Aurora not-a-borealis

Introduction

We've covered lots of external speakers for computers in the last few years. Many of them have been from Edifier, who seem to be prolific manufacturers of speakers, and they generally don't make duds!

With the amount of media we're watching on our computers these days, a decent set of speakers (and your definition of decent may vary) is a must. Perhaps the Edifier Aurora will fit your bill, a stylish 2.1 mains-powered speaker system for your computer.

There are 2 parts to the set, a bass/woofer tube, and two little satellite speakers for the left and right. They should all fit underneath your monitor, or sit nicely on top of your desktop.

Operation

Pretty simple really. Unpack everything. Plug in to the mains. Plug in an audio source, either connecting it to your computer's line out or by connecting any external audio source (e.g. MP3 player). Sadly there's only one input jack, would have been nice to see two of them (one for computer, one for MP3 player).

Press the + switch on the right hand speaker to switch on and a little red LED triangle indicates power (it flashes when in stand by mode). The + and - switches also control the volume. That's all there is to it.

Sound Quality

As I'm continually saying when talking about speakers for computers or MP3 players, you must always remember that what you have is just that. It's not a KEF speaker. It's not a Mission speaker. It's not a "insert name of your favourite speaker manufacturer here" speaker.

Having said all that, it's a a very good little speaker set! The range of response is good, the bass is nice, the treble is good. Listening to anything from the computer gives very good results. From spoken word material (podcasts, radio comedy shows), to iPlayer and CDs or iTunes, everything sounds really good. Nothing really trips it up.

Using it with an iPhone also produced very good results - it would make a fine speaker for your iPad, iPod or iPhone, or any other MP3 player you may have.

Conclusion

A great little bit of kit at a reasonable price. It's another very good speaker system from Edifier, with nice bass response and a clear sound. You'll need another mains socket in order to power it, but the results are worth it - it's just so much better than your usual USB speaker.

If you want to improve the sound coming out of your computer, whilst looking stylish at the same time, this funky tube and its little round "ears" should do the job! You can choose from a range of colours too.

Recommended.