Edifier's new bluetooth speaker - MF200 - is an interesting soundbar solution shaped like the famous Toblerone chocolate bar - yum yum!

The Edifier MF200 enclosure  is made of anodized aluminum with a front facing metal grille mesh, concealing two full range 4W drivers with a total 8W RMS output. There aren't any side mounted passive radiators on the MF200. User controls consists of a capacitive touch volume slider and play/pause control located on the front far end of the MF200 speaker. There is also a physical plastic button knob (mounted on the side) for power and input mode switching. The button knob integrates a status led ring to indicate battery and input mode (bluetooth/aux/USB-C). 

The physical button knob has a satisfying clicky actuation and the MF200 capacitive touch slider volume works but it's "swipe-based" rather than touch sensitive like on on a pair of touch control earbuds. This means, you have to swipe up and down, which is a problem due to the volume slider not being long enough to allow you to gradually adjust volume. This makes controlling volume not as intuitive as touch controls or a physical volume knob.  

 

The MF200 soundbar has a USB-C charging port and 3.5mm audio port located on the opposite side. During audio playback, the status led will light solid red (USB), green (AUX) or blue (bluetooth) to indicate status. You will also hear an audible beep when reaching 100% volume.

On the bottom of the MF200 soundbar speaker, there are two grippy thin rubber strips that prevents the speaker from skating on a desk. The Edifier MF200 speaker can be used via USB connection, bluetooth and 3.5mm AUX connection. The speaker enters wired automatically as soon as the audio cable is plugged into the speaker, which is convenient. 

In terms of sound performance, the MF200 has a midrange/treble focus sound signature. It lacks passive radiators so, there is very little bass. Wired mode naturally delivers a higher resolution and native low latency. However, the volume level in wired mode is strangely quieter than bluetooth at the same volume. The MF200 speaker only supports SBC codec - no AAC codec and no low latency mode. The only advantage the MF200 speaker has in bluetooth mode is the volume output, which is twice as loud as wired at the same volume. 

The dual function USB-C port for charging and audio is a really neat feature that lets you connect to a phone via USB-C connection, as well as 3.5mm connection. Not many speakers or headphones on the market integrate a dual purpose charging/audio port. One of the few headphones are the Edifier W820NB headphones. Would have been neat if the MF200 USB-C port also supported a "power-out" function for charging external devices.

With most bluetooth speakers, the playback controls get disabled automatically when connecting via wired connection but not with the MF200 speaker. When connecting to a phone via USB-C or 3.5mm audio connection, you can control the phone's audio playback directly from the speaker. 

The Edifier MF200 measures 29cm long x 5.5cm deep x 4.5cm high and weighs 493 grams, which is about as heavy as the Oukitel WP19 - one of the heaviest smartphones on the market.

 

Accessories included with the MF200 are a 1.2 meters long USB-C male to male cable for charging and audio and a suedette cloth drawstring pouch. You can buy the Edifier MF200 soundbar speaker from Tech4. Check out the review of the Edifier MG300 soundbar speaker.