Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Thanks to HiFiMan for sending the Edition XV for review!

Buy from Apos Audio (affiliate link): https://apos.audio?sca_ref=1448954.julYPU81dF
Buy from Audio46 (affiliate link): audio46.com/products/hifiman-edition-xv-planar-magnetic-headphones?ref=reviewsbywavetheory
Buy from Amazon (affiliate link): amzn.to/4tsKEGh

HiFiMan's product page: store.hifiman.com/index.php/edition-xv.html

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Test Gear...

All music would have been lossless or hi-rez FLAC or DSD files played locally, or in the case of some FLAC, streamed from Qobuz. In all desktop applications files were played through Roon. In DAP situations, files were played from microSD storage.

Chain 1...

FiiO M21: youtu.be/22bHTUv3G8k

Chain 2...

FiiO SR11 (youtu.be/YuagbK8p0FA) USB output into Schiit Mimir (youtu.be/JnT_3HpAHt0) or FiiO Warmer R2R DAC (youtu.be/7gL2kCq2KyY) into both Asgard X (youtu.be/n8H8SN3Rdf4) & Jotunheim 3 (youtu.be/GhLNMFzcr74)

Chain 3...

Chord 2Go+2Yu streamer (youtu.be/S3O7JNOJIqI); USB output into Ferrum WANDLA GSE (review coming!) into Ferrum Oor (youtu.be/xUsRyoBPdyk) - both Ferrums powered by Hypsos power supply.

Chain 4...

Sonore opticalRendu USB into Berkeley Alpha USB DDC (youtu.be/94AvDeeRjHA); AES into Berkeley Alpha S2 DAC (youtu.be/JY3c4HEyH0s); XLR into LTA Z10e amp (youtu.be/Bft6HUsYDhE)

Headphones Compared...

Audio Technica ATH-R70xa: youtu.be/9j60CeVTS98
HiFiMan Ananda Nano: youtu.be/_54bAqcrDQ0
HiFiMan Ananda Unveiled: youtu.be/fd6eJp109Bk
HiFiMan Edition XS: youtu.be/i624svEG2j4
Massdrop + Sennheiser HD6XX: youtu.be/02Um5rMNYS8
Meze 105 AER: youtu.be/zYhjqEjxP4M
Meze 105 Silva: youtu.be/vvBdmPxx3_c

Timestamps...

00:00 Intro, Pricing, Disclaimer
01:27 Shameless Self Promotion
01:54 Timestamps & Takeaways
02:54 About the Edition XV
08:28 Sound
19:44 Comparison with Edition XS
21:40 Comparison with HD6XX/HD650
25:42 Comparison with Ananda Nano
28:43 Comparison with Ananda Unveiled
31:58 Where it fits in a tight market segment
33:56 Wrap Up