Edifier Stax Spirit S5 Planar Headphones Review

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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