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.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A partial product picture is placed at the front of the box along with the company, Hi-Res, Bluetooth and Snapdragon logos and the battery life.

At the rear we find two more product pictures, some of the product features and the bundle contents.

Once you remove the exterior, you'll find the main box which has the product name all over.

Almost the entire bundle is placed inside a nice looking hard case.

So, aside the STAX SPIRIT S5 and the hard storage/carrying case inside the box you'll also find two breathable fabric earpads (in their pouches), earpad removal tool, USB-A to USB-C cable, 3.5mm cable, 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter, regulatory compliance papers, statement of compliance paper, warranty paper and the user manual.

THE STAX SPIRIT S5

The hard carrying/storage case looks and feels premium and as for interior space it's plenty for the S5 when folded as seen above.

The 347g heavy STAX SPIRIT S5 are made out of plastic, aluminum, lambskin (for the earpads) and top-grain cowhide (for the exterior of the earcups).

Despite what you may have read elsewhere the STAX SPIRIT S5 is actually a medium sized model (not bad for a Planar model is my point).

The exterior of the earcups is dressed with top-grain cowhide and well, premium materials is always good to have.

Over both earcups we find long vents under aluminum grilles.

Under the right earcup we find the on / off / call / hang up button (center), volume up/down and next/previous track buttons, Bluetooth pairing / EQ / Game mode button,  USB-C port (charging/audio), activity LED and one of the microphones.

The 3.5mm audio port is located under the left earcup.

Left and right markings are as expected printed on the interior.

The earcups are not just foldable but can also rotate 90 degrees for easier storage.

By default, the STAX SPIRIT S5 earcups come with the lambskin earpads which you can replace with the breathable fabric ones found in the box.

The headpad is probably also dressed with lambskin.

Edifier has placed their logo on top of the aluminum headband.

You can extend the STAX SPIRIT S5 for around 4cm on both sides (8cm total).

Both the 3.5mm plugs and the 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter are gold plated.

For the most part I used the FiiO M15 and M11S music players to test the Edifier STAX SPIRIT S5.

CONNEX APP

The ConneX app is a one way if you want complete control over your STAX SPIRIT S5.

Main tab displays the current battery life, Hi-Res and Snapdragon compatibility (logos), used earpads, EQ selected and game mode.

You can of course choose what earpad you have installed (audio is tuned per type), the preferred EQ (3 modes plus custom) and enable/disable Game mode.

From the top right corner, you can access the settings tab from where you can read the user manual, assign commands to the buttons, adjust the settings of the wireless audio codecs, enable/disable multipoint, adjust the prompt volume, set the power off timeout, disconnect Bluetooth and repair the headphones and reset them to their factory state.

CONCLUSION

    I received the S5 just over a month ago and well, I've been using it ever since with a plethora of devices (not just with the M15/M11S music players by FiiO but also their M23 model, my SoundBlaster AE9 soundcard and the Xiaomi 14T smartphone which I've been testing as well). Regardless of connection (LDAC, USB or 3.5mm) the Edifier STAX SPIRIT S5 produced very detailed, accurate and crisp mids and highs with just the right amount of bass (not too emphasized) for me to end up using many FLAC tracks including pop, rock, classic and even some soundtracks. Depending on the track produced soundstage can be quite wide with great vocals, impressive instrument separation and resolution across the board but as expected not quite as open as with some open-back headphone models (wired ones). Needless to say, using the 3.5mm wired connection produced the best results but on one hand the app settings are not applicable when used like that and on the other well, if you want a wired model there are better ones out there at around the same price range (still having both wireless and wired connectivity should cover more scenarios). Battery life depends heavily on volume levels and of course the quality of the tracks you're listening to (more accurately the audio coded used) and so when LDAC for example is enabled you can simply forget the 80 hours advertised since they get cut quite a bit (using the same volume at all times I recorded just over 60 hours, which is still a great number). Unfortunately, even though the STAX SPIRIT S5 doesn't feature ANC thanks to the lambskin dressed earpads it's not a feature missed a lot (the fabric ones on the other hand make the headphones sound a bit more open-back). As for the dual ENC microphones they may not stand out in any way but they do deliver very clear audio on the other side so I can't ask for more.

    Cost is probably the only thing I didn’t particularly like about the STAX SPIRIT S5 since they currently retail for USD499.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 471Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). That’s not to say that the STAX SPIRIT S5 is not worth spending that much, the issue is with their lack of ANC and well, even from just a marketing/PR standpoint (although for some people it’s a very useful feature) some people may choose to look elsewhere because of it (so I do hope Edifier can look into pricing). With that out of the way I really have nothing bad to say about the STAX SPIRIT S5, audio performance and battery life are both great, comfort levels are high, wireless and wired connectivity is always good to have, build quality is pretty much excellent and the ConneX app is extremely useful and so giving it the Platinum Award is a given.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality (Aluminum/Lambskin/Top Grain Cowhide)
- Impressive Audio Reproduction (Lows/Mids/Highs/Soundstage)
- Hi Resolution Certified
- Qualcomm QCC5181 (Snapdragon Sound Technology / Low Latency)
- Dual Noise Cancelling Microphones
- Features (Google Fast Pair / 4 Available EQs / Game Mode / Multipoint)
- Wireless Audio Codec Support (LDAC/LHDC/aptX HD/aptX Adaptive/aptX Lossless/SBC/AAC)
- Wireless & Wired Connectivity (Bluetooth v5.4 / USBC / 3.5mm)
- Exterior Earcup Controls
- Foldable / Rotatable Earcups
- Battery Life (Up To 80 Hours)
- ConneX App

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Lack Of ANC