CES 2014

Let’s face it, square and rectangular speakers are boring. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all, which is why I did a double take as I walked past the Edifier booth and spotted a row of colorful and stylish e25 Luna Eclipse speakers. How refreshing, though I had to admit the Luna reminded me of one of those egg chairs from the’60s, and in a setting right out of 2001: A Space Odyssey to boot.

Retro-futurism aside, I was impressed by the build quality of what turned out to be $200 pair of Bluetooth-enabled, powered speakers. Beneath the glossy exterior of each 8.75-inch-tall speaker is a silk-dome tweeter and 3-inch woofer, bolstered by a pair of opposing, vertically mounted 2 x 3-inch passive radiators that vent through a slotted opening.

One speaker houses the amplification and has a touch-sensitive panel for controlling volume and power and changing tracks (in Bluetooth mode); a small remote with volume and power controls is also included. System power is 74 watts: the tweeters get 15 apiece and each woofer gets 22 watts. When you’re not streaming tunes from a smartphone or tablet, you can connect the speakers to a TV or other audio source via an auxiliary minijack (cable included).