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

Sports cars tend to beryllium little common, and much aspirational, than SUVs oregon people-carriers. Headphones with planar magnetic drivers thin to beryllium little common, and much aspirational, than headphones with dynamic drivers. In immoderate ways, the reasons for this are precise similar. Planar magnetic drivers, which usage bladed pieces of metallic held betwixt magnets—are a spot similar sports cars: They're designed for uncompromised performance. Like sports cars, they’re besides trickier, much expensive, and much time-consuming to produce. They thin to marque the headphones that diagnostic them bigger and bulkier than the dynamic operator alternative, which is the lone spot wherever my clever sports car/SUV analogy rolls into a wall.

The wide constituent inactive stands. Planar magnetic drivers thin to beryllium the sphere of specializer brands and thin to beryllium fitted to headphones costing a large woody much than those alternate designs that diagnostic dynamic drivers. But nary one, it seems, has mentioned immoderate of this to Edifier.

Edifier was established successful Beijing successful 1996 and deed the crushed moving wherever loudspeakers and headphones are concerned. By 2012 it had wholly acquired the venerated Japanese headphone marque Stax, which, successful presumption of prestige, is simply a spot similar the clip Fiat acquired Ferrari. (I promise, this volition beryllium the past of my car manufacture comparisons.) Now Edifier has launched a caller brace of wireless over-ear planar magnetic headphones called the Stax Spirit S5 that are nary bigger oregon much costly than immoderate of the starring dynamic operator designs. They're fantastic headphones that bring euphony and films to beingness amended than dynamic drivers can, and they are good worthy considering for audiophiles who whitethorn different person purchased wired headphones.

That’s the Spirit

The Stax Spirit S5 are not, it’s worthy noting, Edifier’s archetypal affordable planar magnetic headphones to spell wireless. Where pricing and specs are concerned, with 1 notable exception, it’s hard to quality that they’re the company’s astir ambitious.

So yes, planar magnetic drivers: Unlike the acold much communal dynamic operator alternative, which nutrient dependable via a conical diaphragm driven by a dependable coil wrong a magnetic field, planar magnetic drivers usage a tremendously thin, level diaphragm with implanted wires. It’s suspended successful a spread betwixt 2 magnets that vibrate the diaphragm to nutrient sound. The magnets request to beryllium large capable to screen the full aboveground country of the diaphragm, which is wherefore this benignant of plan tends to beryllium bigger and heavier than the dynamic alternative. It’s a much power-hungry statement too.

In the lawsuit of the Stax Spirit S5, the diaphragm is simply a specified 2 microns heavy and is embedded with the 2nd procreation of Edifier’s “EqualMass” wiring. By connecting antithetic numbers of wires of the aforesaid width successful a symmetrical structure, azygous driving unit tin beryllium achieved; the diaphragm volition determination backmost and distant with the aforesaid momentum crossed its full surface, keeping distortion to a bare minimum.

The esoteric quality of their drivers aside, the Edifier Stax Spirit S5 diagnostic astir of what the marketplace tends to request astatine the price. They usage Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connectivity, and acknowledgment to the Qualcomm QCC5181 SoC they person codec enactment up to and including LHDC, LDAC, and aptX Lossless. With an due root of music, they tin present a lossless 16-bit/44.1-kHz resolution, arsenic good arsenic “lossy” 24-bit/96-kHz. AptX Voice is onboard successful an effort to present optimal telephone quality, and multipoint connectivity is disposable for the multitaskers among us.

Battery beingness is simply a precise awesome 80 hours from a azygous charge, and if you’re negligent capable to tally retired of power, a 15-minute pit halt volition clasp you for different whopping 13 hours. If you’ve an Android device moving Marshmallow oregon newer, Google Fast Pair is available.

The USB-C socket connected the close receptor cupful tin beryllium utilized for information transportation arsenic good arsenic charging the battery, and there’s a 3.5-mm input connected the near receptor cupful for the aforesaid hard-wired purpose. Edifier provides some cables successful the S5 packaging.