While we’ve reviewed a few headphones in the past from Edifier – the budget-minded audio company also carries an extensive line of bookshelf and home theater speakers. The Edifier MS50A is a smart speaker for the connected home with AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, and a clean, elegant design. Coming in at $150, it is cheaper than an alternative like the One from Sonos, but how does it perform for the price? Be sure to hit the video below to find out.
Design
As a smart speaker, the MS50A has a clean design that will fit in a living room, kitchen, or office. The sides and back are finished with a medium wooden color, while the front is a near-black fabric and the top is black plastic. The front panel can be easily popped off for an exposed speaker look if that’s what you’re into, but personally, I think the fabric cover looks a little tidier.
On top of the Edifier MS50A are all of the controls. There is a touch capacitive ring on top with an illuminated power button in the middle. While not as elegant or useful as the Naim Mu-so 2nd Gen, the controls are simple and intuitive. Tapping left or right will skip tracks, the bottom will pause and play, and the top three dots will switch input mode.
One other main feature, or lack of a feature, is that even though the MS50A is a smart speaker, it doesn’t have a built-in microphone. That means, unlike many other smart devices, voice assistants won’t listen in on private conversations. The MS50A can be controlled via Alexa, though, by using the App or using a different device with Alexa built-in.
Edifier MS50A: Video
Edifier MS50A: Hardware
Producing the sound from the MS50A are a 19mm silk dome tweeter and a 102mm, or 4-inch, wool diaphragm woofer. A total of 40W RMS power pushes the speaker with a 52-18,000Hz frequency response to a room-filling sound that is surprisingly loud. The volume at 50% seems like a good level for most of my nondance-party listening.
Connections
One of the biggest features of the Edifier MS50A is AirPlay 2 support. With AirPlay 2, it’s easy to set up multiroom listening with multiple devices. Multiple MS50A speakers can also be linked together through the Edifier Home app.
Besides a 5gHz Wi-Fi connection, the MS50A also supports Bluetooth playback.
Edifier MS50A: Listening impressions
The Edifier MS50A speaker has a relatively flat sound with what sounds like a slight boost in the low end. While not as bass-forward as the Harman Kardon Citation One, the MS50A has a full sound with a frequency response of 54Hz-18kHz.
Pop music really shines on the MS50A. Tracks like “Bulletproof” by David Guetta drive with pumping bass while the vocals effortlessly float on the top. Likewise, 24K Magic by Bruno Mars is a fun listen with crisp poppy vocals and funky, full synth bass.
Unfortunately, the MS50A doesn’t seem to be well suited to complicated metal tracks like Mist by Protest the Hero. I’d be interested in hearing how a dual speaker setup handled the intricate fast-paced guitar riffs that usually shine in a stereo setup, but with a single MS50A, a lot of the guitar detail was lost. The sound was a little mushy in the upper lows and low-mids. On the other hand, the vocals came through crystal clear – which is similar to other genres of music.
9to5Toys’ Take
Overall the Edifier MS50A is an elegantly designed, easy-to-use AirPlay 2 smart speaker that will fill a room with sound without breaking the bank. If you are looking to expand in the future with multiple rooms, soundbars, and subwoofers, then it might be worth it to get into the Sonos ecosystem. But for a simple single or multispeaker setup that looks good and sounds good, the Edifier MS50A delivers in most situations.
Buy Edifier MS50A
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