[TeamHiFiMAN]

At Last: Bluetooth for Audiophiles
And the rave Ananda-BT reviews keep on comin'!

Many thanks to Steve Guttenberg (aka The Audiophiliac) for the outstanding review!

 

[.Sup]

Why did you have to use CCK with the iPhone? Bluetooth doesn't work with it?

 

[clerkpalmer]

I really wish Hifiman would bring the price down to something more reasonable on these. 999 and 300 premium over the wired. Either they are selling well or they are being stubborn. I would like to try them but a grand is ridiculous.

 

[White Noise]

I'd like to hear these. I got to demo the wired Anandas a few months back and I liked about 90% of the sound, though they ultimately weren't for me. I suspect these won't be either, but I am curious to see how they stack up and what kind of amp and dac they can squeeze into a headphone for $300. Which, FWIW, sounds like a reasonable cost to me once you throw in a battery and have to miniaturize and mount everything, then mark it up for distribution. I think the OG Anandas were close to the price of these at one point, so I'm pleased that those are getting more accessible to make room for these in the line rather than just pushing the price on the new ones up.

 

[thefitz]

I bought a Fostex TH-500RP based on Steve Guttenberg's glowing review, particularly the subheading "The Fostex TH500RP may be the best sounding high-end headphone you can buy in its price class."

I was so disgusted by those headphones (even at the significant discount I paid) that his reviews lost all credibility for me.

 

[Ithilstone]

I really wish Hifiman would bring the price down to something more reasonable on these. 999 and 300 premium over the wired. Either they are selling well or they are being stubborn. I would like to try them but a grand is ridiculous.

Dont get that... Seriously couple of months ago wired Anandas were 999USD and sam people went as far as calling them best under 1k planars... Now those got discounted and are even better deal. And in its price point Hifiman introduced very good wireless version that are technically way more advanced as you have build in DAC set of amplifiers, battery and BT module. And a free hard case!. What's to complain about?

But if it is still too much for you - you have two options - look somewhere else or wait till next Black Friday sale with fingers crossed that Ananda BT will be cheaper

 

[thefitz]

If peoples' intentions are to try these, what difference does the price make? Price only matters if you intend to buy them.

For trying purposes, consider this:
https://hifiman.com/dealers

 

[Duncan]

I really wish Hifiman would bring the price down to something more reasonable on these. 999 and 300 premium over the wired. Either they are selling well or they are being stubborn. I would like to try them but a grand is ridiculous.

I don't know, I think that at the moment with some of the prices some products are going for, I feel that these offer a decent value if you're after BT or direct connection to a PC via the inbuilt DAC...

When I think how much I pay for some of my IEMs as a comparison I shudder lol

 

[clerkpalmer]

I don't know, I think that at the moment with some of the prices some products are going for, I feel that these offer a decent value if you're after BT or direct connection to a PC via the inbuilt DAC...

When I think how much I pay for some of my IEMs as a comparison I shudder lol

Fair enough. The Audeze i3 is 799 I believe so I’m asking myself whether this is an upgrade or a side grade. I love my i3 and it has the advantage of being more portable. Maybe not apples to apples but that’s my decision tree. At 699 I’d jump on these.

 

[Duncan]

Fair enough. The Audeze i3 is 799 I believe so I’m asking myself whether this is an upgrade or a side grade. I love my i3 and it has the advantage of being more portable. Maybe not apples to apples but that’s my decision tree. At 699 I’d jump on these.

I see your point, and - and although I'm talking different principles - is it any different to the Sennheiser IE800 costing less than the HD800?

 

[Dobrescu George]

I really wish Hifiman would bring the price down to something more reasonable on these. 999 and 300 premium over the wired. Either they are selling well or they are being stubborn. I would like to try them but a grand is ridiculous.

I mean, it is 300 USD more than the typical Ananda, which IMHO is a great headphone, but for that 300 USD you get a DAC chip, an amplifier chip, both matched for Ananda to squeeze the best possible experience, and you also have LDAC and APT-X support. The combo sounds better than most 300 USD DAPs would be able to drive Ananda, and it is a single product that's comfy to use and to have around, has good battery life, and is generally fun, so it ain't a bad deal I'd say (?)

 

[Dobrescu George]

I see your point, and - and although I'm talking different principles - is it any different to the Sennheiser IE800 costing less than the HD800?

Big Oooooffff there, you still have IE800? I loved those ones, so sad the fit didn't work for me anymore, because the sound was really good.

I think that this is like the talk about HD800 Closed back being almost double the price of HD800 (?)

 

[Andrew DiMarcangelo]

I mean, it is 300 USD more than the typical Ananda, which IMHO is a great headphone, but for that 300 USD you get a DAC chip, an amplifier chip, both matched for Ananda to squeeze the best possible experience, and you also have LDAC and APT-X support. The combo sounds better than most 300 USD DAPs would be able to drive Ananda, and it is a single product that's comfy to use and to have around, has good battery life, and is generally fun, so it ain't a bad deal I'd say (?)

Agree wholeheartedly. Although its open back nature makes it a tough travel/commute headphone, I personally love walking around my house or office wearing the ANANDA BT without worrying about wires or where my phone is.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Agree wholeheartedly. Although its open back nature makes it a tough travel/commute headphone, I personally love walking around my house or office wearing the ANANDA BT without worrying about wires or where my phone is.

Yes!

I'm glad someone gets it!

 

[Sonic Defender]

If I didn't adore my Edition X V2 I would do the trade in program, but the HEX2 is fantastic and I am absolutely certain the Ananda BT won't sound better, it could possibly sound as good or close, but not a chance it will sound better. However, it will have Bluetooth and I love Bluetooth. I predicted in five years that there would be several very high quality, made for critical listening at home Bluetooth headphones and I think there is another two years to go and I'm confident that there will be quite a few new players in the next few years. I think $999 is reasonable and I will guarantee you that there are going to be $2000 plus Bluetooth headphones very soon so I think that HiFiMan is not out of the marketplace in terms of pricing.