hifiman ananda thread

I have tried from a friend of mine the HE 560 while I was owning HD650 , years ago and didn't like them at all.
I don't know about HE500

(Or may be it was the 500? Shit I am getting old....)

 

They look very different so you might start there. I personally only liked the HE-560 initially but then it became clear it had no chance against a decently modded HE-500 when driven with power. HE-500 loses out in technicalities (bass definitiion, bass cleanliness, general microdetails, seems slower because of the bass) but wins in tonality, overall coherence and better for more genres. Just a superior sounding package.

If you remember it wasn't the HE-500 then go for one and see for yourself. No need to mod a lot initially. Get Velpads (easy from Europe), a balanced cable and put them on.

Check out SBAF's Hifiman Compendium for impressions about the old guard.

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hifiman-headphone-compendium.1685/

 

Thank you.
For now I am waiting for the Ananda.
Here in Greece , Hifiman products are not very widespread.
There is a reseller in Athens but I am located far away to the north.
My friend who owned the HE560? sold them but I am going to give him a call to clarify things.

 

OK , it was HE500 stock.
From what I recall I didn't like it because I thought of it as being lean sounding , congested without out good headstage and very anemic bass.
I even recall some up mids (may be highs?) problems.
Please take this with a grain of salt because it been almost 3 years.
The amp used was the Gustard violectric clone.

 

Wow. The HE-500 is the fattest of the old bunch. Phatter, thicker, warmer, yet hard hitting, dynamic and very slightly elevated treble with enough Spritzigkeit (Velpads). Not athletic like the HE-5LE or fast, zippy, even leaner (than the HE-5LE) like the HE-4 but (like them) unique, definitely no warmbutt syrupy coconut cream or even lean.

The Gustard must be utter shit if the HE-500 is lean and has anemic bass.

 

Well to tell you the truth at that time I thought that my HD650 were much better!!!
Now that's what I like with this hobby , we all hear differently and like different things.

As a side note I have to state that I listened to HE500 two times at a meeting with set ups unknown to me.
Sadly I didn't have the chance to take them at home for serious listening with my gear.
So as I said please take all observations not too seriously.
I must also confess that HE500 is my only planar experience.

 

OK, just got this pair recently. Been comparing this mostly with the Verum One (Verum perforated pads) and ZMF Auteur (Aeolus pads). Using my X-Sabre Pro and BHA-1 for the test. Cable is from CustomCans UK.



Not a fan of the build quality. Feels cheap, fragile and doesn't feel like it will last. Let's get that out of the way.

Overall the Ananda sounds good in isolation, but only in AB-ing that I find it ultimately lacks the musicality of the Verum and Auteur. The Ananda has very different signature from the Verum/Auteur. It sounds clearer, thinner, tighter, and more neutral. Overall technicalities are good. I would say details and resolution are better than the Verum, because it kinda throws details to your face, trying to get your attention. The Verum doesn't even care about details. It is confident with its other qualities. The Auteur bests both, although it presents it in the typical softer dynamic way. It doesn't shout details at you, but it is there in abundance.

For me, the Auteur is the vocal king. It is the most analog sounding can I've tried, dethroning my earlier favorite, the HD600/650. In planar land, the Verum is king. It has that sweet natural vocal that I seldom find in planars. Ananda's vocals just don't sound as sweet or natural. It sounds colder, sharper, and more digital. No goose-bumps there. Not even from Dusty Springfield or Emmylou Harris.

The Ananda has good planar bass. Some people told me that the Ananda is bass light. That is not the case for me. Mid-bass impact is there, though more neutrally tuned and with less slam than both the Verum/Auteur. It is still very good for rock, but gives you that typical planar flatter flavor. The Auteur can feel fat and muddier in comparison, but more impactful and exciting. My favorite here is the Verum. It stands in-between, and can give you best of both worlds. One thing that the Ananda does well here is definitely the sub-bass. This sounds great for electronic music. The planar rumble is more present than the Verum.

Ananda has a normal stage size, but imaging feels more precise than the other two. Images have tighter foundation to it, albeit much thinner. Images feels thicker in both Auteur/Verum. Another thing the Ananda does really well here is it feels more airy and spacious than the other two. The Auteur feels more closed in. The Verum has a deep stage with some air, but lacks width.

With the Verum/Auteur, you feel like you're in a cozy club. You close you eyes, and enjoy the music. They sound better with jazz, modern pop, rap, and anything with vocals. The Ananda puts technicality in front of musicality. It can give you listening fatigue for long listening sessions, due to that sharpish and brittle tonality. It sounds better for classical and electronics. Depends on people's preference. Some people prefer this neutral and clear presentation. I prefer more analog sound of the Verum and Auteur.

 

@Jerry nice review. I liked my Ananda a lot because they were pretty neutral and precise sounding, but my pair or my ears never had them sounding fatiguing I admittedly sold them because they didn't sound as involving, but thechnically they excelled. I appreciated their rather easy driveability, too.

Currently rocking HD650s and AD2000 for those lush vocals, definitely want to give Verum One V2 a try as soon as they're out. Would definitely like to audition Auteurs as well, but they're not easily found in Europe.

 

Thanks mate! I'm waiting for the Verum One V2 as well.

Yeah, I also enjoyed the Ananda when I was only listening to it. Only when I compared it with my other cans, then I had a better idea of its sound. Its mids is really not a match for the HD650. It feels more edgy compared to HD650's lush smooth sound.

 

They are not good for classical.
Timbre is off although tonality is good.
They sound very thin / lean and above all decay is very fast so high pitched instruments sound fake.
Clarity and separation is excellent , headstage is of good width.
After a half an hour they become very fatiguing

 

I've been evaluating the Ananda lately to see whether it can replace my AKG K501 as my can of choice for classical music. In this regard, at the moment, I think the Ananda falls a bit short on my gear (SE output from THX AAA 789), most notably in the opening measures of the third movement (Presto) of Beethoven's 7th Symphony (c: Karajan) (5564189). On the Ananda, the timpani and the strings meld together into an incoherent blob at the soundstage "layer" that is closest to my ear. Definitely fatiguing and non-euphonic to me. The AKG K501 (also from the SE output on the amp) more ably keeps the timpani and strings separated until they merge when the recording calls for it in contrast to the Ananda forming this blob constantly during those opening measures. Still, I am going to reserve my judgement on the Ananda until I can run it balanced despite its reported sensitivity (103db) indicating that it should run fine with the THX AAA 789's SE output feeding it ~2W. I was going to build a balance cable for it the other day until I accidentally cut my finger.

 

After participating at the Ananda loaner tour organised by the other forum , I have posted my impressions and I am sharing them here.

Due to various circumstances I was fortunate enough to keep them for more than two months so they became my daily driver.

The gear used for listening was a Fiio M9 and X5III for portable use.
Desktop gear included Schiit Lyr 3 multibit , Violectric V280 , Cambridge Audio 851C , Musical Fidelity MX Dac and LX2 amp.
Cables were the stock single ended.

Overall tonality is good and balanced.
This is a quite neutral tuning without annoying dips or peaks except one around 8khz which is quite audible.

Bass extends to sub bass territory it is very clean and articulate and doesn't bleed to midbass.
There is good layering and detail but it is lacking body and slam there is no weight to it.
Bowings and plucking notes can be very easily heard and are very well defined.
Despite this headphone being an open one overall bass response is very good suitable for all genres of music but of course not a basshead one.
Midbass is very natural with a slight warmness and a little bit muddy.

Mid response is great very tastefully done and lifelike.
Instruments and vocals sound just right without anything being over emphasized or laid back.
It is crystal clear and very accurate but still a slight lack of body can be heard.

Treble response regarding tonality is excellent without harshness or listening fatigue expect the peak around 8khz which can sound a little annoying or exhibit some sibilance with certain tracks.
Instruments sound right and even but decay is very fast.
This has a negative effect on high pitched percussion instruments and the leading edges of some notes so things start to sound a little bit artificial.

Soundstage is good not overly wide but with very precise instrument placement and separation with a plenty of air between individual instruments and groups of them.
The headphone can very easily handle complex symphonic music without a hint of congestion and can communicate very good the recording venue.
Detail retrieval is very good and satisfying but not overly done so you can concentrate on the music it self.

The overall presentation of the Ananda is ethereal and on the lean side.
There is a lack of macro dynamics and slam.
This combined with the very fast decay , speed and lack of body makes the headphone sound a little bit artificial and mechanical not so enveloping and 3d sounding.

Efficiency is very good and can be very easily enjoyed from decent portable devices but it scales very well so quality of source is very important and of great benefit.

Comfort is great due to the large ear pads and the even distribution of the weight.
Build quality is not on par with the price tag.
It feels cheap , there is cracking noise heard all the time when you touch them and when you adjust the height.
Cables are bad quality , fragile , they bend and crack at the outside very easily.
This is something that Hifiman must work on it and improve.

Overall the Ananda is a great headphone especially regarding overall tonality.
It has a great bass response , natural presentation , airy and wide soundstage and great technical ability.
It's sound signature will fit many needs and tastes and should be on the sort list of everyone looking for a reference - critical listening headphone around the 1K region.

 

Since the price drop here in the UK I had to snag these things up.

Running from an SDAC going into the Asgard 3 as well as some other amps like the Asgard 2 for extra warmth, lushness or Lyr 3 for some extra dynamics.

Sound signature is fairly balanced, hint of mid bass warmth, slight roll off low bass but good extension overall, mids fairly balanced with a little sheen to female voices and some nice bright extended treble, few peaks here and there but overall fairly cohesive. Timbre is good, better than the Arya which was slightly hard, metallic, a bit less than say the Focal Clear. Female vocals and guitars sound great on this headphone, as an acoustic guitar player these are perfect for that. I like how breathy these sound, the open air audio technical for example would be breathy at the expensive of sounding thin, bright, these naturally feel like they breathe retaining good body.

vs LCD-2F 2018

Ananda is more resolving, brighter, smoother overall with more present upper mids. The LCD-2 has a big recessed upper mid giving harmonics, female vocals a thin body, bit lean, strained where as the Ananda feels more natural here, effortless is the best way to describe voices and strum of the guitars which are more muted on the 2F. 2f has a more rounded sound, bass is more present in the lowest section, more akin to a closed headphone, it does sound like open vs closed when comparing these; notes seem to vanish into thin air with the Ananda, always loved that about the Hifimans. Electronic music I'd prefer the more heft and sustain of the Audeze where as vocals, live performances the Ananda is damn right addictive.

Vs Arya


Arya is a bit harder sounding, moves more air, stronger presence, you could say less effortless than the Ananda. The 5k peak of the Arya is bothersome as it stop the mid range feeling smooth like it does on the Ananda, Arya reminds me of the HD650 stock at 5k. Arya does seem to resolve lower level information but only slightly so, it's a trade off though because going from Ananda to Arya I felt I lost some fluidity, gentleness to voices and a smooth FR. I'd take Ananda for musicality any day at the loss of slight resolution bump.

Vs HD650

Both fantastic phones for vocals, I prefer the Ananda stock, modded it depends, Ananda has this effortless sense air around everything where as the HD650 has this sense of highlighting vocals over everything. With the right amp the 650 can sound beautiful. Ananda wins in low bass, I hear more resolution with the HD650 from a better amp but with what I have on hand at the moment I'd say Ananda edges it. Ananda is brighter, smoother at 5k where as the HD650 is free from bumps in the treble. These compliment each other well and those looking for a planar that has a good timbre, FR to go with their HD650 I think will like the contrast.


Things I don't like.

Ananda does distort at higher volumes in the lower mids, now I'm talking higher than normal listening for most. it'll be fine. These actually sound very flowy, liquid at mid level listening so most will kick back but I do crank things up from time to time.

I get a good deal but hate the headband, it sucks, feels cheap. The QC sucks, my pair have scratches on the cups, not bad but enough to be annoying, thing is I don't wanna risk getting a shit unit as these sound brilliant.


This was my original impressions. A week or so later my impressions remain the same but I kind of learn towards what @Jerry said a while back in that in some tracks I don't get those goosebumpy moments but then again I've not had that for a while. I think to be honest I've been in this headphone game a long time I'm drained from it. I will say one thing that keeps standing out is these sound massive, they make my HD800 sound small in some ways, the drivers just surround your ears and sounds just shoot out, I've always found that with these massive Hifimans they have a unique tuning, like an Audio Technica air model without the harshness and more surface areas creating a bigger sound. For acoustic guitar, nothing sounds better than these. A big aspect that has stuck is the micro detail of this headphone, so clean compared to the LCD-2 which will haze things over. Where the Audeze seems to win is as mentioned the heft, snap in the low bass,

For video games, this is your headphone, playing the Witcher was the most immersive feeling I've had with headphones.

If i'll keep these I don't know, they combine a lot from the HD800, AD2000, AD900X that I like but the problem is I'm going to be selling up a lot of gear and I want one phone that can do it all. As much as I hate to admit it the Audeze LCD-2's bass is a big deal, more than I thought it would be..might just keep both!

Very underrated headphone.

 

Great post!! Thanks for chiming in. Awesome comparisons. Totally agree in Ananda vs Arya, auditioned both and went home with Ananda. They trade blows but Ananda does so much right, and is cheaper to boot...

 

No worries! good to see some Ananda love. I was actually surprised how resolving they were and no timbre issues, at least to my ears. I really wanted to love the Arya, the name was cool as hell coming from a huge Game of Thrones fan and I loved the stealth look. Not sure why Ananda didn't take off much here but then again Hifiman have been inconsistent when the HE-500 and HE-6 went out of production.

The weight off this thing is much appreciated coming from the Battle Helmet of the LCD-2, never complained about the weight much but when I need to turn my head to check if my kids haven't burnt the house down Audeze phones don't make it easy to do that.

 

Just demo'd a set of these and after being prretty set on buyig them going in, I just found the treble too brittle and hot. I think I've become very treble sensitive as I've gotten older. They strike me as cans that sound spectacular on 70% of recordings but get hot on enough to turn me off. Has anyone modded them to bring the treble down a bit?