On the whole speakers tend to be quite dull-looking pieces of kit. There's no way you can level that criticism at the Exclaim Connect though, a pair of speakers which have rather unique style.
They feel nicely weighty, the upright parts are metal and the bottom ball-like segments have a smooth rubbery finish. They look like a piece of modern sculpture or something out of a 1950s science fiction comic.
Leaving aside the looks, these PC speakers also offer Bluetooth connectivity, making them a versatile choice for home or small office use. There are three-inch subwoofers in the base of each unit and two 1.5-inch mid-range speakers in the upright parts. The power output is 2 x 8W and 2 x 10W.
They come supplied with a mains power adaptor, a cable to link the two speakers together and a 3.5mm audio cable. The right-hand speaker is the master unit and has controls for power and volume on its side. There's a red LED behind the grille to indicate that the power is on which turns blue to show that a Bluetooth connection is active.
The speakers incorporate some clever technologies. Digital Signal Processing (DSP) claims to deliver active crossover frequencies and good tonal balance, even at high volumes. While Dynamic Range Compensation (DRC) technology is aimed at keeping distortion to a minimum.
A good thing about the design is that if you're using them on a desk they sit neatly either side of a monitor and the height of the units means that the mid-range speakers are in line with your ears. However, you do need to be a little further back than normal desktop distance to get the best effect. That said, the listening experience is good with a rich tone and decent bass, though there are no bass and treble controls so you’ll need to fine tune the listening experience at source. You do get a bit of distortion if you crank up the volume too high but it's fine at normal everyday levels.
It would be nice to have a built-in microphone to allow for making hands-free calls via Bluetooth, and some bass and treble controls would have been good too, but otherwise there’s not much to fault here. You can pay a lot more for speakers without getting significantly better sound quality and you’re getting that added touch of sci-fi style with the Edifier Connect.
The Exclaim Connect e10BT currently costs £78 on Amazon in the UK ($131.77 in the US) more detail is available on the Edifier website.