These Have 1 Killer Feature I Can’t Live Without - Edifier GX05 Wireless Gaming Earbuds Review

[@ThomasMuehler]

Some Clarification: 1. Who is the product for? I didn’t put it in words which I should have. I think for casual gamers, who enjoy earbuds, but don’t like cables, and who are looking near the entry level price point. Likely gaming on mobile devices over dedicated gaming stations. Likely they simply want a device that looks good, works well, is comfortable, and easy to navigate. Which is why I focused on more of the surface level details in this review over going more in-depth. Which I may have gotten completely wrong and misjudged. 2. I thought I explained this. Perhaps I didn't spend enough time explaining it. So to go a bit more in-depth. 2.4 GHz Wireless AKA USB Wireless Sound (via the USB-C Wireless Dongle) is different technology than Bluetooth. Yes, both operate in the 2.4 GHz range but vary in how they work. Simply put USB Wireless Sound gives superior performance as the bandwidth in comparison to Bluetooth is dramatically higher. With the bandwidth being higher it allows for higher fidelity of sound, some even claim lossless or uncompressed. Additionally, it offers drastically lower latency. Where depending on Bluetooth mode and connection can be >150 ms compared to 15 ms with USB Wireless Sound. The reaction time of our hearing is crazy fast so we definitely notice a difference. This latency is why a lot of the time when watching shows you may notice people talking is slightly off when using Bluetooth. Which is why I think these are game changing. As the biggest issue with "some" wireless peripherals are the limited bandwidth and the high latency which these resolve. However, USB Wireless can be prone to more interference and may not work from as far away. So tends to be more limited in that aspect. It also uses more energy which reduces battery life. Last, Bluetooth has a lot of other neat benefits depending on use case which may make it superior in other aspects. But when it comes to earbuds, especially those for gaming I want the best sound I can get and the least amount of latency. Which USB Wireless excels at. 3. AAC vs AptX vs Other. I need to do more research on this. They are all different ways of compressing audio. But it looks like my thoughts in the video were incorrect so I need to look into that more. 4. 2.4 GHz (USB Wireless) supports 16/48,000 on PC/Mac. It cannot be changed to higher. Bluetooth uses SBC. Unless if you have a device that supports LHDC. As it does not have AptX. 5. LHDC is available on some Android devices and Huawei. I’m not sure how many. I don’t own any Android devices and Huawei isn’t allowed in the US. Purchasing an Android device simply for testing of this type is not worth the cost to benefit ratio for a small channel like mine. IF this channel becomes viable then I would. 6. Battery life whether Bluetooth or USB Wireless is about 3.5 - 4.5 hours. My battery life tests suck. I need to improve on them. But if they aren’t horribly off what they rate them to be I tend to not deep dive them. 7. The microphone is crap in ideal conditions. Therefore, I didn’t test it in other conditions as there is no reason to. As crap is crap. 8. Soundstage was the same for both Music and Game. The difference between Music and Game was negligible and not worth exploring in-depth. Which is why I didn’t do it. 9. As mentioned in the video and above I don’t have a device that supports LHDC so I can’t test if Hi-Res audio claim is legit or not. As LHDC would be the Hi-Res claim. If you have any other comments, questions, concerns, or clarification do not hesitate to let me know.

[@themistoklas91]

Nice video. I bought yesterday these awesome earbuds. But, i have a problem. How do you control the volume??

[@ThomasMuehler]

I think you have to control it through your device (as in cell phone) over through the earbuds themselves. I go through the controls and if it wasn't mentioned then I'm not aware of it.

[@pieterhe]

I'm probably missing the point on the 2.4Ghz being special, but AFAIK all bluetooth operates in the 2.4Ghz band.

[@darincarvalho]

True, but Bluetooth uses frequency hopping, which means it constantly changes the channel it's operating on. 2.4ghz WiFi does not. This definitely isn't the first pair to have this feature

[@ThomasMuehler]

Agree this isn't the first pair to have this feature. But on earbuds I don't see it nearly as often as I see it on over-ears and other products. Both are on 2.4 GHz. But they are different technologies with different pros and cons. Put simply 2.4 GHz wireless (via the dongle) is on a different frequency band. This band allows for higher bandwidth and lower latency. Both are important as the higher bandwidth gives you better sound (as there is more data) and the lower latency helps in gaming where reaction time matters. Whereas, Bluetooth has a lot higher latency (sometimes dramatically more but this has improved with each generation and dependent on type), very limited bandwidth, and tends to focus on low power/energy efficiency. Making the user experience quite different. There are other aspects as well but those are the main points.

[@darincarvalho]

@@ThomasMuehler Technically, 2.4GHz isn't on a different frequency "band" as the band for both is 2.4GHz

[@ThomasMuehler]

@@darincarvalho I’m in need of an expert. So if you know all about it I would greatly appreciate some clarification. From my basic understanding 2.4 GHz is the main radio frequency band. But Bluetooth technically goes between 2.4 - 2.4xxx (unsure of the exact numbers). From my basic understanding of Wi-Fi it can only switch channels and certain bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and now 6 GHz). Depending on the device and version (for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) it can switch to whatever will give the best performance via "hopping". As under each of these bands there are several channels. USB Wireless is more basic than the wireless above as it only uses the 2.4 GHz band. Making me (perhaps incorrectly) think that USB Wireless is a direct connection with a unique ID for quick pairing. This is the part I get a bit confused at. I thought that 2.4 GHz wireless has a spectrum between 2.4 and 2.5 GHz which has a bunch of what I call different sub-bands as 2.4000 and 2.4124 are different even though they are under the same 2.4 GHz name. But from my comment section lighting me up appears that is incorrect. Which is why I say different bands. Additionally you also have different channels (1, 11, etc.) inside this frequency band that can give you better performance depending on interference and other devices. But with USB-Wireless (in this instance) it is fixed on a specific frequency band on a specific channel. But uses more energy for higher performance (lower latency and higher bandwidth). Whereas, Bluetooth uses a different protocol. Can use different frequencies (2.4 - 2.5 GHz but is more limited as they have exact numbers) along with different channels and hopping for best performance. But since it focuses on using low energy the amount of data it can transmit is limited increasing latency and decreasing bandwidth. And then there are a ton of other nuances to both technologies which have their own pros/cons.

[@g0me2z]

Is ENC a different name for ANC?

[@ThomasMuehler]

No. They are separate technologies. Put very simply, and basically. ANC stands for active noise cancellation. Essentially takes what it’s hearing and then provides sound waves to cancel out that noise to give you silence. Whereas ENC is environmental noise canceling. Tries to suppress or eliminate the noise around you so that it can focus on your voice. Making it so if you’re in a café or something and there is a lot of noise and you’re talking to somebody that they don’t hear all of the noise going on around you. So is more from a microphone perspective instead of a hearing/sound perspective. Real world performance for both of these technologies, very wildly.

[@ephektz]

That microphone is so bad 💀 Also, one of the reasons you don’t see bitrate and bit depth discussed when referring to lossy, compressed formats is because it’s not an apples to apples comparison. For instance, in the case of AAC vs aptX, for a given bitrate AAC will sound better than aptX at the cost of a much more demanding decode, which tends to lead to higher latency. But let’s be clear, if you’re fine with one, you’re fine with the other. If someone really wants good audio quality, they’re not looking at a product like this. I’m a little surprised you mentioned a lack of bass as I would have suspected these to have a very V shaped sound profile. I’d love to see a graph on them. The 2.4Ghz on the earbuds is interesting, though. Thanks for the review!

[@ThomasMuehler]

The microphone is bad. lol Appreciate the quick rundown and clarification for AAC vs AptX. That was my bad. But you are right. If you want great audio quality these are not what you are looking for. I don't have the stuff necessary to do graphs or I totally would have. Perhaps in the future if this whole KZbin thing becomes viable.

[@ephektz]

@@ThomasMuehler I really hope the KZbin thing becomes full time viable for you. I enjoy your style. So many other reviewers are either over produced, sloppy, full of themselves, or a combination of all three!

[@xkeigo]

does this guy know what he is talking about, wasted my time

[@ThomasMuehler]

I guess not. Care to enlighten me on exactly what I got wrong and what you were looking for so I can improve in the future?

[@xkeigo]

does 2.4 GHz support 24/96???? on PC/MAC it probably just set at 16/48, how many device out there support LHDC, equipment you have don't. Battery life is too low (not for outdoor use), do some actuall battery test to see if manufacture claim is True (50% on bluetooth and 2.4ghz on music and see who long it lasted). Can't you disable the noice cancelling?? micpohone test with indoor and outdoor used , headphone give better sound stage for gaming, to earbud is design for mostly mix use between outdoor and gaming use, for pro game they use ED under the HP for lan comunic action, did the size of the BD affect it, will it affect conectivity and battery life,you need too invest on some more gear to test out those product, Hi-Res claim from manufacture, do you have anything Hi-Res, WHO this Product is intented for🤔

[@ThomasMuehler]

@@xkeigo I appreciate you getting back to me and giving such a great rundown. You were definitely wanting me to deep dive these which I respect. I didn’t see that as the main demographic for these so did not go as in-depth as you would have liked. To answer your questions as I did most of this testing already. 1. 2.4 GHz supports 16/48,000 on PC/Mac. It cannot be changed to higher. Bluetooth uses SBC. Unless if you have a device that supports LHDC. As it does not have AptX. That alone answers most of your questions as if you know that tech then you know how it works and whether your devices has it or not. 2. LHDC is available on some Android devices and Huawei. I’m not sure how many. I don’t own any Android devices and Huawei isn’t allowed in the US. Purchasing an Android device simply for testing of this type is not worth the cost to benefit ratio for a small channel like mine. IF this channel becomes viable then I would. It currently is nowhere close to viable. 3. 4.5 hours is accurate. As mentioned in the video. But agree my battery tests tend to not be ideal as I do this in my free time which is extremely limited. As long as a battery life isn’t terrible or way off what they report I tend to not deep dive it as the cost to benefit ratio for me is not worth it. And that absolutely could be something that I improve on. 4. There isn’t active noise cancelling. If you’re talking about the microphone. No. As there is no app for these that allows you to adjust anything. Also, all the controls that they have I went through in the video. 5. Solid criticism for microphone test. Again, from a time to benefit perspective I did not find these worth it. As the microphone is trash in ideal conditions. At best it will perform the same. At worst it will be way worse. Regardless it is trash. The information that you need was already there. 6. Soundstage was the same for both Music and Game. The difference between Music and Game was negligible and not worth exploring in-depth. Which is why I didn’t do it. 7. I don’t see an IPX rating listed. As mentioned. Therefore, I would not imagine these are used for outdoor use. They are marketed as Gaming earbuds. Have features for Gaming earbuds. Which means close to your device. While they would work outdoors and working out they would have the same limitations as any other Bluetooth 5.3 device. Which isn’t worth going into every time I review a Bluetooth device as it takes a long time and for most is repetitive information they already know. Making me waste their and my own time. 8. You lost me. I don’t know what you’re saying “for pro game they use ED under the HP for lan communication, did the size of the BD affect it, will it affect connectivity and battery life.” From the little I understand from that you can likely know those answers from knowing the technology over the product. As most of that stuff is universal. Which isn’t me saying I didn’t drop the ball. Just saying in general going hyper in-depth about the nerd stuff usually doesn’t bode will to watch time or interests for the majority of people. With these being on the lower end for earbuds the target demographic is not going to care. And me just saying the basics will be adequate if not a bit to much anyways. But I tend to judge that aspect poorly and am trying to improve at that. I did make notes of all of that and will keep that in mind going forward. 9. Investing in gear requires a channel to be viable. This channel is not. Going above and beyond for something that I do not see as a big deal for the majority of consumers is not a high priority for me. Which may be a shame on me thing. I’m undecided. But will keep that in mind and take your feedback seriously. 10. LHDC would be the Hi-Res claim. As mentioned in the review and above I do not have a device to verify that. 11. Great question. Who is the product for? I didn’t put it in words which I should have. But for casual gamers, who enjoy earbuds, but don’t like cables, and who are looking near the entry level price point. Likely gaming on mobile devices over dedicated gaming stations. Meaning they are not wanting most of the nitty gritty you were looking for. Or already know the technology well so know the limitations of it. Likely they simply want a device that looks good, works well, is comfortable, and easy to navigate. Which is why I didn’t go into it and focused more on those aspects. Which again, I could have gotten completely wrong and misjudged. Again, I greatly appreciate your criticism. I take it very seriously as the last thing I want commented on my videos is your comment. I will keep all of this in mind going forward for any of my other reviews. I’m sorry I failed you. If you have any other comments, questions, concerns, or clarification do not hesitate to let me know.