Edifier MR4 measurements (It's probably been upgraded.)

[Readyordie]

Hey guys am completely new to speakers and i have decided to get the mr4. I dont have a dac or any amp sort of stuff. Right now after getting the speakers its just my lap and my speakers. Its only for casual listening in my bedroom which is 12ftx11ft so i think i wouldnt need any amp or extras to boost the speakers. My question is two parter, one, since mostly its gona be a lottery wether i get the updated good mr4 or the other one. Is there any simple beginner test to check which ones mine.
Two, which is very important. Are there any reputed powered speakers out there as good as mr4 at the same price range which is not a monitor,. I got nothing to do with mr4 except listening to music. I really can enjoy hearing the absolute recorded version of any song. The flat response, its very immersive to see the real stuff, but being that said is there a speaker which would absolutely serve my purpose which is am not getting one for professional use but for immersive listening. Dont mind if theres a bit of exaggeration in the bass or treble, just need one which a critical listener would vouch for.
I would be really gratefull if i get some help on this one. Not able to find a stable option.

 

[roladyzator]

Hey guys am completely new to speakers and i have decided to get the mr4. I dont have a dac or any amp sort of stuff. Right now after getting the speakers its just my lap and my speakers. Its only for casual listening in my bedroom which is 12ftx11ft so i think i wouldnt need any amp or extras to boost the speakers. My question is two parter, one, since mostly its gona be a lottery wether i get the updated good mr4 or the other one. Is there any simple beginner test to check which ones mine.
Two, which is very important. Are there any reputed powered speakers out there as good as mr4 at the same price range which is not a monitor,. I got nothing to do with mr4 except listening to music. I really can enjoy hearing the absolute recorded version of any song. The flat response, its very immersive to see the real stuff, but being that said is there a speaker which would absolutely serve my purpose which is am not getting one for professional use but for immersive listening. Dont mind if theres a bit of exaggeration in the bass or treble, just need one which a critical listener would vouch for.
I would be really gratefull if i get some help on this one. Not able to find a stable option.

Are there any reputed powered speakers out there as good as mr4 at the same price range which is not a monitor
I'm not aware of any competition at this price range besides Edifier MR3 and I doubt the difference would be justifiable.

The next step up would be to add a subwoofer to the MR4, perhaps the Edifier's T5.
Bass extension plays a significant role in the enjoyment of sound reproduction systems.
And it should help balance out the lean nature of your MR4.

And what do you mean by "not a monitor"?
What are your reasons to avoid monitors?

Is there any simple beginner test to check which ones mine?
If you can't tell (for which you need some kind of reference that you probably lack), then you'd have to measure.
Cheapest measurement microphone is Dayton iMM-6 (and iMM-6C) and you can do moving mic measurements in the near field to minimize room interactions.

Don't mind if there's a bit of exaggeration in the bass or treble, just need one which a critical listener would vouch for.
Do you like them or not? It's not clear from your comment
If you do like their sound, then I don't think you can buy anything better at this price.

If you don't, play with the knobs, toggle monitor / music mode etc.
Years of research tell us that people in general prefer a more neutral sound.
So adjusting the sound to your preference does bring you closer to neutral sound eventually, although it's good to have some experience with neutral sound to know what to watch out for.

I really can enjoy hearing the absolute recorded version of any song.
Not at this price. Likely not at any price.
For that you'll need flat FR from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and similar acoustic conditions to what existed in the sound engineer's room.
If you want to have an idea of what reasonably neutral sound is, get good headphones like the 7Hz Zero 2, AKG K371, or Hifiman HE400SE (out of those I've heard).

 

[Readyordie]

Are there any reputed powered speakers out there as good as mr4 at the same price range which is not a monitor
I'm not aware of any competition at this price range besides Edifier MR3 and I doubt the difference would be justifiable.

The next step up would be to add a subwoofer to the MR4, perhaps the Edifier's T5.
Bass extension plays a significant role in the enjoyment of sound reproduction systems.
And it should help balance out the lean nature of your MR4.

And what do you mean by "not a monitor"?
What are your reasons to avoid monitors?

Is there any simple beginner test to check which ones mine?
If you can't tell (for which you need some kind of reference that you probably lack), then you'd have to measure.
Cheapest measurement microphone is Dayton iMM-6 (and iMM-6C) and you can do moving mic measurements in the near field to minimize room interactions.

Don't mind if there's a bit of exaggeration in the bass or treble, just need one which a critical listener would vouch for.
Do you like them or not? It's not clear from your comment
If you do like their sound, then I don't think you can buy anything better at this price.

If you don't, play with the knobs, toggle monitor / music mode etc.
Years of research tell us that people in general prefer a more neutral sound.
So adjusting the sound to your preference does bring you closer to neutral sound eventually, although it's good to have some experience with neutral sound to know what to watch out for.

I really can enjoy hearing the absolute recorded version of any song.
Not at this price. Likely not at any price.
For that you'll need flat FR from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and similar acoustic conditions to what existed in the sound engineer's room.
If you want to have an idea of what reasonably neutral sound is, get good headphones like the 7Hz Zero 2, AKG K371, or Hifiman HE400SE (out of those I've heard).

I was actually looking at mr3 since erins audio says its better than mr4. I am also considering r1280db,. Which as far as i know its got more bass to it and wider frequency and i jus hope i wouldnt have to sit in front of it in a stable position looking front since its not studio monitor but bookshelf speaker.
I dont really have any reason to avoid monitor except that i like the mobility which comes with non monitor BUT only if the trade off is very minimal. I dont want to lose anything major that comes with studio monitors, like i said i really can enjoy a speaker which is designed for professional use. But also if i have to honest,. Its not really making sense that everytime when i need to listen to music, i would have to sit at this stable position and not move. This is a little too much for someone who just wants to listen to music with that immersive factor.
By absolute recorded version, lol, i definitely did not mean it entirely. I was jus expressing how studio monitors work, flat, no flavour, reproducing the true production track. Isnt thst right,. Thats what studio monitors give out right. I certainly would not hope to get the ultimate from a 100$ speaker ha ha.
All i need is a speaker which a professional can vouch for at the same price range with which i can change my position atleast a little while listening to it. If the trade off is like too much, then i would have to get the studio monitors cos i might move around 30% of the time and sit to listen most of it. So the math.
Correct me if am wrong about anything.

 

[roladyzator]

I was actually looking at mr3 since erins audio says its better than mr4. I am also considering r1280db,. Which as far as i know its got more bass to it and wider frequency and i jus hope i wouldnt have to sit in front of it in a stable position looking front since its not studio monitor but bookshelf speaker.
I dont really have any reason to avoid monitor except that i like the mobility which comes with non monitor BUT only if the trade off is very minimal. I dont want to lose anything major that comes with studio monitors, like i said i really can enjoy a speaker which is designed for professional use. But also if i have to honest,. Its not really making sense that everytime when i need to listen to music, i would have to sit at this stable position and not move. This is a little too much for someone who just wants to listen to music with that immersive factor.
By absolute recorded version, lol, i definitely did not mean it entirely. I was jus expressing how studio monitors work, flat, no flavour, reproducing the true production track. Isnt thst right,. Thats what studio monitors give out right. I certainly would not hope to get the ultimate from a 100$ speaker ha ha.
All i need is a speaker which a professional can vouch for at the same price range with which i can change my position atleast a little while listening to it. If the trade off is like too much, then i would have to get the studio monitors cos i might 30% of the time and sit to listen most of it. So the math.
Correct me if am wrong about anything.

Amir has reviewed the R1280T here. I'm not sure how different it is from R1280DB, but it is a less neutral speakers than either MR4 and MR3.

hope i wouldnt have to sit in front of it in a stable position looking front since its not studio monitor but bookshelf speaker
Where would you want to sit, then? There's some wiggle room with a stereo setup, but ultimately if you want a stable soundstage while not sitting right between the speakers, you need a center channel at least. Without that, the stereo image will collapse to the nearest speaker when you move to the sides.
And if you want to be able to move up or down, you'd need coaxial speakers.

If it's your objective to have more "wiggle room", then studio monitors are actually better for this for their respective price - because it's more common to see solutions that make the directivity better in those (like the waveguide in JBL 305p or coaxial drivers in Kali IN-5) at the bottom end of the price range.

Do watch Amir's and Erin's videos on interpreting speaker measurements and check how the speakers you're interested in will behave at different angles that resemble your listening conditions.

All i need is a speaker which a professional can vouch for at the same price range
Nothing at this price range, I'm afraid.
Stuff from Presonus, Mackie, Dayton audio that's near $100 is worse than MR3 or MR4.

The cheapest neutral speaker would be something like iLoud Micro Monitor, Adam D3V, Kali LP-UNF, but those are more intended for on-desk usage.
If you want usable volume from further way, you'd have to go for at least JBL 305p, 306p, Kali LP-6 v2, Adam T5V or similar.

how studio monitors work, flat, no flavour, reproducing the true production track
Can't do that at this budget. There's no speaker with flat enough on-axis frequency response.
And even if there was one, lack of output below 60-70Hz is certainly a flavour.
It makes the music sound leaner, faster, more detailed etc. (using subjective terms here) than what the engineer might have intended.

 

[Readyordie]

Amir has reviewed the R1280T here. I'm not sure how different it is from R1280DB, but it is a less neutral speakers than either MR4 and MR3.

hope i wouldnt have to sit in front of it in a stable position looking front since its not studio monitor but bookshelf speaker
Where would you want to sit, then? There's some wiggle room with a stereo setup, but ultimately if you want a stable soundstage while not sitting right between the speakers, you need a center channel at least. Without that, the stereo image will collapse to the nearest speaker when you move to the sides.
And if you want to be able to move up or down, you'd need coaxial speakers.

If it's your objective to have more "wiggle room", then studio monitors are actually better for this for their respective price - because it's more common to see solutions that make the directivity better in those (like the waveguide in JBL 305p or coaxial drivers in Kali IN-5) at the bottom end of the price range.

Do watch Amir's and Erin's videos on interpreting speaker measurements and check how the speakers you're interested in will behave at different angles that resemble your listening conditions.

All i need is a speaker which a professional can vouch for at the same price range
Nothing at this price range, I'm afraid.
Stuff from Presonus, Mackie, Dayton audio that's near $100 is worse than MR3 or MR4.

The cheapest neutral speaker would be something like iLoud Micro Monitor, Adam D3V, Kali LP-UNF, but those are more intended for on-desk usage.
If you want usable volume from further way, you'd have to go for at least JBL 305p, 306p, Kali LP-6 v2, Adam T5V or similar.

how studio monitors work, flat, no flavour, reproducing the true production track
Can't do that at this budget. There's no speaker with flat enough on-axis frequency response.
And even if there was one, lack of output below 60-70Hz is certainly a flavour.
It makes the music sound leaner, faster, more detailed etc. (using subjective terms here) than what the engineer might have intended.

No lol. Not like i dont want to sit on a chair, i was trying to say what if i need lay down on my bed someday and i hear the worst music ever ha ha. But hey, i get your point. Actually i got all the points which are exactly what i needed to know from a real person rather than going AI or searching forums. Thanks a lot man.

 

[roladyzator]

No lol. Not like i dont want to sit on a chair, i was trying to say what if i need lay down on my bed someday and i hear the worst music ever ha ha. But hey, i get your point. Actually i got all the points which are exactly what i needed to know from a real person rather than going AI or searching forums. Thanks a lot man.

I did have the MR4 and if buying today n this price range, I'd go for MR3 for the below reasons:
- has bluetooth input
- has tone controls on the back and more EQ setting in the app that connects over bluetooth.

Let me give you one last piece of advice.
At some time you'll likely want more bass, and the cheapest option would be to add a subwoofer.
Ideally it would be a subwoofer with a "high-pass filter" - it would remove the bass from speakers, allowing them to play louder and with less distortion.

For that, I had to buy the Presonus Sub8 BT, but it introduced a ground-loop with my PC (noise, buzz).
You get a ground loop every time you have more than one device with a three-pin power plug in the system.

Any PC / Laptop would have a three-pin power plug, so you'd have ground loops with most studio gear (most of which has three-pin plugs).

To resolve that, you have some options:
- use balanced connections (TRS, XLR) - requires an audio interface with balanced output.
- use optical or galvanic isolation - again, requires extra gear
- use bluetooth connectivity - but it can add delay and sometimes compression artifacts, if the bitrate is low
- lift ground pins - dangerous
- connect a source that is battery operated or has a 2-pin power plug - limits connectivity

I went with getting a FiiO KA15 as besides balanced line out it has some features I wanted for my headphones.

But if you use both subwoofer and speakers with just 2-pin power plug, you should have no issues.
Edifier's T5 and MR3 are such a combination. And MR3 has the high-pass filter available through it's app.

 

[NotInYourHead]

I did have the MR4 and if buying today n this price range, I'd go for MR3 for the below reasons:
- has bluetooth input
- has tone controls on the back and more EQ setting in the app that connects over bluetooth.

Let me give you one last piece of advice.
At some time you'll likely want more bass, and the cheapest option would be to add a subwoofer.
Ideally it would be a subwoofer with a "high-pass filter" - it would remove the bass from speakers, allowing them to play louder and with less distortion.

This is another strong point of the MR3 over MR4. Adjustable high-pass filters for MR3 are built into the Edifier Connex app.
Active subwoofers can have a high pass filter for satellites but it's often lazily implemented and not adjustable.

 

[Readyordie]

I did have the MR4 and if buying today n this price range, I'd go for MR3 for the below reasons:
- has bluetooth input
- has tone controls on the back and more EQ setting in the app that connects over bluetooth.

Let me give you one last piece of advice.
At some time you'll likely want more bass, and the cheapest option would be to add a subwoofer.
Ideally it would be a subwoofer with a "high-pass filter" - it would remove the bass from speakers, allowing them to play louder and with less distortion.

For that, I had to buy the Presonus Sub8 BT, but it introduced a ground-loop with my PC (noise, buzz).
You get a ground loop every time you have more than one device with a three-pin power plug in the system.

Any PC / Laptop would have a three-pin power plug, so you'd have ground loops with most studio gear (most of which has three-pin plugs).

To resolve that, you have some options:
- use balanced connections (TRS, XLR) - requires an audio interface with balanced output.
- use optical or galvanic isolation - again, requires extra gear
- use bluetooth connectivity - but it can add delay and sometimes compression artifacts, if the bitrate is low
- lift ground pins - dangerous
- connect a source that is battery operated or has a 2-pin power plug - limits connectivity

I went with getting a FiiO KA15 as besides balanced line out it has some features I wanted for my headphones.

But if you use both subwoofer and speakers with just 2-pin power plug, you should have no issues.
Edifier's T5 and MR3 are such a combination. And MR3 has the high-pass filter available through it's app.

Thank you for sharing this additional detail. Is the subwoofer going to be good. I mean will it perfectly sit with the mr3 or even mr4 ? I looked up demos on youtube and i really dont like it lol. Its standing out with so much of vibrations. Maybe because its recorded with a mobile or something but if thats how its gona sound inside my bedroom. Am gona skip. The demos with the mr3 alone was super good( music mode ). I have never witnessed a professional in action, but i had a sound engineer friend long time back. In his bedroom which is also his workspace, he had this bigass jbl 2.0 speakers and my god that was more than enough. Didnt feel the need for extra bass even a little but thats because its jbl big one.
Is there any small time woofer which wont produce much power and lay low or be on the same speaker pace. The sub which you mentioned itself so expensive, a price more than jbl 305p pair. Will it blow me away my bedroom ha ha. Also I tried to consider r1280s until i saw this demo r1280dbs vs mr3. No way. The dbs got more bass and treble emphasis which i really hated. I thought i would like it since i own one iem, ziigaat odyssey. Maybe its nice for iems but for speakers nope.

 

[roladyzator]

Again, get the MR3. No reason to get MR4 anymore unless you can get those much cheaper.

I'm not sure what have you watched on youtube, but I wouldn't be surprised if the "reviewer" cranked the subwoofer up to the max to show its effect.
That's not a realistic scenario, I think.

The primary benefit comes from better extension with a subwoofer that's set up with a reasonable loudness, cut-off frequency and in the right location.

I haven't got the T5, but based on some measurements I've found on reddit it does get down to the around 40 Hz.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/comments/1au088n/edifier_t5_way_too_punchy

I'd definitely consider it for a system at this budget.

 

[Readyordie]

Again, get the MR3. No reason to get MR4 anymore unless you can get those much cheaper.

I'm not sure what have you watched on youtube, but I wouldn't be surprised if the "reviewer" cranked the subwoofer up to the max to show its effect.
That's not a realistic scenario, I think.

The primary benefit comes from better extension with a subwoofer that's set up with a reasonable loudness, cut-off frequency and in the right location.

I haven't got the T5, but based on some measurements I've found on reddit it does get down to the around 40 Hz.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/comments/1au088n/edifier_t5_way_too_punchy

I'd definitely consider it for a system at this budget.

Yea i definitely watched some crappy guy who didnt know how the " show off " really works. But another part of my mind was thinking like why would someone need to crank fully and make a fool of themselves. Maybe this is how the woofer sounds like and there are people who wants it. I mean people pay extra for r1280dbs. I mean what the hell. They prefer that sound over mr3.

 

[NotInYourHead]

Yea i definitely watched some crappy guy who didnt know how the " show off " really works. But another part of my mind was thinking like why would someone need to crank fully and make a fool of themselves. Maybe this is how the woofer sounds like and there are people who wants it. I mean people pay extra for r1280dbs. I mean what the hell. They prefer that sound over mr3.

If they have never heard a decent pair of speakers, yes
It sounds impressive at first but quickly becomes fatiguing.

 

[NotInYourHead]

Is there any small time woofer which wont produce much power and lay low or be on the same speaker pace. The sub which you mentioned itself so expensive, a price more than jbl 305p pair. Will it blow me away my bedroom ha ha.

If that's the case, it might be more worthwhile to get a larger pair of bookshelves with 6.5 or 8-inch bass drivers. It will take up less space, be less of a hassle to set up, provide enough bass for normal listening and if you get a good pair, sound better than MR4 overall.

 

[perceptionist]

Either MR3 or MR5. There's no Bluetooth on MR4.

 

[Readyordie]

If that's the case, it might be more worthwhile to get a larger pair of bookshelves with 6.5 or 8-inch bass drivers. It will take up less space, be less of a hassle to set up, provide enough bass for normal listening and if you get a good pair, sound better than MR4 overall.

No brother i did a mistake. I only looked up presonus eris sub which was expensive but edifier t5 is doable. But your opinion makes sense and i think getting the jbl 305p looks like a better buy, it sums the mr3 and the sub total. Thing is my room. Its 12ftx11ft. Isnt this a bit small for this 305p ?

 

[perceptionist]

No brother i did a mistake. I only looked up presonus eris sub which was expensive but edifier t5 is doable. But your opinion makes sense and i think getting the jbl 305p looks like a better buy, it sums the mr3 and the sub total. Thing is my room. Its 12ftx11ft. Isnt this a bit small for this 305p ?

MR5 costs only half of 305P and gives you the best of MR3 and 305P. It's deep though.

 

[roladyzator]

The 305p does have a 3-pin power plug so if you connect it to a laptop or a PC using a simple 3.5 mm to 2x TRS or XLR, you're going to get ground loops.
To resolve ground loops you need either money (studio interface, DAC with balanced out, USB isolator in front of a USB dac, using a DAC with an optical input and some way to provide optical output, etc.) or you can lift the ground pins and introduce serious safety hazards.

MR5 comes with just 2-pin power plug so it should be fine connected via a 3.5mm to 2x RCA cable any source.

That could be your best option for a start - very simple to set up, with some extra bass extension and some loudness to spare if you want to move from listening at the desk to your bed.

By the way - don't over-spend on your first speakers before you know a bit more about their placement in your room and sound reproduction in general.
For example, you may not get much benefit in bass extension when going from 5 inch to 8 inch speakers if you or the speakers are sitting in a null of a room mode.

 

[NotInYourHead]

No brother i did a mistake. I only looked up presonus eris sub which was expensive but edifier t5 is doable. But your opinion makes sense and i think getting the jbl 305p looks like a better buy, it sums the mr3 and the sub total. Thing is my room. Its 12ftx11ft. Isnt this a bit small for this 305p ?

JBL 305P MkII - Powered Two-Way Studio Monitor Review

JBL 305P MkII - Powered Two-Way Studio Monitor Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Review for the JBL 305p.
I would say that 12ftx11ft is quite small, but it shouldn't affect the speaker size.

 

[Readyordie]

The 305p does have a 3-pin power plug so if you connect it to a laptop or a PC using a simple 3.5 mm to 2x TRS or XLR, you're going to get ground loops.
To resolve ground loops you need either money (studio interface, DAC with balanced out, USB isolator in front of a USB dac, using a DAC with an optical input and some way to provide optical output, etc.) or you can lift the ground pins and introduce serious safety hazards.

MR5 comes with just 2-pin power plug so it should be fine connected via a 3.5mm to 2x RCA cable any source.

That could be your best option for a start - very simple to set up, with some extra bass extension and some loudness to spare if you want to move from listening at the desk to your bed.

By the way - don't over-spend on your first speakers before you know a bit more about their placement in your room and sound reproduction in general.
For example, you may not get much benefit in bass extension when going from 5 inch to 8 inch speakers if you or the speakers are sitting in a null of a room mode.

Brother i have an ibasso jr macaron + ibasso cb19 to connect it to my lap. Will ka15 make a noticeable difference in terms of sound for jbl 305p ? Am getting this. These are active speakers and i think its gona sound the same with either of the above. Right ?