect this, as that 3” driver just isn’t all that big. The volume goes up to 16 which is 100% and I’d say about 8 or 9 was the sweet spot, a nice background level while I was working. At that volume, it sounds good, it’s a little crisp but there is a nice amount of bass but I did find myself creating my own EQ to fine-tune the sound. Go to 12 or more on the volume and that little 3” driver is working overtime and the quality does drop off a little and I just wasn’t a fan. This is definitely a background-level kind of speaker. If you’re wondering if you can pair two of these together to get a stereo sound, you cannot.
The controls are very simple, the buttons work well and provide enough control on the fly or pair with the Edifier app for another way of controlling it. When you pair your smart device with the speaker and load up the app, it will show what content you’re playing, the volume and EQ used. 4 preset EQ’s are available, music, game and movie, plus a DIY option too, where you can adjust sliders and save your own profile to suit your needs. Slide along to the next page in the app and this opens up the light effects panel. There are various preset effects such as shooting star, gradient, static etc and with some of the effects, you can further customise your choice of colour. I believe some of the RGB effects are meant to react to the audio being played, if that is the case, it’s off-beat and does a bad job at it, it’s actually quite annoying when I think it should be punching with the bass drum and it isnt. There is a soothing sounds option too, where you can play white noise, rain etc if you like doing that. Lastly, you’ll see the time is incorrect on the display when you first turn it on and you need to go into the app and allow the speaker to sync with your device to update the time.
The charging feature is handy, I was able to plug my phone dock into the back of it and charge my phone at the same time, rather than using another plug at the wall.
So that was the QD35 from Edifier. Mixed feelings, I love the look, I like the lighting effects, and I think it’s well suited for gamers wanting that RGB desk set-up, this will fit in perfectly. The audio is good at the low to mid volumes but if you want something a little more, something that will fill the room, the G5000 speakers sound good, or something like the D12. To sit on your desk, for some background music, you wouldn’t be disappointed and perhaps Im asking too much, or I’ve been spoilt recently with other speakers. I know others have raved about this online which I don’t get, I don’t get that level of excitement when turning this up to the higher volumes that I have with previous speakers I’ve tried this year.
Current retail price is around £190 in the UK. For more info and to purchase, head over to the official Edifier website.
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