Edifier Stax Spirit S5 - awesome Planar Magnetic headphones!

[@KitGuruTech]

Please report spam as you see it, we always attempt to remove as much as we can... And let us know what's the most you'd spend on wireless headphones?

[@user-uv8qn1br8q]

499 is my max. These are expensive at 500. 🤐

[@NaveenOfficial94]

Stax have been well known for decades for electrostatic headphones, interesting to see Planar magnetic versions for mass market

[@UnitedAlgorit-el4hy]

Good info, didnt know that. googling now

[@stickyfingers9710]

Yes Stax 009 were epic. not much bass response, but amazing

[@Linuxdistro15-ih8ox]

Are Planar much better than standard dynamic headphones?

[@johnerikson2443]

@@Linuxdistro15-ih8oxthey can be. Usually give a good rock sound too. Surprised the bass was weak according to mat

[@hothardwareforthewin-he4fz]

I’d love to hear these 😢

[@JonathanPilson-mu3rg]

I love Edifier products. Got their speakers a year ago and they were such an upgrade over creative

[@Maxverstappenracing-dz3pt]

Yeah a lot of people say this !

[@rufusmctavish1164]

I remember the old stax - their electrostatic headphones were a classical and jazz music lovers wet dream. my grandfather had a pair, he died recently. this brought back some great memories for me.

[@KitGuruTech]

Thanks for sharing 👍🏻

[@Blake846]

These Stax Spirit S5s sound incredible! Truly the best headphones I've ever owned. 🎧✨

[@justinhowe8322]

The clarity and detail in these headphones are unreal. Highly recommend! 🔥

[@Andrew-ks7zj]

A lot of money, but they seem really well made, and I like how they have included a hard carry case, thats one thing I always end up buying

[@Raul-id9gp]

Just tried the Stax Spirit S5 and WOW, blown away by the sound quality! 😍

[@billy9245]

superb review mat, love how excited you got reviewing them, I like the red hot chilli peppers too great band

[@KitGuruTech]

So good

[@Hudson234]

Comfort meets amazing audio - Stax Spirit S5 are a game-changer! 🎶

[@fletcher3431]

If you're an audiophile, you NEED the Edifier Stax Spirit S5. Pure perfection! 🌟

[@FrankLeCross-fo5kr]

Did Edifer buy STAX? wow, I had no idea. Stax have been one of the biggest high end headphone makers for a very long time - more in the audiophile sector.

[@thetechdevil-jn1vo]

Yeah they bought them over. I was amazed too. Edifier must have some buying power

[@jameskane6273]

Awesome review, i might pick up a pair

[@KitGuruTech]

You could always buy them on Amazon and return them if they fail to meet your expectations

[@jameskane6273]

@@KitGuruTech Okay!

[@RobertWilliams776-c9k]

The software looks good, interesting to see a product developed by a gaming company mixed with a high end traditional style headphone maker.

[@KitGuruTech]

Thanks for the comment

[@RobertWilliams776-c9k]

@@KitGuruTech Welcome!

[@Ernest3834]

Wow had no idea what planar magnetic was, had to google it,. and went down a rabbit hole about headphone technology

[@bishopDavis2115]

Fascinating review, thanks kitguru for the overview and review, very good job

[@KitGuruTech]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bishopDavis2115]

@@KitGuruTech Yeah!

[@Austin023]

Not sure I could afford this kind of money for headphones, but fasinating to see planar magnetic technology

[@BlaiseMiller14]

They look great, this is how a headphone could be made - we dont need rgb and logos and bling everywhere

[@stefano8514]

I love edifier, good warranty too, one of my speakers failed and they really looked after me. one of the better chinese brands

[@KitGuruTech]

That’s good to hear

[@iskconpremi]

@@KitGuruTech Yes!!

[@huxley3775]

Finally, bring in the knowledge of a legendary company to make better headphones in the lower end, I am all for that

[@KitGuruTech]

It can only be a good thing right?

[@huxley3775]

@@KitGuruTech Yes.

[@domenico7561]

Too much money for me, but I love edifer stuff, hopefully they make a cut down version of this for around 300,. could still be good quality

[@weston1701]

Mat- good taste in music man ! bravo !

[@KitGuruTech]

Thanks mate - Gotta love a bit of Jimi!

[@weston1701]

@@KitGuruTech Welcome!

[@jamest484]

Great package that, even a hard carry case, some thing I always end up buying, that worth at least 50 bucks

[@nightcorepeter]

THe packaging is great, - hard carry case and they look fantastic - going to buy these for my birthday. Yes im treating myself!

[@KitGuruTech]

Enjoy!

[@nightcorepeter]

@@KitGuruTech Surely!

[@gaeljames6225]

Edifier are so dominant around the 500 market - both with speakers and now headphones

[@KitGuruTech]

They've not disappointed me too much with anything I've reviewed so far to be honest - Mat

[@gaeljames6225]

@@KitGuruTech Nobody would disappoint you if you give such great review lol!.

[@Linusfikfaps-ez2qg]

Good looking headphones. Hope they do well. Would like to see more coming out from this merger.

[@andrea8723]

Amazing headphones, just need to save up now.

[@Necromancerbob-zp7us]

Fair review. I’d like to hear this compared to a normal dynamic driver headphone

[@iamahappybunny7640]

Excellent ! Well done Edifier. !

[@KitGuruTech]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@mikepowell8044]

Great review Mat, thanks - been looking at these on Amazon now for a while

[@KitGuruTech]

Glad to help

[@iskconpremi]

@@KitGuruTech Thank You!

[@anthonyward4654]

They ticked all the boxes for me - lambskin cups, subtle branding, planar magnetic, software control if you want, and I like the steel headphone band

[@KitGuruTech]

Steel headphone band is always a great idea

[@anthonyward4654]

@@KitGuruTech Right!

[@GloriaCollado-iy7fj]

Thanks for the recommend for Alternative A2DP its so annoying you dont get to control the codec that goes over bluetooth.

[@ryanrichardson7285]

Weird the bass is underwhelming, planar magnetic is usually quite good at bass frequencies

[@allensmall5448]

Edifier are such a good company, a great move taking over a high end audiophile group to expand their knowledge

[@KitGuruTech]

👍🏻

[@allensmall5448]

@@KitGuruTech

[@Edward001]

If you like these Mat, try the Sennheiser Hd800 headphones, amazing

[@KitGuruTech]

I might check them out :)

[@Edward001]

@@KitGuruTech Great!

[@freddieholmes5581]

Where can you buy these? I cant find them anywhere, and I dont like using Amazon

[@kaylee.snyder]

This is awesome

[@ItsRaviGaming-ji2hu]

Planar magnetic - Audeze were the headphone company behind all that long ago. nice to see it being expanded into this market sector.

[@EstelleReyes-yg3qv]

Sounds like these are really good.

[@larwiemcdonnel5322]

Stax struggled for a long time. Makes sense Edifier taking them over and getting their engineers. Wonder if they will release a 1000 electrostatic set down the line 👌🏻

[@gogopowerrangers6596]

Good to see a fellow jimi Hendrix fan 👊🏻

[@KitGuruTech]

Are you experienced?

[@dreschaffhausen5693]

Music kind of ended around 2015 as far as I'm concerned. We have decent tunes every now and then but the whole bands era is just finished.

[@stevenbryant8445]

Sounds like an advert for Edifier ! so many superlatives ! surely they cant be that good.

[@KitGuruTech]

They are pretty good and not an advert

[@iskconpremi]

@@KitGuruTech Right!!

[@stevenbryant8445]

@@KitGuruTech Right!

[@buyingastairwaytoheaven5252]

these look really nice, I appreciate the understated look - hate all the flashing lights and logos on headphones we get now.

[@Necromancerbob-zp7us]

Yes it’s annoying I agree. More companies lose sales adding rgb to every bloody thing they sell

[@scarletartem5987]

Quite surprising we are still at 96khz as high end. We have had DACs that can do that for quite a while now.

[@Daniel-zl9im]

I was very keen on this, even if I cant understand some things this guy says, but if the bass is weak then I will likely pass and move on. I like good bass for music

[@sortingoutthebills-dy6td]

Really good review. Good taste in music too. Jimi doesn’t get enough love now.

[@KitGuruTech]

Him and John Frusciante are the two that made me first pick up a guitar many years ago :)

[@SrawanBarde]

Wonder if we will see other companies in the audiophile sector merging with game style companies to get into the mass market. interesting idea

[@pogologo]

Edifier thinking they are Corsair now and taking over other companies !

[@KitGuruTech]

😵

[@pogologo]

@@KitGuruTech

[@UnitedAlgorit-el4hy]

They need to release some kind of electrostatic headphone in collaboration after reading about all stax did in the past

[@KitGuruTech]

I hope so too - It'd be interesting to compare the two - Mat

[@Draakh]

I bet these sounded good with classical music - the seperation while not electrostatic level should be amazing

[@KitGuruTech]

Thanks for the comment

[@Draakh]

@@KitGuruTech Welcome!

[@browntrousersforsafety-el2bo]

Really impressed with this as a package. Expensive but clearly quality design

[@vijendrayadav9263]

I like the look of these, had good success with edifier - not me personally, but a few family members and friends. I dont really use headphones much anymore however, should get a pair again

[@KitGuruTech]

What would you go for if you were to pick up a pair again?

[@petererk8064]

Great plain-spoken review. Thanks! Unfortunately I don't play anything, but I love music and if I can't go to a live gig I live on my BT or wired headphones when out and about and our speakers when home. The best wireless phones I've heard and am lucky enough to own are the Dali IO12. Compared to them the Edifiers put up a good accounting of themselves and blow away any equally priced or cheaper sets. Subbed and thanks again.

[@KitGuruTech]

No worries!

[@PRAKHARFF2011]

I like Stax, never owned them, but I wondered where they had gone in recent years. saw Kitguru post they were bought over around 10 years ago - had no idea that happened

[@Praireboy-hg8ip]

these really do look great. Good value too imo

[@JulieDaniel-yt1sl]

Mats groove is in his heart at 5:26

[@KitGuruTech]

😝

[@VishalValvi-ts1is]

Sound staging is the best on these headphones - well not this particular set, ive no idea, but I heard the 009 before, absolutely incredible audio quality

[@JamesYoung24]

Given the price why wouldnt they offer native DTS:X and Atmos lossless codec support?

[@Wizard4SocialMedia]

Would prefer a decent pair of monitor speakers for that money.

[@seriouslyfunnyhumorblogspotjy]

Lambskin cushions are a nice touch plus that means it isnt some kind of awful vegan thing.

[@Jeffmorgan1991]

Would upgrade to them if they came with a charging dock or swappable batteries.

[@Krimicu-ci6cn]

Thanks for explaining why these cost more money. Need to give them a try.

[@KimberlyGilchrist]

Audio is amazing the amount of detail you can pull out of the same track if you are willing to spend the money.

[@dreschaffhausen5693]

Must be heart breaking for the audio engineers making these mixes knowing most people will never hear them properly.

[@powermaster5004]

Never heard of stax but after reading the comments I googled them interesting history

[@Simplyswish-xx6wr]

These drivers are really good if they are better than s3 they will be fantastic.

[@JoanTaylor-rx7yy]

Who here remebers the Loudness switch on 1980s hifi.

[@KitGuruTech]

That’s a blast from the past

[@MiddleofKnowhere]

Oh look a fellow Jimi fan. Cheers! :)

[@KitGuruTech]

Good taste !

[@lamedroid]

Were you able to review the main feature, aptx lossless at all? Ldac is usually not even used at its max capacity so to properly review this headphone, it should really be done at its max capacity using aptx.

[@BhupendraNetam-xz3py]

I would have ignored this review if I hadn't seen STAX in the name - when did Edifier buy Stax?

[@KitGuruTech]

Back in 2012 but they were dormant for a few years

[@canarychrome7012]

My father has STAX headphones and a STAX amplifier, cost more than my car did ! didnt know they were going into the PC sector as well. Have these companies merged?

[@KitGuruTech]

Yeah edifier acquired Stax back in 2012, they were dormant for a while but are getting active again in the last couple of years

[@lucifersheadscarf6988]

Had no idea it was so long ago. Is this their first headphone for pc market ?

[@KitGuruTech]

@@lucifersheadscarf6988 no there was a Spirit S3 as well that came out last year, that was about £300

[@johnnyr-518]

Another great thing about edifier is if you're willing to do grey market, you can find huge markdowns after a couple of months. The S3 can be found for 200 USD now. This is gonna be 300-350 USD after a year.

[@KitGuruTech]

Some savings there !

[@dantanimukesh5571]

Wow, I was not expecting this one today! Had no idea Stax had sold out!!

[@philipjfry628]

Planar speakers are very good for mid to high ranges. Think they kind of have a bit of trouble with bass.

[@KitGuruTech]

I guess it's something that can be semi overcome with a bit of EQ tweaking

[@sanle7515]

depends on speaker implementation, @philipjfry628 - a decent compromise is dipole / ribbon tweeters with normal cone-shaped woofers. With headphones, it shouldn't much matter - a good headphone amp should bolster high-energy bass material regardless of the kind of driver. ( though I've had non-planar , 'normal' headphones that were irritiatingly low on bass no matter what I tried - sold em)

[@philipjfry628]

@@sanle7515 Yeah thats the problem isnt it. Not enough room in headphones to put planar and a woofer.

[@Motoman679]

They look like they are built to the price, but still, this company have a huge name in the audiophile sector

[@KnightRider-lq5yb]

Seems like good headphones. I think Edifier struggle in headphone sector so this is smart.

[@hothardwareforthewin-he4fz]

planar magnetic in a mainstream headphone, maybe this isnt the first, but I am stunned to see that happening at this price. how times change.

[@Nghtmare30589]

I have the Audeze Maxwell, and the quality difference is insane compared to dynamic drivers.

[@KitGuruTech]

How do you find the bass response ? Nice and tight ?

[@WillieCato]

Good idea listening to Tidal they do have the best masters for streaming.

[@KitGuruTech]

They are good. Qobus is good too

[@nepalroy9482]

Good review mat, liked the enthusiasm, but they will have a tough time in this market, the 500 quid market has so many well known brands - I dont think the consumer space know stax too well

[@KitGuruTech]

Can’t argue there is a lot of competition in this space.

[@BarbaraPerry-mu1qm]

What is the audio path when its on wired? Does it go direct to the speakers from the amp?

[@DeborahBernal]

What the hell is the snapdragon sound suite?

[@4thofjuly-fk4oq]

I do like the subdued appearance. No lights and stupid flashing strips

[@KitGuruTech]

It’s nice to have options

[@Komar307]

I love these, the bass is always underwhelming with planar magnetic - 500 quid is a lot of money - you could argue they are in Sennheiser territory but if this is the same stax I know, bargain!

[@Shahazul-lslam786]

Its interesting to see planar magnetic now making it into the gaming/pc sector, its not really a design I would recommend for gaming - and I was interested to see Mat reporting the same in testing

[@KitGuruTech]

Yeah, they're overkill for gaming for sure - music sounds glorious through them though! :) - Mat

[@chirds9215]

I assume they are easy to drive? did you use a dedicated headphone amplifer to test?

[@KitGuruTech]

I didn't use an amp when testing - I'm looking to add one for reviews like this in the future. They sounded great when connected directly to both my PC and mobile both wired and wireless - Mat

[@rickgear2579]

Everyone tries to tell me PMD headphones are best. I realize my issue with headphones have been less about sound and more about comfort, which is why I went with the Sennheiser 490 Pro instead of the Audeze Maxwells.

[@KitGuruTech]

How do you like the Sennheisers?

[@rickgear2579]

@@KitGuruTech They sound great and are comfortable. I doubt planar magnetic would improve the sound all that much.

[@napoficial7123]

Very nice 👍❤

[@KitGuruTech]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@oliverh1920]

They are targeting these firmly in sennheiser territory now

[@KitGuruTech]

Always a strong challenger

[@oliverh1920]

@@KitGuruTech Strng challenger needed

[@AmaneGee-fb2ws]

Didnt know edifier could command this type of price range.

[@baliramgawande811]

Nice to see a company like Edifier keep the stax name alive, but I never though id see a high end headphone maker release a 500 bluetooth headphone for the consumer audience. its a bit sad

[@SonuSaini-ov1iw]

I just bought a Grado set for £140 ish,. amazing - cant see them being beaten by anything to be honest !

[@KitGuruTech]

Grado are great, do some very good budget friendly options

[@SagOpaOP]

Can u say the software for windows

[@festerleech4952]

How does this technology cope with movement? Do you have to be gentle with them?

[@KitGuruTech]

They feel well made in the hand. I've not tested them while running or anything like that though unfortunately - Mat

[@JogendraJena-ji4ch]

I like your reviews mat, I dont think testing these with red hot chilli peppers and jimi hendrix is going to help a lot of people - how can you enjoy rock if the bass is weak? im lost

[@DarwinBrookes-ss6on]

14:30 'A great looking pair of cans' - bet you say that to all the ladies mat !

[@KitGuruTech]

😂

[@goodshorts6456]

What price are they in USA? do you know? Cant see them anywhere

[@KitGuruTech]

Should be roughly $500 (I'll update if and when I hear more) - Mat

[@BetsyYoung-oi9vs]

Trying to work out what their intended audience is for this product. Is it gaming, hardcore audiophile or people who go around listinging to these massive headphones on the bus?

[@KitGuruTech]

Maybe a mixture of them all

[@aklxkiller]

My Edifier speakers - the right channel stopped working, Im trying to get them replaced via Amazon who are usually good, hope its not a problem

[@KitGuruTech]

Hope you manage to get the problem sorted 👍 - Mat

[@UnitedAlgorit-el4hy]

Edifier are one of the few chinese brands I like, - also Deepcool

[@Suraj_o2]

If they break? who do you get them replaced? Edifier I only buy via amazon as they are chinese. whats the warranty terms on them?

[@KitGuruTech]

Support would be provided by Edifier - Warranty terms depend on which country you are in - In the UK that is 2 years - more info can be found on their website