HECATE is a professional e-sports brand under EDIFIER. It has launched a number of TWS game earbuds, with a very futuristic design, ultra-low latency and comfortable wearing experience. Recently, HECATE released a new generation of flagship gaming earbuds – HECATE GX05. Through the third-generation “Flash Speed” 2.4G ultra-low-latency transmission technology, the delay is as low as 15ms, providing players with a smooth gaming experience.
HECATE GX05 is equipped with a titanium-plated composite diaphragm driver, which has high-frequency extension up to 40kHz and ultra-high resolution. It supports LHDC 5.0 decoding, can provide rich audio details, and has obtained Hi-Res Wireless certification. In the game mode, it also has exclusive game sound effects, allowing players to accurately locate footsteps and gunshots. In terms of battery life, the single battery life is about 4.5 hours, and the total battery life with the charging case exceeds 16 hours. Support 2C fast charging – charging for 10 minutes, can be used for more than 1 hour.
We have previously teardown Edifier products including: Edifier HECATE GM45, Edifier HECATE GM4 MINI, Edifier HECATE G4S, Edifier W820NB, Edifier Lolli3 ANC, Edifier TWS5 PRO, Edifier NeoBuds S, Edifier NeoBuds Pro, Edifier LolliPods Pro, Edifier FunBuds, Edifier Lolli 3, Edifier TO-U2, Edifier MiniBuds, Edifier X6, Edifier X5, Edifier X3, etc. Let’s take a look at the detailed teardown report of Edifier HECATE GX05.
01/ Edifier HECATE GX05 Charging Case Teardown
Remove the fixing screws at the bottom, and take off the top cover of the charging case.
The earbud cockpit structure and the indicator light guide column are set under the cover plate – fixed by screws. There is a power button in the middle of the cockpit, which is connected to the metal cover. When the top structure rotates, the button is triggered to control the lighting effect.
Remove the screws and take off the structure of the charging cockpit.
The bottom structure of the cockpit, the PCBA is fixed by screws, and the battery is protected by a sponge pad.
Remove the screws and remove the main components on the cockpit. Including the main board, the small main board to charge the earbuds and the battery.
The circuit on one side of the main board of the charging case has a unique ring structure design that fits the cavity structure of the charging case.
The circuit on one side of the charging case motherboard is equipped with 3 groups of 9 RGB LED lights to provide light sources for the lighting effect.
Prisemi P14C1N overvoltage and overcurrent protection IC, the input withstand voltage is up to 32V, and the overvoltage protection point is fixed at 6V. The overcurrent protection point can be set through the peripheral resistor, and the minimum support is 10mA. Moreover, the response time of overcurrent protection can be adjusted through the cooperation of capacitors, which can meet the overcurrent protection requirements of various adapters and various projects.
Injoinic IP5528 management SoC is a multifunctional power management SOC integrating MCU, boost converter, lithium battery charging management, and battery power indicator, providing a complete solution for TWS charging case. Thanks to the high integration and rich functions of IP5528, only a few peripheral devices are required in the application, which effectively reduces the size and BOM cost.
The IP5528 only needs one inductor to implement the buck-boost function, supporting low-cost inductors and capacitors. The synchronous boost system of the IP5528 provides a rated 400mA output current with a conversion efficiency as high as 93%. At light load, it automatically enters sleep mode, and the quiescent current drops to 15µA.
IP5528 adopts switch charging technology, provides a rated 1A charging current, and the charging efficiency is as high as 90%. Built-in chip temperature protection and input voltage intelligent regulation of charging current. IP5528 built-in 12bit ADC can accurately measure battery voltage and current. Support 1/2/3/4 LED power display and digital display power display. According to the product manual, IP5528 also supports an output voltage of 3.2V~5.2V, and supports fast charging for earbuds.
A power inductor that works with a power management chip.
Connect the ZIF connector of the FPC of the small motherboard.
Screen printing A1JD AAR3 RGB LED driver.
The circuit on the side of the small motherboard that charges the earbuds.
The circuit on the other side of the small motherboard that charges the earbud.
FPC connector connected to the motherboard, from OCN, model: OK-F501-06325.
Bluetooth pairing function button.
Micro switch for controlling lighting effect.
Pogo Pin connector for charging earbuds.
The information on the label of the built-in lithium-ion battery in the charging case, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, model: PATL901828, nominal voltage: 3.7V, rated capacity: 380mAh 1.41Wh, charging limit voltage: 4.2V, from PATL, made in China.
The battery protection board circuit is equipped with DW01H lithium battery protection IC and MOS tube – responsible for battery overcharge, overdischarge, overcurrent and other protections.
02/ Edifier HECATE GX05 Earbuds Teardown
Enter the earbuds disassembly part and open the earbud cavity along the parting line.
The speaker structure inside the earbud cavity, and the end of the FPC is connected to the charging contact.
Take out the speaker and charging contacts inside the front cavity.
The front of the speaker uses a titanium-plated composite diaphragm, which can obtain high-frequency extension up to 40kHz and ultra-high resolution, and can present richer game audio details.
On the back of the speaker, there is a tuning hole in the middle to improve audio performance.
After actual measurement, the size of the speaker is about 10mm.
Connect the metal contacts of the charging case to charge the earbud, and the tail is equipped with a rubber ring to seal and waterproof.
Remove the earbud back cover.
The inner structure of the cover plate is covered with the light guide column of the indicator light.
Remove the light guide column, and paste the bluetooth antenna and touch detection sensor on the inside of the cover.
The main board structure inside the cavity.
Take out the motherboard and battery inside the cavity.
The internal structure of the cavity is equipped with two microphone pickup structures.
The circuit on the side of the headphone motherboard.
The circuit on the other side of the headphone motherboard. Telink TLSR9516A Multi-standard Wireless Audio SoC. Supports Bluetooth 5.3, Basic Data Rate (BR), Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), LE and Bluetooth LE Mesh standards. A single chip integrates the features and functions required for high-quality wireless audio equipment.
TLSR9516A integrates a powerful 32-bit RISC-V (RISC-FIVE) MCU, DSP, 2.4GHz ISM radio, 256KB SRAM, 2MB flash memory, mono audio codec, AUX ADC, analog/digital microphone input, PWM, IO interface and other peripheral modules. Also included is a multi-level power management design that allows ultra-low power operation.
The 24.000MHz crystal oscillator provides the clock for the wireless audio SoC.
The MEMS microphone of Laser Engraving R34E 0KDK, used for voice pickup, comes from RAYKING.
BTB connector to FPC, from OCN, model: OK-128GF006/2-35.
HYNITRON HK31BP high-performance self-capacitance touch chip for touch control function. HK31BP has a built-in voltage regulator module/low voltage reset module, supports hardware dejitter/environment adaptive algorithm, etc., has strong anti-interference performance, and can be configured into multiple modes through pins.
LED indicator for feedback earbud status.
Connect the Pogo pin connector of the touch detection sensor.
TPS SY5501 power management PMIC is a chip specially designed for TWS earbuds, providing a perfect solution for charging and isolation communication. The chip integrates linear charging management, discharge protection, single-wire two-way data communication and I2C communication interface, which is convenient for users to realize earbud charging and discharging management and protocol communication.
The maximum charging current of SY5501 can be adjusted by an external resistor, and it also supports constant current charging ICC and floating charging voltage VFLOAT gear I2C adjustment. The chip integrates NTC detection and protection functions to more safely charge and discharge the battery. SY5501 has battery discharge protection and shipmode functions, which can meet the low power consumption requirements of the headphone system. The chip integrates private control commands, and the earbud charging compartment can send commands to control SY5501 through VIN, so as to realize the switch and reset operation of the earbud main control.
WINSEMI WSDF13D2N2H’s lithium battery protection chip protects single-cell rechargeable lithium batteries from damage due to overcharge voltage, overdischarge voltage, charge overcurrent, discharge overcurrent, and short circuit. The peripheral circuit of the system is simple. The typical value of the equivalent resistance of the built-in MOSFET tube is 52mΩ. It is packaged in a very small DFN1x1-4, suitable for space-constrained lithium battery applications.
The metal dome that connects the bluetooth antenna.
Remove the battery on the FPC.
The BTB connector connecting the FPC to the motherboard is from OCN, model: OK-128GM006/2-35.
The steel shell button battery is used inside the earbud, model: CP1054AA, nominal voltage: 3.7V.
03/ Edifier HECATE GX05 Adapter Teardown
Disassemble the adapter shell and take out the internal PCB board.
The inner structure of the shell has the same design as earbud. The bluetooth antenna is fixed inside the light guide column for wireless communication with earbuds.
The circuit on one side of the adapter PCB.
The circuit on the other side of the adapter PCB board.
Telink TLSR9517B multi-standard wireless SoC supports standards and industry alliance specifications. Including Bluetooth 5.3, Basic Data Rate (BR), Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), LE and Bluetooth LE Mesh standards, combining the features and functionality required for high-quality wireless audio devices into a single SoC. The TLSR9517B cooperates with the TLSR9516A inside the headset to achieve ultra-low latency wireless transmission.
TLSR9517B integrates a powerful 32-bit RISC-V (RISC-FIVE) MCU, DSP, 2.4GHz ISM radio, 256KB SRAM, 1Mb Flash, stereo audio codec, AUX ADC, analog/digital microphone input, PWM, IO interface and other peripheral modules. The TLSR9517B also includes a multi-level power management design that allows ultra-low power operation, making it ideal for wearable and power-constrained applications.
Crystal used to clock the wireless audio SoC.
The metal dome that connects the bluetooth antenna.
The LED lamp bead that provides the light source for the indicator light.
Silkscreen TeBe IC.
All components of Edifier HECATE GX05 true wireless gaming earphones.
04/ Summary
Edifier HECATE GX05 is designed in a cyber-mechanical style, with “illusion” RGB lighting effects, creating a game earbuds with a sense of futuristic technology for gamers. The charging case is made of zinc alloy and has an open cockpit. The overall workmanship is exquisite, the structural design is ingenious, and the earbuds are convenient to take and place. The bean-shaped in-ear earbuds are comfortable and fit, and they are stable and not easy to fall off.
Charging case internal configuration: built-in PATL 380mAh lithium battery, equipped with a circuit protection board for charge and discharge protection. The main board adopts KRCONN Type-C charging input power supply, and the port is equipped with Prisemi P14C1N overvoltage and overcurrent protection IC. The main control adopts Injoinic IP5528 TWS charging case management SoC, which integrates MCU, boost converter, lithium battery charging management, battery power indicator and other functions, providing a complete solution for charging case. It is also equipped with 3 groups of 9 RGB LED lights to provide light source for the “illusion” lighting effect.
Internal configuration of the earbuds: 10mm titanium-plated composite diaphragm unit and dual MEMS microphones are used. Built-in 1054 steel shell button battery. The motherboard is equipped with Telink TLSR9516A multi-standard wireless audio SoC. It supports 2.4G and Bluetooth 5.3 connection, and a single chip integrates the features and functions required for high-quality wireless audio equipment. It also uses HYNITRON HK31BP high-performance self-capacitance touch chip, TPS SY5501 power management PMIC, WINSEMI WSDF13D2N2H lithium battery protection IC, etc.
The adapter is equipped with Telink TLSR9517B multi-standard wireless audio SoC – with the TLSR9516A chip inside the earbud, and Edifier Flash Speed ultra-low-latency transmission technology to achieve ultra-low-latency wireless transmission of about 15ms. In general, as a wireless gaming earbuds – Edifier HECATE GX05 has excellent performance in terms of appearance design and functional configuration, providing a very good choice for gamers.
Source: 52audio
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