Verdict

The Edifier Stax Spirit S3 are a premium duo of wireless cans with an impressively hi - fi audio , Bluetooth public presentation and long stamp battery life , though the rheumatoid design and plasticky controls dilute its ‘ premium ’ feel .

Pros

Cons

Key Features

Introduction

2022 was the twelvemonth of the flagship headphone . From Bowers & Wilkins to Sony , SennheiserandTechnics , it seemed all the big brands decided this was the time to launch their salvo on the bounty tuner over - ear market .

And one product that was overlooked in this panache for earpiece supremacy was Edifier ’s Stax Spirit S3 . The Stax Spirit S3 – S3 for short – are a Christ’s Resurrection of the ‘ legendary ’ Japanese Stax brand that Edifier acquired in 2012 , a name that exist pre - World War II , and a marque that placed an accent on high - lineament audio recording reproduction with its products .

With the introduction out of the fashion , the S3 are up against a tough airfield of competition , but their report suggests they wo n’t be cowed by their illustrious rivals .

Design

It should be no surprise that the Edifier Stax Spirit S3 look like a distich of over - auricle headphones , though they ’re not necessarily a stylish brace . Moreover , ramp up quality is not up to the level you ’d expect with a £ 399 terms at launching .

It ’s the use of hard plastic that gives the phone a creaky quality that ’s noticeable when handling and wearing them . It ’s below the criterion of other cans at this Leontyne Price such as theSony WH-1000XM5andBowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 . Give the headphone a joggle and they feel a footling cheaper than they should .

At least the degree of padding on both the earcups and undersurface of the headband are generous : flaccid and pliable and acting as a good shock for the headphones ’ 329 g system of weights ( fairly lightweight for a earphone with planar magnetised drivers ) .

Black is the only colour they come up in , the Stax logotype engrave in gold on the earcups above a pattern that bestow some distinctiveness . The earpads are replaceable should they get damaged , and rather than use tactile sensation controls , the Edifier goes ‘ sure-enough school day ’ with forcible push button for playback and book dominance . Like the overall shape quality , these plasticky buttons do n’t feel as if they belong to on a premium pair of over - ear .

Despite that , the Edifier ’s noise - isolating properties are serve decently by the size and depth of the earcups . outdoor sounds still filter through to my capitulum , but on commutes ( bus , trains and tube ) the deficiency of disturbance cancelling is n’t as miss as much as I thought it would . Nudge the bulk up a few notches and the outside world becomes less of a distraction .

Continuing the honest-to-goodness school vibe is the macrocosm of a 3.5 millimetre jack for wired listening ( plus a 6.3 mm arranger ) alongside aUSB - Cport for accuse . The headphone are also collapsible for transportation in the hard character and turn over the creakiness of the building , you might require to consider using it .

Features

The Edifier Stax Spirit S3 bear no funding forActive Noise Cancellationor a Transparency mode , but the audience court here is strictly audio purist .

Connectivity is Bluetooth version 5.2 , with transmission of audio over Bluetooth through SBC , aptX , aptX - HD and aptX Adaptive . The aptX strain allow for higher quality audio transmission with Android devices ( aptX - HD ) , as well as a ‘ stickier ’ connection ( Adaptive ) .

AAC , which iOS devices utilise , is notable by skip but do n’t take that to necessarily think of audio quality is worst served by only having SBC for iPhones . The performance of the driver can have more of an impact on the sound than the codec use .

Bluetooth performance has been first-class , similar to Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 andPx8 . There have been few if any break I can recall using these headphones around London . Nothing seems to trouble them on the connection front .

Multi - point Bluetooth is also supported for utilisation with two machine at once , and the Spirit S3 also supports Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon Sound weapons platform , but a compatible machine is ask to make the most of the audio quality that platform can deliver , and devices are currently few ( and specific to Android ) .

Battery animation is an enormous 80 60 minutes . Repeated battery test from an hour of Spotify streaming resulted in a loss of 2 - 3 % at normal listening grade , and 4 % at cheap volume . Expect the genre of medicine and volume to pretend how fast the battery drain .

Edifier ’s debauched charging claims are 10 - second for 11 more hour of playback . It does appear to be very rakish at recharging – ten minutes yielded a 21 % boost in battery life .

The Stax Spirit links to the Edifier Connect app that let a point of customisation and personalisation . For model , the sound can be tailored to what type of earmuffs are used ( leather or ‘ ice feeling ’ ) . Equaliser options include Classic , Hi - Fi and Stax to switch up the sound . A plot mode can be activated , which feels somewhat at betting odds with the headphones ’ audiophile outlook but noteworthy if you play wandering games .

Other features include meet ‘ soothing ’ sounds for relaxation purpose , customisation of controls and mass prompts and , of course , firmware updates .

Sound Quality

The Edifier Stax Spirit S3 yell in assistance from Audeze with its planar magnetic driver setup . The headphones apply Edifier ’s EqualMass applied science made from Audeze ’s Fluxor magnetic structure , Uniforce diaphragm and Fazor wave guides for phase management , all intend to accurately procreate the original sound with minimum deformation , greater stereo tomography , and a cleaner demonstration .

And the Edifier hits the right billet on the euphony front . There are differences between the Classic , Hi - Fi and Stax but those differences are n’t massive : Hi - Fi is perhaps softer and lovesome ( as if the audio had been passed through a thermionic valve amp ) , while ‘ Stax ’ is crisper and sharper at the top ending , and ‘ Classic ’ is the mode I ’ve stuck with the majority of testing as that seems to offer the best balance across the frequency range . Whichever sound you end up going for , the Stax Spirit S3 are a spacious , and phrase sound couplet of tush .

Serve up Avishai Cohen and Big Vicious ’ Hidden Chamber ( Tidal Master ) , and there ’s a bright procreation of the trumpet that give the song , followed by crisp cymbal crashes , the rail furnish with plenty of detail to describe the ( light ) percussive elements , pick out the synthesiser and the various guitar throughout in the track . Add in an effective course in dynamism , both on a broader and smaller scale , that makes the track both rude sounding in its tone and gumptious ( but not too so ) in its delivery .

Vocals are delivered with plenty of clarity regardless of the vocaliser or genre , whether it ’s Veronica Swift in The Man I Love , Jacob Collier in All I Need or 070 trill in Trumpets . The midrange is spacious , the top end of the frequency reach in a track such as GoGo Penguin ’s Erased by Sunlight is clearly defined – not distractingly bright – but with a courteous contingent and specificity to the piano in that racecourse , all the various look and that sense of press being applied to each promissory note discernible through the phone .

Bass is not what I ’d describe as ‘ thumping ’ . These headphones are pocket-sized in their approach to crushed oftenness , applying them gently in a track such as Beyonce ’s Déjà Vu . The bassline is not as sinewy as the Sony WH-1000XM5 ’s rich approach , the Edifier more subject to play it in a careful manner , but it does mean that bass does n’t always have the weight and heave you might expect . If you favour your track bass - forward or with a V - form signature , perhaps give these headphones a omission .

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Should you buy it?

Aimed more towards the hi - fi buff than the everyday commuter , the Edifier save an imposingly check and articulate auditory sensation .

Corners appear to have been issue with the design to keep costs down , which is a shame . The Edifier ’s build caliber does n’t match the audio performance .

Final Thoughts

The Edifier Stax Spirit S3 offer a absolved and nuanced sound . They ’re not showy , favor to drift towards an articulated , audiophile sense of clarity and detail .

No noise cancellation or transparency may put some off , and the creaky figure and plastic dominance sure enough will . But comfort levels are good , check this is a phone that can be worn across drawn-out sessions . The noise closing off of the design makes a becoming jab at block up out sounds when used on a commute , and both the battery and Bluetooth performance surpass .

This is n’t a headphone that pip every government note with the aplomb its terms rag would suggest , but Edifier and Stax have make a fulfill pair of headphones when it amount to sound quality , and that ’s the main rationality to seek them out , peculiarly if you listen to high - calibre euphony apps .

Trusted Score

How we test

We try out every headphones we review soundly over an extended menses of time . We use diligence received tests to compare lineament properly . We ’ll always distinguish you what we regain . We never , ever , take money to brush up a mathematical product .

Find out more about how we screen in ourethics policy .

FAQs

The Stax Spirit defend SBC , along with aptX , aptX - HD and aptX Adaptive , but there is no AAC support for iOS devices .

Full Specs

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