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Technical Details
Before getting to our audio testing, it's worth just touching on some more technical details that we haven't already mentioned. The first thing to note is the choice of DAC, Texas Instruments' PCM5242 (up to 32-bit/384kHz) and then the ADC, also from Texas Instruments, the PCM1861 (up to 192kHz). The integrated DSP is the TLV320AIC3268, again from Texas Instruments.
Perhaps of more immediate concern is the wireless technology used for each speaker. As we mentioned on the previous page, rather than going the traditional route with a cable connecting the two speakers, Edifier has instead implemented an entirely wireless connection between the left and right units. As Stanley Wen, Edifier VP, mentioned to us last year, this marks the first time Edifier has released a 2.0 speaker system that utilises a wireless connection. We've seen other models, like the Edifier E235 2.1 system, where the subwoofer connects to the satellites without a cable – but Edifier hasn't done this before on a high-end 2.0 system.
For this, the company has implemented KLEERNet wireless connection technology. According to Edifier:
‘KLEERNet has a transmission bandwidth of 22M[pbs], which can transmit high-quality audio signals with high codestream and high sampling rate without loss of compression and unimpeded signal transmission. KLEERNet uses two frequency bands of 5.8g and 5.2g, which are not easily disturbed by 2.4g (the frequency band of bluetooth and WIFI) and have excellent transmission stability. You can think of it as a 5.8g transmission, with a built-in transmitter and receiver in the left and right speakers for wireless transmission.'
There's not a whole lot of information about KLEERNet online, but I do think it is interesting Edifier did not give the option to use a wired connection instead of the wireless technology. I say this as I have actually tested two different speaker pairs, where the first was affected by some sort of wireless transmission issue. I don't know what exactly was causing the problem, but essentially what happened was once or twice a day, the left speaker unit would just drop out for about 30 seconds before coming back in again – nothing I tried would help bring the audio back, I just had to wait until the speaker seemingly re-connected and would start playing audio again.
Like I said, I don't know why this happened, but if I had to guess I thought my router may be interfering with the connection, as that is positioned only a couple feet from where I placed the speakers on my desk. But then when I asked Edifier about the wireless technology , and they said ‘KLEERNet uses two frequency bands of 5.8g and 5.2g, which are not easily disturbed by 2.4g (the frequency band of bluetooth and WIFI)' that seemingly ruled out my theory.
In any case, I told Edifier about my issues and they replaced my sample with another, and it's been working perfectly ever since – so maybe I just got unlucky, but the fact that there's no back-up wired connection is definitely something I think could have been included.
Sound
Putting that aside for now, it is safe to say the S3000 Pro sounds excellent no matter the technology used. We'd expect nothing less from Edifier's flagship 2.0 speaker system, but certainly I have really enjoyed using the S3000 Pro over the last few weeks.
Starting off with the bass, these things can really pack a punch – out of the box the bass sounds really quite meaty and punchy, giving a real weight to the low-end. It still felt clean and undistorted, but it was perhaps a bit much for my taste – thankfully there are those bass/treble controls on the back of the right speaker, and I nudged the bass down to ‘-3.' This proved perfect for me, just taking away a little of the bass' prominence but leaving more than enough presence to fill-out the low-end and give a lovely body to music.
The bass is also well separated from the mid-range, preventing any of the low-end bleeding over, and the mids as a whole are clean, clear and have just a hint of forwardness which elevates vocals just enough that it becomes the focal point when listening to acoustic tracks like ‘Utican' by Novo Amor (an excellent artist, by the way).
Moving up to the treble, this proved perfect for my tastes without any adjustment. It's resolving without a hint of sibilance or harshness, suggesting those 107mm planar ribbon tweeters are really up to the task. You can perfectly pick out the hi-hat and ride cymbals in Dream Theatre's ‘Panic Attack' (another personal favourite of mine), but it's presented in a manner that didn't cause any fatigue or discomfort. It's a lovely complement to the punchy bass and clear mid-range.
Overall volume output is also very impressive, with a rated 256W RMS (120W per woofer, 8W per tweeter). In fact, with Windows volume set to 100% – using only the remote to control the overall volume – I rarely went above the lowest volume setting as I found that perfect when sitting at my desk. If you crank it all the way, these will easily fill a large room (or rooms) and you'll almost certainly get a knock on the door from an angry neighbour.
In short, the S3000 Pro sounds fantastic – it's a fun yet well-balanced sound that probably is geared more towards ‘enjoyment' rather than proper hardcore audio analysis, making them a tremendous addition to your living room at home.
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