Our Verdict
These headphones are intended for the specific use of critical listening and will not be versatile enough for other use cases.
- Comfortable.
- Durable ear cup design.
- Excellent and open audio reproduction.
- High leakage by design, can be distracting to others.
- Bulky and heavy headphones.
- Sensitive to ambient noise, by design.
The HifiMan Edition X are ideal for neutral listening. They're designed to deliver a spacious soundstage thanks to their large open earcups. They also have a balanced and crisp sound quality. Plugged into a good amp, in a quiet room, their audio reproduction will not disappoint.
Unideal for commutes. The open ear cups let all the ambient noise seep into your audio. They're also cumbersome and not practical to use outside.
Not made for sports. They're too bulky and unstable. They will quickly fall off your head if used while doing any physical activity.
Not good for the office. These headphones are built to leak, so everyone will hear what you're listening to. They also won't block any office chatter.
Changelog
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
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Popular Headphones Comparisons
The HiFiMan Ananda are slightly better critical listening headphones than the HiFiMan Edition X, although they sound practically the same for most listeners. The Ananda benefit from the new HiFiMan headband design, so they have stronger metal yokes that should be more durable. They also have a slightly better-measured performance in bass, mid, and harmonic distortion, although it's not very distinguishable even for trained ears. On the other hand, the Edition X have a slightly better treble response, but it's above 20KHz and won't be audible to most. The Edition X are also slightly more comfortable for some since they have swiveling hinges but since the ear cups and pads are practically the same on the Ananda, there isn't much difference in the overall comfort level.
The HiFiMan Edition XS are the upgraded variant of the HiFiMan Edition X, but both are excellent picks for detailed listening. Both headphones have flat, slightly bright sound profiles and produce audio with a good sense of space. Unlike their predecessor, the Edition XS have a more typical headband design, which may not be as comfortable for some users, as the headphones are quite large and may not fit small heads well. Still, due to their design, they can reproduce audio more consistently. They also have a thinner diaphragm, which helps the reproduction of details in your audio.
The HiFiMan Edition X are a better critical listening headphone overall when compared to the Sennheiser HD 820. The HifiMan are better balanced throughout their entire response and cater well to instruments and vocals, sound clear, and have enough bass for most tracks. However, the Sennheiser have a closed back design, which means they isolate more and leak less. The Sennheiser have slightly more bass and a much more premium and durable build quality than the HiFiMan. They're also slightly more comfortable and come with more accessories and cables.
The HiFiMan Edition X are better headphones for neutral sound than the HiFiMan ANANDA-BT Wireless. The Edition X have a more neutral, better-balanced audio reproduction and a better peaks and dips performance. Their soundstage is also larger and more open than the Ananda-BT. That being said, the Ananda-BT are more versatile headphones. They can be used wirelessly via Bluetooth, they have a detachable microphone, and they come with a carrying case. The Ananda-BT also have a more stable fit on your head.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
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