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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

HiFiMan Ananda vs Stax SR-L300

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

HiFiMan Ananda
Stax SR-L300

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jun 12, 2023 04:26 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Jun 12, 2023 04:32 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
HiFiMan Ananda Picture
Stax SR-L300 Picture

Variants

  • Ananda (Black)
  • SR-L300

Our Verdict

HiFiMan Ananda

Stax SR-L300

The HiFiMan Ananda are better critical listening headphones than the Stax SR-L300. These planar magnetic headphones are more comfortable and have a great sturdy design. The HiFiMan also pack more bass while still having great mid and treble ranges. They also seem to be more open-sounding. On the other hand, the Stax are more lightweight and have less distortion, for a cleaner audio reproduction.

0

Check Price

Standard
SR-L300
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
SR-L300
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Ananda
Amazon.com
 
Black
Ananda
Amazon.com
 
Black
Ananda
Amazon.com
 

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

4.8
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

HiFiMan Ananda Design Picture 2
Stax SR-L300 Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Planar Magnetic
Electrostatic

Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Comfort Picture
Stax SR-L300 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.9 lbs
0.78 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.3 lbs
1.2 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Controls Picture
Stax SR-L300 Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
N/A

Feedback  

No Controls
N/A

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
N/A

Channel Mixing 
 

No
N/A

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
N/A

Talk-Through 
 

No
N/A

Additional Controls  

No
N/A

Show text

Breathability 
 

6.4
4.8

Breathability After Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Breathability After Picture
Stax SR-L300 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.9 °C
9.3 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.5
1.1

Portability Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Portability Picture
Stax SR-L300 Portability Picture

 

7.9" (20.1 cm)
9.5"

 

6.0" (15.2 cm)
6.6"

 

4.0" (10.2 cm)
3.5"

Volume  

190.00 in³ (3,113.53 cm³)
219 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
Yes

Show text

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Case Picture
Stax SR-L300 Case Picture

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
5.5

Build Quality Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Build Quality Picture
Stax SR-L300 Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

6.0
6.5

Stability Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Stability Picture
Stax SR-L300 Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Angled Picture
Stax SR-L300 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Side Picture
Stax SR-L300 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Front Picture
Stax SR-L300 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Rear Picture
Stax SR-L300 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Top Picture
Stax SR-L300 Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda In The Box Picture
Stax SR-L300 In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-2.23 dB
-7.19 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.22 dB
-0.31 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

8.5
7.2

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.3 dB
0.57 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.8
6.0

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.93 dB
5.36 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

65.36 Hz
59.07 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-5.46 dB
-11.25 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-2.4 dB
0.24 dB

High-Bass 
 

0.59 dB
0.68 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.3

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.06 dB
0.96 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.06 dB
0.41 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.51 dB
0.69 dB

High-Mid 
 

-2.96 dB
1.09 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.1
8.9

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.87 dB
2.32 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.13 dB
-1.15 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-0.71 dB
2.01 dB

High-Treble 
 

-6.81 dB
-1.54 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.8
7.1

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.45 dB
2.03 dB

Dips 
 

1.01 dB
1.13 dB

Imaging 
 

9.0
8.8

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.13
0.41

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

6.66
4.2

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.08
0.02

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.56
1.53

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

9.1
8.3

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.82 dB
2.09 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

5.87 dB
4.73 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

15.9 dB
11 dB

Openness 
 

9.7
9.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

10
9.1

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

HiFiMan Ananda Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No

Room Ambience 
 

No

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.3
7.7

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.176
0.171

WHD @ 100 
 

0.074
0.182

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive

Connection 
 

Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default

Microphone 
 

No Microphone
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

0.7
0.5

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-1.16 dB
-0.21 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.09 dB
-0.03 dB

Mid 
 

0.57 dB
1 dB

Treble 
 

-3.8 dB
-1.44 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

0.0
0.8

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

70.69 dB
66.61 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
N/A

In-Line 
 

No
N/A

Boom 
 

No
N/A

Detachable Boom 
 

No
N/A

Mic  

No
No

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

HiFiMan Ananda Microphone Frequency Response
Stax SR-L300 Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

HiFiMan Ananda SpNR
Stax SR-L300 SpNR

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
N/A

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
N/A

Audio While Charging 
 

No
N/A

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
N/A

Charging Port  

None
N/A

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda App Picture
Stax SR-L300 App Picture

App Name  

No App
N/A

iOS  

No
N/A

Android  

No
N/A

macOS  

No
N/A

Windows  

No
N/A

Equalizer 
 

No
N/A

ANC Control 
 

No
N/A

Mic Control  

No
N/A

Room Effects 
 

No
N/A

Playback Control 
 

No
N/A

Button Mapping  

No
N/A

Surround Sound  

N/A

Surround Support 
 

No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
N/A

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
N/A

NFC Pairing 
 

No
N/A

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.0

Cable Picture  

HiFiMan Ananda Cable Picture
Stax SR-L300 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
No

Length  

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
7.9 ft

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
5-pin Pro

Wired Latency 
 

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC / PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

USB Input 
 

No
N/A

Line In 
 

No
N/A

Line Out 
 

No
N/A

Optical Input 
 

No
N/A

RCA Input 
 

No
N/A

Dock Charging 
 

No
N/A

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
N/A

Show text

Check Price

Standard
SR-L300
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
SR-L300
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Ananda
Amazon.com
 
Black
Ananda
Amazon.com
 
Black
Ananda
Amazon.com
 

HiFiMan Ananda

Stax SR-L300

Comments

  1. Comparison

HiFiMan Ananda vs Stax SR-L300: Main Discussion

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