Gravastar Sirius Pro TWS Earbuds Review – Form over function

Gravastar is Bluetooth audio specialist that differentiates itself from all the other generic audio brands by creating products in a striking industrial alienesque design.

The overall build quality and aesthetic of all the devices are excellent, and they will appeal to gamers, movie fans and younger generations in general. However, this focus on build quality and aesthetic does mean that these cost more than you’d pay for similarily performing products from other brands.

Specification:

• Bluetooth Version: V5.2
• Operation Range: 10m±
• Noise Canceling Mode: ENC
• Charging Time: 1.5-2H
• Battery Life: 4H±
• Weight: 6g (Single earbud)
• Charging Case
• Input: 5V=500mA
• Output: 5V=150mA
• Charging Time: 3H±
• Battery Capacity: 400mAh (3 times battery life)
• Battery Type: Li-ion
• Charging Port: Type-C

Design / Comfort

The Gravastar Sirius Pro have the most visually impressive packaging and charge case of any earbud I have used.

The charging case is zinc alloy in a distressed (war-damaged) grey and has a considerable amount of weight to it. It has 6 RGB lights to appease the gamer crowd, and you can even use it as a bottle opener. You then open the case with the little push button on the side.

Even the packaging it arrives in is impressive, and it would be a waste to through it away.

Things go downhill from there. The earbuds are a standard shape but have some Gravastar branding on them, which I doubt anyone will notice when in your ears.

Removing the earbuds from the case is genuinely difficult. I have to sort of pry them out with my fingertip as there is nothing to grip properly.

The standard earbud design has a decent level of comfort, and you can improve both the sound quality and comfort by swapping out the ear tips for one of the three sizes included.

The earbuds have an IPX5 rating, and I have used them in the gym and outside running without issue.

Sound Quality

While the Sirius Pro does not have a proper companion app with an EQ, they do have three different modes, music, gaming and movie.

Enabling the modes requires different types of press on the earbud, which can get confusing. I regularly paused or skipped a song when trying to change the audio mode:

• Tap L or R to play/pause
• Tap R twice to skip a song
• Tap L twice to return a song
• Triple-tap R to switch between music mode and gaming mode
• Triple-tap L to switch between music mode and movie mode
• Hold R to increase the volume
• Hold L to decrease volume
• Tap L or R four times to activate the voice assistant

With the movie mode, it seems to tweak the audio widening the soundstage and bringing out voices. There is no obvious latency allowing the audio to match the video. Trying to play music in the movie mode has an unpleasant echo to it.

Gaming mode also seems to open the soundstage a bit and reduces the bass a touch which seems to help with ambient noises a little. Latency seems to be good, but I am not an avid mobile gamer so I can barely tell the difference anyway.

For music and the music mode, the sound quality is reasonably good. These have a V shape sound signature, but the bass isn’t excessive. It comes out pleasantly in hip-hop tracks but didn’t overwhelm other genres where it wasn’t necessary.

Mids were quite recessed, which can hold back some vocals. I found that the deep recess in the mids made the treble sound a bit harsher than it actually is. It feels a little unbalanced to me.  

Overall, the sound quality is reasonably good. I think the attempt to make these work well with gaming and movies is what makes the music sound a little unbalanced, but most people will find the overall sound enjoyable.

Battery

The Gravastar Sirius Pro is rated for just 4 hours of playtime, with an additional 12 hours from the case. While 4 hours used to be a common playtime a few years ago, it is just poor by modern standards. Even ANC earbuds tend to last longer than this.

Price and Alternative Options

The Gravastar Sirius Pro are priced at £107.55 for the basic colours, or £124.10 for the war-damaged colours I have reviewed. They are cheapest direct from Gravastar but only a few pence more expensive on Amazon.

There are definitely no earbuds that have such a dramatic and impressive aesthetic as the Sirius Pro, but if you don’t care about the looks, then there are probably dozens of better options differ NeoBuds Pro: Has LDAC, active noise cancelling, a companion app with an EQ, more eartip options and a superior battery. For around the same price, if not less.

• Sony WF-1000XM3 – The older version from Sony but a bargain at under £100, has superb ANC, better battery and likely better sound quality.
• Nothing Ear (1) – Cheaper and with an attractive design. Active noise cancelling, companion app with EQ, wireless charging, superior battery. Review here.
• final ZE3000 – Has aptX Adaptive for the best low latency audio, better battery, more eartips.
• Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro – Costs a bit more but has excellent ANC and a wide range of audio options within the app. Review here.

Some earbuds will be better for gaming than others. Technically the final ZE3000  should have the lowest latency on the above list.

Overall

The Gravastar Sirius Pro are OK. They are undeniably visually impressive, and this is something that has likely added to the overall cost of the earbuds.

The overall design is also their downfall. The charging case and the packaging they arrive in clearly add to the overall cost, which means there are other earbuds on the market with more features and better sound for around the same price. They just don’t look as impressive.

While the war-damaged colourways look better than the standard options, you are paying almost £20 more (a 15% increase) for this colour.

Overall, how good the Sirius Pro is depends on what you really want. If you want something that looks amazing, then these are a good choice, but if you don’t care about aesthetics, then you can find better.