You may remember back in February we reviewed Edifier’s M3200 speaker set – lavishing the quirky 2.1 setup with praise and an almost perfect score. The set we had our hands on this time around is focused on portability, bluetooth, and, of course, Edifier’s signature bold design choices. With an aesthetic further removed from the norm, is the Prisma Encore more than just a brave new design?
AUDIO: 3.5/5
This is a tricky one. The sound is clear at most ranges with very little differential between bluetooth and inline. The trouble is, there’s no way to decrease the volume of the subwoofer, and it’s got a fair bit of heft to it, resulting in an extremely bottom heavy sound that makes it difficult to listen to anything with subtlety. You can’t listen to music at higher volumes without the bass cranking itself up to untenable, neighbour-aggravating amounts, and this clips a significant percentage off of an all-round brilliant speaker. At the Prisma Encore‘s price-point, there really should be the option to turn the subwoofer down.
Swapping between inputs is effortless thanks to a nifty little wireless remote and connecting devices via Bluetooth is nice and easy. The speakers fared just as well in a small office environment as they did in a big living room media set-up with versatility characteristic of Edifier’s speaker design.
STYLE AND BUILD QUALITY: 5/5
Never settling for standard blocky speaker design, this is a lovely looking set that could double as surrealist modern art, or, if you opt for the white option, a bit of toppled over Portal background scenery (I don’t hate you). Having tested the white set I can imagine it’d be something of a dust magnet but as long as you’re not blowing cigarette smoke directly onto it it should stay sleek with very little maintenance. As with most of the company’s products, the aesthetics might not appeal, but if you’re concerned about fashion vs function, you can rest assured that the Prisma Encore delivers on both fronts.
Despite the bold, round design, the actual footprint/space used is pretty minimal for the sound delivered. It’s really the speaker’s strongest selling point – it’d look good pretty much anywhere and it’s extremely well-made.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3.5/5
From a design standpoint this is a premium set but when it comes down to it you can definitely get better sound quality for less expenditure, which results in the Prisma Encore scraping a rather average score on this front. The bluetooth functionality and the wireless remote are nice extra features but the lack of a bass dial – and the volume of the bass in general – makes it hard to recommend on the financial front. It’s currently listed on Edifier’s website for £149, and if you want something that’ll stand out, you’ll be hard pressed to find something better, but unfortunately that distinction is purely visual. The sound quality is certainly decent, and the volume is formidable at full-whack, but audio enthusiasts will pick plenty of holes in the excessive, pear-shaped low end. With the Encore you’d certainly have something that would last a while, and comes with a nice complement of well-built features, but other sets do it better for less.
FINAL SCORE: 4/5