Полочная акустика — Edifier Airpulse A80

The Airpulse A80 is the compact desktop-sized active pair in Edifier's Airpulse line, drawn up with input from designer Phil Jones and carrying Hi-Res Audio certification. Like its larger stablemates it pairs a ribbon tweeter with an aluminium cone woofer, but in much smaller boxes, and in the US it was listed at USD 699.99 per pair.

Key specs that matter

An aluminium ribbon, loaded by a horn, takes the treble, and below it a 4.5-inch mid-woofer combines an aluminium cone, a ferrite magnet and a 30 mm voice coil. Total output is quoted as 100 W RMS, split into 40 W per side for the woofers and 10 W per side for the tweeters. Airpulse gives a frequency range of 52 Hz to 40 kHz, and the noise floor is rated at 90 dB(A) or better. Connections comprise AUX, a PC input, USB, optical and Bluetooth 5.0, the wireless link using a Qualcomm CSR8645 chip with aptX decoding, and the USB port accepts sample rates up to 192 kHz. A cabinet measures 140 x 250 x 220 mm, and the pair weighs 9.3 kg together.

Engineering and use context

Digital processing is carried out by an XMOS XU216, a 16-core part from the xCore200 family rated at 2000 MIPS, and two Texas Instruments TAS5754 Class D amplifiers deliver the power. The mid-woofer is held in a cast magnesium alloy frame chosen for rigidity. Enclosures are made from 18 mm MDF with walnut veneer, lined inside with a waved absorption material, and vented through a port of oval cross section. Internal wiring uses audiophile-grade cable made in the USA. Treble and bass can each be adjusted independently, and input sensitivity is about 450 mV on AUX, 550 mV on the PC input and 400 mFFs on USB.

Pairing

A dedicated subwoofer output delivers up to 1200 mV, giving a route to add a powered subwoofer if more low bass is wanted than a 4.5-inch driver in a small ported box can supply. The USB and PC inputs make a desktop computer the obvious main source, while the optical socket suits a TV or games console and Bluetooth covers phones and tablets. A remote control comes in the box, along with speaker, USB, RCA and optical cables, base stands and isolation pads that tilt each cabinet up by 8 degrees - a help when the cabinets stand on a work surface lower than the listener's ears. In the US, Edifier backs the pair with a two-year warranty.

Alternatives

For more cabinet volume and power, the Airpulse A200 uses a 5.5-inch woofer driven by 55 W per side.