Ananda V1

Welcome to the chase, my friend!!! I've never heard the EdXS, but I've had these: OG Sundara, HE4xx, and Arya v2 - while still owning these: HE400i 2020, OG Ananda, Arya Stealth, and HEKSE. The first HFM can that I bought was the OG Sundara - and OMG, they blew every other dynamic can that I'd heard before then out of the water! That was until I bought the OG Ananda and then quickly said: "Effit, I'm taking the plunge" - and bought the Arya v2. Prior to the Aryas I couldn't fathom spending ~$500+, then ~$750+ and THEN ~$1,000+ on a headphone....that is, until I heard the Ananda and wondered "What if"? When I got the Arya and first heard them I was very impressed, but still kinda "Is this it"? Until I read that they took a few days or weeks to burn in before they'd sound their best. I let them marinate over the nights with some pink noise and bass heavy music for a few nights and then listened. HOLY MOLY - they had totally transformed and expanded in every direction (HxWxD + midbass, subbass, texture, and smoothness)!!! Like a "Shaking your head because this is TOO GOOD - my goodness!!!" kind of emotion, LOL. Of course, then I had to buy the requisite source chain to "maximize their SQ" - so I bought a used Gustard H20 Class A BAL amp and later on a Gustard x26pro DAC to stack with it - both working together to mitigate the roughest treble edges from both my Arya Stealth and HEKSE. I'm still in Bliss..... As you can guess, I'm still stuck - but I think I'm holding off right now on even hearing the HEK Unveiled and sticking with my HEKSE. They offer me literally everything there is to offer, IMO - not lacking in any facet of SQ, especially after experimenting with ZMF hybrid and perforated lambskin ear pads for the "cherry on top" effect. Happy listening - and keep us posted....

Below ~$1,000 would be Hifiman Edition XV, Ananda, or Arya with a bass shelf EQd into it to suffice, IMO. Hifiman planars take EQ like a champ. You could also try out the Fiio FT7 planars too...

Great writeup! Felt similarly about my Ananda (OG version), that spaciousness is really a treat to hear. Cool to see a comparison to Grado as well, don't see that too often.

Haven't heard the K601, but heard the K701 and X2HR. I'd say the HD800S is definitely an upgrade (except maybe in bass quantity). But the Edition XS or Ananda is also a noticeable upgrade imo, details are rendered a bit more distinctly and the spaciousness feels more encompassing rather than just wide.

The other reason besides a seal is comfort. For example, the Hifiman Ananda has no swivel but the earcups are quite large and has angled pads. So instead of conforming to my face shape, it puts pressure on my jaw and becomes sore over long periods.

Fosi Audio I5 and Hifiman Ananda V1.

Lol same when I got my Anandas, I can hear and pinpoint locations of sounds way more easily compared to other headphones

The aryas used to be a >1k pair of headphones, then being sub 600 on the used marked and bstock is really good value. Also they are planars so they can be EQd really well, they have nice deep sub bass rumble, good soundstage and imaging and they are comfy. For this price the Arya stealths are someone the best headphones out there tbh. If you want to safe some money you can also try the new asus kithara (if you don’t mind the gaming look) as those are really close to the Aryas (they only lack the stage and some of the sub bass rumble which could be due to the Kitharas better seal tho)

Not really. I had both Arya and kithara (still have those tho) and they are pretty close. They have the same scoop between 1-2 k (which the ananda hasn’t, tho the kithara does not have that too with velour pads) and the overall treble is more tame on the kithara than on both ananda and Arya which is definetly audible. But all 3 are kinda the same more or less tbh but I like the kithara most for its comfort improvement, better overall package (better cable, multiple connectors, 2 pad options, better build quality)

I mean you could easily build the omega for about 150$ if you own a 3d printer. (If not and you’re located in Europe I could print the parts for you and send them to you). Basically omega are 6x0 with soundstage. They share the same qualities but fix the issues this series has. But I can totally understand the curiosity to try the OGs

I’ve had the same experience QC45 are my go-to when I need noise canceling and comfort for hours, but Ananda really shines at home when I just want pure sound quality. Each has its place depending on the situation.

Whichever is comfortable and non-fatiguing. For example: SJY Moonlight, HD600, Aeolus (suede pads), LCD-2, LCD-X, HD550, COSMO (Dekoni Elite Velour HE pads), Ananda, HD660S2, NDH30...