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- Dual connectivity works well
- RGB lighting is cool
- Sliding wheel is satisfying
- No supporting app
- Middling battery life
The Hecate GX05 earbuds from Edifier are not your run of the mill offering. Armed with dual connectivity and a hugely satisfying sliding wheel. If you’ve been looking for a pair of a high-quality pair of gaming earbuds to pair with the best handheld game consoles, the Hecate GX05 are potentially a good fit, albeit not without fault. At the end of the day, the signature sci-fi aesthetic and RGB lighting certainly give these earbuds them a look of quality, however, speaking frankly, the aesthetic is a distraction from some annoying design flaws.
I used to use a pair of AudioTechnica headphones then switched to the second generation of AirPods Pro in favor of something more seamless and better at calling without sacrificing sound quality. Now reviewing the GX05, I was curious to try out a new brand of audio hardware and was drawn to its specific gaming functionality. Could a pair of gaming earbuds really be worth it? Let’s get into it.
Price and Availability
The Hecate GX05 earbuds are available from Amazon for $149.99. At the time of writing, they aren’t available in the States directly from Edifier or from Amazon. That means right now, you can only snag these earbuds on Amazon UK. Curiously, you could investigate the cheaper alternative from the same line called the GX07 Wireless gaming earbuds.
Hecate GTX05 earbuds as they come in the box
Hecate GX05 earbuds and accessories
A person holding a small toy in their hands.
A woman wearing earphones in front of a neon wall.
Design and Features
Unboxing these earbuds is a bit like getting a shuriken for your next mission as a deadly assassin. The Hecate GX05 earbuds come in a weighty triangular case made from Zinc alloy, a strong durable material that guards well against scratches and catches the light nicely. It has an IP54 rating which safeguards the earbuds against sweat and dust, though they aren’t fully waterproof. Around the edges of the case are three stripes of customizable RGB lighting that look great, especially when I stand the case up on its own on my desk. The Hecate GX05 earbuds undoubtedly have that wow factor when you unbox them.
Edifier has gone for a serious cyborg aesthetic that will appeal to you if you like the vibes found in Mass Effect of Cyberpunk 2077. The RGB lighting blinks on when you turn its signature sliding wheel that allows you to take the earbuds and dongle out of the case. The wheel is an unusual feature and I’m torn on my final verdict. It’s indisputably fun to fiddle with although it’s a shame it only turns in one direction. It’s also a little bulky.
Compared to my AirPods Pro case, the wheel roughly doubles the width of the case and doesn’t slip into your pocket as easily. They do come with an elegant pouch that would help here, but it makes putting the earbuds on and off a bit of a faff, especially if you’re out and about. While I love how these earbuds look on my desk, especially next to an RGB keyboard, I wouldn’t want to rely on them for my general use, out-and-about earbuds.
The actual earbuds
Each earbud also features a small LED strip that powers on when you turn the wheel. Like other earbuds, you can control some of the settings by tapping on them. They fit snugly in my ear once I went for the larger plastic earcases. It’s definitely worth checking which size case fits the best for your ear – once I went for the larger casing I found it massively improved the sound quality, providing a much fuller sound (more on that later though).
The controls on the earbuds are straightforward to use and I thought they worked well. That’s more than I can say for taking them out of the case and putting them on. I found I was always holding the case the wrong way round and putting the earbuds in the wrong which was annoying. You can tap twice to pause or play sound, and switch between game and music mode by tapping three times on the right earbud. There’s no option to adjust the volume on the earbuds – that’s something you have to do on the device. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my AirPods, but I miss having this feature. It’s handy being able to turn off the earbuds without having to put them back in the case, though. I liked being able to continue wearing them (they’re quite comfy) without worrying about draining the battery.
Connectivity
These earbuds are pretty feature rich. Most impressively, they feature a 2.4GHz dongle that reaches up to 1000Hz or 1ms polling rates which is ideal for gaming scenarios. At the same time, you can connect secondary devices via Bluetooth. Bear in mind that switching between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz connectivity has a lag of about 2 seconds which is pretty standard for dual connection devices.
For that ultra-low latency in gaming scenarios, you can use the USB-C dongle that can be found in the case. Edifier has provided a USB-C adapter as well which means it can connect to almost any device, plus a dust cover if you’re keeping the dongle in your PC for gaming. This makes taking calls while gaming much easier.
The case also features a USB-C charging port and a pairing button on the back of the case which is seamless and easy to use, pairing with every device other than Xbox.
Performance
The Hecate GX05 earbuds have both a gaming and general listening mode. I’ll discuss how these buds performed in each area below. Overall, they paired well with every device I tried them with few problems to speak of. However, these earbuds lack customization options – it would be great if you were able to adjust the Noise Cancelling or turn down the volume via an app, but this isn’t an option yet.
Gaming performance
My go-to game to try was Genshin Impact on mobile. The game’s musical score stands out to me and I thought it would be nice to wander around Mondstadt listening to the crispness of my footsteps which did not disappoint with these earbuds. The sound was dynamic and precise, and the earbuds felt secure in my ear.
There was barely any detectable latency on these earbuds, regardless of whether I was using the Bluetooth or USB-C connection. In my opinion, latency is very hard to notice during gameplay anyway, though. Chances are if you do notice a difference, then you’re probably a serious gamer and would prefer a wired headset that isn’t held back by its battery life. The entire case gives you 16 hours of battery life but only four and a half hours between recharges. Edifier’s, cheaper GX07 earbuds last longer at six and a half hours, but you lose the dual connectivity option.
General performance
Music
Despite the high resolution audio of these earbuds, I wasn’t blown away by the sound quality. The sound is clear and with passable bass, however, it lacks Dolby Atmos and in general, feels a little distant compared with other earbuds in a similar price range. If you’ve been used to surround sound then these earbuds will feel like a noticeable downgrade.
Making calls
I sadly tested these earbuds out in a real world scenario during the morning meeting at work. This was probably the most disappointing aspect of the earbuds. I was in a quiet environment, but the earbuds barely picked up my voice. There was a lot of external sound bleeding into the microphones and my voice sounded distant according to my co-workers. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend these earbuds if you make a lot of calls on Discord, or else you’re hoping for a pair of earbuds that delivers crisp and clear sounding calls.
Should you buy the Hecate GX05 earbuds?
I think it depends what you’re looking for, but I think the battery life and sound quality during calls is what lets these earbuds down. I could definitely get used to the cyborg design, even if it takes a little getting used to putting the earbuds correctly. However, the sound quality is nothing to write home about, and at this price point, you could find a pair of earbuds that are more versatile.
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