Review: Hifiman Ananda Stealth

EDIT 06/03/23: there seems to be a new revision of the Ananda Stealth where the sensitivity, impedance and weight all changed. The unit tested here is the earlier batch of the Ananda Stealth (V2) 27 ohms 440g variant.
EDIT 08/09/23: deal alert – it seems that nowadays Hifiman is selling the Ananda Stealth at significant discount. You can either get these at $349 USD refurbished or $399 new, and at such prices the value proposition is actually really good. Mind you, though, that the Ananda OG is also available at about $300ish, so it again comes down to a matter of preference.

Intro:

The Hifiman Ananda OG has received a lot of praise from the community since released in 2018, known for its airy and open stage while having excellent tonal balance. Its pouplarity may have wanned to some degree since the release of Edition XS, yet still competitive and unique for being the slightly cleaner and less intense choice.

Now, those in the know are familiar with Hifiman’s inclination to deploy the what they call the ‘Stealth Magnets’ onto almost every single one of their pre-existing models: the HE1000, the Arya, the HE400, and now finally the Ananda also have it. Earlier, I reviewed the Arya Stealth and preferred it over the original Arya, as the stealth version comes with a noticeably smoother treble and more bass impact. Would the same apply to the Ananda? Let’s find out.

Overall impression:

Bright-ish neutral where instruments can come across a little metallic from time to time. More V-shaped than the Ananda OG: a lot more visceral bass impact than the OG make the Stealth version not as ‘ethereal’ sounding. More sparkles in the highs at the cost of a less refined treble overall.It’s like over-sharpening a photo – while it might add clarity, the ‘noise’ also becomes more apparent.

Tonal balance

Bass:

Anemic bass was perhaps the biggest drawback of the Ananda OG. Even after EQing in a bass shelf, bass on the Ananda OG remained somewhat languid especially when one compares to those taht can take bass EQ well like the HD800/HE6SE.

With the Ananda Stealth (Ananda SE hereafter), both quantity and quality of bass have taken a big step up while remaining clean from any muddiness. There is just a touch of bass boost in the subbass-midbass region which is nice to have. Drum kick in ‘Bird on a wire’ by Jennifer Warnes punch strong and deep, though not the last word in authority. They are still no bass cannon. Comparing to the Edition XS, bass especially subbass on the Ananda SE is tighter, more refined, but less tactile. For most genres the Ananda SE should have enough bass to satisfy the average non-basshead audiophile though.

Mids:

Mids can be described as generally neutral while being slightly withdrawn. There is an excellent sense of clarity to instruments like acoustic guitar, but with electric guitar distortions the Ananda SE may be a little too polite to make them sound energetic and aggressive enough as intended in genres like thrash metal.

Some have found eggshaped Hifimans including the Ananda OG, Arya and HE1000 to be a little thin in the mids. This is something possibly reltated to FR: a scoope in 1-3khz energy plus some 4-6khz overshoot, resulting in a mild imbalance where there is less lower harmonics and more higher harmonics of the vocals. As a result vocals are less ‘breathy’ but thinner and more distanced. The same applies to the Ananda OG, but the added treble on the stealth version also exacerbated it to some degree (more on this below). On the upside, midrange is rarely congested or shouty.

Treble:

Before diving into the new Ananda SE, let’s quickly do a recap of the Ananda OG. Like the rest of the Hifiman eggshape lineup, the Ananda has an airy, crisp and open presentation. In fact some have considered them to be overly airy, erring on the side of sounding ethereal or fragile even. The bottomline is, treble on the Ananda OG rarely comes off as fatiguing or shrill. As such I find the treble on the Ananda OG to be quite tastefully elevated, perfect for genres like new age, chamber music, or female vocals.

Like the Ananda OG, the stealth magnet version is a brighter-than-neutral headphone. But the stealth revision ushered in some unpleasant tweaks to the treble that makes it less smooth or enjoyable. There are a series of mid-treble peaks that make consonnat tones and sibilance peaks like in the chorus of ‘White Dress’ by Lana Del Rey a little too intense to be enjoyable. In additional, there’s an upper treble boost in the air region then further enhances aggresiveness. Crash cymbals, for example, often stand out too much in the mix causing fatigue. Granted, this might have given the Ananda SE an extra sense of clarity and resolution than both the Ananda OG and the Edition XS.

With that said, the Ananda SE is still not an overly bright headphones in their own right. Ride cymbals are mostly fine, such as in Steely Dan’s ‘Do It Again’ sound crisp and sweet. Comparing to the Grado SR80e, AKG K702, or even the HD800, they are arguably more neutral in terms of overall tonal balance. It’s just a tad more aggressive than the Ananda OG in the treble. But at the end of the day, they are the successor of the Ananda OG, and it’s only fair to make such a comparison.

Manual sine-sweep:

A manual sine sweep on my head reveals frequency peaks at 6.2khz, 7.8-9.7 khz, 10-12khz, 14.2khz. Note however inter-personal perception of treble varies A LOT especially from 10khz onwards. You may or may not hear the same peaks depending on your personal HRTF and/or headphone unit variation.

Other qualities:

• space and stage: overall impressive performance with airy and open soundstage. Stage depth and height are perhaps the most wonderful feature of the eggshaped Hifimans, and the Ananda SE is no exception. Stage width is not as great as height. You may feel the sound is coming from two large planes positioned close to you ears.
• clarity and imaging: excellent layering and instrumental separation that is not far behind the Arya. A good tonal balance plus some extra boost in the upper trele region defintely helped. The opening and closing of hi-hats for example sounds crisp and detailed. Imaging is holographic with decent height and depth. Instruments and vocals may sound ‘larger’ than normal, thanks to their unusually big drivers.
• dynamics and impact: the Ananda stealth sounds faster and not as anemic comparing to the Ananda OG. Defintely an upgrade from the OG but the Arya/HE1000 is still a league above. If you really care about this quality though, you should probably just go for the HE6SE V2 (amongst similarly priced Hifimans).

Conclusion and value:

To be clear, the Ananda Stealth is in no any way a bad headphone. Tonality is bright-ish but not piercing. Technical performance is solid for the price. It is just that I am not sure those changes justify the additional $100 on the price tag. To me, the stealth version is more of a side-grade of the OG. I for one prefer the tonality of the OG which is smoother yet still crisp and clear. If you are desparate for some extra bass punch, the Ananda Stealth might be a good choice. But then again the Edition XS exists, which is similar to the Ananda SE being a more V-shaped version of the Ananda OG, and they also cost less. The Ananda SE may be slightly more ‘resolving’ than the Edition XS, and a little cleaner in the mid-bass region, but as an overall package the Edition XS is arguably of better value at $500 USD.

At the RRP of $700 USD, the Hifiman Ananda SE is passable. Maybe they don’t really need the stealth magnets, in the case of the Ananda.

Pros: excellent punch and slam comparing to the OG packed in an airy, sparkly and open sound; solid technicalities overall; big and expansive sound; a bit bright-leaning but tonally decently balanced;

Cons: highs aren’t as smooth as the OG; can be fatiguing for longer listening sessions; mids may sound thinner comparing to the OG (due to more bass and treble on the SE); not an overall upgrade with the $100 price markup;

Recommendation rating (BETA):

---

MEASUREMENTS

Extended Frequency Response:

note: bass extension cutoff is 10hz instead of 20hz on Squiglink, to fully account for frequencies which though may not outside of ‘audible range’, may be felt by our ears, bones and muscles and enhance the sense of ‘impact’.

Positional Variation:

Impulse Response:

Channel Matching:

note: channel matching graphs DOES NOT RELATE TO TONALITY. A special configuration is used to capture channel differences to mitigate the interference from positioning on rig, directional sensitivity, and the asymmetricity in GRAS pinnae design (legacy of the Kemar). The Left (blue) and Right (red) channels are measured on a flat plate coupler with IEC60318-4 ear simulator.