Introduction

HIFIMAN has often impressed positively with their headphones and earphones I’ve reviewed, including the newest Arya revision, the even newer Edition XS, and the budget-friendly HE400se. All three of these headphones use HIFIMAN’s stealth magnets technology that was introduced with the flagship Susvara and then the premium-class HE1000se we saw recently. Clearly, the company has been working on updating its entire planar magnetic headphone lineup to have stealth magnets inside, so it was only a matter of time before the venerable Ananda got its dues.

The original HIFIMAN Ananda was released a little over four years ago as of the date of this review, and that is nearly a lifetime in the fast-paced personal audio space. My colleague covered it here and was impressed with the comfort, sound signature, and how easy the Ananda was to drive, even off portable sources. Indeed, the Ananda drivers are regarded as some of the most efficient planar magnetic drivers ever made, to where HIFIMAN even made a Bluetooth version that comes with a removable boom mic to make for an excellent high-end headset too. I was expecting to see the updated stealth revision being for the Bluetooth model itself, given it generally makes for even more efficient drivers and yet HIFIMAN thought otherwise, as we enter autumn 2022 with the all new Ananda Stealth (wired). Thanks to HIFIMAN for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp!

Specifications