Edifier bought Stax back in 2012 and has recently revived the brand. Today we check out the company's latest offering, the Stax Spirit S5, a pair of Planar Magnetic bluetooth headphones that are priced around £500. They feature a Qualcomm QCC5181 SoC, enabling support for the Snapdragon sound suite, alongside other high quality codecs such as LDAC and aptX Lossless. We find out if these premium wireless cans deliver a great listening experience…

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
00:40 What are Planar Magnetic headphones?
02:45 Additional features and technology
04:19 S5 specs and features
06:04 Real-world usage and testing
07:57 PC use
09:42 How about gaming?
11:32 App control software
13:01 Design and build
15:03 Closing thoughts

Specifications:

• Bluetooth – V5.4
• Bluetooth Range – 10m
• Audio Codecs – Snapdragon Sound, Qualcomm® aptX™ Lossless, Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive, Qualcomm® aptX™ HD, Qualcomm® aptX, LHDC, LDAC, AAC, SBC
• Sound Pressure Level – 94 ± 3 dB(A)
• Frequency Response – 10Hz-40kHz
• Battery Life – Around 80hrs
• Input – DC 5V ⎓ 2A

You can buy the Stax Spirit S5 headphones from Amazon UK for £499.99 HERE.

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Pros:

• Incredible sound quality.
• Planar magnetic drivers.
• Good battery life.
• Supports a wide array of high quality audio codecs.
• Comes with both lambskin and mesh cooling ear cushions.
• Includes a good quality carry case.
• Can be used wired and wirelessly.

Cons:

• Lacks active noise cancellation.
• A significant investment.
• Bass could be a little underwhelming for some users.

KitGuru Says: The Stax Spirit S5s deliver an incredible level of audio quality and clarity – the only thing missing is active noise cancellation.

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