There are different styles and colours of earbuds on the market to suit just about anyone. GravaStar, a company whose futuristic-looking speakers we’ve reviewed in the past, also makes earbuds. Their latest true wireless earbuds have something a bit unique.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Our GravaStar Sirius P5 review looks at some true wireless earbuds that come with different case cover options, allowing you to customize the case with different styles. Read on for our full review.
Table of contents
Specifications
The GravaStar Sirius P5 Combo earbuds we reviewed have the following features and specifications:
- Dynamic Driver: 12mm
- Noise Canceling: Environment Noise Canceling (ENC)
- Sound Mode: Music Mode & Gaming Mode
- Input: 5V — 500mA
- Output: 5V — 150mA
- Bluetooth Protocol: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP
- Decoding Format: SBC/AAC/APTX
- Sensitivity: 99dB+/- 3dB
- Frequency response range: 20Hz – 20KHz
- Bluetooth: V5.2
- Bluetooth Distance: >10m
- Battery Type: Polymer lithium-ion battery
- Earbuds Charging Time: 1.5 hours
- Single Earbuds Battery Capacity: 45 mAh (Up to 8 hours playtime with 50% volume, 40 hours in total with charging case)
- Charging Case Battery Capacity: 500 mAh (Can fully charge earbuds 4 times)
- Charging Case Charging Time: 2 hours
- Waterproof: IPX4
- Single Earbuds Weight: 5g
What’s in the box
- Sirius P5 Combo includes:
- Sirius P5 earbuds core (Black color)
- Sirius P5 Defense Armor case
- Sirius P5 Defense Mecha case
- Sirius P5 Defense Crystal case
- Necklace
- User manual
- Type-C charging cable
- Sirius P5 Defense Armor includes:
- Sirius P5 earbuds core (Black color)
- Sirius P5 Defense Armor case
- Necklace
- User manual
- Type-C charging cable
- Sirius P5 Defense Mecha includes:
- Sirius P5 earbuds core (Black color)
- Sirius P5 Defense Mecha case
- Necklace
- User manual
- Type-C charging cable
- Sirius P5 Defense Crystal includes:
- Sirius P5 earbuds core (White color)
- Sirius P5 Defense Crystal case
- Necklace
- User manual
- Type-C charging cable
Design
Earbuds
The GravaStar Sirius P5 true wireless earbuds have the Airpods style of design. Black in colour, they have a stem 1 1/4″ in length and a slim, tapered earpiece without any eartips. The tip ends in an oval shape with a black speaker grille.
The top and bottom of the stem are silver in colour, and the bottom piece has the barely visible charging contacts. The main microphone sits at the bottom of the stem while the ENC microphone sits on the outside of the top of the stem. A silver heartbeat line runs vertically along the stem towards a small touch sensor. The right earbud has the Sirius wordmark printed alongside the vertical line towards the bottom. The center of the sensor has the GravaStar icon centered in it and it glows red when in the case and charging.
Personally, I’m not a fan of this style of earbud. For starters, it doesn’t fit well in my ear, feels loose, and more importantly doesn’t form a tight seal for good audio quality, which I’ll take about below.
Also included is a long metal-black chain which you can fasten to the cases and change the earbud charging case around your neck or somewhere else so you don’t lose it. The included charging cable is pretty short as well, barely 8 inches in length. It’s not the end of the world, but depending on where you’ll be charging them, you might need a longer cable.
Cases
The cases included with the GravaStar Sirius P5 true wireless earbuds are twofold. The “main” charging case and the outer shells. The main case is constructed of black plastic and houses the earbuds when not in use or charging. The earbuds slide stem down into the case, and there is an L and R to indicate which side each earbud belongs to. The stem is visible from the front of the case due to the open design.
The GravaStar icon and wordmark are debossed at the front of the bottom of the case. The left side of the charging case has an LED light which can be changed between green, red, cyan, or blue, depending on your mood. The right side of the case has the Sirius wordmark and a 5 stamped into it. The back has four debossed rectangles. The top has the GravaStar URL stamped into it, the next has angled rectangles like you’d see on a construction sign, the third has the Sirius P5 wordmark and an angled down arrow stamped into it, and finally, the bottom rectangle has the words “Be Cool, Play It_” stamped into it.
Finally, the bottom of the main case is where you’ll find a small round button to change the colour of the side RGB LED strip, a USB-C charging port, and a removable screw which is used to secure the various case options to the charging case. To install or remove a case, unscrew the screw and slide the charging case with the LED light strip side towards the hinged side of the shell into the shell. Push it all the way down then re-fasten the screw and tighten into place. Once inside it’s shell, pressing the button on the right side of the case will pop the top open and allow you to access the earbuds.
Onto the three available shells…
Defense Crystal Series shell
The first is a clear plastic case that starts with a translucent blue on the bottom that fades up to clear near the top. The hinge on the left side is a black metal piece, as is the lid release button on the right side. The front and back of the Defense Crystal Series shell has the Sirius P5 logo printed in a white rectangle, the Be Cool, Play It_ slogan, and a barely legible definition of what GravaStar means. The right side has the 5 printed on it in white, underneath the lid release button.
When the charging case is inside this shell and the left LED strip is on, it does glow through the entire case, giving it a nice glow — especially if you are in a darker room. While cool looking, the case is just a plastic one and I’d anticipate it cracking easily if accidentally dropped on a hard surface like a concrete sidewalk.
This shell gets a 7/10 from me.
Defense Mecha Series shell
The Defense Mecha Series shell is also plastic in construction but is opaque white with red and black markings on it. The metal hinge is hidden inside the case, so it’s not visible, as is the lid release button. On the left side is a thin clear tube, which reflects the LED light nicely when it is on.
Again, being a plastic case, I’d anticipate it cracking easily if accidentally dropped on a hard surface like a concrete sidewalk.
As I do like the “mech” look of this shell, it gets an 8/10.
Defense Armor Series shell
The Defense Armor Series shell is my favourite by far. Foregoing the plastic construction of the other two shells, this one is metal through and through. With a gunmetal gray finish, it has an exoskeleton look to it and is easily the sturdiest and most solid of the three available shells. The side LED is fully exposed so doesn’t glow or diffuse as nicely as in the other two cases, but still looks sharp when turned on.
The metal design definitely offers more protection and I wouldn’t be too worried about accidentally dropping this on a hard or concrete surface. Sure, it might scratch or get some marks on it, but it’s not likely to crack and break.
Given the metal construction and protective nature of this shell, it gets a 9/10.
As for the overall score for this section, it takes into account the style/design of the earbuds, as well as the cases.
Ease of Use
I’ve already covered how easy it is to swap out a shell, simply remove the bottom screw on the case, swap out the shell, and re-fasten the shell. While you can use your finger to do this, it’s better and easier to use a screwdriver (not included). To access the Sirius P5 earbuds, press the button on the right side of the case and the lid will pop open.
Both earbuds have a multi-function button on the side. When you first get the earbuds, you have to remove them from the charging case and peel the protective film off the bottom of each one. Insert them back in the charging case, attach a shell, then open the lid. Once opened, the earbuds will enter pairing mode after which you just need to locate the Sirius P5 in your Bluetooth settings on your device.
Once paired, opening the lid should turn the earbuds on and have them pair to the last device you used with them. If they are not on, you can press and hold the button on each earbud for about 3 seconds to turn that earbud on. Some of the functions are the same for each earbud, while others are different. A short press of either button will play/pause the current track or answer/hang up a phone call. A double press of either button will reject an incoming phone call.
When listening to music, double pressing the left button will skip to the previous track, double pressing the right will skip to the next track. Holding the left button for about 1 1/2 seconds will decrease the volume, while doing so on the right will increase it. Finally, pressing the left button three times will activate your smartphone’s voice assistant. Pressing it three times on the right earbud will toggle between music or gaming modes.
Overall, the earbud controls are pretty straightforward and worked as they should without issue.
Sound Quality
As expected, when I first played music through the Sirius P5 earbuds, I was very disappointed. They were tinny and hollow sounding but it was 100% because they don’t fit in my larger ears properly. Even with the poor fit, they were definitely better than using the speaker on my laptop or smartphone and offered up louder sound with some o.k. bass levels.
When I pushed them in and held them in place with my fingers, the sound was much better. While still not the best-sounding earbuds I’ve experienced, the soundstage was pretty decent when held in place. The bass was more noticeable, and highs and mids were pretty well represented as well. Unfortunately, no one is going to walk around holding their earbuds in place while using them and the score for this section reflects my experience with the improper fit.
The earbuds do come with music and game modes, the latter of which offers up a lower latency. In this case, it drops the latency from the unknown default to about 60ms. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really tell a difference when gaming or testing with a video. On that note, I didn’t really notice a sound delay when watching videos on Netflix or YouTube in either mode.
Reception
For the most part, the GravaStar Sirius P5 earbuds have a pretty decent connection. As far as distance is concerned I was able to maintain a solid connection and sound quality when over 30 feet away with its onboard Bluetooth 5.2. While not often, there was the odd time one earbud would cut out for a second or two.
Microphone/Call Quality
The microphone and call quality on the Sirius P5 true wireless earbuds are pretty decent as well. During our test call, the other party mentioned that I sounded pretty crisp and clear when I asked about it.
Battery Life
GravaStar claims up to 8 hours of battery life when used at 50% volume, and up to 40 hours total when charged with the included case. During my testing time (which did consist of letting them run all day at 50% volume until they ran out), I was able to get pretty close to 8 hours. As for the charging, I got another 3 1/2 charges out of the case, bringing the total time to around 36 hours before I needed to charge the case again.
When depleted, the earbuds take about 1 1/2 hours to fully recharge, while the case takes about 2 hours.
Price/Value
The GravaStar Sirus P5 true wireless earbuds with switchable shells start out at $69.95, depending which shell you pick them up with. The combo pack, which we reviewed, has an MSRP of $139.95 on the GravaStar website. I hate to say it, but it’s a tough call given how I didn’t like the fit and style of the actual earbuds, which resulted in poor audio quality in my experience. However, if you are set on these because of the switchable shells and like this style of earbud, Amazon currently has the combo set for 25% off.
Photo Gallery
Wrap-up
The GravaStar Sirius P5 earbuds are pretty cool in theory. Unfortunately, the earbud style without interchangeable ear tips make them very limited when it comes to fit and, as a result, sound quality. I’d love to see the company release a different version with a more universal fitting earbud with tips for better fit which would result in better audio quality.
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