09 June 2023 , 19:57
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Edifier renowned for designing specialised audio devices that aim to offer a premium experience to consumers, amongst these products are the Stax Spirit S3 and WH950NB.
Edifier’s Stax Spirit S3 are a sort of homage to the legendary Stax headphones which are renowned for the amazing immersive audio experience they can offer. Edifier took over Stax in 2012, so it was only a question of when they would utilise their tech in some capacity.
These won’t cost nearly as much as the original Stax, which are normally priced anywhere from £1000 and above.
That being said, Edifier's Spirit S3 are Planar magnetic headphones, which use very similar technology to electrostatic headphones, which should put them in the same audio realm as the original Stax.
Edifier's Stax Spirit S3 are a homage to the original Stax headphone (Edifier)The Stax Spirit S3’s design is a far cry from the original Stax headphones, however, I found the Spirit S3 to be much more ergonomically designed for everyday use.
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The stylish headphones are made from a strong plastic that feels pretty sturdy, but nothing extraordinary compared to headphones from a lower price bracket.
That being said it only weighs 329g, making it one of the lightest planar magnetic headphones on the market, so I was impressed with how Edifier have taken traits from other types of headphones to make the Spirit S3 much more comfortable and user-friendly.
The headphones come in a black colour scheme and Edifier has included plenty of branding on them. The golden-coloured logos blend really well with the headphone’s overall back colour scheme and are not too overbearing.
The ear cups are a nice size and will accommodate pretty much every ear shape while giving adequate noise cancellation as well.
What is impressive is that Edifier have made the cushions out of Lambskin leather rather than pleather and you can instantly feel the difference over long periods of time as they won’t stick.
The Stax Spirit S3 come with two different styles of ear cushions (Edifier)This will be one of the factors that have increased the overall cost of the headphones, but I think it was a good choice as it elevates the headphone's overall comfort levels.
Edifier has also included an extra set of ear cups that are made from memory foam and feel very much like a travel neck pillow. These additional ear cups are an excellent alternative that is extremely comfortable during long periods of use.
The hinges allow them to be adjusted for maximum comfort and to be contorted into an easily transportable shape.
The headband is very flexible but tough, allowing it to accommodate different head shapes and sizes without getting strained.
They also add to the overall comfort with the pleather strap fitting securely. I did hear the odd creaking noise every now and then when packing the headphones up but this was a rare occurrence.
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The Stax Spirit S3 can be connected via two different methods (Edifier)The Spirit S3 comes with a control button, one 3.5mm jack, a USB C input and a mic for calls located on the ear cups.
The control button is split into three parts with the middle section controlling the majority of the headphones' actions while the other two control the volume.
Edifier has included different gestures to access each feature, like pressing once to rewind or three times to access a different mode.
I did find having one button for several functions a little confusing at times and rather Edifier included more buttons or touch controls to make it more user-friendly.
Edifier’s Stax Spirit S3 has done a great job redesigning the Stax into a more everyday headphone, but I feel given the price there are a few features that could have been included that you see in the likes of Epos or Sony.
That being said the overall design will please audiophiles and casual music listeners.
The Stax Spirit S3 is built with a large 89mm*70mm Planar Magnetic Driver alongside the Edifier EqualMass diaphragm technology, which includes iconic components including the Audeze Fluxor magnetic structure, Uniforce diaphragm, and Fazor phase management.
All of these elements work in unison to create some of the best quality audio I have ever heard on a headphone in this price bracket.
The wide soundstage can produce beautiful sound with amazing resolution and fantastic audio imaging that will greatly enhance your listening experience, pleasing audiophiles.
It's the lightest planar magnetic headphones on the market (Edifier)I was impressed with the powerful bass, but it was the clarity in the audio detail allowing me to hear every individual instrument, granting a rich experience.
I was further impressed with how well the headphones worked while watching movies and playing games.
When playing games like Ghost of Tsushima, the Stax Spirit S3 was able to even rival the Playstation 5’s 3-D audio, granting a phenomenal immersive experience.
Edifier has done an amazing job at bringing the best audio features, from Stax’s legendary headphones, into a more accessible design that audiophiles will love.
The headphone utilises a Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound Bluetooth system which supports a Bluetooth 5.2 connection.
Even though Bluetooth 5.3 is out I found this version to still be great when watching films and playing games as the low latency delivered very little lag.
The headphones also allow you to connect via a 3.5mm headphone jack but I would only use this method if you really have to, as the Bluetooth option works great.
Edifier also has a companion app that will grant you further control over the headphones, such as changing the EQ settings or activating the low latency Game mode.
There are some really nice features like being able to switch between the different earmuffs which will change the EQ settings, but ever so slightly.
The main function of the app will be swapping between the three different EQ modes which are Hi-Fi, Classic and Stax.
Classic mode is probably the most versatile out of the lot as it accommodates all kinds of music. Hi-Fi mode gives the treble a boost, so probably not the best for bass-heavy music.
The Stax Spirit S3 are stylish headphones (Edifier)The Stax mode is interesting as it increases the frequencies to give you a closer reproduction of Stax’s signature sound. The Stax mode was great for listening to big orchestral pieces you would find in film soundtracks.
Unfortunately, the app won’t let users customise the existing EQ selection or create a custom one, which isn’t completely needed in this instance, but still disappointing given the price.
The headphones also don’t come with an ANC option at all which might have been done to give the headphones a longer battery life, but again given the price of the headphones you would really expect this feature to be included in some capacity.
One of the biggest selling points of the Stax Spirit S3 is its insane 1500 mAh battery life which grants up to 80 hours of playback from a 1.5-hour charge. This is incredible as you rarely find headphones that can produce such quality for this duration.
Edifier Stax Spirit S3 Verdict 4/5
Edifier’s Stax Spirit S3 are incredible sounding headphones that really outdo their competition in audio reproduction.
Bringing some of the greatest features from the Stax’s headphones in a more consumer-friendly product is a great feat that Edifier should take a bow for.
However, given the £329 price point, there are a few needed omissions such as custom EQ and ANC that should’ve really been included.
Edifier's Stax Spirit S3 can be purchased from Amazon for £329.99
Edifier WH950NB Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphone
The second device is Edifier’s WH950NB headphones which are part of their noise-cancelling range.
The WH950NB are stunning headphones that come in two distinct colour schemes, which are black and ivory.
The black ones are very minimalist and are suited for all occasions, but the Ivory ones are simply beautiful giving the headphones a much more premium look.
The ear cushions are made from a soft protein leather and memory foam combo that’s extremely comfortable over long periods of use and helps to reduce any ambient noise.
Edifier WH950NB come in two different colour styles (Edifier)The hinges allow them to be adjusted for maximum comfort. They rest well on the ears and feel really pleasant, you almost forget they are there when used on a daily basis.
The headband adds to the comfort as it feels like it's made from the same material as the ear cups.
The WH950NB is made from a plastic material that feels strong and durable, giving the headphones a more premium look and feel.
They weigh 296g which is slightly on the heavier side for these types of headphones. That being said, their stellar design meant they were never irritating or caused discomfort over long periods of use.
They come built with Edifier’s signature three-in-one button that grants the user control over the volume and various other settings.
Edifier has once again included far too many input gestures through the use of one button, which can get confusing, however at least this time round there is a dedicated Mode button that will let users switch between the various different modes.
But the WH950NB overall design and pricing are crying out for touch controls or a more intuitive control system. The ear cups also include one 3.5mm jack, a USB C input and mics for calls, which are all in easily accessible areas.
Edifier’s WH950NB are stunning headphones, especially the Ivory colour scheme which look and feel very premium.
The control button does the job it was intended for but I feel that Edifier could’ve incorporated some touch controls to make the headphones a little more accessible.
The companion app allows consumers to customise their audio experience (Edifier)The WH950NB is built with a large 40mm composite titanium film driver and supports both Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio wireless with LDAC certification.
This grants the headphones a wonderful soundstage that can reach a frequency response of 40kHz offering powerful bass that is accompanied by clear-sounding highs and mids.
The headphones also work with the companion app, but unlike the Spirit S3, WH950NB grants a plethora of customisation options.
Firstly is the extensive Noise cancellation options, which come in four different modes to suit your situation.
There’s High noise cancellation, Low cancellation, Wind reduction and Ambient sound. The WH950NB’s noise-cancelling capabilities are second to none with each of the modes living up to their namesake.
The High noise option was fantastic at blocking out all the heavy ambient noises, I often felt I was living on an isolated planet with just music to keep me company.
The Low noise option is less harsh but still manages to block out all those unwanted sounds, however, you have more awareness of your surroundings.
The WH950NB come with a plethora of ANC options (Edifier)The Wind reduction option was also great but it sounded almost identical to the High cancellation mode. Finally Ambient sound lets the user decide how much of the outside world they want to let in.
This feature is great because most headphones only offer a transparent mode with one base level, but being able to dictate how much sound you can let in is definitely a fantastic feature.
The app also grants you access to three EQ modes, which include Classic, Dynamic and Customised. Classic and Dynamic offer great versatility, elevating different types of audio you are listening to.
I would recommend Dynamic mode for when you are playing games and listening to bass-heavy music as it offers such a powerful bass boost which sounds fantastic, especially with Hip Hop tracks or games like Super Smash Bros.
The Custom mode lets you change the gain on a wide selection of audio elements. But what’s really amazing is that the app will let you share and download custom-made EQ settings, this is another fantastic feature that will allow you to listen and experience audio in a number of ways.
The app’s features don’t end there as it also comes with three additional modes that change audio settings to match your listening situation, which include Music, Game and Theater modes.
I couldn’t really hear much difference between the Music and Game mode in terms of audio quality, but I certainly noticed how much more accurate the audio was due to the low latency of 80ms when using the Game Mode.
This may be great for casual gamers but competitive gamers would still require slightly lower latency, especially during fast pace shooting games. But that being said it works fantastically for everyday casual gaming sessions.
The headphone’s hidden gem is definitely the Theater mode, as they add an extra layer of brilliance to your listening experience, with the bass, mids and highs being fine-tuned to increase the overall detail and clarity.
The WH950NB can be connected via two different methods, with the first being through the latest Bluetooth 5.3, which not only allows a lot of codecs to work smoother but also grants the headphones the ability to connect to two devices at the same time.
This is great as you can switch between them effortlessly without having to unpair and re-pair.
The second option is through a 3.5mm headphone jack, which just makes the headphones accessible to a wide audience and can be used in studio sessions.
The WH950NB also comes with a great battery life that can produce up to 55 hours of audio after a single charge.
The big question was how much does that battery life shrink with the ANC turned on and I was impressed that the headphones only drop to 34 hours which will keep you covered for long trips.
Edifier WH950NB Verdict 4/5
Edifier’s WH950NB are fantastic headphones with a stylish but ergonomic design suited for a plethora of different activities. Its ANC capabilities outshine a lot of its competitors, especially for its £179 price.
Edifier's WH950NB can be purchased from Amazon for £179.99