When I first set eyes on the Edifier Hecate GX05 earbuds it was difficult to know quite what to expect. I’d seen pictures of the angular case on the Edifier site… very cyberpunk, very gamer… but it wasn’t until I had it in front of me in my own hands that I appreciated just how eye-catching and premium this thing looks and feels. The alloy housing feels like something you’d find in a collector’s edition box set, not something you’d casually chuck in a bag on the way to work. It’s hefty, sure, and not the most pocket-friendly bit of kit with its angles corners, but honestly? It’s so, so cool. It looks like a tiny bit of alien tech, with moving RGB lighting when you open or close the rotting cover. That rotating lid to access the earbuds themselves is awesome, and the included little 2.4GHz dongle is a very nice touch too, something we’ll come to a little later.
Using them is even better. The GX05 connects via Bluetooth 5.3 or, if you really want to go all-in for low latency gaming or listening, that USB-C dongle gives you 2.4GHz wireless mode with practically no delay. We’re talking 15ms latency here, ideal if you’re trying to clutch a match and need to hear every footstep, reload, or distant ping. And better still, you can use both connections at once, so if you’re mid-game on your PC and your phone rings, you don’t have to fumble about disconnecting anything. It’s a small feature that’s genuinely useful in day-to-day life. The USB dongle also means you don’t need to keep re-pairing the headphones to different devices, so if like me you like to jump between your phone, PC and PS5 you can just plug in the dongle, instantly pair up and drop it back into the lovely metal case when you’re done.
Now, let’s talk about sound, after all that’s what you’re after in a pair of earbuds… and this is where I was genuinely impressed. These things sound fantastic. The 10mm titanium-coated drivers combined with LHDC 5.0 support mean you get Hi-Res audio that punches way above what I expected. In games, the detail is unreal. Directional sound is clear, and there’s a punchiness to the highs that makes picking out enemy movement super easy. I’m sure there would’ve been people on COD wondering how I seemed to have a sixth sense of when they were about to pop round a corner. Outside of gaming, switching to music mode gives you a lovely balanced profile. Bass is warm but not overwhelming, vocals sit nicely, and nothing feels muddy. They’re not studio monitors, but they’re far, far better than your average wireless earbuds and will give you sound as good as what you put into it – hook these up to some lossless audio and you’ll be blown away.
Call quality is solid too if you were to use them on the phone. The dual-mic setup and Environmental Noise Cancellation do a decent job, especially in quieter environments. If you’re in a busy shop or near traffic, it’s not flawless – but it’s more than enough for chatting in Discord or taking a quick phone call. Definitely not office headset material, but then again, these aren’t pretending to be, and considering how tiny they are and how far the microphone is from your mouth it’s remarkable how well they do work.
Battery life is probably the one area where things dip a bit. You’ll get about 4 or 5 hours from the buds themselves, with the case offering another 12 or so hour of charge before having to hook the whole thing up to get more juice. That’s not bad, but it’s not great either, especially when you’re in the middle of a long gaming session. You’ll probably find yourself topping them up more often than you’d like. It’s not a dealbreaker, but something to be aware of.
There’s no companion app support either like some other premium buds have, so no EQ tweaking or remapping the touch controls. If you’re someone who likes to tinker, that might sting a little. Personally, I was happy with how they sounded out of the box, but I know some people love a good custom preset.
Still, for me, these things deliver where it matters. They sound great, they look brilliant, and the dual wireless connection makes them genuinely useful in more ways than one. The build quality makes them feel like a premium product, and that latency in gaming mode? Genuinely game-changing. You feel the difference. If you’re after a pair of gaming-focused earbuds that do more than just the basics, and you don’t mind carrying around a slightly chunky case, the Hecate GX05s are a brilliant pick. I’ve used a lot of earbuds over the years, and these are easily among my favourites. Stylish, punchy, and practical. What more do you want?