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The Edifier R1010BT product forms part of the company’s range of bookshelf multimedia speaker systems.  Available in a choice of black or, as in the case of my review system, brown, this Edifier R1010BT kit consists of a pair of bookshelf multimedia style speaker units and various connection leads plus mini booklet style documentation regarding the set up and use of the product.

Constructed of MDF (medium-density fibreboard) with solid wooden side panels, in the chosen colour, the two speaker units have dimensions of 6in x 9.5in x 7in (W x H x D).  Rounded edges, and a bevelled slope at the top front, give the speaker units an appealing look that should suit numerous locations within the home environment.  By detaching the removable front panels, an approach that some favour but not by myself, you reveal the Bass and Treble output speakers to give a different look to the product.

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Connection options are located on the rear of this combination of passive and active speakers.  While the passive speaker just contains a pair of spring clips for easy attaching the connecting leads, the active speaker’s back panel is more heavily populated in this respect.  Permanently attached to the rear of the active speaker is the power lead that makes the unit active.  This lead gives you approximately 160cm of leeway when positioning the unit in relationship to a power point, unless of course you opt to use an extension lead.  In company with the power lead is an on/off switch.  There are also knobs for adjusting Bass and Master Volume levels as required.

 When connecting the two speakers together you need to use the supplied lead.  The colour coded (black and red) lead for linking the two speaker units together allows for a separation of approximately 250cm, thus giving a reasonable delivery and audio spread.  The rear of the active speaker has physical connections for attaching two input stream, from analogue audio devices, using RCA sockets.  Appropriate leads are provided in the package to help facilitate the connections of the two devices.  This dual connection facility allowed me to attach an iPod Classic and an MP3 player using the supplied 3.5mm dual RCA to 3.5mm jack plug audio connection cable and a 3.5mm (female) to dual RCA adapter.  Admittedly I had to supply a standard 3.5mm audio lead to complete the latter connection.

This speaker system does not just limit you to the physical RCA connection options.  There is also support for Bluetooth connectivity. It is possible to simultaneously pair two different devices with the R1010BY speaker system using the Bluetooth route.  In order to carry out this task, you will need to switch the active speaker into Bluetooth mode by pressing the Master Volume knob.  As a result of this action, a blue light will appear on the front of the speaker to indicate that Bluetooth is active.  When not in Bluetooth mode, this small light will glow green.

While it is possible to have two separate devices paired with this Edifier speaker system simultaneously via Bluetooth, this does not mean that the Edifier product will accept the two streams of audio at the same time.  When I attempted this dual streaming approach, the result was a continuous break up of the signal.  Instead the two devices can take it in turns to provide the audio as different users select their favourite music for everybody to enjoy.

As usual with Edifier speakers, I found the audio quality to be of a reasonable standard using a variety of devices connected via Bluetooth and the RCA route.  A remote facility for controlling the volume level and switching between modes would have been appreciated but this would have resulted in a price increase.  This product is available reasonably priced at £79.99 and available from various sources.

http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/r1010bt-simple-bluetooth-bookshelf-speakers