In our fast-paced world we always seem to be on the go, so finding things to do to help relax and unwind seem to be put to one side. Listening to music is an excellent way to help us relax and de-stress – different music types can help to calm your mind and relax your muscles while promoting optimism and positiveness. And when it comes to having a good listening experience, nobody wants to hear their favourite tunes through tiny tinny speakers, but on the other hand, nobody wants to be carrying big and heavy speakers around with them. The compromise is the Edifier ES20 Portable Bluetooth Speaker: a pocket-sized powerhouse designed to keep your favourite tunes flowing all season long, come rain or shine – it’s your ultimate portable travel buddy.
So what is the Edifier ES20? Well, it’s a compact portable Bluetooth speaker that impresses with its sleek retro design, old-school amp grill and great sound, all wrapped up in a matte rubber finish to provide a reassuring grip with a handy strap for easy carrying. Measuring approximately 9x9x5cm and weighing just 326g, it is easy to slip into a backpack.
This compact speaker, featuring a Φ43mm full-range driver with neodymium magnets and Φ55mm passive bass radiator, has 6W RMS total output power, is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance (making it perfect for indoor and outdoor use), has a high-capacity battery offering up to 15 hours of continuous playback, makes use of Bluetooth v5.4 with support for stereo pairing and multi-point connection and features a built-in high-sensitivity microphone so that when paired with your phone you can take and make crystal clear calls.
And the features don’t stop there. With its retro design grill, it also features a built-in ambient LED backlight. When switched on it bathes its surroundings with a gentle glow of alternating colours that sets the mood and enhances the listening experience.
Overall, I am really enjoying this compact speaker. The Edifier ES20 may be small but it is powerful, sounds good and is extremely travel friendly – perfect for having on your desk or throwing in your backpack to take with you – especially as it is has protection against dust and water (it is IP67 rated).
Making use of Bluetooth v5.4 it has simple connectivity that allows you to very easily pair with smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices and with its multi-point connection you can pair it with and stay connected to two devices (great for people like me that use it with different devices – phone and laptop). It even supports stereo pairing so that you can pair two of the speakers together for even more awesome sound.
After it has been paired with your favourite device(s) it is so simple to operate. It has a minimalist design featuring four buttons on the top which allow you to power on/off, change volume up/down, change tracks and cycle through the LED light options. With the aid of the free Edifier ConneX app, you have even control at your fingertips – you can change the mode for music, games, movies and outdoor mode, you have more control over the LED lighting effects or just use the preset configurations such as breathing, rainbow, static or glittering and colourful (you can even make use of a red emergency light) and you can adjust brightness levels, gain levels and even monitor the battery level.
But all that means nothing if the sound quality is poor. Despite its compact size, the audio quality is great and packs a powerful punch – it doesn’t sound tinny or low that you might expect from a small speaker. With clear mids, crisp highs and punchy lows it makes the listening experience a joy. And it has surprisingly loud volume levels that don’t get distorted, and you can even pair it with another ES20 for even better stereo sound.
With it being a portable speaker that you can use it anywhere, it replies on battery power. It doesn’t require lugging around of batteries or constantly changing them – it has an inbuilt rechargeable battery that provides up to 15 hours of continuous playback (dependent on the settings you choose to use: this is based on using SBC decoding, 50% volume and the ambient light off. With a USB-C connection it is so easy to charge – just plug in a USB-C cable and plug in to a USB outlet or your laptop. As mentioned earlier, the battery level can be viewed from the app (for a more accurate level) or as a visual representation using four small LED lights on the top of the speaker.
And with its built-in high-sensitivity MEMS microphone, when paired with your phone you can make crystal clear hands-free calls as it uses enhanced intelligent noise cancellation.
I love the Edifier ES20 for its quality sound and compact size – it is an excellent travel companion for my laptop, tablet and phone. Available in black or white for under £50, it is perfect for your portable audio needs.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £49.99
For more information, visit www.edifier.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.