Edifier STAX Spirit S10 Review (2026): Excellent Sound, But Not for Everyone
Wearing the Edifier STAX Spirit S10 in real life after weeks of testing. Comfortable, discreet, and clearly aimed at listeners who care about sound.
Edifier STAX Spirit S10: Premium Earbuds With Serious Sound
Disclosure: I received the Edifier STAX Spirit S10 earbuds for free for review purposes. That said, all opinions in this post are entirely my own and based on my real experience after using them as my exclusive earbuds for around a month. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tech has become a real part of Dapper and Groomed.
That makes sense. This is a lifestyle blog after all. And what would life be without music, good sound, and the little accessories that make everyday life better?
For the past few years, I have tested and reviewed quite a few Edifier headphones and earbuds. I know the brand well. I like the warm Edifier sound signature. I like the value for money too. In fact, I have often said that Edifier is one of the most reliable audio brands if you want good sound without paying silly money.
But this time things are different.
Until now, I had never reviewed one of Edifier’s premium products from the STAX range. That alone made the STAX Spirit S10 more interesting to me.
Back in 2012, Edifier acquired STAX Ltd, a company with over 80 years of history in electrostatic headphones. That is not just a random name slapped on a box. STAX means something in the audio world.
The other thing that makes the STAX Spirit S10 stand out is the driver technology.
These earbuds use a planar magnetic driver instead of a standard dynamic driver. In simple terms, a planar driver uses a very thin, flat diaphragm that is driven more evenly across its surface, which can help improve speed, detail, and control.
And yes, Edifier is making a big point here.
The STAX Spirit S10 are presented as something special. Premium earbuds. Premium sound. Premium price too.
So… are they any good?
Do they actually sound better?
Can you hear the difference?
And are they worth the money?
Let’s get into it.
A look at the unboxing experience. This is one of the strongest parts of the STAX Spirit S10 package and it genuinely feels premium.
Unboxing
At this price, the unboxing experience matters.
Thankfully, Edifier gets this part right.
The retail box feels premium from the start. Open it up and everything feels nicely presented. Thought through. Tidy. A bit special. That is exactly what I want from a product sitting at the top end of Edifier’s earbud range.
Inside, you get a nice little carrying pouch, a ridiculously short USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a good selection of ear tips. Sizes go from XS to XL, which I always appreciate because fit matters a lot with earbuds. Even better, the tips have different colours. Small detail. Nice touch.
The leaflet is also very Edifier. Clear. Detailed. Proper. I like that.
First impressions were strong.
The Charging Case
The charging case looks simple and understated, with a clean matte finish and a subtle STAX logo on top.
The charging case is good.
But I will be honest. I wanted more.
It looks very close to the case design used on other Edifier NeoBuds models, and that left me a little underwhelmed. It is a nice case, don’t get me wrong. Simple. Clean. Easy to open. Easy to remove the earbuds from. No real complaints in terms of everyday use.
But this is STAX. This is meant to be the premium side of Edifier. I think it deserved something a bit more distinctive.
And then there is the missing feature that annoyed me straight away.
No wireless charging.
Come on, Edifier. At this price, I really do think wireless charging should be there.
That said, the case charges quickly with USB-C and in day-to-day use it works absolutely fine. One nice detail is that instead of the Edifier logo, you get the STAX logo on top of the case.
That works for me.
The Earbuds
The earbuds themselves feel excellent.
This is where the premium side of the product becomes more obvious.
The build quality is very good. The materials feel good in the hand. The finish is solid. Nothing about them feels cheap. If you have used Edifier products before, you will know the brand is usually pretty good in this area. The S10 continues that.
I also like the STAX logo on each earbud. It gives them a smarter, more premium identity.
They are a tiny bit heavier than some other earbuds I have tested, but in the ear they are still very comfortable. I wore them for long listening sessions without any problem. No pain. No pressure issues. No silly fit drama.
Again though, I do think Edifier missed a trick with the design.
Because this is the STAX range, I wanted the look to feel more separate from the NeoBuds line. More special. More instantly recognisable. As it stands, the S10 looks good, but not quite as unique as I hoped.
Still, if you do not already own another pair of Edifier earbuds, chances are you will really like how these look and feel.
They definitely feel premium.
Touch controls are located on the side of the earbuds and they work well. Play, pause, skip, the usual functions. More importantly, the controls can be customised through the Edifier ConneX app, which is always a plus.
Connection, App and Settings
I tested the STAX Spirit S10 first with my iPhone 15 Plus.
Connection was easy. No issues there. They paired quickly and worked properly from the start.
Then I moved over to my Google Pixel 9A.
On Android, the experience felt better. Faster. A bit more complete. And thanks to Google Fast Pair, getting connected was very simple.
The Edifier ConneX app is available on both iPhone and Android, and it gives you plenty to play with. You can change the EQ, create your own sound profile, customise the controls, and switch on Game Mode for lower latency.
Now let’s talk about the part that really matters with these earbuds.
HD audio.
The STAX Spirit S10 supports high-quality wireless audio options, but you do need to make sure everything is enabled properly. That is important. If not, the HD Audio logo in the app will stay greyed out.
So first, check your phone settings.
Then go into the Edifier ConneX app and enable HD Audio there too.
If you do not do both, you may not actually be getting the best out of these earbuds.
With my Google Pixel 9A, I had to go into the phone settings and developer options to get LDAC enabled. It was not super straightforward, but once it was done, it was done.
Now, one thing worth mentioning. The Snapdragon Audio side of things did not work for me with my Pixel 9A. Or at least I could not get it to work. So I was able to test LDAC, but not Snapdragon Audio properly. I suspect other Android users with different phones will have a better experience there.
On iPhone, it is a different story.
Apple uses AAC, and while AAC still sounds good, you are not really getting the full point of what these earbuds can do. That is why I genuinely think the STAX Spirit S10 makes more sense for Android users.
If you are on Android and your phone supports the right codec, these earbuds open up more. That is where the extra detail comes through more clearly.
The STAX Spirit S10 earbuds inside the charging case. Easy to remove, nicely presented, and very much in line with Edifier’s usual design language.
Sound Quality
This is the big one.
This is why anyone is even looking at the STAX Spirit S10 in the first place.
I could not wait to try them. I really wanted to hear whether that planar magnetic driver made a noticeable difference.
My answer?
Yes. But not all the time.
And that is the honest truth.
The first thing I noticed was that familiar warm Edifier sound signature. I am a big fan of that tuning style. It sounds rich without sounding muddy. Easy to enjoy. Easy to live with. The S10 keeps that character, but adds a bit more refinement in certain areas.
The mids are excellent.
Clear. Detailed. Smooth. Voices come through beautifully. Instruments sit nicely in the mix. Podcasts sound superb. YouTube videos are a pleasure. Dialogues in Netflix and other video content sound clean and natural too.
The highs are also very good. Crisp without turning sharp. Detailed without becoming tiring.
And some tracks really do sound fantastic on these.
Moby’s Porcelain, which is one of my usual test tracks, sounded absolutely beautiful here. Spacious. Emotional. Detailed. That kind of track really lets these earbuds show what they can do.
The ANC is also excellent.
Honestly, probably one of the best I have tested on earbuds. And that matters because it is not always easy to get really strong ANC in a compact true wireless design. The S10 does a very good job here.
Volume is strong too. These can go loud.
But now we need to talk about bass.
Because that is where some people will hesitate.
The bass is not bad. Not at all. You can hear it clearly. It is present. It is controlled. But I expected more from a pair of premium earbuds at this price.
More weight. More physicality. More fun.
If you love deep, heavy, hard-hitting bass, these may not be the earbuds for you. That is the truth. They are more about detail, control, and clarity than about giving you a thick, punchy low-end slam.
For me, it is not a deal breaker because I do not need massive bass to enjoy music. But I understand that for some people it absolutely will be.
So yes, planar magnetic makes a difference here.
But the difference is not “wow, everything destroys normal earbuds.” It is more subtle than that. You hear it in the control. In the detail. In the speed. In the way certain tracks feel cleaner and more precise.
Not in every song. Not every second.
But enough to matter.
One more thing worth mentioning: the automatic start-stop function is excellent. Remove one earbud and playback pauses immediately. Put it back in and it resumes. Simple feature. Very well done.
Battery Life
Battery life has been very good in my own use.
And importantly, it feels close to what Edifier promises.
Now, I should say this. I use ANC a lot. So that is something to keep in mind. If you are using noise cancellation regularly, you are naturally going to get less battery than someone listening with ANC off.
Even so, I have been very happy with the battery here.
I am not the kind of guy who listens to music with earbuds or headphones for three to five hours a day without stopping. My use is more realistic. A bit of music. Some YouTube. A podcast. Maybe some Netflix. In that kind of everyday use, the STAX Spirit S10 has great battery life.
I never felt like they were draining too fast. I never felt anxious about battery. And the charging case gives you enough backup to make them easy to live with.
So no complaints from me in this department.
Calls, Video and Everyday Use
These are not just music earbuds.
For calls, they perform very well too. People could hear me clearly and I had no real problems using them for normal day-to-day conversations.
Watching YouTube was also a very good experience. I did not notice any annoying lag, which is something I pick up on quite quickly if it is there.
And that matters.
Because not everyone buys premium earbuds only for music. A lot of us use them for a bit of everything. Music, podcasts, voice notes, videos, calls. In that kind of mixed everyday use, the S10 performs really well.
Who Are They For?
I think these are for Android users first.
That is the clearest conclusion I came to after testing them.
If you have an Android phone that can take proper advantage of LDAC and possibly Snapdragon Audio on a compatible device, the STAX Spirit S10 makes much more sense. You are getting closer to the real point of these earbuds.
They are also for people who care more about clarity, detail, mids, comfort and ANC than about huge bass.
And they are for existing Edifier fans who want to try the brand’s more premium side.
If that sounds like you, then yes, I think you will really like them.
If you mainly want chest-thumping bass, or if you use an iPhone and want the smoothest possible experience with no codec fuss, there may be better options for your money.
Are They Worth the Price?
This is where it gets interesting.
At full price, I think the STAX Spirit S10 is a serious purchase. You have to know what you are buying. These are not universal crowd-pleasers. They are not trying to be.
But if you understand their strengths, then yes, I do think the price is fair.
You are paying for premium build, unique driver technology, very good ANC, strong overall sound quality, and a more refined presentation than the average pair of wireless earbuds.
Would I still love wireless charging at this price? Yes.
Would I like a more distinctive STAX-specific design? Also yes.
Would I like a bit more bass weight? Definitely.
But even with those criticisms, I still think the STAX Spirit S10 is a strong premium earbud.
And because this is Edifier, it is always worth checking whether they are discounted somewhere. At the right offer price, they become even easier to recommend.
Final Thoughts
The Edifier STAX Spirit S10 is a very good pair of earbuds.
Beautifully made. Comfortable. Packed with features. And capable of genuinely excellent sound.
The planar magnetic driver does make a difference. Not in a dramatic, life-changing way. But enough that you notice it, especially with the right music and the right source.
The ANC is excellent. The mids are superb. The overall tuning is refined and enjoyable. The bass, for me, is the only real weak point relative to the price.
So no, they are not perfect.
But they are still impressive.
For a first-generation pair of premium planar magnetic earbuds with ANC, I think Edifier has done a very good job.
My score: 8.5/10
Jerome
About the author: I'm Jerome, founder of Dapper & Groomed. I've spent the past 13 years testing and reviewing tech, audio gear, grooming products, and men's lifestyle essentials on this blog and on my YouTube channel. My reviews are never approved or previewed by brands — just honest, real-world testing from a dad who's been doing this since 2013.