Anandas stealth dropped a lot already when nano released and now even more with current sale
this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
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Yeah it has been like that ever since nano was released and nano already is a good deal at 600 usd. If they were sold here (nano or stealth) at those prices I would have jumped on at least stealth. Some reviewers might be saying nano is an upgrade, but I highly doubt it. What I gathered is nano is much brighter and possibly harsher.
I’m honestly lost with all these variations… stealth, non stealth, nano, xs, … can you put the, in order of “value” or performance?
It goes basically
- OG Ananda - square magnets, old thicker diaphragm
- Ananda Stealth - stealth magnets, still same diaphragm
- Ananda Nano - stealth magnets, new thinner diaphragm (same as used on the Arya up)
There were some minor revisions within these like moving the mesh from the pads to the cups, or small tweaks to the impedance/sensitivity that Hifiman say didn't affect the sound. And these things probably didn't as they are all very close in sound anyway.
Bringing the sub-bass up to be more linear (which was the case for both the Stealth and Nano) is unquestionably an improvement but some feel that the Stealth is excessively bright, and that the OG Ananda is better tuned in the treble.
Edition XS is a different headphone, but the newer Ananda has been closer to that in that it has more bass and is also brighter. It's probably pretty similar to new Anandas but with a worse headband (and possibly, worse build quality).
https://sai.squig.link/?share=Ananda_V1,Ananda_Stealth,Edition_XS
This is how Hifiman operate, they make incremental improvements to their headphones, trickling down the tech from the higher-end ones, while also reducing the price. So, you can pay $309, $339, $349 or $399 today for a headphone (or even an improved version) that was considered by many to be "a bargain" at $999 five years ago. And it was, it was considered one of the benchmarks at $999 back then.
It basically goes:
Sundara--> XS --> Ananda --> Arya
Chronologically for Ananda:
Ananda --> Ananda Stealth --> Ananda Nano
For a long time it went from Sundara at $350 right to Ananda at $700-$1K, then Hifiman added the XS as an in between. The Ananda is meant to be in between XS and Arya now. However when Ananda Nano released, they slashed the price of Ananda Stealth to $399 which was below the $450 of XS. Right now XS is on sale for $379 and Ananda Stealth for $399, while Ananda Nano is $599, and Arya Stealth/Organic occupying the $1K/$1300 price points respectively.
Having said all of that, the Ananda Stealth and XS are fairly close, and it's up to personal preference which one you may prefer. Both are crazy value for their current sale prices.
For what it's worth, I had both for a while recently and ended up preferring the XS and returning the Ananda Stealth.
Of xs what do you like more?
If XS --> Ananda, ananda shouldnt be better of XS, a lvl up?
They did ananda v3, did you try it?
The build quality seem better on ananda or i wrong?
Actually im trying xs, i dont know if change to ananda, because are at the same price.
They were never $1k, the original Ananda was years ago but the Ananda Stealth launched at $699 in mid-2022 which was the then selling price of the OG Ananda (although the OG was available for ~$350-400 in Asia).
$399 is still a fantastic price for the Stealth revision, particularly if you are getting it direct from Hifiman with full warranty.