Edifier Stax Spirit S5 Headphones Review: Great Sound, No Noise Canceling

Sports activities vehicles have a tendency to be much less widespread, and extra aspirational, than SUVs or people-carriers. Headphones with planar magnetic drivers are typically much less widespread, and extra aspirational, than headphones with dynamic drivers. In some methods, the explanations for this are very related. Planar magnetic drivers, which use skinny items of steel held between magnets—are a bit like sports activities vehicles: They’re designed for uncompromised efficiency. Like sports activities vehicles, they’re additionally trickier, costlier, and extra time-consuming to supply. They have a tendency to make the headphones that characteristic them greater and bulkier than the dynamic driver different, which is the one place the place my intelligent sports activities automotive/SUV analogy rolls right into a wall.

The broad level nonetheless stands. Planar magnetic drivers are typically the protect of specialist manufacturers and are typically fitted to headphones costing an excellent deal greater than these different designs that characteristic dynamic drivers. However nobody, it appears, has talked about any of this to Edifier.

Edifier was established in Beijing in 1996 and hit the bottom working the place loudspeakers and headphones are involved. By 2012 it had wholly acquired the commemorated Japanese headphone model Stax, which, when it comes to status, is a bit just like the time Fiat acquired Ferrari. (I promise, this would be the final of my auto business comparisons.) Now Edifier has launched a brand new pair of wi-fi over-ear planar magnetic headphones referred to as the Stax Spirit S5 which might be no greater or costlier than a few of the leading dynamic driver designs. They’re unbelievable headphones that carry music and movies to life higher than dynamic drivers can, and they’re nicely price contemplating for audiophiles who could in any other case have bought wired headphones.

That’s the Spirit

The Stax Spirit S5 should not, it’s price noting, Edifier’s first reasonably priced planar magnetic headphones to go wi-fi. The place pricing and specs are involved, with one notable exception, it’s onerous to dispute that they’re the corporate’s most formidable.

So sure, planar magnetic drivers: Not like the way more widespread dynamic driver different, which produce sound through a conical diaphragm pushed by a voice coil inside a magnetic discipline, planar magnetic drivers use a tremendously skinny, flat diaphragm with implanted wires. It’s suspended in a spot between two magnets that vibrate the diaphragm to supply sound. The magnets have to be large enough to cowl all the floor space of the diaphragm, which is why this sort of design tends to be greater and heavier than the dynamic different. It’s a extra power-hungry association too.

Within the case of the Stax Spirit S5, the diaphragm is a mere 2 microns thick and is embedded with the second technology of Edifier’s “EqualMass” wiring. By connecting completely different numbers of wires of the identical width in a symmetrical construction, uniform driving pressure might be achieved; the diaphragm will transfer forwards and backwards with the identical momentum throughout its complete floor, retaining distortion to a naked minimal.

The esoteric nature of their drivers apart, the Edifier Stax Spirit S5 characteristic most of what the market tends to demand on the worth. They use Bluetooth 5.4 for wi-fi connectivity, and because of the Qualcomm QCC5181 SoC they’ve codec help as much as and together with LHDC, LDAC, and aptX Lossless. With an acceptable supply of music, they’ll ship a lossless 16-bit/44.1-kHz decision, in addition to “lossy” 24-bit/96-kHz. AptX Voice is onboard in an effort to ship optimum name high quality, and multipoint connectivity is offered for the multitaskers amongst us.

Battery life is a really spectacular 80 hours from a single cost, and for those who’re negligent sufficient to expire of energy, a 15-minute pit cease will maintain you for an additional whopping 13 hours. In the event you’ve an Android device working Marshmallow or newer, Google Quick Pair is offered.

The USB-C socket on the suitable ear cup can be utilized for information switch in addition to charging the battery, and there’s a 3.5-mm enter on the left ear cup for a similar hard-wired goal. Edifier gives each cables within the S5 packaging.