Edifier Hecate GM4 Specification

Driver	5.8mm moving coil
Bluetooth	Bluetooth v5.0
Chipset	Pixart PAU 160X chipset
Effective Distance	10 meter
Playback Time	4 hours
Frequency Response	20-20kHz
Sensitivity	95dB
Connection	USB Type C
Weight	5.5g (earbuds) + 50g (case)
Water Resistant	IPX 5
EQ mode	Game / Music
Colour	Black
Latency	Game mode 65ms / Music mode approx. 120ms

Pricing & Where to buy: RM 199 Edifier Official Store (Lazada Malaysia)

Out of the box

The packaging comes with a white sleeve encasing a black box with a hologram of HECATE at the front. On the inside sits an elegant flat laying case protected by black foam followed by cables and 2 pairs of earpieces (different sizes) at the bottom in a card box pack. The user manual is located at the back once you remove the foam.

Here is what you will get:

• Edifier HECATE GM4  earbuds
• GM4 Casing
• USB C cable
• 2 pairs extra ear cushion
• User manual

Design and Build

Both the casing and the earbuds are made of plastic with matte finishing. I specifically like matte material as it is less prone to fingerprints and scratches.

The case is a flat laying case and I’m a big fan on cases of this form simply because it won’t topple over and can be easily operated with a single hand. It comes with 3 blue LED light to indicate the charge and once you open the case, you are presented with the GM4 earbuds. The case supports USB-C charging located on the right side of the case; and it’s due time every ear buds should come with this option.

The earbuds itself is made of plastic but feels very solid and lightweight, weighing in only at 5.5g. The buds seems boring at first with an all black piece paired with an all black case but once you pick it up, you are being greeted by the HECATE logo illuminating subtly which I think bring a level of simplicity and sophistication. 

It also has an IPX5 rating which means that it can withstand a few splashes of water, however you won’t want to go swimming with this pair.

Overall the build of the earbuds and case are decent considering it’s price option. Where it lacks in material, it excel in it’s simple and elegant design, which I would say pleasing to the eyes.

Pairing

Pairing the earbuds, like most of the earbuds in the market is pretty straight forward. Simply remove the earbuds from the casing and search for Bluetooth devices on your phone. You will know that it is in a pairing mode when you see a pulsating blue and white light flashing rapidly at you. Once paired, the logo will blackout and present you will a calmer white logo every 3 seconds interval.

The GM4 also comes with Master Slave dual mode. What this means is that you can run the earbuds in a stereo pair or pair each different earbuds to 2 separate phone in mono mode. It is a great addition but I don’t find it useful unless you are on a flight with your friend who wants to borrow your earbuds to connect to his phone.

Touch Control

Controls on the GM4 is by touch sensitive sensor on both left and right. Tapping action is responsive however you need to be slightly fast on your tapping action.

Here are the controls that you can do with the earbuds.

• Tap 2x on left or right – Pause or play media
• Tap 2x on left or right – pickup incoming calls
• Press and hold left – Skip backward
• Press and hold right – Skip forward
• Tap 3x on left – call out Assistant
• Tap 3x on right – Toggle Game/Music Mode

Comfort

The GM4 are rather comfortable on the ear with little to no sharp plastic edges that often found on cheaper earbud. It fits very snugly for my ear type with little to no wobble and movement whenever I swing my head or jump. There is a little notch on the side of the buds that allows your tragus (that’s the little flap on your ears before entering the ear canal) to comfortably hold the buds in place. It comes with addition 2 pair of ear cushion (made from rubber) that you can replace in case the default ones don’t suit your ear size.

Sound

Game mode

With the game mode you will enjoy the low latency of 65ms thanks to the Pixart chipset paired with decent stereo isolation, giving you “up to the action” response and directionality that you need for gaming.

You will notice a higher bass enhancement which can be overpowering in games and application with constant bass pumping. For games like PUBG, the bass enhancement brings another level of excitement especially if there is a plane flying by or you are getting shot at. Vocals and highs are very upfront and you will be able to hear rattling grasses and crashes.

The bass enhancement is very welcomed especially for gaming earbuds but not so if you are listening to music and watching a movie. Music gets a bit muddy with lack of low mid; and movies become overpowered and flat. Stick the game mode to gaming only.

Music mode

When is comes to music, a well balance frequency response is essential and this baby do deliver. It has a 20-20kHz (on paper) frequency response where it was quite evidence during the testing, however there is a slight frequency crossover on the mids but that is normal considering its price point and a single moving coil driver.

If you are someone that love deep bass and clarity on the highs, this will be a great addition to your collection. Surprisingly it also sounded pretty decent with Jazz music with nice clarity on the drumkits.

Latency for the music mode is roughly around 120ms (give or take) which is OK for music.

Battery Life

The unit spots a 4 hours continuous playing time and based on my usage it definitely is not an exaggerated figure. The case itself charges within 1-1.5 hours when it’s discharge or nearly out of charge and provide power to the earbuds for a total of 3 cycle (that’s 12 hours if you do the math). You should have a charge of 16 hours (4 hours on the buds and 12 on the case).

Considering if you are using it 2 hours per day, you could easily last more than a week without charging.