GravaStar Sirius P5 TWS Earbuds: Awesome Sound (Again) And Fun [Review]

Nobody cares about the look of the charging case of TWS earbuds but if you do and would love to switch up the look from time to time, then you may want to check out the GravaStar Sirius P5, which has interchangeable shells out of the box. Sure, there are cases out there that would let change the look of the charging cases of popular TWS earbuds but I believe it is the first out-of-the-box TWS to let you do so.

GravaStar Sirius P5 TWS Earbuds Review — L-R: Defense Armor, Defense Mecha, and Defense Crystal.

But before you jumped into it, you may want to hear what we have to say about this pair of latest earphones from the GravaStar.

Disclaimer: This review unit may be provided to us by GravaStar but rest assured that it does not affect our take on the earbuds. All the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

After experiencing several GravaStar products, we are confident of the audio reproduction, and true enough the sound was amazing. The audio quality varies depending on the source. Generally, it may not blow your mind if you’ve experienced say, Sony’s range-topper from last year but for the money, it certainly delivers. Keep going to read my take.

Before we get on to the main event, here’s a quick rundown of the specs:

Driver: 12 mm dynamic driver

Bluetooth ver.: 5.2

Noise Canceling: ENC

Playtime (Earbuds): up to 8 hours

Playtime (Total): up to 40 hours

Charging: Wired via USB-C

Features: Qualcomm 3046 chip, 48 ms low latency for Gaming Mode, multi-point connection, built-in RGB lights (charging case), two modes (gaming, music), button control with light indicators (one on each bud), and IPX4 sweat and water-resistant.

The Design

The Earbuds:

For the GravaStar Sirius P5 TWS Earbuds, GravaStar moved away from the earbud with silicone tip design in favor of an ear tip-free design in the earbud and stick format, made famous by Apple. If I can be honest, I am not a huge fan of the ear-tip-free design.

I have nonregular size sound holes and the earbuds do not fit superbly well when compared to the GravaStar Sirius Pro which has silicone ear tips. So far, the only ear-tip-free earbuds that fit my ear holes are the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live.

The earbud and stick design would be a rather mundane design choice – if not for the big tube over small tube design, and the presence of the logo button that also doubles as an indicator light.

The Charging Case:

As far as design goes, the charging case is undeniably the star of the show. It stood out for its ability to change the outer shell. There are three designs to choose from but you can get pick up the combo set which contains all three designs.

Swapping out the charging case shell is not slip and click. To install and remove the cover, you will need a coin, such as a quarter, to screw and unscrew the custom flat screw at the bottom of the charging case.

Save for the Defense Armor which is made of zinc alloy, the Defense Mecha, and the Defense Crystal are of plastic. The former has a high-tech Gundam vibe while the latter leans more geeky style as it lets you have a peek at the actual charging case.

It is worth mentioning that the Defense Mecha has an easter egg and that’s the four LEGO brick-compatible studs that you can leverage to further customize the unit. But be warned, though, the fit is not the tightest and the LEGO elements may just come off while tossing around in your tote. But it is a lot of fun and you can see from the photos, I was having blast!

But it is a super nice touch, IMHO, because you know, LEGO. All three cases are compatible with the included necklace that lets you wear the charging case around your neck. Again, it is a nice touch. The fact that the necklace is a chain, instead of a lanyard, is also super cool.

Another thing to note is, if you choose the Defense Crystal shell, it will come with white earbuds and a charging case while the rest, including the combo set, comes with black earbuds and a charging case.

The charging case is where you find a user-selectable RGB light which you can cycle through using a button found at the bottom of the case. However, do not expect the world. It is just a light tube. There’s no breathing light nor can you make it cycle through the four available colors.

Then again, you probably don’t need that on a charging case as much as the charging base for the GravaStar Mars.

The Fit

As briefly mentioned earlier, the fit isn’t the best for my ear holes. Or at least, psychologically speaking, I felt uneasy having no soft silicone serving as the, well, buds. As much as I feel like the earbuds aren’t securely fit, they are surprisingly secured. They will not fall out or anything. Neither will they fall out when I jump a lot or shake my head violently (yes, for no reason). Perhaps I just feel insecure because it does not feel like it is hugging the cavity.

The Build

Like every product we have reviewed from GravaStar, the build of the earbuds and the charging case do not disappoint. But do notice a teeny weeny bit of free play on the lid of the Defense Mecha and Defense Armor shells. The Crystal, though is perfect. While the build is generally good, the plastic used on the Defense Mecha and the Defense Crystal does feel a little cheap. But it does not take away the fact they look freaking cool! OK.

The Connection

The connection is strong with this one. Like, seriously, strong. I managed to make it to 11.07 meters (36 feet) when connected to my MacBook Pro M1. It exhibited the same distance when connected to my Samsung Galaxy S21. And yes, I took advantage of a multi-point connection to do so, and well, it works as advertised. I have kept the buds in my ears and switched between the Mac and Samsung for a series of auditions.

As far as the connection goes, it did not drop after 36 feet. It was 36 feet because that was as far as I can walk without stepping outdoors. Also, it is worth noting that the connection distance test was through a set of closed glass panel folding doors and a concrete wall. Unfortunately, though this little does not have in-ear detection.

The Sound

If I told you that the GravaStar Sirius P5 sounds almost as good as the US$230 Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro would you believe it? Actually, IMHO, it actually pretty close. However, I find the sound a little on the harsher side compared to the Buds2 Pro and the Sirius Pro. The mids and highs are crisp and clear, though I cannot say it has the best bass. The buds do not do justice to Kenichiro Nishihara x mabanua’s my leaving. Just saying.

I do find that vocals stood out quite a bit which makes listening to jazz songs particularly satisfying. But the slight lack of oomph in the bass may hamper the experience somewhat but that’s just my preference.

The audio separation was great too. When Norah Jones’ Painter Song – Alternate Version – The Allaire Sessions came on as I was typing this, I was caught off guard. I faintly heard a guitar in the background which I thought was in the room I was in. Believe it or not, I looked around, only to realize it was the audio from the left earbuds. It really did feel like I was there which is pretty amazing.

In the area of movies, I experienced Greyhound on Apple TV+ on a Macbook Pro. It was alright. After all, it is not really tuned for movies but damn, the sinking of two U-boats scene was pretty intense despite the lack of the oomph in the low-frequency department.

The earbuds support two modes: music and gaming. Switching between the two requires you to tap the button three times in succession. The gaming mode was OK. Based on amateur gaming which includes two solo matches on PUGB Mobile, there was no noticeable lag. As expected of such headphones, directions of footsteps and gunshots were discernable and so was sound overhead.

The Control

Control is the only aspect that I am not fond of (other than the earbud and stick design). The limited touch area is very elusive. When you want to control it like adjusting the volume or skipping tracks, it does not seem to want to cooperate. But when I have to adjust the earbud, 9 out 10 times, I will accidentally trigger pause or play.

There are no gestures which means timing and number of presses matter, a lot. And I am not very good at remembering them. Often, I end up picking up the phone to do whatever I need to do. After a couple of days, I am starting to get used to it but even then, it can be considered a hit-and-miss for me. It can be frustrating. Ugh.

The Omission

Like always, we did test the water resistance because of the usual reasons. As for the battery, I have been on it for nearly 3 hours now, starting with 100% juice and at this point, I have 80% left. I’d say it is pretty solid.

The Verdict

For:

Good audio quality for the price point
Unique design
Interchangeable charging case shell
Multi-point connection
Strong Bluetooth connectivity

Against:

Mellow bass
Ear tip-free design
No in-ear detection
Finicky control

Overall, the GravaStar Sirius P5 TWS Earbuds are a very enjoyable pair of TWS for this price point. It almost has a good balance of range if not for the less-than-desirable bass (perhaps my expectation was too high?). As highlighted in the review, the ear tip-free design is not my thing and so it may be a con if you have this constant fear of them popping off. Also, if you are a bass head, this is probably not it. Though a third-party equalizer app can help in this aspect if really need heavier bass.

The GravaStar Sirius P5 TWS Earbuds Combo (3 Cases in 1) is available now at an introductory price of US$89.95 (U.P. US$139.95).

Images: Mike for Mikeshouts.com.