Two years ago, we told you how Edifier entered the world of planar magnetic headphones with its Stax Spirit S3a device that left a good taste in our mouths thanks to its great sound quality, high-end components and a price much more adapted to what we find in headphones with similar characteristics.

The brand has inherited the best of this model and added small improvements and now presents its own Stax Spirit S5a continuous model, which is nevertheless worth paying attention to from the design itself.

The headphones have been enlarged to make them more comfortable and add another layer of insulation. Aesthetically, it abandons the gold of the previous generation and the brand chooses a more moderate and elegant, but also more serious design. And if the S3 were recognizable from a distance, visually the S5 could pass for any other of the endless models on the market. This means that change is valued. Well balanced and with that slight increase in size we’ve definitely gained in comfort.

In addition to its Bluetooth connectivity (which is updated here to version 5.4 and allows data transfer rates of up to 1.2 Mbps), it retains the 3.5mm connector (a detail that the brand includes the cable ad hoc in the case) and its USB-C port, from which we can not only charge the headphones, but also use them as an audio port.

In the case, much more compact and portable than what we usually find in other models, we also find a 6.3 mm jack adapter. and two extra pads. All positive points for headphones that sell at MSRP 499 euros.

Hi-Fi audio also wirelessly

We often say that wireless headphones rarely live up to the expectations of audiophiles: nothing like a cable ensures that information is not lost “along the way”.

And even if that’s still the case, headphones like this one Spirit S5 They show that a lot has changed in recent years and that although perhaps the most demanding audiophile class is not yet within reach, they are getting closer.

In addition to Bluetooth 5.4, which now allows you to transmit audio with a frequency of 24 bits and 96 kHz, it includes the latest versions of codecs for processing high-resolution audio, such as LDAC and LHDC. That said, it’s important to emphasize that we won’t achieve this quality with just any team. A dedicated device is one that will allow us to continuously transmit lossless audio. Smartphone or computer… nothing much.

The good news, of course, is that we will be able to easily process even heavier files (if we have, for example, a DAC) thanks to its jack, which gives us flexibility that we do not find in headphones like Apple Airpods. Max, which allow us to connect them with a computer with a cable, but do not allow lossless audio transmission.

Another point worth highlighting, which also inherits from the S3, is its great autonomy. S5 Stax offers us up to 80 hours of music playback, It also includes fast charging technology that promises up to 11 hours of playback after a ten-minute charge. On the other hand, and while its passive noise cancellation technology is adequate, it doesn’t include active cancellation, which is missing outdoors or in noisy environments like public transport. STAX S5 The dual microphone and Qualcomm cVc technology are also newwhich dynamically reduce ambient noise and enhance the voice to ensure better voice quality.

As a supplement, Edifier puts it in our hands Edifier Connect, an application that allows us to update the firmware of the device, change the functionality of the button on our headset and change the sound profile depending on the earphones we use. It also includes a small equalizer that allows us to scroll between three preset settings (classic, Hi-Fi and Stax).

And do they sound better or worse than the S3? Apart from some bass-laden moments, the experience is very similar: deep bass, crisp, clear voices without hiss, offering a very balanced set-up throughout the dynamic range, without a hint of distortion at any time. Excellent quality based on the components it offers, like the second revision of EqualMass technology, which makes it go that little bit further.

Conclusions

More than a completely new model, the Edifier Stax Spirit S5 is a slight update of the S3 model introduced two years ago. We find big changes (if for the better) in the external design of the headphones and not so much in the characteristics, which are practically identical to the previous model, we update the drivers to the latest revisions and somewhat thin the magnetic field. diaphragm.

With that in mind, and the fact that it’s still possible to find S3s on the market for almost half the price, it’s hard to recommend them to those on a tight budget, despite their undeniable quality in virtually every aspect.

In this sense, we lack a certain ambition on the part of the brand, which could have used this review and surprised us with some interesting novelty, such as active noise cancellation. This does not mean that even at its current price we have quality headphones on our hands.