Edifier R1700BTs Active Bluetooth Bookshelf Speakers 66W Review (2026)

Who these speakers fit

The R1700BTs suits a buyer who wants a self-powered stereo pair with the latest Bluetooth hardware Edifier offers in this line, rather than the older chipset in the original R1700BT. Rated at 66W RMS, it fills a medium room with enough volume for casual to moderately loud listening, making it a reasonable core for a bedroom, office or smaller living room system. Two pairs of RCA inputs mean a turntable with its own preamp and a second source, such as a CD player or another line-level device, can both stay connected without swapping cables. Anyone upgrading from the original R1700BT purely for sound quality should know the driver layout and power rating are unchanged, so the real gain is in wireless performance rather than raw audio output.

What changed and what it offers

Edifier equips the R1700BTs with Bluetooth 5.0 and Qualcomm aptX HD support, aimed at more stable pairing and better range than the Bluetooth version used in the original R1700BT. The speaker keeps the same 66W RMS rated output, a 4 inch woofer and dome tweeter per cabinet, and a wooden enclosure designed to reduce unwanted resonance. Two sets of RCA inputs let two line-level sources stay wired in at once, useful for a turntable with a built-in preamp alongside a second component. A sub-out port is also included, letting an owner add a powered subwoofer later if the two satellite speakers need extra low-end support in a larger room.

Living with it day to day

Setup follows the same pattern as most self-powered bookshelf pairs: connect a turntable's line-level output, a second source if needed, and pair a phone over Bluetooth for casual streaming, all switchable from the front panel or remote. Because the phono signal still needs to be preamplified before reaching these RCA inputs, a turntable without its own built-in preamp requires an outboard phono stage first. Bass and treble dials on the side panel allow tuning the sound to room placement, which matters since a rear-ported or resonant wooden cabinet can sound different close to a wall versus out in the open. Day to day, the improved Bluetooth 5.0 connection means fewer dropouts and a more consistent pairing experience streaming from a phone compared with the original R1700BT.

Trade-offs and how it compares

Against its own predecessor, the R1700BT, the R1700BTs offers a genuine but incremental upgrade, since the driver layout, cabinet size and power rating stay the same while only the wireless hardware and input count improve. Edifier's R1855DB adds an optical digital input for a different connectivity option, appealing to a buyer who wants to connect a TV or digital source alongside a turntable. The Klipsch The Fives sit well above this price point with HDMI-ARC and a more premium finish, while the R1280T offers a simpler, lower-power wired alternative for a tighter budget. For someone choosing fresh rather than upgrading from an older Edifier pair, the R1700BTs is the more future-proof pick between the two R1700 models.

Verdict and who should pick something else

Scoring 8.4 out of 10, the R1700BTs earns its place as a dependable, self-powered bookshelf pair for a turntable-based system, particularly for anyone buying fresh rather than deciding whether to upgrade from an existing R1700BT. Its updated Bluetooth and dual RCA inputs add real convenience without changing the core sound signature Edifier has refined across this line. Existing R1700BT owners satisfied with their current wireless performance may not find enough here to justify replacing a working pair, while anyone shopping new should default to this updated version over the older model at a similar price.

Frequently asked questions