Hifiman Edition XS vs Ananda Nano vs Arya Stealth review from a musician — best open back under $500

Hifiman Arya Stealth: https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/a...

Hifiman Ananda Nano: https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/a...

Hifiman Edition XS: https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/e...

Ear pads on my XS now: Voarmaks Polyester Fenestrated Memory Foam
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFXDJH9Z

Preamp/Amp I use: Syba Sonic w/3 band EQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TYYMHQS
(not mentioned in the video, but a super convenient micro size alternative to larger headphone amps)

For those interested in trying Dekoni aftermarket ear pads:

“Big ups to dekoni for creating 4 different pads for the Hifiman headphone, and providing frequency response graphs for each one — such a huge help in the research phase!! Like many other reviewers, I wasn't quite satisfied with the comfort of my Edition XS headphones and based on the graph of this reviewer (https://usercontent.one/.../Hifiman_E...) I first opted for the elite sheepskin since it supposedly brought the frequency response of the XS closer to the harman curve. While it definitely did bump up the mids a little, I was dismayed to find pretty much all the upper mids and most of the highs to be gone, as well as some of the sub bass as well. I then tried the Elite Velour (both of these from Z's youtube reviews) and while it was definitely closer to stock than the sheepskin, it still removed too much high end for my tastes. Finally I tried the Fenestrated Sheepskin and was pleasantly surprised with the results — incredibly comfortable with only just a slight reduction of the upper mids with most of the highs intact!! If I were to nitpick I would vote for the whole line to not carve out quite as much of the upper mids, however, these were made for the Arya which is supposedly brighter and more analytical than the XS. Regardless, overall well done Dekoni!! I do feel like the price is a little steep for what you get, especially considering the fit is not consistent. Both pairs of the sheepskin and velour were relatively easy to install and remove, however the fenestrated pads sadly didn't quite fit right (were a little too tight) and were extremely difficult to remove without breaking the mounting tabs, such a bummer because they were honestly the most comfortable out of all the pads I tried!"