The HiFiMAN ANANDA is a great headphone. It is a welcome addition in the line up as it ups the performance of the midrange offerings from HiFiMAN. The combination of the Sundara headband and big non-circular ear cups from the Edition series works great. Despite missing a degree of freedom for the ear cups, comfort is not compromised, either.

The continuous innovation on the planar magnetic driver front is probably a big part of why the ANANDA is such a great-sounding headphone. The cup design is largely unchanged, which is actually a good thing as the cup and headband design works great on the models it is based on. The NsD driver and quality angled pads with a comfortable headband design just make for a combination that is extremely hard to beat. The sound quality bests Sennheiser's high-end models and sets a benchmark in the sub-$700 price category. The ANANDA is a perfect match if you want to get the most out of your listening at home in a quite room. Like other open-back headphones before it there is simply no noise attenuation. This is also true the other way around as people who are in your vicinity will get to listen in.

Since the ANANDA is easy to drive, you can use just about any amplifier out there, including the one in your phone. it does shine when paired with a device with low output impedance and a low noise floor as the driver used is about as good as it gets. Pairing the ANANDA with an O2+SDAC is a quick and easy way to get the most out of it, but other similar devices will be able to pull off the same feat.