Edifier MR4 Review (Budget Monitor)

[Casimir101]

i tried yours but it was still too harsh, so heres mine

I also took a look at the thread and know the speakers very well. I can only offer one tip: if they sound too harsh to your ears, especially at high volumes of 70 dB and above... send them back. That's what I did. The reason is that no equalizer setting can tame the harsh tones of these speakers. Otherwise, the entire dynamic range would be destroyed.

And then the MR4s sound terrible. The treble of the MR4s can really hurt your ears. I speak from my own experience! I don't want to badmouth the speakers, but there are much, much better alternatives. Like an integrated amplifier, like the Aiyima a80, and the Micca RB42. Okay, that costs about €360, but then you'll just throw the MR4s in the trash. And I mean it. I did exactly that and can recommend it as a good tip. The videos were shot with a very crappy 2018 A7 phone. Just to illustrate how awesome hi-fi can be. Regards.

 

[audiochan]

that's a bit weird. the 60Hz boost counterbalances the overall harshness at a 75-85db loudness for me. from what i've heard here, your EQ feels kinda dark to me, like it lacks character, which is not really ideal for proper mixing translation in my case. i believe you might be overly sensitive to the 3-4k region, as much as i am to 15k. consider utilizing a Harman Room target instead. louder bass should neutralize harshness, ideally. worst case scenario, a darker monitor might be the go-to for a future upgrade, assuming you might not be very comfortable with a flatter frequency response. if you have any IEMs, have you tried using Crinacle's 5128 IEF Preference 2025 target? it's a very good test to equalize your IEMs to check if it sounds overly harsh for you, since the 3k region has a considerable boost.

can you show me your full eq settings, you said u added more to account for room your resonance? and yes i do agree my eq is too dark/inaccurate but atleast no ear pain, are you using monitor mode and knobs set to 0

 

[NotInYourHead]

i tried yours but it was still too harsh, so heres mine

IMO you should focus more on the region above 10KHz. You can see in this FR graph that the Edifier has a 4-5dB rise from 9-10KHz onwards.

 

[NotInYourHead]

Also I hope someone could come by and shed a light on this nearfield measurement I made (mic placed roughly between the tweeter and woofer, about 20cm-ish away, no gating):

Is that 2KHz dip (and corresponding THD rise) due to measurement errors or the sound waves bouncing off of a boundary/myself?

 

[5ynth3t1k]

Hello!

So I have been thrashing my MR4 plus the Sub for a good while now and am enjoying them BUT ...

I have hit the wall. Yep. Crash.

Story :
I have Bowers and Wilkins headphones, the small folding ones, that I really really like. AND they have tones
that I cannot hear in the MR4's. There is something going on that is lacking in the monitors that I can hear in the
fones. It's that simple. The MR4's are not cutting it anymore.

fones:

Home review

Stylish and sonically talented, but newer rivals have the edge

www.whathifi.com

So... as much as I love this little system I need to up my game. I need next level.

What I need is: clarity, excellent tone reproduction and .. bass. I do NOT need power / volume.

So the MR4's are really really good for the money but they have now shown their short comings.

I am ok with spending a bit more money to get a really nice set of monitors BUT they have to be very good,
and not just "fancy" , or feature rich etc etc. They have to be superior in sound to the MR4's.

For instance, I monitor my guitar, it's mostly clean with a nice tube sound, through the Fones, and I can hear the
subtle rich tones, BUT I switch to the MR4's and they, the tones, are not present in the room... darn it !

This is the wall. I have hit the hard limits of the Monitors. I Know them well enough to know that there is sound there, but it's just not coming through.

So where do I go now ? ( low power is fine, I can use the Sub I already own... etc )

Thanks ! :- )

 

[NotInYourHead]

Hello!

So I have been thrashing my MR4 plus the Sub for a good while now and am enjoying them BUT ...

I have hit the wall. Yep. Crash.

Story :
I have Bowers and Wilkins headphones, the small folding ones, that I really really like. AND they have tones
that I cannot hear in the MR4's. There is something going on that is lacking in the monitors that I can hear in the
fones. It's that simple. The MR4's are not cutting it anymore.

fones:

Home review

Stylish and sonically talented, but newer rivals have the edge

www.whathifi.com

So... as much as I love this little system I need to up my game. I need next level.

What I need is: clarity, excellent tone reproduction and .. bass. I do NOT need power / volume.

So the MR4's are really really good for the money but they have now shown their short comings.

I am ok with spending a bit more money to get a really nice set of monitors BUT they have to be very good,
and not just "fancy" , or feature rich etc etc. They have to be superior in sound to the MR4's.

For instance, I monitor my guitar, it's mostly clean with a nice tube sound, through the Fones, and I can hear the
subtle rich tones, BUT I switch to the MR4's and they, the tones, are not present in the room... darn it !

This is the wall. I have hit the hard limits of the Monitors. I Know them well enough to know that there is sound there, but it's just not coming through.

So where do I go now ? ( low power is fine, I can use the Sub I already own... etc )

Thanks ! :- )

Bowers & Wilkins P3 Portable Headphone/Headset Page 2 | Stereophile.com

Sound Quality

www.stereophile.com

When you compare speakers to headphones don't forget about the flaws of the headphones.

Compensated and averaged frequency response shows a headphone with a very strong "n" shaped response centered just above the transition between bass and mid-range at about 200-300Hz. This hump is over 15dB higher in level than the treble range response of these cans, and was clearly heard as an over accentuated mid-range during listening tests.

The "rich tones" that disappear when you switch to speakers in room could be due to dips in the 100-400Hz (from room modes/reflections), which the P3 has plenty in reserve.

 

[Casimir101]

Hello!

So I have been thrashing my MR4 plus the Sub for a good while now and am enjoying them BUT ...

I have hit the wall. Yep. Crash.

Story :
I have Bowers and Wilkins headphones, the small folding ones, that I really really like. AND they have tones
that I cannot hear in the MR4's. There is something going on that is lacking in the monitors that I can hear in the
fones. It's that simple. The MR4's are not cutting it anymore.

fones:

Home review

Stylish and sonically talented, but newer rivals have the edge

www.whathifi.com

So... as much as I love this little system I need to up my game. I need next level.

What I need is: clarity, excellent tone reproduction and .. bass. I do NOT need power / volume.

So the MR4's are really really good for the money but they have now shown their short comings.

I am ok with spending a bit more money to get a really nice set of monitors BUT they have to be very good,
and not just "fancy" , or feature rich etc etc. They have to be superior in sound to the MR4's.

For instance, I monitor my guitar, it's mostly clean with a nice tube sound, through the Fones, and I can hear the
subtle rich tones, BUT I switch to the MR4's and they, the tones, are not present in the room... darn it !

This is the wall. I have hit the hard limits of the Monitors. I Know them well enough to know that there is sound there, but it's just not coming through.

So where do I go now ? ( low power is fine, I can use the Sub I already own... etc )

Thanks ! :- )

If you're looking for something decent, with good sound and awesome bass in absolute hi-fi quality, then buy an amplifier for your PC, such as the Aiyima A80 (€200), and a top-notch pair of Micca RB42 speakers (€160), a pair of Micca Kabal speakers (€25), and two new amplifiers for the A80 SX52B (€30). Then you'll have what you dream about in the evenings and throw every piece of crap from Edifier in the trash. But they cost about €400, not €120. That's the difference, and you'll only hear it on your headphones.

 

[audiochan]

IMO you should focus more on the region above 10KHz. You can see in this FR graph that the Edifier has a 4-5dB rise from 9-10KHz onwards.
View attachment 468978

mine is the asian unit and has 3.3k peak which i can hear, but there are still some harsh frequencies i cant find, how can i eq based on this frequency graph i found

 

[NotInYourHead]

mine is the asian unit and has 3.3k peak which i can hear, but there are still some harsh frequencies i cant find, how can i eq based on this frequency graph i found

First off that frequency response is odd. You can check out other measurements and that upwards tilt from 1Khz doesn't exist in them.

Second, like I said, the MR4 has trouble in the 8Khz to above 10Khz region so EQ is necessary here. Try smth like 12000KHz, Q=3 and -2dB. Or just tilt the speakers outward (don't let it fire directly at your ears), which should lower the treble brightness. Play around a bit until it's to your liking.

 

[PedroBlueberry]

can you show me your full eq settings, you said u added more to account for room your resonance? and yes i do agree my eq is too dark/inaccurate but atleast no ear pain, are you using monitor mode and knobs set to 0

sorry for the 2 month delay; i am not very active around here. the only difference from that EQ i sent before are the filters "62 Hz -10 Q15; 124 Hz -18 Q20; 142 Hz -18 Q20; 165 Hz -5 Q28" on monitor mode, all knobs set to 0 dB, purely to fix the low end mess of my untreated room.

however, looking at your EQ, i was reminded of a "solution" that i had used before (but had completely forgotten about) to make them sound darker, but linear nonetheless. it's the EQ of the picture below. it is super unusual and unorthodox, but you could give it a try, maybe it works for you, haha.


Preamp: -6.9 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 60 Hz Gain 7.8 dB Q 1.3
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 73 Hz Gain -3.6 dB Q 4.0
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 150 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 3.4
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 350 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 4.8
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 650 Hz Gain -0.7 dB Q 5.0
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 860 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 2.0
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 900 Hz Gain 0.5 dB Q 5.0
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 0.6
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 2500 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 5.0
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 3100 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 2.0
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 4.9
Filter 12: ON PK Fc 5500 Hz Gain -0.5 dB Q 4.0
Filter 13: ON PK Fc 8200 Hz Gain -0.5 dB Q 5.0
Filter 14: ON PK Fc 9500 Hz Gain 1.1 dB Q 5.0
Filter 15: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 1.8 dB Q 2.0
Filter 16: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -2.8 dB Q 0.8
Filter 17: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain -2.7 dB Q 2.0

* that 4.3KHz 1db boost in bold CAN be deleted if you are sensitive to it, and i most definitely would recommend doing so if you're trying to avoid ear fatigue as much as possible. i certainly prefer it without it, but i added it just to keep it "flatter" in the graphic, lol. i'm not so sure about the 2.5KHz, but feel free to delete it as well if it sounds better. we're already doing a lot of bs here, one more wouldn't hurt hahaha

 

[PedroBlueberry]

can you show me your full eq settings, you said u added more to account for room your resonance? and yes i do agree my eq is too dark/inaccurate but atleast no ear pain, are you using monitor mode and knobs set to 0

another EQ i use very frequently for translation, now an actual reliable one (lol), is the Harman room. it works great for me when i feel fatigued from using the flat EQ. definitely give this one a try, even if the bass seems scary at first.

Preamp: -11.6 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 60 Hz Gain 12.0 dB Q 0.800
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 74 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 4.600
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 160 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 340 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 4.100
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 850 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 4.300
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain -0.8 dB Q 4.300
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain -2.3 dB Q 3.300
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 5.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 9900 Hz Gain 1.6 dB Q 4.100
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 0.500
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain -2.7 dB Q 2.800

 

[NotInYourHead]

another EQ i use very frequently for translation, now an actual reliable one (lol), is the Harman room. it works great for me when i feel fatigued from using the flat EQ. definitely give this one a try, even if the bass seems scary at first.

Preamp: -11.6 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 60 Hz Gain 12.0 dB Q 0.800
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 74 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 4.600
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 160 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 340 Hz Gain -0.6 dB Q 4.100
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 850 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 4.300
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 1100 Hz Gain -0.8 dB Q 4.300
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 3200 Hz Gain -2.3 dB Q 3.300
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 5.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 9900 Hz Gain 1.6 dB Q 4.100
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 0.500
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 13000 Hz Gain -2.7 dB Q 2.800

Thanks for the filter, didn't realize boosting the low-end can be that beneficial. It's like you said, really scary at first lol

 

[Dreamers2]

I got a pair of Edifier mr4 alongside an Edifier t5 as well. Where should I put the crossover frequency?

 

[somebodyelse]

From the T5 manual it looks like the output RCAs are just pass-through rather than high pass, so you need to set the crossover to match the natural roll off of the MR4. By eyeball from the measured frequency response both in this thread, and Nuyes' measurements which may indicate a revision, that looks to be around 65Hz. Source to T5 input, T5 output to MR4 input.

 

[komhst]

Edifier MR4 to Nautilus !!!

 

[pathtonowhere]

I bet that the fake Nautilus now sounds worse than the normal MR4 for a lot of reasons, but, the hilarious thing is that there is a huge chance it sounds better than an original B&W ear-piercing speaker.

 

[bh69]

I bought these speakers based on the praise on the internet. I wanted them for my bedroom, but after a few days of trying them out I returned them. Looking back, I can't describe the exact reasons, but I didn't like the sound and it was unpleasant. A big disappointment for me.

 

[pathtonowhere]

Not being able to put the finger on it is highly unusual in my view. I've never been in this position. And, even if you can't point out the exact problem/s, you can at least describe the sensation that made you not like them.
Me myself I like them as much as any of my other favourite much more expensive HI-FI speakers, with only two caveats: the almost non-existent sub-bass (under 60Hz) and lower maximum volume. Both non-problems in a small bedroom, where a high sound level isn't needed and bass under 60Hz wreak havoc in a small brick wall bedroom (maybe US low density walls would fare better)

On the other hand, I've listened to speakers 10 times more expensive that sound 10 times worse, with piercing highs, metallic sound and funky dispersion patterns.

 

[bh69]

Not being able to put the finger on it is highly unusual in my view.

It's been about six months now, so I don't remember it in detail enough to describe it. Plus, the sound is sometimes quite difficult to describe.

 

[pathtonowhere]

The Kali LP-6v2 is €470 for a pair here in The Netherlands. The Edifier MR4 is €129 a pair. That's hardly a fair comparison.

I bought them for a little under 90 euros in Romania (from a Bulgarian online store). Comparing small desktop speakers to 6.5 inch woofer monitors for 3 to 5 times the price (depending on area) makes no sense.

Also, somebody complained about the distortion at 90dB. At 86dB they play perfectly clean. Trying to push these over 86dB is insane, too. They're desktop speakers that you listen to from 1m away. For what they are, there's nothing better on the market. The only real flaw that has nothing to do with their form factor and purpose maybe is the slight 3kHz dip, but it's far better than a peak. Also, a slight dip in that area can be beneficial, the 3kHz area can make the speakers too "in your face" and harsh for very close listening. Compared to the way nastier peaks and dips found in many $1000+ speakers, these are a dream to listen to.