ANANDA-Stealth Magnets Version

HiFiMan Ananda Stealth. It’s about 30% the cost of a Meze 109 Pro and frankly sounds a bit better to me. The build isn’t all that, but the sound was better than I expected. Also( the Dunu DaVinci. It’s probably my favorite IEM right now, full stop. I didn’t expect to love the sound as much. Close second: Thieaudio Hype 4 and Kiwi Ears Astral.

So, there is a lot to unpack here. 1. AirPods Pro are actually great sounding earbuds, so you’re starting from a good place. 2. You’re right to move away from the APMs and XM4/5, although you may enjoy the Apple sound. Bang for the buck, it’s good about tech, though, not sound. 3. You can do a LOT with just wired headphones, if you’re OK with that. Not all of them need amps. A great example is the Grado sr325x: great sound, easy to drive. There are plenty of others in the wired world worth considering. If you prefer bass, for example, the Meze 99 Classic or 99 Noir would be good. For something more neutral, the HifiMan Ananda. All of these work great with just a $9 Apple dongle. And even if you DO need an amp, something like an iFi Go Link Max would fulfill any needs you have with modern headphones, so a Sennheiser 6xx + one of those would get you where you want. 4. If you’re dead set on wireless, check out the Sennheiser Momentum 4, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (which often sells for under $400), and the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 or S2e. (The S3 comes in at over $400.) All of these have decidedly different sound, and it will depend on what you like. Given your experience with the AirPods, the Sennheiser is probably your best bet. 5. Finally, for $350, you can find an incredible IEM, which might get you exactly where you want: the best sound for the money. But “best” is very relative here, since physics starts to play into the overall picture. Best of luck!

Arya Stealth is a funny allrounder while also being easy to drive. You could pair it with a Qudelix 5k to get some EQ, which planars enjoy. I have no idea of your budget, so I'll suggest a cheaper variant as well: Ananda Stealth and the little Apple Dongle.

Closed back: Fiio FT1 // Aeon Closed X (Drop) Open back: 490 Pro // Ananda Stealth In-ear: Kiwi Ears Astral // Mega7 On-ear: Koss KPH40 Wi-Fi: Maxwell There are some other options you could consider but these would be the ones I'd personally recommend. In-ears are actually insane value once you reach the ~250 price range.

Same here. (V3,$399) They don't see as much use but they were my first pair of headphones/IEMs in 8 years. A little over 2 years old and they are still magical every time I pull them out.

I have the Ananda Stealths and from every I have read,the XS,Ananda Stealth and Arya all sound pretty similar. 

A Hifiman would be something that definitely has a different sound signature. I love my HD 6XX but my Ananda Stealths are what I reach for when I want to do "critical listening"

I started with planars on the HE4xx, eventually moved to the HE5xx and now I have the Ananda Stealth. I'll never go back to dynamics, planars really are just the superior headphone in my opinion. I plan on keeping the Ananda as long as I can, but if I came into some money I'd probably get the LCD 2 Classic and keep them alongside the Anandas. I use them for everything - work (online meetings), audiobooks, tv, movies, gaming, music.

I got mine for $230 or so on sale.  Fucking fabulous piece of gear.

I got my ananda’s for $399 and remember being PUMPED with the price. Wow so happy for you!! Enjoy!

I have heard the term burn it, which mean let the gear itself warm up and let your brain adjust to the new gear. I moved from Ananda stealth to objectively better headphones hd800s and my first listen was like why I think Ananda is more resolving but it took me few hours to burn the gear (both headphone and amp) to start seeing the nuances and obvious things. So yea give it some time.