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As the best small-format active speakers go, the Edifier S880DB MKII are pretty swell. They go toe-to-toe with a great many other low-to-mid-range hi-fi pairs, thanks to a prodigious array of forward-thinking inputs both analog and digital. There’s also a subwoofer output to fully extend the practicality of these little (and surprisingly loud) actives, and a gesture-controlled remote puck to access a bunch of different functions, from input switching and volume control to handling various EQ sound profiles.
Excellent as the S880DB MKII are on paper, between their swish aesthetics and versatile, future-friendly control options, small frustrations abound with the remote control’s reaction time and bass-representation issues inherent to the small-bookshelf format.
These frustrations are just that: small. But they’re made all the larger when other active speaker models in Edifier’s roster, namely the excellent MR5 monitors, are simultaneously cheaper and better-performing.
Ultimately, though, the Edifier S880DB MKII do a lot of things right, and as many things well. I’m thusly inclined to score it kindly, in recognition of what it’s achieved over what it’s competing against. After all, it’s a MKII, and well and truly a well-upgraded successor in a competitive niche.
(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Edifier S880DB MKII review: Price & release dateEdifier is a key figure in the budget audio space, with a pretty wide-ranging roster of audio bits and bobs that punch well above their figurative weight. I can prove it, too: I was happy enough to review Edifier’s new MR5 monitor speakers some months ago, and happened to think mighty well of their performance (and even mightier of this performance against their frankly astonishing budget price point).
These speakers, though, exist in a different paradigm to the musician-oriented active listening monitors that the MR5 very much are. These are the Edifier S880DB MKII, a second-gen successor set of multidisciplinary active bookshelf speakers that ably straddle a broad set of use cases. Bedroom hi-fi system? Small desk-friendly active monitors? Subsidiary speaker set for your small cinema system? Why not!
This versatility is courtesy of some powerful internal amplification, some smart user-friendly features, and some future-friendly upgrades that make them more able (and better-sounding) than ever before. But do they make the grade, and do their updated features do them justice?
(Image credit: Future / James Grimshaw)Edifier S880DB MKII review: SpecsType
Active
Tweeters
1.25-inch titanium diaphragm dome tweeters
Woofers
3.75-inch long-throw aluminum diaphragm mid-low drivers
Frequency response
50Hz - 40kHz
Inputs
RCA-in x2; USB-C; Optical; Coaxial
Outputs
3.5mm TRS subwoofer out
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.3; LDAC, SBC
Output (total)
88W RMS
Extras
RCA-to-RCA cable; RCA-to-3.5mm aux cable; USB-C-to-USB-C cable; 5-pin DIN speaker connector cable; remote control puck
Edifier S880DB MKII review: FeaturesThe S880DB MKII are a highly connectible set of small-form active bookshelf speakers, designed to settle suavely into a wide variety of different at-home listening scenarios. Being a successor model to Edifier’s OG S880DB, there’s a lot of familiar stuff in here. But that familiar stuff is part and parcel of a pretty comprehensive upgrade, that brings some improved acoustics and techy quality-of-life updates.
The biggest auditory updates come from the new drivers. The 1-inch titanium dome tweeter from the first model has been sized up to 1.25-inch, with a bigger voice coil to match. The mid-bass driver has also had a ground-up redesign, with the impact of more low end, any of which is a gift in small-format speakers such as these.
With their small size, large 88W RMS output and surprisingly broad frequency range, the S880DB MKII are excellent low-profile partners for a home office PC system – and they’ll slide just as effortlessly into a multi-faceted living room hi-fi or home theatre system, with especial thanks to an expansive set of inputs.
On the wired side of the equation, we have two separate channels of RCA input, a Toslink optical in, coax, and an all-new USB-C connection – the latter of which enjoys its own DAC architecture, so you can connect a laptop directly to it without any dongle-y jiggery-pokery. Sadly, this USB-C port doesn’t also provide the option of 5V power – when USB ports are a commodity at your desk, a spare port for powering peripherals (foreshadowing alert!) would be a welcome gift. Also new is a 3.5mm TRS output for optional connection to a subwoofer unit, giving what’s nominally a small-form set of active bookshelf speakers a great deal more oomph potential.
On the wireless side of the equation, the Edifier S880DB MKII are handily equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, up from the previous version’s 5.1, and now supports Sony’s hi-res LDAC codec, too. On-board you’ll find the requisite rear-mounted treble, bass and volume controls, and within, a set of five EQ presets for different sound profiles: ‘Classic’, ‘Monitor’, ‘Dynamic’, ‘Vocal’ and ‘Customized’.
A new 2.4GHz wireless remote-control puck eschews black plastic and clicky buttons in favour of a silver-and-white gesture-control surface. It senses your hand on approach, and can be used to switch audio inputs, access Bluetooth, control the volume and switch between the aforementioned sound profiles. Any and all changes are heralded by a cheery little vibration from within the puck itself. The MKII is also tweakable via Edifier’s ConneX app, which gives you access to the same controls as the remote, and a six-band EQ with which to customize the, er, ‘Customized’ sound profile.
A small OLED screen on the front displays the necessaries – defaulting to your current audio input, but also showing you volume changes and differing sound profiles as you cycle through. It’s subtle, but subtly futuristic. And I like it.
The Edifier S880DB MKII are loud, and impressively so for the format. I dared, hubristically, to test them at full volume while sat at my desk – a crime for which my ears paid dearly, and for which I undoubtedly owe my neighbour an apology bottle of wine.
When they’re not being loud, they’re being remarkably consistent. Whether listening via RCA-in or Bluetooth, there are no discernible shortcomings on the fidelity front. As for character, these speakers are decent all-rounders, but particularly and delightfully tactile in the upper register. Knik by Portugal. The Man is a delight of swishy cymbals, woozy guitars and stacked chest- and head-voice vocals. It’d be fair to say, generally, that the S880DB MKII speakers are extremely vocal-forward, a function of those tight mid-range drivers and titanium tweeters.
That overall handiness, bolstered by high-end tactility, trades off against an under-representative low end. Knik ends with an explosion of fuzzed-out guitars and blooming bass, all lost to a set of speakers that don’t have the stature to platform them properly. At least, this was the first impression I had of the S880DB MKII, predicated on an initial listen through the automatically applied ‘Classic’ sound profile.
Cycling through other modes revealed a decent wedge more boom on all fronts, the more neutral ‘Monitor’ mode immediately the most musical to my ears. The ‘Dynamic’ mode adds a little treble-y urgency, giving a little more love to transients in the process, while the ‘Vocal’ mode seems to target upper mids, doing exactly what you’d expect it to (with a little compensatory ducking of lower mids). Personally, I don’t see why the Classic sound profile is the default option, when it’s so clearly the worst of the bunch.
Better as the other modes sound, all bear out the same essential conclusion that bass isn’t the S880DB MKII’s strong suit – a fundamental truth of the speakers’ small form. This isn’t to say they’re entirely without punch, though. Across all EQ profiles, they’re tuned exactly as you’d expect a jack-of-all-trades hi-fi device, with plenty of presence for hi-hats, voices, and kick-drum clicks, the latter of which grab you enough to insinuate the oomph you’d otherwise miss much more dearly. And if you crank them, you get plenty of somewhat-indistinct bassy bloom from their ported rear faces.
Of course, Edifier are deeply aware of this form-borne shortcoming, and have even made adjustments towards improving it in this second go-around – including greater low-end extension and a new subwoofer out port. I didn’t have an active subwoofer with which to pair the S880DB MKII, but I’d wager that most potential buyers of such speakers don’t either. Besides which, I wouldn’t want to colour my straight opinion of these things with something ‘else’. All the same, it’s a credit to Edifier that they’re working with the size, rather than against it!
I oughtn’t have spent so long on the lower end of the S880DB MKII’s frequency spectrum, not when there’s so much to love a little further up the graph. Queens of the Stone Age’s Everybody Knows That You’re Insane is an explosive delight, jangly guitars and croon-adjacent vocals giving in to gratifyingly grabby power chords and pingy snares.
Getdown Services’ Blooze, meanwhile, is right at home on these speakers, with a boxy, idiosyncratic mix that attains a woolly, three-dimensional presence on my desk – and brings out the best of the S880DB MKII’s miasmic-bass potential in the process. These are truly some high-definition performers, bringing some densely detailed magic where it counts for most.
The Edifier S880DB MKII are incredibly pleasing to behold, with their two-tone, multi-textured, veneer-sandwiched visual design. There are two colorways on offer: one a black-and-walnut affair, the other a white-and-pine-y sorta deal. My review sample matches Nordic pine vibes with a leatherette finish to make something wholly more living-room friendly than other bookshelf-style speakers, many of which fall prey to the same sort-of boring anthracite proclivities, and stick out like lead-stained thumbs accordingly.
The OLED panel on the front runs the risk of being gaudy, but is understatedly smart in execution. It doesn’t clamor for your attention, and only ever shows you whatever you need to know at the time.
As for the practical side of things, it’s as easy as it could be to situate these speakers. Installation is simply a matter of connecting one speaker to the other via the supplied DIN cable, connecting power and making the various audio connections you require. The S880DB MKII have two RCA-ins, USB-C connectivity and Bluetooth 5.3, so you’re unlikely to struggle, though some may understandably miss the convenience of a HDMI ARC option for their telly systems.
Realistically, the biggest challenge you’ll face setting these up is sorting your wireless connections – but Edifier’s made that a breeze, too. You put the speakers in search mode by touching the dedicated Bluetooth space on the remote, and they pop up a moment later in your device’s list of available connections. That’s it. With Bluetooth connected, you can stream audio and access the ConneX app, which also makes messing with your speaker settings breezy as can bee…zy. [Careful now. Ed.]
The only shortcoming on the design front is the remote – and this is in spite of its relatively inspired gesture-control schema. Every time you go to use it, it needs a moment to wake up first; what could be a smooth one-touch experience becomes a couple of frustrated jabs before your request is recognized. It’s hard to design around this, since the alternative is that the remote’s battery drains so much quicker, but it’s still a minor hiccup in an otherwise butter-smooth setup.
If only you could wire it straight to the speakers via a handy 5V-powered USB-C port…
The question of value is a difficult one to answer with respect to the S880DB MKII. They’re undeniably an excellent prospect as desktop speakers or a small-room sound system, irrespective of their cost; their connectibility, ease of use and perfectly serviceable sound performance make them functionally excellent. But cost is relative, and something else entirely.
The RRP of these speakers is $449.99 / £335.99 / AU$595.99 – not a lot in a world of high-valued mid-range hi-fis and break-the-bank audiophile speaker systems, but still a fair whack to put down (even if what you’re getting is a completed integrated, powered audio system). It’s especially difficult to judge fairly when another set of Edifier speakers – the aforementioned MR5 monitors – are simultaneously cheaper and, to my ears, far better.
The question of value, then, is a question of what value you place on certain things: convenience, aesthetics, fit. The Edifier S880DB MKII are compact, easy to place, easy to look at and handily controllable with a wireless remote – all things that could justify a little uplift in price, but only to those of you that value them.
For me, this is hard. I genuinely like these speakers, and I think they’re pretty faultless for most of the things you reasonably expect from them. But when I enjoy another set of Edifier speakers far more, which cost quite a bit less, it’s difficult to say this is a good-value purchase.
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Fully kitted out, with six different input options and a new sub out for better bass; better speakers and internals than their predecessor.
5/5
Sound quality
Excellent mid-to-high-end communicators, with bright, clear and vocal-forward articulation. Bass is lacking in some sound profiles.
3.5/5
Design
Hard to fault aesthetically, they're unreasonably fetching on one’s desk. Easy setup but remote can feel laggy.
4.5/5
Value
Hard to say these are great value – if only due to the fact that Edifier have a much more capable, and cheaper, set of active monitors on their roster.
3/5
Buy them if...You value convenience
The Edifier S880DB MKII are hugely convenient active speakers, with a remote control that makes it so easy to switch between the wide variety of inputs – both analog and digital – on offer.
You like your speakers prominently displayed
My favorite thing about the Edifier S880DB MKII is the design. My pair were a dashing cream-and-pine affair, but the black-and-walnut dealies look The Business, too.
You want a fully representative soundstage
The Edifier S880DB MKII’s stereo image is great, but, despite its wide frequency range, it struggles with low-end representation. You’ll want to use that subwoofer output!
You’re not too fussed about a remote control
The S880DB MKII’s remote is a nifty way to access a bunch of helpful controls – but if you’re not too bothered about wireless control, Edifier’s MR5 monitors provide a lot more bang for a little less buck.
Edifier S880DB MKII
Edifier MR5
Kanto Ren
Type
Active
Active
Active
Price
$449.99 / £335.99 / AUS $595.99
$349.99 / £279.99 (approx AU$570)
$599 / £599 (around AU$1,199)
Tweeters
1.25-inch titanium diaphragm dome tweeters
1-inch silk dome tweeter
1-inch silk dome tweeters
Woofers
3.75-inch long-throw aluminium diaphragm mid-low drivers
5-inch woofer, 3.75-inch mid driver
5.25-inch aluminium concave cone
Frequency response
50Hz - 40kHz
46Hz - 40kHz
50Hz - 22kHz
Inputs
RCA-in x2, USB-C, Optical (Toslink), Coaxial, Bluetooth 5.3
Dual XLR, dual TRS, RCA, 3.5mm aux, Bluetooth 6.0
HDMI ARC with CEC, USB-C, Optical (TOSLINK), Bluetooth 5.3. RCA, 3.5 mm aux
Outputs
3.5mm TRS subwoofer out
3.5mm headphone out
RCA subwoofer out
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.3: LDAC, SBC
Bluetooth 6.0 (two devices): LDAC, SBC
Bluetooth 5.3: AAC, SBC
Output (total)
88W RMS
110W RMS
100W RMS
Extras
RCA-to-RCA cable, RCA-to-3.5mm aux cable, USB-C-to-USB-C cable, 5-pin DIN speaker connector cable, remote control puck, power cable
x1 3.5mm to 3.5mm aux cable, 1x RCA to 3.5mm aux cable, power cable
Remote control, 2x magnetic grilles, power cable, speaker wire, rubber feet
Kanto Ren
Kanto’s Ren speakers are a multiferous hi-fi delight, with a hugely musical sound profile and a peerless level of connectibility. They’re a bit pricier, but that extra cost gets you HDMI ARC as well as some nifty internals, nifty bass representation and even niftier living-room-friendly aesthetic.
Read more in our full Kanto Ren review
Edifier MR5
You don’t have to spend much money to get a set of Edifier speakers with more overall oomph. The Edifier MR5 active monitor speakers are aimed more towards music and music-making than the S880DB MKII’s broad remit – sounding bigger and bolder, but losing some small conveniences in the process.
Read our full Edifier MR5 review here
The Edifier S880DB MKII found their home on my attic office’s desk, as a primary pair of monitor speakers for my work setup.
They received audio via RCA-in, from my trusty Universal Audio Volt 4 interface; I also tested the USB-C input directly from my HP Pavilion 15 laptop, and Bluetooth connectivity using my Samsung Galaxy S23 FE smartphone.
Over four weeks, I rotated through some new and familiar artists on Spotify and in my personal digital music library, to get a feel for the S880DB MKII in different musical contexts.
First reviewed: December 2025
Read more about how we test at TechRadar
It was a surprise to many fans of Nanoleaf's popular smart-lighting products when the brand expanded into wellness, releasing a selection of devices including the Nanoleaf LED face mask and 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand.
Given its experience in making some of the best smart lights, it makes sense that the brand should know what it's doing when it comes to light therapy, and based on my experience so far, it’s best demonstrated by the new light wand.
Offering six treatments (anti-aging, acne, repair, soothing, heating and cooling), the Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand is a veritable facial in your pocket, clad in a stylish sage green and weighing just 201g. I’ve been using it two or three times a week for five weeks at the time of writing this review, and I can already tell that it’s working well for me, and that’s not just because the treatment itself is better.
SpecsWeight
201g
Dimensions
187 x 40 x 55mm (L x W x H)
Temperature
Heating Temperature: 38±3℃
Cooling Temperature: 15±3℃
Wavelengths
Red + NIR: 630nm + 850nm
Blue: 460nm
There are three key reasons why I prize my Nanoleaf light wand over and above the brand’s LED face mask, which I enjoyed, albeit with some reservations.
Firstly, the device is lightweight and very portable, making it an excellent travel companion. This is something I also appreciated about Nanoleaf’s silicone face mask, especially in comparison to the bulky and rigid Shark Cryoglow, and the handheld wand amps up the convenience by being portable enough to stash in a toiletries bag and lasting up to three hours on a single charge.
Each treatment lasts just four minutes, with Nanoleaf recommending two to three sessions per week, meaning the wand can comfortably go weeks without charging, too. It takes three hours to recharge via USB-C, so it’s plenty convenient even if you're traveling.
The second reason I’m drawn back to the Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand over its competition in the face-mask market is its versatility. To use the wand, you glide its light panel and metallic face across your skin in a circular motion, choosing one of its six presets depending on your needs.
Each preset is paired with a different combination of temperature, LEDs, and vibration, which I’ve detailed below. Each setting can be adjusted to one of three intensity settings, though I’d always recommend sticking with the factory settings.
Treatment
Light therapy
Temperature
Vibration
Intensity (default)
Anti-aging
Red Light + NIR
Heating
Y
3
Acne
Blue Light
None
Y
3
Repair
Red Light + NIR
Cooling
N
3
Soothe
N
Heating
Y
3
Cooling
N
Cooling
N
1
Heating
N
Heating
N
1
Much like the Shark Cryoglow, there’s a cooling element around the light panel, except here this effect can be used on your whole face rather than just your under-eye area.
Cryotherapy treatments can help to constrict blood vessels under your skin, reducing redness, puffiness and inflammation and helping to tighten pores and improve circulation; all things my acne-prone skin can benefit from.
However, it’s not just cooling that can maximize the benefits of light therapy; some modes instead utilize a heating effect, which can help to loosen debris and cleanse the skin, reduce tension and even stimulate skin regeneration according to some research.
Neither heating nor cooling is too intense, with the former reaching up to 42C and the latter at a lowest temperature of 12C, meaning both treatments can be enjoyed as a relaxing step of your skincare routine.
That’s an excellent segue into the final feather in the Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand’s cap, which is the fact that you can use it to apply products to your skin as part of your daily routine.
I loved starting my nightly skincare routine with a round of heating to help open my pores and clear my skin of the day’s grime, and relax myself for bedtime, applying my various lotions and potions and massaging them into the skin while treating it with heat, light and massaging vibrations.
Personally, I think this is what has made all the difference for me (and my skin!) compared to Nanoleaf’s LED-only face mask; my skin is a lot clearer, and after a slightly painful few days where it seemed my acne worsened and came to the fore, weeks down the line it’s settling and looking clearer than it has since I was using Shark’s Cryoglow every day.
(Image credit: Future)While I love these three benefits, none of this is to say Nanoleaf’s 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand is perfect. One major design flaw is that you should never look directly at these LEDs, yet it’s really easy during use to slip or misplace the wand and blast bright lights straight into your eyes. Of course this can be remedied with eye masks or keeping them closed, but I personally don’t find jabbing blindly at my face with a hard surface particularly relaxing.
Also noteworthy is that, much like the brand’s face mask, the light wavelengths on offer still aren’t quite within peak performance based on currently available scientific studies; its blue light emits at 460nm versus the recommended 415nm and near-infrared (NIR) at 850nm versus 830nm. Thankfully, though, red light bucks the trend with its 630nm output vs 633nm peak performance.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Nanoleaf’s product isn’t effective; it just means that more premium products that align more closely with scientifically backed peak-performance levels might be better, and the results more noticeable.
As I always caveat when reviewing these products, the science behind light therapy is still in its infancy, and my review experience can be described as anecdotal at best. Still, I have noticed some moderate improvements which, while non-permanent, are helping me manage my adult acne.
(Image credit: Future)Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand review: Price and availabilityAt its list price, Nanoleaf’s 6-in-1 LED Light Therapy Wand is an excellent budget-friendly alternative to a full face mask, and even offers some benefits that make it a better choice overall.
Even when compared to other skin-therapy wands, Nanoleaf stands out as a uniquely affordable offering. There are cheaper LED-only wands, yes, and there are similarly priced cooling/heating products at similar price points, but not many (if any) that can do both, and certainly not so affordably.
Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand review: scorecardCategory
Comment
Score
Value
At this price, it's better value than most (if not all) budget-friendly LED masks and most wands.
5/5
Design
Handheld, easily portable and stylish enough to leave out on your vanity.
4.5/5
Performance
Light wavelengths aren’t optimal but slightly improved upon Nanoleaf’s facemask, plus added heating/cooling features improve efficacy.
4/5
Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand: Should I buy it?Buy it if...You’re looking for a travel-friendly light-therapy device
Easily slipped in a travel bag and lightweight, this is an excellent travel companion and alternative to a bulkier or unwieldy mask.
You’re on a budget
The Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand is a great budget option, especially if you can find it on sale.
Don't buy it if...You want peak power and performance
With some of the light therapies falling outside of recommended wavelengths, you’re not getting peak performance from this mask, though it’s by no means bad.
You're nervous of eye strain
If you're really careful, you can avoid accidental blasts of LEDs to your eyes, but I found it hard to relax and ensure that I benefitted from the treatments without the occasional slip.
(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Nanoleaf 6-in-1 Light Therapy WandI used Nanoleaf’s 6-in-1 Light Therapy Wand for five weeks, primarily trialling its acne treatment, which is my primary skin concern. However I also used its anti-aging setting for a fortnight for good measure, having tried other products against which I could benchmark its effectiveness.
I’ve been testing beauty devices for four years, considering everything from product design and functionality to performance, affordability and any available medical research to assess their efficacy and value for customers. With this particular product, I considered everyday use-cases like travel, charging and beauty routines, researched optimal light wavelength compared to the product’s stated output, and the price and availability of the device to come to a decision on its overall score.
First reviewed December 2025
The Legal Accountability Project complaint, which has not been previously reported, states that it is based on conversations with multiple former law clerks.
(Image credit: Mark Lennihan)
A three-generation family in Maine set up a camera to capture their deer-feeding station. Thousands watch online as hundreds of white-tailed deer enjoy the food at Brownville's Food Pantry for Deer.