What's the Best HIFIMAN Headphone for Me? 2022 Edition

Check out our updated guide for the 2023 year-end:
What's the Best HIFIMAN Headphone for me in 2023?

HIFIMAN has continued to make bold moves in audiophile sound. While their top headphones like Susvara and HE1000SE have remained unchanged, they’ve done a lot to shake up their budget and middle tier of headphones – from new products to price changes. They also recently released the EF400 DAC, which pairs nicely with headphones from across their price ranges.

HIFIMAN’s main headphone line are their open back, reference tuned headphones mostly named with Hindi or Sanskrit words meaning things like “beautiful” or “noble.” This line includes Sundara, Ananda, Arya, and Susvara, with the HE1000, Edition XS missing out on the cool names. In addition, there’s the HE-Rx series of closed-back headphones, and their wireless offerings: Deva Pro and TWS800.

HIFIMAN Headphones

To get a good idea of what might be right for you, we’ll go through all of our HIFIMAN offerings by price, starting with the least expensive.

HE400se - $109

HE400se takes HIFIMAN’s technology and design and scales it down to an incredibly low price. HE400se uses an open back design with planar magnetic drivers using HIFIMAN’s Stealth Magnets. The materials aren’t on the same level as HIFMAN’s more expensive Sundara or Ananda, but HE400se has a lightweight build and a simple, elegant design. The sound is detailed and airy, with an incredible level of accuracy and precision for the price.

TWS800 - $299

TWS800 is HIFIMAN’s latest foray into true wireless earphones. Unlike many other options, the sound quality supersedes all other considerations for the TWS800. They don’t have ANC or transparency, but they do have incredible detail and quite possibly the best imaging and soundstage that you’ll find in a TWS earphone. Despite the lack of some popular features, the battery life, charging, and call quality are all up to industry standards.

Sundara - $299

Sundara is the go-to first step into high end headphones. It gives you many of the characteristics of HIFIMAN’s more expensive headphones with an affordable price tag. The design is all black, with a good amount of metal, avoiding the plasticy feel of some more budget conscious headphones.

The sound is transparent with a neutral tuning, and a level of detail and resolution that blows away most popular brands. Both the bass and treble are a little rolled off, providing a ton of detail in the mids, but without a lot of low-end rumble. Either way, the Sundara is the perfect gateway into the audiophile headphone life.

Deva Pro - $329

Deva Pro is the successor to the original DEVA as, perhaps, HIFIMAN’s most mainstream headphone. The black and silver design provides some connection to the HE400se, but with accents that give DEVA Pro a more luxurious look. The tuning also is more accessible than most of HIFIMAN’s other headphones. Of course, being open-back means that, while it’s open-back, it isn’t great for travel or commuting. Deva Pro can be used in wired mode, or wireless with the included BlueMini R2R wireless adapter. The Bluemini R2R is also compatible with the HE-RX series headphones.

The tuning is largely neutral with a touch of extra bass emphasis. and with the wireless capabilities, it checks all the boxes that your average headphone buyer is looking for. While the sound is accessible, it doesn’t have quite the same level of resolution as many of HIFIMAN’s other offerings. Of course, you’re still getting HIFIMAN’s years of planar magnetic experience and a level of detail and full spectrum dynamics that you’re not going to get from your average headphones.

HE-R9 - $369

HE-R9 is one of HIFIMAN’s newest headphones, and it’s HIFIMAN’s most affordable closed back headphone yet. HE-R9 uses the same earcup shape as the HE-R10 series, which was inspired by Sony’s classic closed backs, but HE-R9 uses plastic instead of the wood cups of the HE-R10. HE-R9 has a little more punch and bass emphasis than the rest of HIFIMAN’s lineup, but still maintains the detail and air that HIFIMAN is known for.

Edition XS - $499

The Edition XS is a bit of a wildcard in HIFIMAN's lineup. The build is like a combination of Ananda and HE400se, while the sound is a bit different than any of the other options under $1000. Moreso than Ananda or Sundara, Edition XS sounds very much like a "baby Arya" with a similar sense of air and a soundstage that does it's best to keep up with Arya's expansive imaging at a lower price point. For $499, the performance is absolutely incredible.

Ananda - $699, Ananda BT - $999

Ananda takes the basics established in the Sundara – neutral tuning, excellent detail and transparency – and takes them up to the next level. The Ananda is the next step up in HIFIMAN’s lineup, adding larger drivers and being the lowest priced of HIFIMAN’s “teardrop” shaped oversized planar magnetic drivers.

Ananda adds better bass extension and a clearer high-end to create a more revealing, detailed sound with an incredible level of resolution. And the Stealth Magnets Edition takes the detail and clarity to the next level. The brighter treble means you trade a little bit of Sundara’s smoother sound for more robust, detailed top-end. The Ananda is also available in a wireless bluetooth version, which takes the same sound and adds wireless convenience.

HE-R10D - $1299

The HE-R10D ups the ante on the HE-R9. It’s a closed back with a mix of good air and a bit of a mid-bass bump that gives you a bit of tight physical bass that you might have been missing from HIFIMAN’s headphones thus far. It’s also a step up in the build in materials, sporting figured wood cups.

The design of the earcups help achieve this sound, but they might not be the most stylish. The HE-R10D (and it’s big brother the HE-R10P) features an earcup design with extra space to enhance its acoustic properties. This creates a better soundstage and opens things up a bit for stronger bass response. The HE-R10D also supports HIFIMAN’s BlueMini so it can be converted into wireless headphones.

Arya -  $1299

Arya continues the evolution of sound from Sundara and Ananda. It also represents an upgrade to the build quality providing the most comfortable, and possibly best looking headphone in HIFMAN’s lineup up to his price point. The suspension system provides a better distribution of weight, and the sleek, all-black look is definitely a favorite of its many fans.

With the recent update that added Stealth Magnets, Arya continues to provide an absolutely legendary level of detail and clarity that creates a flagship level experience at $1299.  With an incredible sense of space, and natural, lifelike delivery you can see why – despite being almost $5000 cheaper than HIFIMAN’s top-of-the-line Susvara – many people consider Arya to be top-of-the-line quality.

HE1000v2 - $2999

The HE1000v2 is an update to the HIFIMAN’s original flagship HE1000 to provide some refinements to the tuning, and improvements to its ergonomics and comfortability. While some might prefer the sleek, all-black look of the Arya, the HE1000v2 has a more upscale look with brown leather and wood grain.

If you’ve heard the Arya, you might not be able to imagine that you could improve on it’s already impressive sound and technical performance, but the HE1000v2 manages to do just that. It expands the soundstage, and provides holographic 3D imaging to create an immersive listening experience. Its new reduced $1999 price point also means that HE1000v2 delivers a big helping of value alongside its incredible sound.

HE1000SE - $3499

The basic tuning and design of the HE1000SE is similar to the HE1000v2, but the HE1000SE takes the next step in technology, offering HIFIMAN’s “stealth magnets” – originally designed for the Susvara. The stealth magnets improve the transient response of the drivers by eliminating ways in which the multiple magnetic fields within each driver can interfere with each other and impact the driver’s performance. The HE1000SE’s design is also one step closer to the Susvara, with a darker brown wood grain. 

HE-R10P - $5499

The HE-R10P is HIFIMAN’s flagship closed-back headphone. Using specially designed earcups and planar magnetic drivers, the HE-R10P represents the pinnacle of closed-back headphone technology. The oversized earcups and acoustic design provide a greater feeling of space and also allows the bass to “breathe” a bit more and create a more natural sounding low-end.

HE-R10P’s chassis was updated to put the design more in line with the Susvara and HE1000 following the original release, but the technical performance and sound quality  has been top notch from day one. You’ll be hard pressed to find closed-back headphones with performance that can match the HE-R10P.

Susvara - $5999

Susvara is the king, with absolutely incredible technical performance, coupled with a transparent, musical delivery, that’s both revealing and easy to listen to. In terms of the build and design, the Susvara stands head and shoulders above the rest of HIFIMAN’s lineup with a sleek design featuring aluminum, leather, and wood veneer. They’re also quite comfortable with more moderately sized earcups than the HE1000 series.

In terms of sound, Susvara utilizes HIFIMAN’s years of research into planar magnetic drive performance. It provides all the detail and transparency of the Arya or HE1000, but adds even greater technical performance, and one of HIFIMAN’s most balanced engaging tunings on top of that.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re new to the world of audiophile headphones, or you’re looking for something to take your music to the next level, HIFIMAN has a broad range of offerings with options that can work for almost anyone.