In fairness my Edition X lasted 5 years, I was the 3rd owner, used it nearly every day for the 4 yrs I had it, and I am starting to wonder if its death was caused by frequent unusual power surges we have been getting at my new place. I'm investing in a UPS to protect the replacement Ananda.

You're the third one in a very short span of time. Climate shouldn't matter. Hifiman's driver design is clearly too fragile.

The HEXv2 had a similar temperament. It was billed as 'easy to drive' and better for portable or low power gear. Most mid-grade portable amps that I tried it on didn't have the current swing to handle such a large planar and it sounded hazy and frankly bad from most of it. It benefited...

Couple weeks in of listening with the balanced cable... the Ananda can be technically impressive sometimes. Occassionally there's an album that drops my jaw. Overall it is more refined than the HEXv2 but not necessarily more enjoyable for long listening sessions. A percentage of albums are...

2.5mm to 3.5mm adapters arrived so I can use my HEX balanced cable on the Ananda now. It is interesting to compare the results. Sounds very different, which could either be the properties of the stock cable or the balanced port sounding different on my amp. Better detail retrieval--faster bass...

Agreed. I was not expecting it based on other peoples' impressions but these are quite bassy headphones--noticeably moreso than the HEX. In fact I am looking for pads to tame it somewhat. Either Hifiman changed the signature pretty drastically in newer models or y'all have small heads and aren't...

My Ananda arrived. So now I get to compare against my rose-colored memory of the HEXv2 from 4 months ago. It sounds... quite a bit different. Unfortunately my Sangaku which paired beautifully with the HEX doesn't seem to be as good a pairing for the Ananda. I'll give it some burn in time, get...

I had a HEXv2. The headband snapped. Just bought new pads for it months before it died as well, sadly. Should've sent it back without either of those. Now I'm looking around for 2mm to 2.5mm adapters to see if I can at least get more use out of my balanced cable.

Audeze has similar issues from what I've heard.

That's rotten luck. Considering there are decades old planars and electrostats floating around that still work, that people put up for sale used, it's not a limitation of the technology. Reason enough right there I would never invest in an Arya or HE1000. Imagine one of those dying.

Yeah welcome to the club. How long did it last?

There was no single issue with the HEX for me. The treble could've had a bit more sparkle, the bass could've had a bit more impact, the mids were slightly uneven so on some tracks they'd sound as good as anything I'd ever heard and on others there'd seem to be a veil. There was a 12k peak (on...

Your posts were the main thing that made me reluctant. Ultimately the Ananda is well-vetted. The XS is not. I could get it and discover there's a nosebleed inducing ring (Something the XX had which nobody mentioned in the early months) Until I see the cascade chart and a few more reviews from...

Driver failure. I was the 3rd owner (although the first two didn't keep it for long), and I used it daily for 3-4-ish years, so it had some serious use, make no mistake. The paint on the magnets began flecking off in their last year and I suspect either the right magnet may have corroded too...

I found the HEXv2 good enough from the source I had that I was content and done with the search. Slightly worried how the Ananda will stack up but I'll give it a whirl and trade again for the XS if I'm dissatisfied. Considering how poorly these headphones seem to last after consistent use I'm...

Scratching my skin off going absolutely neurotic over this decision. My HEXv2 died last year and I sent it in for trade-in for an Ananda originally (which has not shipped yet so I am in last-minute decision mode). Originally I assumed the XS was a nothingburger like the XX but this thread and...

I quite liked mine right up until it died. Kind of disappointing to get only 3 years of use out of it, though I know I was the 3rd owner.

I have an Edition X v2 that only works on the left side. After 5 years of constant faithful service the right side died. Since these aren't made anymore, I am interested to buy anyone else's broken Edition X v2 for cannibalistic purposes. Don't care about the quality or the mileage! Just needs...

Well that's a relief. You two can sort it out then.

Concerned about the stories that Hifiman may replace HEXes that need service with Anandas. I don't want that, should it ever come to that. My HEX is ancient at this point. If something should ever happen I'd be quite sad to replace it with something inferior. I'm also quite disturbed to learn...

Bass tightness - the better the amp I ran them from, the tighter the bass got, approaching as good as anything I've heard from really high end stuff. RendyG - That dent near the bottom looks bad. It may not be as impactful as it looks though, if it's not a hole. Did the previous owner say...

Thanks for sharing! I've heard the HE-4, and 560, but not the 500.

It was okay, definitely good speed from it, but I found it just underlined the etched nature of the treble a lot, and I was able to get better soundstage from some other amps. Headphone decay measurements often don't mean what you might think, at first glance. What you're looking for in them is...

I didn't like the HEXv2 pairing with the Cayin IHA6 when I tried it personally, for what it's worth. I haven't heard the Ananda, but I'd be curious to. Mostly Audeze and Sennheiser and old Hifiman people in my neck of the woods. Honestly everything you described sounds very very similar to...

Replacing the onboard opamp with a V5i completely eliminated that behavior, for me.