Edifier MR4 Powered Studio Monitor Speakers, 4" Active Near-Field Monitor Speaker (mr4, Black)

I have long avoided buying dedicated speakers for my home office because my audio preferences can be pricy. This has come at the expense of taking fuller advantage of my midi controller and audio interface. And instead of doing routine work in my office, I'd sit on the couch while a record spun.Enter the MR4. I spent too many hours struggling with the decision. While I don't need perfect reference monitors, I do prefer a more flat frequency response. I also love a wide soundstage and a rich, full sound. From my reading, the MR4 would likely serve the purpose better on a desk setup than other speakers in the price range, including somewhat more expensive offerings from Edifier. Many suggest that to improve substantially from the MR4s on an active system, you'd need to spend at least twice as much.That is all to say, I enjoy these speakers very much! They are rich and detailed. Decent sound stage. I've enjoyed listening to high quality recordings. I do find that these speakers work much better as near field monitors. Close to me on the desktop, they shine. They do good, not great, at filling up the small bedroom they are in when I am not right at the desk. That's perfect for my use case, but I'm sure there are better options for different uses.In terms of build quality and looks, I'd say they're pretty good. They don't look or feel super high end, and I'm not a fan of the Edifier branding. But they are clean looking, and most importantly sound great. For the price, I think they are an excellent value.

INTRODUCTION---------------------------A little run down. My short quest for new speakers came about when the Mackie CR3’s I had for 7 years decided to stop working. In that time, I was quite happy with them. I don’t produce music, but do video editing on occasion. My primary use case is casual listening to music/movies/games. In that regard, I don’t need to have the flattest sound available or desire it – I just like clean, distinctive audio. I’ve been using Sennheiser HD555 headphones with a Sound Blaster Z soundcard for about a decade now. I know there’s better sound options out there these days, but really, these do the job well enough for me and it’s not a necessity to upgrade at the moment. Particularly, I’m impressed with the Sound Blaster software and functionality. I can switch between headphones and speakers on my computer easily and with separate settings for each that changes automatically. Which seems it’d be a convenience barrier switching to a DAC. In any case, I was previously using RCA and have switched to TRS when trying these speakers. The sound is noticeably clearer and unearths sounds more hidden with RCA. I have to crank the windows output a bit higher, but it’s unquestionably better. I also don’t turn the speaker volume up more than half or 3/4th to mitigate noise. With that, I’ll move onto my experience with these two speakers I decided to try to replace my deceased CR3’s.Upon receiving the Edifier MR4 first, I threw on some lossless tracks with some variety, albeit dated.Some artists included:Boris Brejcha, The Chemical Brothers, Erik Jackson, Emancipator, Gorillaz, Hot Chip, Linkin Park, Macklemore, MGMT, Nero, Paul Oakenfold, Papadosio, Pretty Lights, Rinôçérôse, Robert Miles, Sleater-Kinney, System Of A DownEDIFIER MR4---------------------------Off the bat I wasn’t stricken with the high end. I like a crispness in my highs and found there was room to be desired with snares etc. But it’s definitely good enough and doesn’t invoke fatigue. Using an equalizer in addition to increasing the treble knob helps and with dialogue in entertainment; which can be a bit muted. The speakers have decent separation and pleasing bass; while having a sound that’s brought together coherently. I have an external bass, which I won’t be inclined to turn on often, as I can also amplify it through software. Playback is warm and easy to listen to. Pressing the power button once enables or disables Music Mode. From what I could tell, it raises the decibel level slightly, as well as the bass and mids for added presence, at the expense of some clarity. I’ll probably use Monitor Mode most of the time. What I particularly liked about these speakers over the E3.5’s is a perceived wider soundstage; instruments have depth and can lightly reverberate (while still having a flatness to them), which sounded more lively comparatively. Overall, these grew on me and I’ve been pleased. If they could be a bit brighter, there wouldn’t be much else I’d desire out of them.ERIS E3.5---------------------------The ERIS has an adequate amount of treble and clarity in the high range that I liked at first listen. At the tradeoff of it being sharper and more fatiguing with prolonged use or higher volumes. Highs can sometimes be borderline harsh without equalizing; vocals can be sibilant. I turn the bass knob to the max at +6db and lowering or not touching the treble; which only does so much for lows anyhow. Bass is present, but it’s limited and not as full sounding – the frequency it can hit is punchy though. If you EQ more bass you can get a slight rumble, but nothing compared to the MR4. Even with a subwoofer, it’s not as full sounding. The lower mids don’t feel like they quite bridge to the bass. These speakers don’t sound bad and if I had no other options in this price range or hadn’t compared it directly to a pair with more lows, they might be acceptable. They can just be a bit flat and lifeless (which is part of the idea with monitors I guess), despite having crispness on it’s side. Honestly, I didn’t give this set as much time of day, as I kept gravitating towards the MR4’s; which didn’t make me weary with listening either. If the MR4’s weren’t around as an option, I might have compared with the Mackie CR3’s again. But doubtful: as I think their updated design is ugly, still have that green accent, and apparently they’ve declined in build quality.BUILD---------------------------Both speakers are quite similar with an understated clean design and near identical dimensions. The MR4 seems to have a slightly better build and I prefer the the carbon fiber looking cone.The volume knob for the E3.5 is smooth – the MR4 turns with an interval of 12 clicks.The E3.5 indicator light is blue and brighter for my taste: I’d cover it up if I were to keep these speakers. The MR4 has a subdued red and green LED for monitor/music mode. Unfortunately, the green light has already started acting up and stopped working in less than a weeks use.The bass/treble knobs have more length to them on the MR4 and are easier to reach back and turn than the E3.5’s.The MR4 weighs a bit more and comes with slightly nicer speaker wire than the E3.5The E3.5 has a detachable power cord – MR4 does not.The MR4 tweeter actually measures about three quarters of an inch, not the full 1” they claim.With both these speakers I could occasionally detect light distortion/crackling in mids and highs. Not enough to be detrimental for me in keeping the MR4’s. But also due to some solid portrayal, I could hear more of the noise added to the production of certain tracks. For example, listening to some Phantogram, where vinyl grain is frequently added. I believe the E3.5’s also displayed this characteristic, but I returned them already upon noticing more of this.CONCLUSION---------------------------I tried both these speakers in various configurations of equalizing, but made most my judgments based on how they sound out of the box or their capabilities. The Presonus ERIS E3.5 can hit a higher frequency range; while clear, I found the Edifier MR4 sounded more pleasing and I could almost picture vocalists singing into a mic, rather than just sound coming from a speaker. This carries into the overall experience between the two. The MR4 can give me the impression of being at a concert or watching a movie at a theater, to a degree. I feel the E3.5’s are lacking a bit of soul, but maybe that’s because they’re not as warm. When switching between the two to compare, I found myself wanting to just keep listening to the Edifier’s and not switch back to the Presonus. It’s more lush with it’s prevalent bass for the size and highs can be more pronounced after equalizing (though, they still have an audible frequency ceiling, whereas the E3.5 reaches higher). Given, both these speakers haven’t had a chance for a decent break-in period; but that’ll mostly round out the sound that’s already there anyhow.I’ve also seen more feedback in regards to the Presonus not working after only a year. Most products these days can be a crap shoot, but I’d rather keep the MR4’s for the sound alone and physicality of it (with the aforementioned differences) and hope I get lucky they last awhile. But the LED being faulty already isn’t ideal and I’ll probably replace the pair. I might look further into spending a bit more for different speakers. Though, it seems moving up generally doesn’t include an aux input/headphone output, which is occasionally useful. So, once again, it comes down to weighing out price/sound/conveniences. The MR4 really does sound decent for the price ($129) and I will probably just stick to this model in the end, since I’m not ready to invest in a DAC setup either, that’ll make it worthwhile for spendier speakers. Again, I'm not a music producer, so I can't speak to the decency of these speakers for actual production – you can find reviews with graphs. I'd spend the $30 extra for the Edifiers; unless pronounced highs are super important to you (especially for rock & jazz). But if you create music with any substantial caliber of bass and need to portray it, I’d probably look elsewhere than the Presonus 3.5’s. You’d likely be wanting larger speakers anyhow; though, you may be able to get away with it by adding a sub. If you do consider the Edifier MR4’s, just know there’s a small margin of highs that aren’t as present. But they can be a more fun listening experience overall and less fatiguing.

This is another good, sincere review for the Edifier MR4. I just bought and compared them to the Edifier R1280Ts, and the new Presonus Eris 3.5 (2024 Gen.2).I really liked the Edifier R1280Ts. Such a smooth, warm, and comforting sounding speaker. But it was making a pop sound whenever I'd wake my pc and play a song. So I returned them and tried the Eris 3.5.The Eris 3.5 has good build quality and I liked how it went into power saving mode. It did not make any popping sounds. But it was lacking mids, and the treble sounded shrill. They were very fatiguing to listen to. I tried to like them for a week, but returned them. My ears are still ringing.Now I have the Edifier MR4's. I read reports of hiss when the volume knob is turned all the way up. So that was the first thing I tested. I didn't connect any thing to it, I just plugged into the the wall and turned the volume all the way up, and there isabsolutely NO hiss. So I keep the volume on max and control it through windows.In "music" mode they are very balanced, with some warmth, but more clarity and detail than the R1280Ts. Instruments sound like they are right in the room. I'll be playing some background music while working, and they will distract me with their amazing musicality. I'll have to stop and take a minute just to enjoy them. The MR4s are very easy on the ears!Reputable reviews say the MR4s EQ very well. It's nice to know when I have time, I can download and learn how to use Equalizer APO in order to improve them. But they sound awesome just leaving the bass and treble dials on default. Also, putting them on speakers stands that tilt towards my ears made them sound even better.My search for the best quality budget speaker is over. This is a safe purchase I can confidently recommend. Enjoy.