Overview:
Back in May, we reviewed the Edifier Luna 5 iPod speaker, and it got a jolly good score by all accounts. This time we are looking at the Edifier Luna 2 PC speakers. The blurb on the website says,
Enjoy music on a uniquely designed lifestyle 2 pieces USB streaming Digital Audio Sound System.
2-way USB connectivity allows user control of various media playlists utilizing unique Capsense touch controls.
Auxiliary input connects to any digital media/ MP3 player.
Quite modest. The blurb on the box is a bit more showy,
Capturing the timeless elegance of form function and design the edifier lifestyle e20 digital 2.0 audio system offers remarkable and unparalleled performance and functionality.
That’s more like the spiel we are used to. I put my ear drums in danger for the sake of research. So do the Luna 2s live up to the hype?
Review:
Back in the day, speakers that plugged into your computer were light beige plastic cubes, that attached with a thin cable and a 3.5 mm jack. Capable of conveying a system beep, and perhaps a CD, but you would need to get quite close to hear it, and turning it up would result in the fight of the bumble bee whether you liked it or not.
Then came the multimedia PC, with fancy MMX instruction sets on the CPU, a bit more grunt, and of course the ubiquitous MP3. PC speakers became more capable. Move on still further to the evolution of PC design, catalysed by the Macs and iPods and you get to the stage we are at now. Speakers for PCs are becoming more and more works of art.
The first thing you notice when you lift the Luna 2s from the box is the weight. 1.860 KG per speaker by my reckoning. For a speaker that measures 18.5CM x 21Cm high, that either means they either have paid attention to quality, or they have put a lead weight in the bottom. Thankfully, the former seems to be the case. As you pull the speakers from their individual drawstring bags, they ooze quality.
Taking a look at them just as objects, they have a sculpted quality, and from any angle they are aesthetically pleasing. They obviously derive their name from the black circular frontage with a “bite” taken from the top. The speakers work by having one speaker that has the 50 watt amplifier and controls on, and the other speaker plugs into that. The controls on the top of the powered speaker are deceptively simple, but more on those later.
The back of the powered speaker has a Mini-USB, a 3.5mm jack/optical out and a speaker out for the second speaker on the back. None of the cables are bonded to the unit, a feature that is a must, as being able to replace damaged cables is a lot cheaper that replacing a set of speakers. The speakers come with a power supply, a 3.5MM jack to 3.5MM jack for connecting to, well, anything with a 3.5MM out. You also get an optical cable, and a 3.5MM jack to twin phono adapter. So lots of options for connecting these to almost anything.
I chose to connect via the USB cable. This way you can take advantage of the touch sensitive controls on the top of the powered speaker. There are three circles on the top containing a minus sign, the word “Input”, and a plus sign in that order. Nice and simple, volume up and down, and select where the sound is coming from. The added functionality is the ability to swish your finger from left to right over the controls to skip a track, and from right to left to go back, and a pat on the top to pause and play. It works very well. The only problem is that it’s easy to stop, or skip the song you are listening to by accident if you move the speakers.
The XP machine I plugged into had no trouble picking up the speakers, and I was up and running in no time. I loaded up a few tracks into my media player, and hit play. I have been hooked ever since. The sound quality coming from these little speakers is fantastic. As you might expect they cope brilliantly with the top and middle range, but even the base is handled with ease, although there was a bit of distortion with one of my test tunes, but I don’t think I have ever come across a set of speakers that don’t if i push the base up as far as it will go. Certainly the Blockheads never sounded so good on my computer. Pushing the volume up seemed to pose no problem, and the quality remained. It’s certainly powerful enough to fill my living room. I did get a slight rattle from the one speaker, but it seemed to cure itself. I don’t know if that is a sign they may not last.
It’s quite difficult to come up with anything bad to say about the Luna 2, except the price. If you want to have some sonic quality in your life in the shape of these little speakers, then you will need to put between £200 – £250 aside. I don’t think I have come across a set 2.0 speakers in the same price bracket. Then again, I don’t think I have come across a set of 2.0 speakers with similar controls, or sound quality.
The Gaj-It Verdict:
Design: 9/10
Usability: 9/10
Features: 8/10
Value: 9/10
We Say:
Oooh, I love these little speakers. The only thing stopping me buying my own set is the price. However, if you want a some extremely capable 2.0 speakers that look the part, and money is no object. There is no contest.