The $299 Edifier Stax Spirit S10 earphones squeeze large planar magnetic drivers into a pair of true wireless buds, which makes for stunning precision and depth of audio. They also support a wide variety of high-fidelity codecs, making them ideal for audiophiles or those who primarily value audio quality. However, their active noise cancellation (ANC), ambient sound modes, and battery life don't match that of similarly priced competition. The $299 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds deliver class-leading noise cancellation in addition to highly tuned sound and better battery life, making them our Editors' Choice for high-end noise-cancelling earphones.
Design: Bulky, But Feature-Laden
The Edifier Stax Spirit S10 earphones have a familiar design with a few stylish twists. They plug right into your ear canal and have stems that angle down toward your mouth. The stems have a blade-like shape and feature a clear plastic panel, beneath which there's a Stax logo on a glittery black background.
Edifier uses 12mm planar magnetic drivers to power the S10's sound, which may be partly why the in-ear module is so large. They have a frequency response of 20Hz to 40kHz. The earphones support Bluetooth 5.4 and a range of codecs, including AAC, aptX lossless, LDAC, LHDC, and various audio formats in the Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound suite. This gives them more high-resolution options than many competing earphones, particularly for Android users. Sony's WF-1000XM5 noise-cancelling earphones cover many of the same codecs, including LDAC, for the same $299 price.
I found the earbuds to be a bit fussy about their connection. I sometimes had to go through multiple steps to reconnect them to my phone. Moreover, using a single bud was problematic. Removing one from my ear would pause the audio and prevent the stream from resuming even when I put it back in. Disconnecting and reconnecting the solo earbud didn’t work. Instead, I’d have to remove the second earbud, put it away in the case, and then pull both earbuds out to connect again.
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The buds weigh 0.25 ounces each, and the case weighs 1.48 ounces and measures 1.26 by 2.28 by 2.14 inches (HWD). That's fairly heavy for wireless earphones. Despite their weight, you shouldn’t have to worry about the buds fitting poorly or falling out. Edifier includes a wide variety of ear tip sizes (including duplicates of some) to help you find an ideal fit.
Each earbud includes three microphones for active noise cancellation (ANC) and calls and sensors for wear detection. They also have pressure-sensitive controls that are easier to use than capacitive touch buttons once you get used to them. The buds play a faint tone when a touch is registered, and that feedback makes the controls simpler to learn and manage. To keep water and dust out, the earpieces are sealed up with an IP54 rating, so they can handle dust and a bit of rain but shouldn't be submerged in water.
The earphones last about 4.5 hours with noise cancellation on and 7 hours with it off. The case offers three more full charges for a total of 18 hours with noise cancellation on or 24 with it off. For comparison, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds get 6 hours of battery life with ANC on and the Sony WF-1000XM5s get 8 hours.
The S10 case charges via USB-C, and Edifier supplies a short cable for this purpose. Unfortunately, wireless charging isn’t supported. Edifier says a 15-minute charge will provide 2 hours of playback time, and 1.5 hours of charging time replenishes the buds fully.
Edifier App Experience: Ample Customization
The earbuds work with Edifier’s Connex app (available for Android and iOS). Upon first launching the app, Edifier prompts you to create an account, but this isn't required to use the app. It will, however, repeatedly ask you to log in when opening the app if you don't.
The main page shows the remaining battery life and provides access to ambient sound controls, audio customization, and the ability to toggle the low-latency Game mode on or off. The Noise Cancellation control opens a sub-menu with a handful of different ANC and pass-through modes from which to choose. There’s an Ambient sound setting with a further sub-menu for different pass-through settings.
You also get access to a small selection of EQ presets and a custom EQ for tweaking the sound to your liking. While the custom setting is limited to four bands, the app lets you freely select which frequencies you want to adjust. It has an adjustable Q factor to broaden or narrow the surrounding frequencies that will be affected by the adjustments.
The range of settings you can adjust is extensive. For example, you can customize the on-ear controls, whether LDAC and LHDC are enabled, whether Bluetooth multipoint and wear detection are enabled, and set the audio prompt volume. It also has a finder feature that makes the earphones beep sharply so you can find them, though I found the alert too quiet to be of much use.
Noise Cancellation: Not Competitive
The Edifier Stax Spirit S10s offer decent passive noise isolation, helping muffle ambient sound before the ANC even steps in. That’s good news because the active noise cancellation is fairly unimpressive. It tackles low hum and droning sounds, but it does little to neutralize higher-frequency noise like people talking and music playing in a cafe. The ANC also introduces a faint, high-pitched masking hiss, which some listeners may find distracting. It’s easily overridden when there's audio playing, but it's noticeable if you just want silence.
For pass-through audio, the buds offer a handful of modes, but none of them quite reach the level of feeling truly transparent. Having a conversation while wearing the buds is difficult unless you've paused the audio, which negates the purpose of the mode entirely.
In comparison, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds set the bar for ANC, offering the best noise cancellation and transparency modes we've experienced in earphones. The Sony WF-1000XM5s aren't quite as good as Bose in this regard, but they are far better than Edifier.
Sound: Simply Divine
The heart of the Edifier Stax Spirit S10s is its planar magnetic drivers, which deliver high-quality audio through a wide range of codecs. The drivers can pump out serious volume—more than you’d likely find comfortable for long periods. Given the imperfect ANC performance, you may find the volume helpful in noisy environments.
In good listening conditions, the sound quality is awesome. Listening to Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” it’s easy to hear the buds’ knack for subtlety and range. Callahan’s vocals are clear, front, and center, but every little peep from the other instruments rings out brightly on the periphery, whether it’s the fiddle sliding in, the electric guitar whining off to the left, or the faint pattering that comes in shortly after the 90-second second mark—it’s all present and ready to pick out of the mix. Callahan’s baritone vocals get a weighty presentation, and the power of the drums rises to a thunderous roar during the crescendo at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
The S10s are not lacking in range. On Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.,” the buds easily hit nearly all of the notes in the sub-bass line that descends at about the 35-second mark and recurs throughout the track. Most of the sub-bass notes sound right in line with the rest of the mix except the very lowest, which is somewhat weak compared with the others. Meanwhile, the buds still produce crisp mids and treble for a balanced presentation.
The earphones excel with a track like The Knife’s “Silent Shout." Whether it’s the bass triplets or sub-bass quarter notes, they hit them all with ease while providing bright, boisterous synth lines on top. The soundstage is nice and wide, too, letting the vocal harmonies and little fills sound distinct and bringing a ton of energy to the song.
The S10s also prove strong for analytical listening. In John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the strong frequency response range and wide soundstage play nicely with the full orchestra. The swell of instruments and vocals in “Lazarus Rises From the Dead” in Act I, Scene III, really benefits from their capable performance. There are some very deep notes throughout the opening to this track, and the earphones successfully blend them into the mix while keeping up with the faintest subtleties that help make this such a haunting selection of the work.
The trio of mics is not impressive, which may explain the underwhelming noise cancellation and pass-through quality. In a test recording, my voice sounded thin, distant, and compressed. The buds also added a hissing sound when trying to cancel out background noise.
Verdict: Great Sound Quality Isn't Enough at This Price
The Edifier Stax Spirit S10 true wireless earphones look fantastic and sound even better. Their planar magnetic drivers deliver balanced sound and nuance and are adept at handling all sorts of music. With support for a variety of high-end codecs, they're also flexible and work with a wide range of audio sources. However, the weak noise cancellation, ineffective pass-through modes, and battery life are all disappointing, especially given the $299 cost. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer a far better noise-cancellation experience for the same price and remain our Editors' Choice winners, though audiophiles might also want to consider the Sony WF-1000XM5s for their advanced codec support.
The Edifier Stax Spirit S10 true wireless earphones are exceptional if you prize audio quality above all else, but their noise cancellation doesn't measure up to their high price.
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