Soundbar USB MP250 Multimedia Speaker by Edifier
Rating: 
Price: $49.99 USD
Requirement(s):
» USB Port/Headphone Jack/System to play music
Optional Requirement(s):
» None
Overview:
Edifier – a company that specializes in speakers of all kinds (portable, home theatre, desktop, etc.) – have given us the Soundbar USB MP250 Multimedia Portable Speaker to review. With its sleek look, light weight, and portability, it has great potential in the current market. Let’s take a look at how the sound quality is though…
Unboxing, Package Contents, and First Impressions:
The package contents were:
» Soundbar USB MP250 Multimedia Speaker
» USB Cable
» 3.5mm Auxiliary Jack Cable
» Instruction Manual
» Special Instructions for Mac Users
» Soft Carry Pouch
I loved the sleek look of the speakers, the nice clean brushed metal mesh on the speakers, and most of all, the smooth finish all around the speakers. But looks aside, the purpose of this device is to provide exceptional sound, and oh wow, that it does.
Specifications & Features:
As outlined by the developers:
» USB powered and USB streamed
» 2-channel stereo sound with 2 1.25inch drivers on each channel
» Elaborately designed bass passive radiator
» 3.5mm Auxiliary input port
» Power Output: RMS 2Wx2 (THD+N=10%)
» SNR >= 75dBA
» Input Sensitivity: 800mV +/- 50mV; AUX 500mV +/- 50mV
» Dimensions of 11.5×5.8×2.4 inches (WxHxD)
» Weight: 1.1lbs (0.5kg)
The first con I noticed about the product was that were we no physical buttons for volume control, and after I realized how the volume was controlled, I really wished that there were simply “+” and “–” buttons on the device itself. The volume adjustment for this device is quite unique, but not necessarily in a good way. To increase volume, you press the button found on the right side of the speaker – the increase rate is 2% per click. Now, to decrease the volume, you have to press the button and rotate it as well – this got quite uncomfortable when I had to reduce the volume from drastic volumes such as 90% to 20% or similar.
A few other cons about this product that I noticed is that for one, it is not wireless. Nowadays, everything is shifting to the wireless world, and we hope that Edifier sees this movement and goes wireless for the products successor. Another thing I want to touch up on is the fact that there is no option for batteries. This again goes hand in hand with the wireless option. Otherwise, I felt that this product had a solid build and high-quality feel to it for a decent price point.
Unfortunately you cannot use these speakers without a USB power source close by, and as a result, I feel that this does not make it as “portable” as it could be – but it is still portable nonetheless due to its small compact size.
Configuration & Setup:
Getting to use the product had me confused at first. I assumed that both the USB and auxiliary cable included had to be used simultaneously, so I plugged both into the laptop and got no sound. Then after looking at the instruction manual I realized that if I use the computer for music, I only need the USB connected, so as soon as I took out the auxiliary cable, I could head my music playing from the speakers!
When plugged into your computer, the appropriate drivers will automatically be installed and you can adjust the volume from your computer as well. If you are a Mac user, there is a special sheet included with the product which will guide you through the installation process on your computer for the speakers to work.
Performance:
Wow. That was my initial reaction to the sound of the speakers. These are very powerful speakers and I am surprised to see them in a portable device at this price point. Most of the time when you buy portable speakers, you will come across some that either don’t go very loud, or have a very hollow sound to them. However, this is where the Soundbar differs. It has a solid bass sound and the maximum volume was truly amazing. I initially had the volume set on max when I first setup the product, by accident, and literally jumped out of my seat with the sound once music started playing. I can’t stress enough how impressed I am with the sound from these miniature speakers that can literally fit anywhere on your desk/setup due to its portable nature. They seem to go well with my laptop as the fit perfectly in between my laptop JBL speakers!
Overall:
Apart from the cons listed about the product, I was satisfied with it. The price point I feel is ideal for casual users and students alike. The sound quality and volume from these speakers are amoung the best I have heard from a portable device or from computer speakers (without a subwoofer). I would like to see things mentioned about (better volume control, wireless, battery-powered) in future versions of this product and I feel it has potential to do very well in the market.
Rating Breakdown:
Material Quality: 95%
Specifications & Features: 70%
Configuration & Setup: 100%
Performance: 100%
Overall: 91%
Purchase the Edifier MP250 Soundbar USB Portable Speakers Here
We would like to thank the developers of Edifier for providing us their product for this review.
All trademarks are copyrights of the respective owner. All rights reserved. © 2011 ECE PlayGround.
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your review is very helpful in that too would have set it up the way you did and then got no sound lol. i dont like reading all the manuals so these tips are very handy, i agree with your cons in that it is not wireless, but if the sound is as you say it sounds like it would be well worth that not being a feature, i sure would love this now!! And if you saw the speakers i use now, these look like a huge upgrade
To improve your article, perhaps you could have a youtube video of the unboxing,installation and a demonstration of these speakers. From the video we could tell how they sound compared to your standard speakers if you were to compare them. Also, in the video you could show how they are installed to the computer for those who may be confused on that aspect;nonetheless, it’s a well written review.
I’m no journalist, but to improve your article, I’d suggest some lens cleaner, lens cloth, lots of bright white lighting and a few yards of neutral matte background material for the photographs. You want the product images to pop out!
A better camera/higher res and not blurry pictures (close the windows and turn on a lamp)
Possibly a youtube video or some sort of you unboxing it, so we can see the size of the speakers and whatnot
spaces between paragraphs, wall of text is hard to read
“I could head my music playing from the speakers!” typos : head supposed to be hear?
comparisons to other speakers in the same price range
The main suggestion is too use a better camera.
Great article, the only suggestion is better pics.
Pictures needs to be better. They need to be clearer. Pictures should also be taken on a white background with a lightbox or with white cardboard.
A very enthusiastic review! My suggestions were already commented on – typo in the Config & Setup paragraph, and blurry photos. Thanks!
Pictures need to be better and explain terms such as ‘Power Output: RMS 2Wx2 (THD+N=10%)’ better?
Poor Picture quality. Overall decent job.
First of all, as mentioned already, a better camera should be used for sharper pictures. Next the use of videos would come in handy to give a basic idea of set-up and performance of these speakers. Lastly, since these are portable speakers, I believe a comparison shot with a hand or something people can relate the size to will definitely help give readers an idea of how big they are without having to bring out a measuring tape or ruler (the current laptop picture does not do justice since the size of the laptop was not mentioned and varies from make to model).
First of all, as other have previously stated, the picture quality needs to improve to properly demonstrate what the product looks like during unboxing, set up, etc.
The overview section of the review is nice, but one of the changes i would like to see is a concise ‘pros/cons/bottom line’ type of summary at the top as well. The reason for this is that it gives the reader a quick look at what to expect from the article. It could also save the reader some time if there is a specific con that deters their interest. see http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2249937,00.asp for a better idea of what i mean.
You’ll definitively want to take higher quality pictures. Also in the beginning of the article, I don’t find it necessary to have a picture of the front and back of the box. The front is enough, especially when it’s impossible to read anything on the back of the box from the pictures.
A list/summary of pros and cons at the beginning of the article would also be nice. Basically not everyone wants to read entire/in-depth reviews. So having a small section where people can get a quick overall review of the product would be helpful. Then if they are interested they can continue to read the in-depth stuff. Maybe also moving the rating breakdown to the top.
I won’t re-mention some of the other stuff people have said, there are definitely some areas for improvement but overall a good article.
My suggestion: Change the lime green font near the bottom, it’s barely readable. (Hope nobody mentioned this, I skimmed the comments)
Yeah, I gotta mention the picture quality even though almost everyone else has said it already… but I also do photography as a hobby, so it’s something I have to point out. :p
Other than that, it’s a pretty nice article in my opinion. Well informed and descriptive, yet brief. I think I’d like to have seen some sort of video/bigger picture spread of the volume mechanism personally, since that was the one “big” flaw that you guys mentioned was while innovative, rather awkward to use. And since it’s so innovative, it’s quite possibly something most people haven’t seen before and can’t envision properly.
use better lighting on the pictures
Great text in your article. I am a big visuals person, so some things I found:
-next time ensure that your photos aren’t blurry, and include captions under the photos
-the green was a bit too bright for my eyes
Create a summary list/chart of pros and cons at the end of the article.
To be honest pictures are what makes an article for me. Good pictures of featured product and almost always read on. Get a better camera to take pictures of the product featured. They seem a tad blurry and not vibrant at all. To me a less professional looking picture seems like less thought was put into it(not saying your review is this way just a generalized first impression one gets)
Like most other posters, the image struck me as amateur’ish… Some are too bright and every one of them is blurry. I would also replace the lime green with another color- any other color.
I would suggest the review of different types of music playing through the speakers. I have always been an avid music listener and the first thing that I will do when interested in purchasing any type of audio equipment is to look at reviews of how the device sounds specifically for my type of music. It is a speaker system so a more in depth analysis of the sound quality when listening to different genres of music like classical vs pop vs rock would definitely help any potential buyers in deciding if this product would be good for them. Some speakers I have sampled sound excellent with rock due to better treble response but terrible with pop or rap due to poor or muddy bass reproduction. In a world of disposable consumer goods it is nice to know that the 50 or so dollars spent on this soundbar will be a good investment for a few years for your choice of listening.
Picture says a thousand words..
Get better quality pictures. Would be nice if you could click the images to see larger ones. And since this is a speaker review, a recording of the output sound quality would be nice (compared against a baseline that is).
…oh, and a tripod will also help with picture clarity. You’d be surprised the difference it would make, even with a so-so camera and lens.
Hey, this is a decent review, but I do feel there are some significant improvements that could place these reviews a tier above the current A-list of speaker review sites.
Most significantly, I feel like the writer of this paper clearly has a good understanding of high quality audio, but the review does not reflect that. Although these speakers are probably great, the constant use of “wow,” and other phrases makes it sound like the writer has never heard a decent set of speakers before. I would personally respect the review a lot more if it sounded like the author sounded like he had some experience with quality audio products.
Furthermore, I would really appreciate a solid break down in your performance category – explaining the frequency response in detail, testing procedures (did you use music, movies, etc.? which genres?), and where these speakers shine in terms of use (are these speakers best suited for audiophile ears with an accurate response, or are they speakers for the equalized response for bass lovers?)
These may seem like picky points, but these are the differences that draw readers to the larger review sites. I think all the ingredients are here, its just a matter of perfecting that recipe!
Just wanted to apologize for the long comment!! I know that you only asked for one tip, but I couldn’t help myself
Hopefully those tips come in handy!
The photos in this review seem out of focus and blurry, clearer and sharper product photos would greatly enhance this review. It would also be nice to mention the length of the cables that were provided with the product.
yo dude,
theres no frequency range,
is it 80 – 18 khz? also the ohm and the watt power,
i only saw the signal noise ratio…
also nobody reads online reviews nowadays,
just the specs and a youtube video testing em out.
Unboxing is too cheezy unless its speeded up 2X.
but really, who wants to see an unboxing?
and yeah the pics are lo fi..
but overall pretty good review, these are for normal music peepz, not FLAC music lovers or producers.
- dude who really needs speakers :3
LordX3NU@live.com
Better quality pictures would help this review.
More in depth analysis of the features.
You definitely require clearer pictures of the product. The use of the “light green” font in the Rating Breakdown section is difficult to read.
I would suggest you use any other font colour besides the green.
I would suggest better photos. These ones bothered my eyes. I think they were a bit blurry? Not sharp, not as clear as they should have been. I think that the color of them might have been off a bit. I am not a photographer but these didn’t stand out in a positive manner but a negative one. Perhaps someone that is an artist could suggest what colors the photos should have been in, that would be better than what i have seen here
Pictures were quite poor. A tripod+cable release or self timer will go a long way to help prevent the blurriness. In the photo of the speakers on the laptop, turning the laptop screen off would take away the flare that obscures the view of the speakers you are reviewing.
The pictures seem to be slightly blurry or out of focus which may indicate that you have used too high of an ISO setting and not used a Macro capture setting. The use of a macro setting on most cameras should remove the blurriness and the lower ISO setting will remove the graininess. Better lighting and a white background like a bed sheet should also help the image quality.
The review was helpful in the product usage but was lacking in clearly defining the sound quality that the product exhibited. A more indepth analysis of the treble and bass response would be worthwhile and the use of different types of music genres would also be helpful to the buyer.
Another helpful bit of information would be directly comparing this set of speakers to another companies offerings in the same price range and use. Other soundbars have been produced by companies like Logitech and the potential buyer would be more informed with a direct comparison between the two.
As previously stated, the unpacking process is slightly useful but would have been better produced being quicker and not so tedious. The specifications that were given are also important and should be kept in future reviews and also a direct link to the companies specifications or user manual would also be beneficial.
Robin
The overall review of the product seems to be fine, a goodtv sound bar is also a good alternative.