Edifier spirit stax s5

[Gamerlingual]

Yeah Fiio K7 on the PO port, i won't try the ballanced port as the qualcomm in the Stax would probably spit its dummy out,

Tempted to order another set of Stax S3 now though because of it, it must have been the Fiio ka11 headphone dongle causing the distortion before,

I dont get why windows wants to default to it, but now i have the K7 ill probably use the bluetooth from the fold and wired when on the laptop, best of both worlds and all that Jazz!

Then I'm going to start making comparisons of the Stax S5 vs other planars i think! As i believe edifier have done a real good job with these cans.


Will remeasure the Stax through the K7 as well as im certain ive heard a change in frequency response.

I’m wondering if I should retest my Stax S3

 

[alexis69]

Summary:
If you have the B&W PX8s or Cambridge Audio P100s or better, you may not need to try these headphones since I found them pretty close sound wise to both of them.

I don't like classic planar sound. And I like musical headphones.
That's why I'm afraid to buy S5.
I'm afraid that it won't have the sound that I like.
And the price of S5 keeps me from taking risks.

The questions will concern the confrontation - P100s vs S5.
1) Is the difference in sound between Cambridge Audio P100s and S5 not big?
2) Is the difference in bass big? Which headphones have better bass? Deeper, better developed.
3) Which headphones are more musical, smoother?
4) Which headphones have juicier sound?
5) I am very sensitive to the upper part of the midrange. Where are these frequencies calmer?
6) Do I understand correctly that the detail in P100s is not much inferior to the detail of S5?
7) How big is the difference in separation of sounds?
8) How much better is the scene in S5 than the scene of P100s? Is the sound positioning in the P100s much worse than in the S5?

p.s. I also thought about an alternative in the form of Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones.
But it seems to me that they lack detail compared to the S5. Worse sound separation, soundstage. The QUALITY of the bass is worse.
Am I right?

 

[itchyears]

I don't like classic planar sound. And I like musical headphones.
That's why I'm afraid to buy S5.
I'm afraid that it won't have the sound that I like.
And the price of S5 keeps me from taking risks.

The questions will concern the confrontation - P100s vs S5.
1) Is the difference in sound between Cambridge Audio P100s and S5 not big?
2) Is the difference in bass big? Which headphones have better bass? Deeper, better developed.
3) Which headphones are more musical, smoother?
4) Which headphones have juicier sound?
5) I am very sensitive to the upper part of the midrange. Where are these frequencies calmer?
6) Do I understand correctly that the detail in P100s is not much inferior to the detail of S5?
7) How big is the difference in separation of sounds?
8) How much better is the scene in S5 than the scene of P100s? Is the sound positioning in the P100s much worse than in the S5?

p.s. I also thought about an alternative in the form of Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones.
But it seems to me that they lack detail compared to the S5. Worse sound separation, soundstage. The QUALITY of the bass is worse.
Am I right?

1) I would not say the sound was too big difference, the P100s notable difference was the deeper bass but detail and tone wise close, id give the edge to the planars/S5s though. If you really are striving for that clarity and detail the S5s are still better than say the P100s or PX8s imo.

2) Yes, the P100s you would pretty much say holy smokes now that is bass, I almost thought was there something wrong with the S5s or PX8s even. Since your playlist is unique to yourself its one of those situations where you would just instantly notice it. I have not experimented with dynamic music mode on the Stax S5 or EQ though so its possible the Stax S5 can get some deeper bass going but not 100% sure. We know from the other users that the bass is detailed and nice on the S5s though.

3) Id say the planars they just seem to roll off better so sound smoother to myself.

4) Juicer sound is a bit tricky to tell, the PX8s perhaps are the warmest and nicest, but the Stax S5s are similar with better thicker mids and perhaps the dynamic mode will make it even better. The P100s are sort of in-between the 2, but if you do prefer that deep bass without any extra EQ or music modes etc out of the box the P100s win.

5) I can't be 100% sure, the mid's and upper were bright and detailed but nothing too ear ache wise. Perhaps the bottoms felt calmer to me. Id imagine with different music modes and EQ you can adjust it to your liking.

6) Yeah its not so far behind the Stax S5s, id probably rank detail and clarity wise S5s, PX8s and than P100s.

7) The Stax S5s are very separated in sound, id feel the PX8s are right up there but perhaps a tiny bit behind. Id actually feel all 3 hps require the sound to be cranked up a bit more, to get the best out of them.

8) Sound positioning id feel is a tad better on the Stax S5s, there is something about the planars that seem to nail it right. The P100s or PX8s are still up there and close though.

I have never tried the Momentums before, but from what I have heard they are still a very good pair of headphones and can certainly trade blows with the best of the best including the Stax S5s, P100s and PX8s. The bass from what I have read is meant to also be good.

Its hard to get sound right since everyone's ears are different etc, so I don't want to out right suggest this ones better over the other. But yes I have said it several times before on here, I do feel the Stax S5s are very overpriced for what you get, they should be more around £250-300 but currently around £430-500.

The only other work around apart from ebay or market places, sometimes Amazon stores in europe get pre-owned S5s that way you could buy and test them and return them. Momentums I believe they may offer a 30 day trial also. It just depends where you live etc, only your ears will be able to tell which one it prefers.

 

[Gamerlingual]

1) I would not say the sound was too big difference, the P100s notable difference was the deeper bass but detail and tone wise close, id give the edge to the planars/S5s though. If you really are striving for that clarity and detail the S5s are still better than say the P100s or PX8s imo.

2) Yes, the P100s you would pretty much say holy smokes now that is bass, I almost thought was there something wrong with the S5s or PX8s even. Since your playlist is unique to yourself its one of those situations where you would just instantly notice it. I have not experimented with dynamic music mode on the Stax S5 or EQ though so its possible the Stax S5 can get some deeper bass going but not 100% sure. We know from the other users that the bass is detailed and nice on the S5s though.

3) Id say the planars they just seem to roll off better so sound smoother to myself.

4) Juicer sound is a bit tricky to tell, the PX8s perhaps are the warmest and nicest, but the Stax S5s are similar with better thicker mids and perhaps the dynamic mode will make it even better. The P100s are sort of in-between the 2, but if you do prefer that deep bass without any extra EQ or music modes etc out of the box the P100s win.

5) I can't be 100% sure, the mid's and upper were bright and detailed but nothing too ear ache wise. Perhaps the bottoms felt calmer to me. Id imagine with different music modes and EQ you can adjust it to your liking.

6) Yeah its not so far behind the Stax S5s, id probably rank detail and clarity wise S5s, PX8s and than P100s.

7) The Stax S5s are very separated in sound, id feel the PX8s are right up there but perhaps a tiny bit behind. Id actually feel all 3 hps require the sound to be cranked up a bit more, to get the best out of them.

8) Sound positioning id feel is a tad better on the Stax S5s, there is something about the planars that seem to nail it right. The P100s or PX8s are still up there and close though.

I have never tried the Momentums before, but from what I have heard they are still a very good pair of headphones and can certainly trade blows with the best of the best including the Stax S5s, P100s and PX8s. The bass from what I have read is meant to also be good.

Its hard to get sound right since everyone's ears are different etc, so I don't want to out right suggest this ones better over the other. But yes I have said it several times before on here, I do feel the Stax S5s are very overpriced for what you get, they should be more around £250-300 but currently around £430-500.

The only other work around apart from ebay or market places, sometimes Amazon stores in europe get pre-owned S5s that way you could buy and test them and return them. Momentums I believe they may offer a 30 day trial also. It just depends where you live etc, only your ears will be able to tell which one it prefers.

I’ll be honest, I think they are worth the 55,000 yen I paid for. I’ve used them so much wirelessly on my laptop, they are some of the clearest cans I have aside from the MDR-Z1R and Focal Clear

 

[itchyears]

55,000 Yen is showing roughly £285 UK pounds so yes for that price tag its well worth it. Its just I feel @ £499.99 or even £399.99 its very expensive.

If you do a bit of coupon, cash back, discount code stacking at Aliexpress, and do some work you can get it down to under £300, it just means a bit of work on your end to do.

The P100s for example cost £199.99, and while not overall as good as the Stax S5s for the price tag its got that bang for buck factor which is hard to beat.

I could not get along with the P100s awkward large size though, uncomfortable pads and the software bugs though.

 

[alexis69]

2) Yes, the P100s you would pretty much say holy smokes now that is bass, I almost thought was there something wrong with the S5s or PX8s even. Since your playlist is unique to yourself its one of those situations where you would just instantly notice it. I have not experimented with dynamic music mode on the Stax S5 or EQ though so its possible the Stax S5 can get some deeper bass going but not 100% sure. We know from the other users that the bass is detailed and nice on the S5s though.

My friend said that it doesn't work very well.
Using https://squig.link/ he tried to get the frequency response of Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 on S5.
In the file created for the equalizer, the preamp level was at -12 dB. Therefore the sound was quiet.
If you set the level higher than - 6 dB, clipping began at low frequencies.
If you set it to -6 dB, the situation depends on the track.
Some tracks have clipping, some don't.

 

[Siegbert]

Hello,
As I am currently testing three headphones (Beyerdynamic Aventho 300, AKG N9 Hybrid, Edifier Stax Spirit S5) and would like to get opinions from other users, I came across this interesting forum and registered straight away. I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences.

In terms of sound, I would like to throw the AKG N9 Hybrid into the ring. I have this and the Stax S5 with me at the moment. And as enthusiastic as I am about the specs of the S5, I find it very difficult to choose between the two. We are pretty unanimous here about the sound characteristics of the S5. The N9 comes very close to the differentiated sound of the S5. However, it is also characterized by a better spatial separation in the frontal depth. This means that the action moves more from between the ears to the front on a stage. I simply find this spatial effect more impressive and gripping than with the S5. The bass is also somewhat more dynamic here without being overemphasized. However, this can be easily adjusted on the S5 via the equalizer if necessary.
However, the AKG N9 Hybrid lacks all the aptX codecs. On the other hand, it does have LE audio via the included dongle, albeit in a proprietary version, as it cannot be paired with another LE audio dongle. The price-performance ratio of the N9 is also somewhat more coherent.

 

[mrmigs2011]

My friend said that it doesn't work very well.
Using https://squig.link/ he tried to get the frequency response of Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 on S5.
In the file created for the equalizer, the preamp level was at -12 dB. Therefore the sound was quiet.
If you set the level higher than - 6 dB, clipping began at low frequencies.
If you set it to -6 dB, the situation depends on the track.
Some tracks have clipping, some don't.

EQ best done via 3.5mm because ive found qualcomm dsp severely fights EQ over B.t potentially adding preamp reduction to all other frequencies,

Through 3.5mm from source the qualcomm has no way to figure out if eq is in effect in my opinion.

Is the akg n9 dongle compatible with phones usb c?

 

[itchyears]

Hello,
As I am currently testing three headphones (Beyerdynamic Aventho 300, AKG N9 Hybrid, Edifier Stax Spirit S5) and would like to get opinions from other users, I came across this interesting forum and registered straight away. I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences.

In terms of sound, I would like to throw the AKG N9 Hybrid into the ring. I have this and the Stax S5 with me at the moment. And as enthusiastic as I am about the specs of the S5, I find it very difficult to choose between the two. We are pretty unanimous here about the sound characteristics of the S5. The N9 comes very close to the differentiated sound of the S5. However, it is also characterized by a better spatial separation in the frontal depth. This means that the action moves more from between the ears to the front on a stage. I simply find this spatial effect more impressive and gripping than with the S5. The bass is also somewhat more dynamic here without being overemphasized. However, this can be easily adjusted on the S5 via the equalizer if necessary.
However, the AKG N9 Hybrid lacks all the aptX codecs. On the other hand, it does have LE audio via the included dongle, albeit in a proprietary version, as it cannot be paired with another LE audio dongle. The price-performance ratio of the N9 is also somewhat more coherent.

Good to hear, I did speak to a few other N9 owners and they were impressed with the dongle and low latency but many returned them for various reasons.

If you are looking for a decent BT transmitter which supports usb PC audio and optical input , I can recommend the eppfun LE audio transmitter but you must do the firmware upgrade asap. It does support LE audio low/high modes also and the entire aptx family including aptx lossless, bargain at £30 from aliexpress.

Do you find the N9 spatial separation, takes away any of the details or clarity?

 

[Siegbert]

Good to hear, I did speak to a few other N9 owners and they were impressed with the dongle and low latency but many returned them for various reasons.

If you are looking for a decent BT transmitter which supports usb PC audio and optical input , I can recommend the eppfun LE audio transmitter but you must do the firmware upgrade asap. It does support LE audio low/high modes also and the entire aptx family including aptx lossless, bargain at £30 from aliexpress.

Do you find the N9 spatial separation, takes away any of the details or clarity?

No, the N9 also offers detail and clarity. But I was spontaneously more impressed by the spaciousness of the N9 than the S5.
Many thanks for pointing out the Bluetooth transmitter. I use the eppfun Le Audio transmitter with the latest update. Unfortunately, I can't test LE Audio at the moment because I don't have the right headphones to hand.
I like to test the spatiality with the album “Point” by Yello via Amazon Music in Dolby Atmos).

 

[itchyears]

No, the N9 also offers detail and clarity. But I was spontaneously more impressed by the spaciousness of the N9 than the S5.
Many thanks for pointing out the Bluetooth transmitter. I use the eppfun Le Audio transmitter with the latest update. Unfortunately, I can't test LE Audio at the moment because I don't have the right headphones to hand.

That is good news than, many hps can lose those details often so they have managed to fine tune it well.

On that point, I was trying to recall why a few others returned their N9s I believe that was one of the issues it doesn't support LE audio via the headphones inbuilt BT codecs, just through their own unique 2.4ghz dongle.

I think that was what stopped me from getting them, for my use case I would need the ability to drop to low or movie/gamer mode and then back to High/HQ or Music mode through the BT codecs.

 

[Gamerlingual]

After some thorough usage of these cans, I have to say, these are probably in my top 3 headphones I own. When I use them with the wireless adapters on my PC and Sony NW-A306, you can feel the texture or thickness of the instrument and it gives it a more intimate approach. But it’s also a large enough of a soundstage that it doesn’t feel boxy or congested.

The planars do a great job of distinguishing the instrument placement and Dynamic mode is the best for me. It has the right amount of bass to add the punch that I like in headphones but the mids and highs come in clear where it all has the correct amount of cohesion. They are perhaps the wireless headphones to beat if you don’t need noise canceling. They are that good.

 

[itchyears]

Small updates, I have updated my Stax S5 review.

So I had time to test the latency a bit further with this YT video here which is my go to latency and lip-sync test, I was wrong about Game mode not working or doing anything. It is working and Game mode ON/Enabled does improve latency and lip-sync by a good bit.

I also found if I apply one of the sound EQs like Dynamic the latency gets slightly worse, so I now stick 100% with the default of Original. Maybe its down to EQ processing adding extra latency, so if you are gaming/movies its important to set sound eq to default original and game mode on always.

I also sold off my Stax S5s and swapped them for a UK version for the same price, so I get the 5 year warranty from a local UK store (CEX UK) rather than potentially sending it to china, the china Stax S5 had a slightly higher firmware number oddly but I did not notice any real difference. Well The UK version Stax S5 requires the headphones to be
inclined and closed in to actually power off, the china S5 ones were better to switch on/off since I could do it while they were flat on a desk and open which is odd.

It would have been nice when changing the sound profiles via the BT button if you could tell which profile it was, a single beep does not, so I have to regularly pair with my edifier connect app just to see what sound eq profile it is currently set to since sometimes the BT button can be pressed by accident, I don't know if the other Stax S5 owners notice that issue?

 

[mrmigs2011]

Small updates, I have updated my Stax S5 review.

So I had time to test the latency a bit further with this YT video here which is my go to latency and lip-sync test, I was wrong about Game mode not working or doing anything. It is working and Game mode ON/Enabled does improve latency and lip-sync by a good bit.

I also found if I apply one of the sound EQs like Dynamic the latency gets slightly worse, so I now stick 100% with the default of Original. Maybe its down to EQ processing adding extra latency, so if you are gaming/movies its important to set sound eq to default original and game mode on always.

I also sold off my Stax S5s and swapped them for a UK version for the same price, so I get the 5 year warranty from a local UK store (CEX UK) rather than potentially sending it to china, the china Stax S5 had a slightly higher firmware number oddly but I did not notice any real difference. Well The UK version Stax S5 requires the headphones to be
inclined and closed in to actually power off, the china S5 ones were better to switch on/off since I could do it while they were flat on a desk and open which is odd.

It would have been nice when changing the sound profiles via the BT button if you could tell which profile it was, a single beep does not, so I have to regularly pair with my edifier connect app just to see what sound eq profile it is currently set to since sometimes the BT button can be pressed by accident, I don't know if the other Stax S5 owners notice that issue?

Wonder if we can find a way to measure the true latency values outside of hearing tests, i cant say ive had any lip sync issues but from i understand bluetooth should apply offsets to the video and audio to provide a matching sync regardless of latency?

You already found another firmware??? Ive enquired with edifier, if there are different versions out there i need to find them! My Stax S3 definitely had lower power constraints then the S5 so im wondering if there are different power targets for the regions, how do we know which version of the edifiers we have? Still feel the onboard needs to release more current to the planar, im hoping to get a response from their engineers soon as i want an option adding for a toggle between battery and performance.

Can you check your firmware version of the new Stax? As my power off control can be used in any way shape or form, it seems odd you have to close them in now? If thats the case it seems there would be hardware additions made recently to add such features.

It does seem odd that all we have is a beep for the eq toggle, i know which mode im on based on their sound signature, the most distinct is monitor (flat) so when your there, you know one click is Original, two for dynamic.

Recently made adjustments to the measurement rig, its reading open ears much more accurately now so stay tuned for more accurate measurements and hopefully soon, we can start properly experimenting with the PEQ to create better sound profiles, im hoping we can make some sound reference profiles with the onboard (harman, crinacle ect) as i suspect from what i can see from the frequency response, theres more we can get out of the planars in terms of fidelity!

My current firmware version is
1.0.0

 

[itchyears]

Wonder if we can find a way to measure the true latency values outside of hearing tests, i cant say ive had any lip sync issues but from i understand bluetooth should apply offsets to the video and audio to provide a matching sync regardless of latency?

You already found another firmware??? Ive enquired with edifier, if there are different versions out there i need to find them! My Stax S3 definitely had lower power constraints then the S5 so im wondering if there are different power targets for the regions, how do we know which version of the edifiers we have? Still feel the onboard needs to release more current to the planar, im hoping to get a response from their engineers soon as i want an option adding for a toggle between battery and performance.

Can you check your firmware version of the new Stax? As my power off control can be used in any way shape or form, it seems odd you have to close them in now? If thats the case it seems there would be hardware additions made recently to add such features.

It does seem odd that all we have is a beep for the eq toggle, i know which mode im on based on their sound signature, the most distinct is monitor (flat) so when your there, you know one click is Original, two for dynamic.

Recently made adjustments to the measurement rig, its reading open ears much more accurately now so stay tuned for more accurate measurements and hopefully soon, we can start properly experimenting with the PEQ to create better sound profiles, im hoping we can make some sound reference profiles with the onboard (harman, crinacle ect) as i suspect from what i can see from the frequency response, theres more we can get out of the planars in terms of fidelity!

My current firmware version is
1.0.0

Sorry meant no new firmwares, its just I had 2 different Stax S5 units one from china and one from UK and the firmwares were slightly different I think the china one was 1.02 and UK current ones are still 1.0 but I think its just from china things are done slightly different.

I did ask edifier if they provided firmware updates but there response from CS was lacking, they might as well had said, we don't do firmware updates really. So my UK stax s5s are also 1.0.0 version. I don't even think the edifier connex app has a firmware check or update button in the app and their websites never shown firmware updates.

Still keep pressing their engineers/support.

Yes true, I think I just have to get use to it to figure out the sound profiles.

Regarding the latency I wish I did have some proper testing equipment to measure it and its not just some placebo effect occurring, but I have run that YT video a million times with various other BT hps/gear so am use to how it should perform. There is an issue with Stax S5s, BT hps and even the BT dongles/Transceivers with newer qualcomm chipsets as in they can take a good 30-60 seconds to sort of sync correctly so this can sometimes throw off latency and results so its a bit tricky you have to do the test a few times with patience which I suspect most won't do.

Yeah that would be great with sound profile.

I am keeping an eye on the upcoming XPAN technology which is rolling out very soon, new wireless xpan buds are out next month or so and XPAN should if the hypes true, fix a lot of the BT issues if not replace the stax s5s and everything else on the market.



Update****
I now just disable LDHC and LDAC via the edifier stax app and leave dual/multi-point connect so have my headphones connected to my LE audio transmitter and phone.

I also adjusted via the edifier connect app under control settings the MFB or BT button only triggers Game mode on and off, this way it does not interfere or adjust the sound or EQ profiles so its now left on original always.

There is a bug however, each time I power on or off the Stax S5s the game mode is disabled so I have to press MFB/BT button to enable game mode on for the better latency.

I watch a lot of sports with boxing and MMA, so can tell that the game mode ON latency is a tad better, I will email edifier notifying them off the bug with game mode but doubtful they release any fixes/firmware for it.