HIFIMAN ANANDA Over-Ear Open-back Planar Magnetic Headphones, wired-Black

Product Information

Mounting the headphone on the text fixture was easy requiring almost no manipulation to get proper measurements. However, I noticed a gap on both cups facing forward. There is a depression there. Pushing the cups closer to the side of the rig pushed up the level of the bass resonance you see below but kept the bass roll off essentially the same. So I did not deem it significant. Hex V2 doesn't handle louder volumes as well as the Ananda though but don't expect Ananda to let you crank it up like a HE series oldschool Hifiman, which not only sustain much more power but are more dynamic as well and therefore also give you a better reason to crank it up. Ananda and Hex V2's compressed dynamics don't allow for the "startling effect" anyway. This startling effect describes the explosive power of the HE-6 to fire at you from total darkness, nothingness with a hail of supernovae. I'm exaggerating here but you might understand what I mean. Mids are clear and beautiful, although they might sits just ever slightly behind the bass and treble. Even though the Ananda is a warm headphone, the mids still come out very clear and clean.

The midrange continues what has been started by the bass, but with a slight twist. It’s as detailed, as fast and as transparent as the low end, but the overall timbre is sacrificed a bit in exchange for outstanding technical capabilities. Thanks to that, you’ll end up with a very, very detailed and insightful sound that is not as natural sounding as it could have been. My typical listening gear daily is Hiby R6 -> Reso Concerro for USB to SPDIF converter -> Schiit Gumby -> DIYT2 -> Stax SR-007 Mk2 My use for the Ananda will be to have it at home to use when I can sit in a quiet space and get lost in the music. There are times when I will prefer a warmer signature, something more focused on bass, etc., those depend on my mood but the Ananda is something that I think will form a very valuable part of my home headphone set up. A few entries later the softness and roundness became less and less and with the Susvara almost reaches HE-6 levels of slam and tactility now (while beating it in every other area). The Susvara is my favorite headphone out of all headphones but unfortunately out of my reach budget-wise.What do these headphones excel at? Incredible micro detail, speed, and accurate full tones. The combination lends itself to critical listening without the music ever becoming too cold or sterile. Before starting the review, I would like to say that this review may be subject to some bias from my point of view. I am hoping that is not the case, as I always do my best to be impartial, but the Ananda are a set of headphones that have been on my radar for quite a while, since I reviewed the Sundara to be exact.

First off, I have to give thanks to Hifiman for setting up this loaner tour for the Ananda. The only thing Hifiman requested from me, and from every other loanee, was an honest impression/review of this can. (EDIT: I wrote this review prior to purchasing a modded prototype HE-6, which unsurprisingly excels in almost every category over the Ananda.) Ananda leaks a bit, similar to how Arya Stealth and Arya, and even Ananda Bluetooth leak, and they all have pretty much about the same amount of passive noise isolation, around 10 dB. You won't be able to blast metal in a library, but you won't wake the neighbors or someone sleeping in a different room if you pump volume in Ananda. You need some power to get them loud, so I would not skimp on the source, and I would go for desktop amplifiers where possible, like Violectric HPA V340, Burson Funk, or Keces S3. Overall, for my listening preferences (which is textured vocals) the Ananda performs extremely well at it’s price point. I find myself reaching for the Ananda far more in my listening room than other options I have available to me. Now, that could be down to the fact that I am on this loaner tour and find myself compelled to spend as much time as possible with it, but I would like to think that I would happily remove some of my current lineup for these. I have previously owned both the v1 and v2 version of the Edition X, and based on memory I can say that I prefer the Ananda for my listening preferences. Admittedly, the LCD-X is probably the better comparison spec-wise as the LCD-2 is much higher impedance and harder to drive than the Ananda, but I did not have the LCD-X on hand to compare. The LCD-2 is considerably heavier than the Ananda at roughly 500 grams vs the Ananda’s 400. The Ananda feels lighter than the actual weight difference as well as the headband does a better job of distributing weight. I’m not a fan of the pads on the LCD-2 either and have long since replaced mine with Dekoni pads, but still find the pads on the Ananda to be more comfortable. Both have angled connectors although I like the LCD version a bit better with its Mini-XLR and steeper angle than the 3.5mm of the Ananda. Both are solid, I just prefer the look of the LCD connector better. The microphone is more than decent: your voice is heard quite loud and clear on the other side, though it’s best used in silent environments.My subjective listening tests bring me to the conclusion that if there is any excess in the treble, it is above my hearing range before it starts to become uncomfortable. In fact, as far as the "air" and "shine" up top, I have no complaints at all (which is a rare occurrence for me). Comfort - The cushions on the Sundara are softer and apply less clamping force, the Ananda are absolutely fine, but they do apply more pressure and are firmer. Such a world doesn't exist for me though so I''d realistically be going for technicalities and a better fit in my collection. Bass - On the Sundara bass hits are more visceral and has more impact, it feels like your closer to the woofer, while more controlled on the Ananda it feels like you are farther away from the woofer, this comes across as more tonally accurate and appropriate on the Ananda but is more fun on the Sundara. It seems like the bass is less blended and has more clarity on the Ananda, it bleeds into the lower mids far less or is simply less distracting and lets me hear the lower mids more clearly, I respect the level of control and accuracy on the Ananda here, but I also enjoy the fact I can feel the bass on my cheeks with the Sundara. Both cans do not do well with sub base and have noticeable rolloff. I loved the Ananda, if I don't have my Stax system, I might buy and build my system around Ananda, and happy to call it an end to the journey. They are that good.

Okay, we’re now at the part of the review where I tell you how these headphones are great, superb, fantastic and so on and so forth. Let’s do it like this: let’s skip it altogether. Yes, the HiFiMAN Ananda BT are great; yes, they have so many good qualities; yes, they are hands down the best Bluetooth headphones on the market. The problem is: does any of this matter? Headphones – Hifiman HE1000se, Heddphone, Hifiman HE400i 2020, Hifiman Deva, AKG K501, Audeze LCD3, Focal Clear, Little Dot GYFUFor the asking price, HiFiMAN has served up a very delectable pair of headphones indeed. Highly recommended." There are some really, really well-made headphones in the market, including goodies from Abyss, Audeze, HEDD etc. But they all have problems. They are either plain heavy, or uncomfortable, or both. The Ananda is built okay when it comes to the finishing and overall feeling, maybe even a bit underwhelming considering the asking price. But you’ll forget about it a second after putting them on your head. Build quality section of any Hifiman headphone is always a hot topic. While they truly had some issues in the past, they do tend to get better lately. It also shows with the Ananda, which is built…good, but don’t expect Focal or Audeze level of craftsmanship when it comes to materials and finishing. This song is mildly compressed to my ears, there is some imaging there but the song does not benefit from the soundstage of the Ananda that much, because due to its compression or how it was recorded, it seems to be leaner in the mid range, the Ananda with this song might place the mids a little to recessed, resulting in having to turn up the volume a bit to get satisfactory vocal volume. The Sundara is more engaging and cohesive with this particular song, likely a result of the way the song was recorded.

All of the above shouldn’t be really surprising to be honest. The times that Hifiman has been a “boutique” company are long gone, and as for the mass production product, I think that the unboxing experience and the accessories included are pretty solid. Nothing to really complain about. Soundstage is open and one of the best I've ever heard, its very spacious and equally wide as it is deep not only that the details and separation make the imaging near perfect. The ratcheting adjustment system for the loaner unit was a little hit or miss. For example, the right side slides up and down fairly straightforwardly with the required amount of force for adjustment being just about right. The left side, however, was more difficult to slide due to the larger amount of force (far more than the right side) needed for adjustment. I don't know if this issue is simply isolated to the loaner unit, but it is rather annoying. As reported elsewhere, the paint of the inner sides of the arms of the earcups are stripped from previous adjustments. Driven out of Hiby R6 and Magni 3, I felt that Ananda and HD800 are within the same class, they deliver the same resolution and details, imaging is better on HD800, but the warmth of Ananda is easier to listened to. HIFIMAN Ananda + Lotoo PAW 6000 (100 USD + 1200 USD) - This is the kind of DAP you get when you want a softer, more musical and more nuanced presentation from your headphones. PAW6K is perfect if you also want to EQ and can become, from a softer sounding DAP to the hardest hitting piece-de-resistance out there, especially if you match the EQ profile with the headphone perfect. I never felt like Ananda needs any kind of EQ, but it is always fun to play with PAW6000's default profiles, and their ATE setting of Sweet and 701 and 990 works well with Ananda giving a new perspective about their sound. At any rate, PAW6000 has more than enough power and dynamic for Ananda, and especially if you grab an aftermarket balanced cable, you'll be delighted to hear the punchiness and control that such a tiny DAP with a good battery life can exhibit over Ananda, a large planar magnetic headphone.They are slightly more dipped in 1-2k than the HE500 and HD6XX (by ~2dB according to InnerFidelity and solderdude's measurements) but are still enjoyable the same, as the Ananda's mids tends to veer closer to a softer, more neutral presentation. One last thing that needs to be mentioned is the soundstage and image placement. As with the Ananda BT, this is a very wide headphone. There is a very ample width which is presented to you, it is certainly not an intimate headphone. I don't think that it is quite as wide as on the BT version, or at least I don't get the feeling that it is too wide like I did at times with that one, but it is certainly a first or second row experience, where speakers are placed well off to your left and right.