Tabletop speakers are a dime a dozen these days, and most of them are designed to fit in rather than stand out, often blending in your home’s environment without taking attention away from your centrepiece.
Enter the Edifier QD35, which is arguably one of the most stylistic speakers in the market today.
Table of Contents
Edifier QD35 – Specifications
| Output Power | 40W RMS |
| Frequency Response | 60Hz – 40kHz |
| Audio Inputs | AUX, USB-A, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Driver Units | 3″ (Mid-bass) + 1″ (Treble) |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 277.8mm × 164.8mm × 141.7mm |
| Weight | 2.64kg |
What’s In The Box?
- Edifier QD35 speaker
- AUX cable
- USB Type-A to Type-A cable
- Cleaning cloth
- Quick start guide
- User manual
Design
Unlike other speakers that either adopt a conservative design or going for the nordic minimalist aesthetic, the QD35 looks straight out of a grunge metal band’s backstage room.
The speaker enclosure largely resembles a shipping container, with a smoked acrylic window at the front. The front houses a 3-inch mid bass driver and a 1-inch silk dome tweeter.
Enclosed within the window is a series of cut-outs for an industrial look. You will also find two RGB light bands: one surrounding the mid-bass driver, and the other running along the bottom. At the bottom left, there is a digital screen displaying the time, connectivity mode and audio mode. The backlit Edifier logo completes the front facia.
You will find a USB Type-A and a Type-C port at the left side of the QD35, which are GaN chargers offering 18W and 35W fast charging respectively. The right houses the controls, consisting of an on/off switch that doubles as a connectivity mode switch; a volume knob, and a lighting effects selector switch/knob.
The back houses two bass reflex ports for deeper bass extension. It also has a USB Type-A port for USB playback, an audio jack, and another on/off switch. You may wonder why are there two separate on/off switches, and you are not alone. Apparently, turning off the speaker via the button at the right will only shut off the speaker, while leaving the charging ports powered. Shutting off using the switch at the back will shut off power completely.
User Experience
Lighting Effects
I find the lighting effects to be tastefully executed. While it may lean towards the ” RGB PC gamer aesthetic” too much for some, I find it not as intrusive as I thought. You can select between a variety of lighting effects via the Edifier Connect app, and select the colours that match your room’s ambiance. Even without the app, you can still make some adjustments such as switching between lighting effect modes and adjusting the brightness level. If you are not a fan, you can turn the lights off by reducing the brightness to 0.
If you are sensitive to light, bad news. Adjusting the lighting intensity would not affect the brightness of the clock display and backlit logo. If only there is an ambient light sensor to allow for automatic dimming of the clock, but I digress.
GaN Charging Ports
Ideally, the Edifier QD35 should be placed on top of a table. And if you are like me, you may struggle to find enough sockets to keep all your devices powered. I find the GaN charging ports to be a life saver, eliminating the need of a separate charger for my phone and tablet. There is also ample space on top of the speaker to place my phone while charging. Be sure to use shorter cables though, as it may make the space look cluttered.
Controls
Let’s go over the controls briefly.
Pressing on the on/off button will switch between Bluetooth, USB and AUX inputs. Holding it will turn the speakers on/off. Pressing once on the volume knob will play/pause the track. Quickly pressing it twice will switch the EQ modes. Pressing on the lighting effects knob allows me to switch between different lighting modes.
Overall, the controls are quite comprehensive, if not a tad confusing at first. I suggest you thoroughly read the manual to learn all the controls.
Edifier Connect App
Aside from the aforementioned lighting controls, the Edifier Connect app also allows me to access the aforementioned controls. I could also use it to play white noise in the background to help me sleep. I find the app to be alright, although I wish I could set a timer to turn off the white noise just in case I fell asleep without turning the speaker off.
Sound Quality
The Edifier QD35 features a twin bass reflex port, a single mid-bass driver, and a single tweeter system. It sounds okay out of the box, with a warm sounding midrange and slightly reserved treble. While the bass reflex ports adds some depth to the bass section, I find it lacking a bit of ‘oomph’ in some songs, particularly EDMs. That being said, with a bit of tweaking on the EQ by raising the treble slightly, the audio quality does improve quite a bit.
While the exterior design indicates a loud boom box kind of vibe, I find the volume to be quite tame. Sure, it is loud enough to cover the entire room, but not to the point of rattling the floor and annoying my neighbours. If you are expecting a boom box for house parties, you may be left wanting for more.
The Edifier QD35 does have Hi-Res Audio support, but I didn’t notice any discernable difference in audio quality.
Final Verdict
3.5 / 5The Edifier QD35 took a different design approach with its stylish and aggressive styling, while delivering decent audio quality.
Sure, the aesthetics of the Edifier QD35 is not for everyone. But I applaud the company for opting a different design direction to break away from monotonous rectangular boxes or modern minimalist designs.
While the default audio tuning could be a lot better out of the box, the included GaN charger is a neat addition to provide functionality beyond just producing sound.
To learn more about the Edifier QD35, please visit the official product page here.
