INTRODUCTION

    One of the things I've always liked about the electronics industry is that no matter what you're using right now something better is not that far away. It doesn't matter if we're talking about CPUs, GPUs, RAM, motherboards, mice, keyboards, LCD monitors, TVs, projectors, speakers, headsets, everything gets surpassed sooner rather than later. Yes, to some people this may actually be rather annoying (lower resale value) but if we take a look at the larger picture this is best for all of us (even price cuts of previous products benefit people). The latest example I have is headphones and well, after using the SONY WH-1000XM5 and the BOSE QuietComfort ANC models almost daily for the past 2 years or so today I might have found their replacement since Edifier send over their latest STAX SPIRIT S5.

    Edifier specializes in premium sound systems that showcase technological innovation and design elegance, delivering outstanding audio experiences through a wide range of headphones, speakers, and music systems, for personal entertainment and professional excellence. Established in May 1996 in Beijing, Edifier is the brainchild of a small group of enterprising music lovers. Over the past 25 years, Edifier has been guided by the “passion for sound” principle, which helped the brand emerge as a world-class designer and manufacturer of award-winning sound systems. Today, Edifier serves audio lovers worldwide through its distributors in over 70 countries, with operations in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

    The STAX SPIRIT S5 are based around two Planar magnetic drivers (Hi-Res certified / 89x70mm / 10Hz-40kHz frequency response) which Edifier has paired with their 2nd Gen EqualMass Wiring Technology (reduces harmonic distortion to almost zero) for optimal audio performance. Inside the STAX SPIRIT S5 we also find the QCC5181 premium single-chip audio platform by Qualcomm (Bluetooth v5.4, ultra-low power, Kalimba programmable DSP, Snapdragon Sound technology and support for TrueWireless Mirroring, Multipoint, LE Audio and Auracast broadcast audio, and Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation), dual microphones (aptX Voice with cVc 8.0 ENC) and an 1500mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery (up to 80 hours of battery life). The STAX SPIRIT S5 achieves end-to-end Bluetooth latency as low as 89ms (gaming mode), supports quick pairing via Google Fast Pair, can achieve a maximum wireless bit rate of 1.2Mbps and 24-bit/96kHz resolution and fully supports the LDAC, LHDC, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, SBC and AAC audio codecs. Finally, the STAX SPIRIT S5 also feature wired connectivity via 3.5mm and USB-C and work flawlessly with Edifier's ConneX smartphone/tablet app.