The previous two HIFIMAN product reviews went in differing directions, with the Edition XS coming real close to getting an Editor's Choice award and the HE1000se not meeting the expectations set by the asking price in my opinion. The Ananda Stealth falls between them as far as my opinion on the set goes, but closer to the Edition XS to where there's enough in common and overall improvements to merit another recommendation here. I feel like HIFIMAN will have to come to terms on dropping some products though, given the product features are getting increasingly similar and the company now has to resort to extraneous features such as headbands and accessories to try and justify the price increase. Take the Ananda Stealth, for example, which I would have much rather seen merged with no doubt an upcoming Bluetooth model, given how the company's founder believes in the future of audio being wireless. Instead, now there is a $600 price gap between the Ananda Stealth and the new Arya—which has recently received a price cut to $1300—to where no doubt there will be an Ananda Stealth Bluetooth coming in at $999.

I don't necessarily agree with this business philosophy as a consumer or as an audiophile, but acknowledge that the formula has been working well for HIFIMAN. It's products also are consistent in tuning to the HIFIMAN house sound and yet there are subtle differences between price-adjacent models, to where what's good for someone may not be ideal for another. The Edition XS, for example, goes with a warmer tuning in the mids and has less sub-bass presence compared to the more neutral-bright tuning on the Ananda. The newer Ananda also has the benefit of being one of the very few full-size planar sets that can be driven off a decent dongle connected to a smartphone, and most certainly off the various portable DAC/amps we've covered previously. This, combined with its detail retrieval and generally inoffensive tuning means it can compete with the likes of the Audeze LCD-X (2021) for those looking for a premium music monitoring setup to accompany the grunt work done on speakers. There is no equivalent of Audeze Reveal+ here though, so perhaps software DSP remains a venue for HIFIMAN to tackle.

There are issues here you need to be aware of before you decide to fork out the cash for a new Ananda Stealth. The headband offers no horizontal swivel and also has a matte coating that's prone to scratches and wear if you keep sizing/re-sizing the headband. The stock cable is no longer a negative point worth calling out thankfully, but still, it's not going to win any awards for first impressions owing to the mostly plastic build and the hilariously cheap-looking packaging—even though I do like the foam-based removable headphone stand provided now. There's also potential shoutyness and sibilance but it could be sample variation, given it's a tight line between being fine vs. pushing it a touch too much for me. Yet the Ananda Stealth does more right than wrong and thus wins the award below.